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Dear Friends,
The County Council wrapped up our
legislative calendar on October 26th, per law in an
election year, we do not meet as a legislative body in
November. Several bills passed at the end of the session that
are of particular interest to many of our communities. We
passed my bill (CB-83-2010), which helps provide greater economic
development incentives for redevelopment in targeted areas, as well
as my bill (CB-70-2010), that clarifies the regulation of “push cart”
mobile vending in neighborhoods. I was disappointed that
CB-80-2010, the Stormwater bill, was deferred until next
session. It would have ensured that developers would have to
detain more stormwater from their development projects, which would
have helped us better address flooding problems and the quality of
water entering our streams and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.
I have also received a few calls
regarding my attempt to freeze County Council and County Executive
pay for the next two years and wanted to clarify my resolution, which
was misrepresented by the Gazette. The Council received
a recommendation from the Compensation Review Commission to increase
salaries for both the next Council and Executive. I disagreed
with their recommendation.
Without any Council action, the Compensation Review
Commission’s recommendation to increase pay would have gone into
effect; it did not need a vote. Instead, along with Council
Chairman Tom Dernoga, I presented a resolution to freeze pay and also
establish a provision to decrease pay based on the Consumer Price
Index. I have consistently said that elected officials should
not receive pay increases during this economic downturn when
employees are not receiving increases and while budgets are
tight. The Washington Post article more accurately captured
the issue and can be viewed at this website.
It is a pleasure serving you and I
look forward to serving you the next four years. Please continue
to contact my office with any questions or concerns.
Eric Olson
Council Member, District 3
(301) 952-3060
ITEMS OF INTEREST
DOCUMENT
SHREDDING EVENT
The
Prince George’s Department of Environmental Resources will host a
free document shredding event in celebration of America Recycles Day
on November 6, 2010 from 8:00am-1:00pm. Residents can bring up
to 5 tall kitchen bags of confidential documents. This event
will take place at 9400 Peppercorn Place in Largo. For more
information please call (301) 883-5045.
COLLEGE
FAIR W/ KAPPA EPSILON LAMBDA
The
Kappa Epsilon Lambda Chapter, KEL Educational Foundation and the
Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation will host a
College Fair on November 13, 2010 from 10:00am-1:00pm at 8200
Pinewood Drive in Clinton. This event will include financial
aid seminars, SAT Prep, College Panel discussion and a Step
Show. Admission is free. For More Information please
contact Leon Reynolds at LeonReynolds@hotmail.com or Perry L. Foreman, Jr. at
PerryLForemanJr@yahoo.com.
RIVERDALE PARK FARMERS MARKET
The
Riverdale Park Farmers Market, located at the Riverdale MARC station
on Queensbury Road, is open every Thursday until November.
Market produce will include crops, bedding plants, flowers, baked
goods, eggs, jams, and honey. Please visit their website for
more information at http://www.rpfarmersmarket.org/.
ENVISION PRINCE GEORGE’S SPEAKER SERIES
Envision Prince George’s will host a Speaker Series this
fall with the purpose of addressing key topics generated from
Envision Prince George’s Town Hall Meetings held earlier this
year. Please visit this website for more
information. The speaker series is held from 10:30am-12:00pm at
the County Administration Building, 1st Floor Council Hearing Room,
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.
November 18th
Planning for the Bottom Line
December 16h
Implementing Transit Oriented Development-Strategies
& Tools
COLLEGE PARK AVIATION MUSEUM
The College Park Aviation Museum is located on the
grounds of the world’s oldest continuously operating airport in
College Park; founded in 1909. The museum is located at 1985
Cpl. Frank Scott Drive in College Park. For a list of events
please call (301) 864-6029 or visit them at www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com for more information.
NEW CELL PHONE LAW EFFECTIVE NOW
The State General Assembly passed new cell phone
legislation. Maryland now joins 7 other states, Washington
D.C., and the Virgin Islands in banning hand-held cell phone use
while driving. Using a handheld cell phone while driving is
illegal unless done so to contact 911, ambulance, hospital, fire or
law-enforcement agencies. For more information please visit www.distraction.gov.
COMMUNITY
LEGAL SERVICES FORECLOSURE PREVENTION PROJECT
Since
2008, Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County, Inc. (CLS)
has administered the Foreclosure Prevention Project which has
provided over 500 low to moderate income homeowners with legal advice
and referrals to volunteer attorneys who negotiate repayment,
forbearances, loan modifications, short sales and cash for
keys. CLS has also provided tenants living in properties facing
foreclosure with information about their rights. For more
information please call CLS at (301) 864-8186.
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