[RP TownTalk] Riverdale Park #1 on a list we do not want to be on

Fri May 27 18:29:18 UTC 2016

Dwight

Generally I agree with the sentiments and please don't interpret my statements as fingerpointing - it wasn't. But and this is a big but, most of the progress locally has been defined by what we did at the local level over the last five years.

We did work in partnership with county and state partners for example on Cafritz but they told us from the get go they would support the consensus opinion and wouldn't drive the conversation. This is true in many aspects. It's up to the local leaders to define the positions and lobby those higher up. When local leaders don't stake out positions or provide leadership on issues that impact things locally we are left with sub optimal decisions made by others without a stake in our town - ergo east west highway killing our town center or the proposed "wall" for the purple line

Quality of life issues start at the lowest level in terms of defining what is acceptable. It's absolutely true that these require regional and state guidance (with some aspects of federal involvement) but I'd still argue the responsibility to define and lobby issues rests within our town. Just an opinion though - I'm well aware of the complications of issues like this

Jonathan

On May 27, 2016, at 11:09 AM, Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com<mailto:dwightrholmes at gmail.com>> wrote:

Beth, the American Community Survey is conducted by Census to provide a good, national and local statistical sample consisting of many very detailed questions. A relatively few people would have participated in this survey in any one year.  These folks just pulled the ACS data (available at census.gov<http://census.gov>) and did a very quick, back of the envelope kind of analysis.

I see very little in the article that would fall directly under the purview of town authorities. Obviously increasing employment opportunities in the town would do much to alleviate a lot of the challenges listed there, certainly that is true.  More (good) jobs would shorten commutes, lower the relative cost of rent (all else being equal), and make health insurance more affordable and more accessible to people.  National, regional, state, county and perhaps local policies and action are involved in these factors.

On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 1:46 PM, Beth Judy <bethjudy4 at gmail.com<mailto:bethjudy4 at gmail.com>> wrote:
How did they collect the data? I don't remember receiving a survey.
Did anyone else on TownTalk receive a survey?

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We analyzed over 41 places in Maryland to identify the ones that are going grey at a young age.

[Chris Kolmar]by Chris KolmarRankings<https://www.zippia.com/advice/category/rankings/> - 1 month ago

Zippia<https://www.zippia.com/> analyzed data[http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://washington.cbslocal.com/2016/05/25/see-if-your-town-is-one-of-the-10-most-stressed-places-in-maryland/#> from the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey for 2010 to 2014 to rank<https://www.zippia.com/advice/stressed-places-in-maryland/> the 41 most stressed places in Maryland, using criteria such as the unemployment rate, average hours worked and percentage of income going to rent.

On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 11:53 AM, Jonathan Ebbeler <jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com<mailto:jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com>> wrote:
WOW!!!

Definitely a list the town should not want to be #1 on.  Looks like the town leadership has a lot of work ahead of them:

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2016/05/25/see-if-your-town-is-one-of-the-10-most-stressed-places-in-maryland/

It’s no surprise that Maryland is home<image001.png><http://washington.cbslocal.com/2016/05/25/see-if-your-town-is-one-of-the-10-most-stressed-places-in-maryland/> to plenty of stressed out people when you consider the high cost of living in many areas, long commutes from D.C. and more. But what residents most need a vacation?

Zippia<https://www.zippia.com/> analyzed data from the U.S. Census’ American Community<image001.png><http://washington.cbslocal.com/2016/05/25/see-if-your-town-is-one-of-the-10-most-stressed-places-in-maryland/>Survey for 2010 to 2014 to rank<https://www.zippia.com/advice/stressed-places-in-maryland/> the 41 most stressed places in Maryland, using criteria such as the unemployment rate, average hours worked and percentage of income going to rent.

Riverdale Park tops the list with 69.3 percent of residents suffering a long commute and 55.3 percent paying high rent. See the top 10 below:
1.    Riverdale Park
2.    Mount Rainier
3.    New Carrollton
4.    District Heights
5.    Bladensburg
6.    Cheverly
7.    Baltimore
8.    Takoma Park
9.    Hyattsville
10.          College Park

JWE

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