PGCo, did you know…

Did you know that PGCo is getting it’s first luxury bed and breakfast? Have you been keeping up with the drama with the schools and the appointment of a interim CEO? Residents can request that state roads be cleaned. Residents and passing motorist can also choose to not willfully trash their own neighborhoods too. So many people attended the Prince George’s County housing fair. Did you? I brought back some great info. All kinds of markets and eateries are opening in the county. Find out what space near Wegmans is being developed. What restaurateur is opening another spot in PGCo after closing 3 others? And how about a go-go music musical is opening at MGM National Harbor?! Read PGCo, did you know…

AAAAAAH I hate letting to much time go between posts but hey, life happens. It’s August people. Can you believe that? Back to school events, Maryland’s tax free weekend, (August 12-18), and various sundry happenings are upon us. The school system is seeing a change with the appointment of Monica Goldson as the new interim CEO. One of her first acts of business was to fire 20 people in the central office and pass the savings onto the school system. I suspect these 20 positions were pure fat of the land jobs because I haven’t seen any sign of an outcry for those who lost their jobs. Goldson has also announced here leadership team and (gasp) their bios are posted online for all to see because (gasp) they all have backgrounds that match their jobs. Go figure. School Board member Edward Burroughs dropped the restraining order against the Board of Education Chair Segun Eubanks. The fact that I have to mention this charges being dropped over a shoving match between school board members is a special shame. Eubanks should never have been GIVEN that position. He’s the ex-brother-in-law of Rushern Baker and I’m wondering if Eubanks also has relatives in PGCPS human resources. It’s not to say that qualified cronies can’t have well placed jobs; it is to say that there are too many cases of this in PGCo and I suspect that we are in for more of the same. 

Not all counties shown. Took up too much space.

I read the WTOP article, “Carjackings soared in 5-year period, Md. police report finds,” and as usual, PGCo is painted as the wild west:  “Prince George’s County and Baltimore City had the highest incidence rates, both accounting for about thee quarters of all carjackings in the reporting period.” Well I checked out the 2016 Crime in Maryland Report for myself. From 2012 to 2016, the number of carjackings reported by PGCo fell from 183 to 102 (or by 44%) for a county that has a population of more than 900k people.  Why didn’t they report THAT? Guess that will continue to be my job. 

Another one of my jobs is being perturbed by all the litter I see along Routes 202, 301, Old Largo Road and Accokeek Road. I have seen contractor materials, furniture, entire kitchen garbage bags of cook-out trash, and I’ve picked up the trash in my neighborhood from what appears to have been some group’s fast food and snack induced frenzy. I mean come on!! I reached out to Councilman Derrick L. Davis’s office on Instagram and they promptly responded. Shout out to citizen services specialist Rita Lassiter in Davis’s office for moving my request along. Keep ya side-eyes to yourself. I believe in acknowledging good work. Maryland’s Department of Transportation State Highway Administration crews came out some days later and cleaned up Rt. 202. ‘PRECIATE YA! I encourage you to use the info below to get attention to your state roadways. Here’s another encouragement: STOP BEING TRIFLIN. How about that?! Find a trash can and dispose of your trash there. Encourage your young ones to keep our surroundings clean too because I suspect, and it’s just my suspicion, that it was not a 57 year old resident of my neighborhood who dumped a pile of chips/cookies/fast food waste onto the street. 

To report concerns on state roads in the future, please use our online service request tool located here: http://marylandsha.force.com/customercare/request_for_service  Please save and share this link for use in the future. All requests regarding non-state roads should be directed to Prince George’s 311 at 301.883.4748.

PGCo, did you know…

Dining, Development & Entertainment

Owners Kevin & Lisa Alexander

Prince George’s County is getting its own upscale bed and breakfast: Wellspring Manor & Spa. I know that there at one time existed a bed & breafasty-type place in Ft. Washington but it has since ceased operation. Wellspring Manor & Spa promises to be so much more than what has existed. Soft openings for this estate, which sits of 7 acres in Upper Marlboro, is scheduled for this coming autumn. I’ve done one preliminary visit and have another coming up and I can tell you that it is an elegant wonder. The main house is stately. There’s a barn in the rear which has been totally remodeled. You could hold a staff retreat there, an intimate dinner party, a celebration for PGC Blog. Yup, I snuck that subtle suggestion right in there. But seriously, stay tuned because I’ll be going live from their Sunday, August 5, Jamaica Independence Celebration and Art Exhibit. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com.

The Go-Go Musical, “The Giz” is coming to MGM as its FIRST musical theater production on August 19th. “The Giz” will star  DC’s own Legend and Go-Go icon Mr. Gregory Elliott, better known as Sugar Bear, as The Giz. The play strives to revive the rich culture and Washingtonian history, while educating audiences about one of the area’s best kept cultural art forms known as “GO-GO” music. Read the full description and get ticket prices at the website. I so want to see this play. Who’s going? 

Iverson Mall has a full out marketing campaign and new businesses coming. Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Chipotle, Snob Nails, and Sterling Optical have or are opening. Check them on Instagram to keep up. Same with The Mall at Prince George’s. They are opening up all kinds of new stores.  

Houey’s Southern Style Shaved Ice opened in Upper Marlboro at 15193-A Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

College Park Grill is open and the food is good. See the PGC Blog Instagram page for me. 

And let me NOT FORGET what one of my readers/roving reporters scooped. Timothy Dean is opening a restaurant in Bowie after having closed one in Landover at The Boulevard, one in Baltimore, and another in DC on 16th St. NW.  I definitely did my best to support him while he was at the Boulevard but the food and service kept deteriorating. My roving reporter says the location is off of Rt. 450 near the Texas Road House and CVS. Shall I support him again? We’ll see.  

Housing & Development

The Prince George’s County Housing Fair was a blast. There were vendors there from banks, credit unions, apartment complexes, real estate agents and government agencies. Guest presenters included Jr. Flips construction, a group of PGCo kids who flip houses for profit and power couple, Ashley and Andy Williams of HGTV’s Flip or Flop Fort Worth. I already own a home in the county and am looking to purchase again as an investor. I wanted to see what help is available for first-time and investor purchases. There’s A LOT. Did you know that there are Maryland government programs that provide weatherization services such as insulation, HVAC repair/replacement, door & window stripping, low flow showerheads, all for little to nothing? Contact 1-855-583-8796 or check the website out HERE. That same Maryland Dept. of Housing and Community Development, check out the video, has first time homebuyer programs and they assist with making accessibility improvements to the homes of our senior citizens. Contact them at (301) 265-8450. 

Wells Fargo and Company awarded more than 50 grants of $250k each to nonprofits across the U.S. to promote housing equality for low- to middle-income households in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. One of the recipients was Housing Options and Planning Enterprises Inc. (HOPE) in Oxon Hill, MD. Contact them about their programs at 6188 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, Oxon Hill, MD 20745, 301-567-3330 (Office), 301-710-0607 (Fax). 

St. Joseph’s Place map

St. Joseph’s Place is a new development slated for the corner of Landover Road and St. Josephs Drive in Lanham/Largo/Glenarden/near the Wegmans. Do understand that this DC girl finds her way around by landmarks and Wegmans is a landmark in my life. Petrie Richardson Ventures is developing this swath of Woodmore Town Center land across from the 24-Hour Fitness center and future Panera Bread. Ha! It’s just a lil funny that there will be a Panera Bread near the fitness center just beckoning you to come over after your workout. The developers are leasing space so if you’re interested, see their website. 

My blogger brother Bradley Heard of PG Urbanist covered the proposed Deanwood metro station parking lot. “About 75 community members from the District and neighboring Prince George’s County packed the meeting room at the Deanwood Recreation Center to participate in Wednesday’s hearing. WMATA’s public hearing docket describes a possible joint development scenario that would contain 160 multifamily dwelling units and 10,000 square feet of retail space. However, the selected developer would ultimately be responsible for proposing the actual type and scale of development and then obtaining the necessary approvals from the District of Columbia government.” Read his entire post for more on the community’s vision of grocery-anchored retail and market-rate housing in that space. I’m including this because residents of PGCo will likely make use of this development given it’s close proximity to Cheverly and Addison Road.