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November 19, 2020
Dear friends,
As we approach Thanksgiving, I am deeply moved by the love and empathy that exists in our community. #onlytogether is more than a slogan in my district.
I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped a neighbor; to our health care workers who care everyday for our loved ones; to our essential workers who deliver our services; and to our parents, teachers, and kids who are distance learning.
I'd like to send a special thank you to the 25 volunteers who assisted the Department of Family Service and my office to deliver boxes of meals to 260 District 3 seniors and individuals with disabilities yesterday, and the many more who have helped us deliver boxes since the summer.
We will offer our final distribution through this partnership on Wednesday, December 16, and will give out 1 box of meals + 1 box of groceries to each person. Please watch for registration information next week. If you can help deliver to those unable to pick up that morning, please sign up here.
 A tangible example of the faith and hope in our community is the two new refrigerated trailers at Christian Life Center in Riverdale Park. Storing donated food for distributions has long been a challenge and it was exacerbated during the pandemic. Through our partnership with Greater Riverdale Cares, Kaiser Permanente provided a grant to Sowing Empowerment and Economic Development to purchase refrigerated trailers which are hosted on-side at Christian Life Center. Please take a minute to watch this video about the partnership which was possible #onlytogether:
Housing Updates
I continue to be proud to co-chair the County's Housing Opportunities for All Workgroup with DHCD Director Estella Alexander. Learn more about our work and join our December 11 meeting here.
Branchville Gardens, a workforce multifamily residential building with 81 units in College Park was approved by the Planning Board and is moving forward. I joined with the majority of my colleagues to support 121 new senior apartments at Woodyard Station in Clinton at a mixed-use, mixed-income project.
Legislative Updates -- Moving Toward a Healthier Prince George's County
I'm working on a longer legislative wrap-up from the 2020 County Council Legislative Year, but in the meantime wanted to share a few recent highlights. On Tuesday, the Prince George's County Council voted unanimously to approve CB-071-2020 to provide healthy food options for young people. The legislation is the first of its kind in the country to include healthier comprehensive options for both food and drinks. It will make water, milk and 100% fruit or vegetable juice default beverage options for all kids' meals served at Prince George's County restaurants. It will also ensure that food options in kids' meals limit calories, sugar, salt and fat. Families would still be able to order other beverage items upon request. Special thanks to Council Member Sydney Harrison who proposed the groundbreaking legislation which moves us closer to a Healthier Prince George's County.
I was proud to propose CR-127-2020, which also passed. This resolution, which references the recommendations in the most recent RAND report, states in part, "The Prince George's County Council, sitting as the Board of Health, believes in Health in All Policies as a collaborative approach that integrates and articulates health considerations into policymaking across all sectors to improve the health of all communities and people."
My colleagues and I also passed CR-099-2020, legislation designating Healthy Foods Priority Areas in the County, for targeted tax incentives for grocery stores.
State Transportation Project Updates
Matthew Pollack, executive director for project delivery with MTA, recommitted the State's support to complete the Purple Line at the Purple Line Community Coalition's annual meeting on Tuesday.
I continue to raise concerns about the Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail's Baltimore-Washington SC MAGLEV project. Thank you to everyone who is also following this project closely. The SC MAGLEV project is in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) phase, evaluating two primary build alignments with various options for stations, a Trainset Maintenance Facility (TMF) (approximately 180 acres) and various ancillary facilities. The publication date for the Notice of Availability for the public release of the DEIS is currently January 22, 2021. If you have not yet paid attention to this project, please visit the website to understand how this project may impact your community: http://baltimorewashingtonscmaglevproject.com/
Thank you to everyone who joined me in testifying and submitting comments in opposition to the 495/270 Beltway Widening project, technically titled, "I-495 & I-270 P3 Program," at the public hearings this summer. Please continue to raise your concerns with our state leaders.
Rain Check Rebate Virtual Forum
 Thank you to everyone who joined me on November 6 for my Virtual Connections forum on the Rain Check Rebate. The End Time Harvest Ministries Wellness Ambassadors, all local high school students, did an excellent job presenting this important information. If you missed the event or would like to watch it again, please click here.
COVID-19 Restrictions
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Governor Hogan announced several new measures statewide to stop the spre ad of COVID-19 earlier this week.
Please know that the County measures which took effect last Sunday remain in effect. Many of our capacity limits for businesses are, in fact, stricter than what the Governor announced. However, there are a few statewide measures that will apply for the County, to include:
- Restaurants and food service establishments must start closing dine-in service at 10:00 PM. They will still be allowed to operate carryout/delivery after that time. This will take effect Friday, November 20 at 5:00 PM.
- Hospital visitation is now prohibited (with a few exceptions) and hospitals should now avoid elective surgeries/procedures, unless they are life-saving.
WSSC Water Continues to Suspend Water Shut-offs
WSSC Water continues to suspend service shutoffs and waive late fees to assist financially struggling customers impacted by Covid-19. While the Maryland Public Service Commission moratorium on utility shut-offs ends on November 15, 2020, it does not apply to WSSC Water - Maryland's largest water utility serving 1.8 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. WSSC Water's ongoing assistance efforts will ensure safe, clean water continues to flow to customer's homes during these difficult times.
Free Food Distributions
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Please note, the normal Wednesday SEED Distribution will take place on Tuesday next week, at 12pm, East Pine Community Center.
PGCPS will not distribute meals next week. Rather, they will give out food for next week tomorrow, Friday, November 20, from 10am-1pm. Learn more. Next Saturday, November 28, Ebenezer Church of God will also distribute meals. However, St. Mary's will not distribute boxes that day.
 Save the Date! Thanksgiving Distribution at FedEx Field on November 24 at 3:00 PM. Advanced registration required: https://bit.ly/pgsat2020
As always, feel free to reach out to a member of my District 3 team or me if we can help you in any way. I am sharing updates regularly on social media, especially my Facebook page. #onlytogether
Together Strengthening Our Community,
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