Council Affirms Commitment To JEDI, Responds to Trump
The Greenbelt City Council narrowly passed a motion on February 10 to issue a statement affirming their commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI). This motion, introduced by Councilmember Jenni Pompi, comes as President Donald Trump has sought to terminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and positions, and targeted immigrants by attempting to […]
A Greenbelt African American Family in Slavery and Freedom
Not much is known of the personal histories of the enslaved African Americans who lived and worked on the farms and plantations that now are Greenbelt. Their family relationships are hard to trace over time, because in most records enslaved people were identified only by their first names. There is one such family from Greenbelt, […]
City Council Reaffirms Commitment To Diversity and Community Pledge
On Thursday, February 13, Greenbelt City Council shared a letter to residents. “The past few weeks have been a time of fear and uncertainty for many Greenbelt residents,” reads the letter, which reaffirms their commitment to a diverse population and to being a respectful and welcoming community. It comes as the Trump administration brands diversity, […]
Local Families Cite Struggles With Staggering Utility Bills
Despite complaints about bills on local social media, the utilities Town Hall meeting of February 18 wasn’t well-attended by residents up in arms (see the meeting report on page 11). City staff and utility and state government representatives outnumbered residents. Pepco shows a noticeable increase in rates between last winter and this. Coupled with a […]
County Executive Candidates Respond to FD Staffing Crisis
The Greenbelt News Review asked candidates running for the position of Prince George’s County Executive their stance on the staffing crisis and leadership within the Prince George’s County Fire Department. We received responses from six of the remaining 11 candidates. Last June Fire Chief Tiffany Green reallocated 55 firefighters from stations in Prince George’s County […]
Greenbelters Working with USAID Abroad Prepare to Return Home
As uncertainty at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sends ripples through Greenbelt, one family shares how the political and legal battles in Washington, D.C. are impacting their work and lives, thousands of miles from home. Just as the USAID workers we spoke with last week requested we withhold their names due to fear […]
Five County Executive Candidates United In Opposition to Maglev
The Greenbelt News Review asked the 12 candidates running for the position of Prince George’s County Executive to share their stance on the maglev project, a proposed high-speed rail line that would connect Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The proposed project has been met with strong resistance from Greenbelt residents, who raise significant environmental and financial […]
Valentine Vignette: Marc and Diane Siegel
We heard Marc and Diane’s story first from Marc. He remembered living in a Springhill Lake apartment while attending the University of Maryland and meeting Diane Douglas, who lived in an apartment downstairs from his and worked at Beltway Plaza. They dated a while before breaking up. “Then my dad, who liked her, brought her […]
Council Approves Contract for Repair of the Indoor Pool Deck
At its January 27 regular meeting, the Greenbelt City Council approved contracts to repair the indoor pool, modified and deferred proposed ethics legislation until the next meeting, agreed to support a coalition seeking to improve emergency services and took positions on several pieces of proposed state legislation. Indoor Pool Council approved legislation to transfer $1.7 […]
Musk’s Dismantling of USAID: The View from Greenbelt
This week, three of several Greenbelt residents who work for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) agreed to speak with the News Review about their experiences as Elon Musk attempts to dismantle the agency they work for. All USAID employees we reached out to feared reprisal and we are using aliases to protect their […]