Prince George S County

Residents can provide input into improving water quality in Prince George's County at a series of three public forums. The forums are a joint effort between the county's Department of Environmental Resources, Soil Conservation District, Health Department, Department of Public Works and Transportation; Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission; and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. The first forum will be held Tuesday, Aug. 16 from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the Prince George's County Soil Conservation District, 5301 Marlboro Race Track Road, Suite 100, inUpper Marlboro.

Three Maryland superintendents whose school systems stand to take the biggest hit from Maryland's 'Doomsday' budget pleaded with state legislators Monday to reverse an estimated $129 million cut to public education that they said would have devastating effects on their districts. In an open letter to the state's top leadership, Baltimore city schools CEO Andres Alonso, Prince George's County Schools Superintendent William R. Hite, and Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua P. Starr asked state lawmakers to make it a priority to restore funding to schools as legislators prepare to head back into a special session of the Maryland General Assembly on May 14. The letter, which you can read here, i s addressed to Gov. Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker Michael E. Busch.  The three superintendents write from the largest school systems in the state.

Prince George's County has released a new public safety non-emergency dispatch number after its Public Safety Communications office moved from Landover to Bowie and acquired advanced technology to support 911 emergency calls. County residents should now call 301-352-1200 to report non-urgent incidents that require the dispatch of public safety personnel, including police, fire, sheriff and EMS officials. This number is answered and processed in the 911 center by the trained Public Safety Communications personnel that process 911calls.

The victim of a shooting has been found inside a burning car at a Fort Washington apartment complex, Prince George's County police said. Officers were called to the 1100 block of Palmer Road about 1 a.m. Wednesday for a report of shooting, Cpl. Evan Baxter, a police spokesman said. An officer found a burning vehicle, with the shooting victim inside, Baxter said. The officer pulled the man from the vehicle and attempted to save him, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

An 8-year-old girl has died in a house fire in Prince George's County. Firefighters were called to a house on Parkview Lane in Clinton after 11 p.m. Saturday. A woman had run from the house to get help after the fire broke out and told her neighbors that her daughter was trapped inside. The neighbors called 911, and firefighters arrived shortly after. Rescuers found the girl, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The mother was taken to a burn unit with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

Prince George's County residents can avoid penalties for possessing fireworks through the Prince George's County Fire Department's fireworks amnesty program. This is the ninth year that the county fire department has run the program, which allows residents to turn in their fireworks without fear of being arrested or fined. To turn in fireworks, call the county's Fire/Emergency Medical Services Department Operations Center at 301-583-2200. A department member will come to your home or business and remove the fireworks.

I feel compelled to write a response to Pete Pichaske's Feb. 9 column entitled "Counting down the days until Wegmania finally arrives in Columbia. " I was drawn to the article because of my interest in learning about the opening of Wegmans in Columbia. However, when I came upon the seventh paragraph, I was amazed at what appeared to be an insensitive comment which stated, "Of course, that was Prince George's County, long considered the ugly stepsister of the Washington area, a county hungry for anything upscale and trendy.

Maryland State Police are asking motorists to be on the lookout for a missing 66-year-old woman from Prince George's County. Police said Sunday afternoon that they have issued a "silver alert" for Adela Shepard-Barrett, last seen in Accokeek on Friday. She could be driving a 2010 gray Nissan Sentra, license plate 4AB2351. Silver alerts are issued in Maryland when adults with cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's, go missing. Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

Theater and dance students in Prince George's County public schools can attend workshops in March that also offer the opportunity to perform. The second annual Theatre Arts Festival for county drama students will be held Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, 15200 Annapolis Road, Bowie. Drama students from Prince George's County public middle schools and high schools will participate in monologue competitions and workshops with professional artists, and the day will end with student performances at 6 p.m. The 15th annual Dance Showcase, on Thursday, March 29 at Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School, 12650 Brooke Lane, Upper Marlboro, provides county dance students an opportunity to work with professional choreographers and receive instruction in various dance genres.

Prince George's County police have identified the victim of a fatal car crash that occurred Friday afternoon in Largo as 21-year-old Jennifer Monique Jones. Jones, who lived in Largo on the 500 block of Largo Center Drive, was traveling eastbound on White House Road in a green 1995 Nissan Maxima alongside a black 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The two cars appear to have collided when the two-lane roadway merged into one shortly before Harry S. Truman Drive, according to a preliminary investigation.

LARGO -- A crowd of hundreds at Prince George's Community College is awaiting the arrival this morning of President Barack Obama, who is due to deliver the latest in a series of addresses on energy as rising oil costs create a drag on the economic recovery -- and his own re-election effort. Obama has stressed what he calls an "all of the above" approach to both energy independence and more drilling: Extracting domestic oil and natural gas while investing in solar, wind and other emerging technologies.

Students and staff at Prince George's County Public Schools are celebrating National School Breakfast Week March 5 to 9 in partnership with Kellogg's cereal company, to increase nutrition awareness and help a local Feeding America food bank. For each school breakfast purchased by students during the week, Kellogg's will donate a bowl of cereal to a local food bank through its "Eat, Share, Prosper" program. According to school officials, Prince George's County public school serve an average of 170,000 breakfasts each week.

Theater and dance students in Prince George's County public schools can attend workshops in March that also offer the opportunity to perform. The second annual Theatre Arts Festival for county drama students will be held Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, 15200 Annapolis Road, Bowie. Drama students from Prince George's County public middle schools and high schools will participate in monologue competitions and workshops with professional artists, and the day will end with student performances at 6 p.m. The 15th annual Dance Showcase, on Thursday, March 29 at Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School, 12650 Brooke Lane, Upper Marlboro, provides county dance students an opportunity to work with professional choreographers and receive instruction in various dance genres.

I feel compelled to write a response to Pete Pichaske's Feb. 9 column entitled "Counting down the days until Wegmania finally arrives in Columbia. " I was drawn to the article because of my interest in learning about the opening of Wegmans in Columbia. However, when I came upon the seventh paragraph, I was amazed at what appeared to be an insensitive comment which stated, "Of course, that was Prince George's County, long considered the ugly stepsister of the Washington area, a county hungry for anything upscale and trendy.

Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III is dropping the county's long-standing opposition to a casino within its borders and endorsing construction of a $1 billion, Las Vegas-style gambling palace at the riverside development known as National Harbor. In taking that stand, Baker is explicitly rejecting the possibility of locating a casino at Rosecroft Raceway, the other leading contender for a gambling facility in the county. Aides said Baker prefers the National Harbor hotel-convention center complex because of its potential to draw tourists from all over the world on their visits to Washington.

Former Lake Clifton point guard Josh Selby faces a misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge in Prince George's County. Selby, the 2010 Baltimore Sun Male Athlete of the Year, was cited Oct. 5. The Memphis Grizzlies rookie is scheduled to appear in Prince George's County district court on Jan. 25 at 8:45 a.m. Selby told the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Saturday that he had "no comment about it. It is what it is. " One day after...

Maryland communities will receive $6.8 million to combat the damage that foreclosures have wreaked in neighborhoods, the federal government said Wednesday. The grants are part of $970 million the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is handing out nationally in the third round of its Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Communities can use the money to acquire foreclosed homes and either fix them up or raze them. About a quarter of Maryland's funding is earmarked for Prince George's County, which has been hit particularly hard by foreclosures.

A 33-year-old Annapolis man faces charges of rape and sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. Annapolis Police arrested William Ashley Pickett of Royal Street in the city early Wednesday in Prince George's County. Police said the suspect lured the teenager into his home and assaulted and raped her on Tuesday. The victim told police that she knew the suspect, who lived in her neighborhood. Pickett is charged with second-degree rape and second-degree assault. mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com

In an effort to provide holiday dinners to needy families in Prince George's County, the Prince George's County Public Safety Assistance Program is collecting donations of canned goods through Dec. 20. County agencies that are participating in the holiday food basket program include the Office of the Sheriff, Police Department, Fire/EMS Department, Department of Corrections, Office of Homeland Security, Public Safety Communications and the Office...

Zach Welch ran for three touchdowns and kicked a field goal to lead Middletown to its first state football championship in a 43-6 romp over Douglass, of Prince George's County, for the Class 2A title Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Knights (13-1) had been to the state tournament 18 times without winning a title, including last year's 21-14 loss to McDonogh in the final, but Saturday, they jumped on the Eagles for the first 16 points. The Eagles (10-3) pulled within 16-6 on Taitor Reynolds' 29-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Smith with 28 seconds left in the first half, but the Knights scored just over a minute into the second half on Ben Lewis' 53-yard run. Welch ran for 172 yards on 24 carries as the Knights rushed for 335 yards.