BELTSVILLE, Md. — Mu Alpha Sigma, Inc. (MAΣ) will host “Steps Toward Peace: Ending Domestic Violence,” a community awareness walk on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Beltsville Community Center, 3900 Sellman Road, Beltsville, MD 20705. Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. The event will bring together community members to raise awareness about domestic violence, honor survivors, remember those whose lives have been lost, and inspire hope through unity and actio

Rick Bergmann (left), who plays Joel Cairo, works on fight choreography with director John Cusumano during a rehearsal for UpStage Artists’ The Maltese Falcon. In The Maltese Falcon, Lieutenant Polehaus asks detective Sam Spade what the titular bird is made of. Spade responds, “The stuff that dreams are made of.” That is exactly what the creative team behind UpStage Artists’ production hopes to bring to the stage—the stuff that dreams are made of. The Maltese Falcon is based

Rendering of the new James E. Duckworth Elementary School UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Prince George's County Public Schools broke ground on the new James E. Duckworth Elementary School on Tuesday, July 14, marking the final groundbreaking in the district's award-winning Blueprint Schools Phase II construction program. The new 94,000-square-foot Duckworth Elementary School will accommodate up to 700 prekindergarten through 5th grade students. Duckworth will also relieve some of the o

Jose Sanchez-Sanchez was arrested on August 5 on charges of sexual abuse of a minor. Photo courtesy of the official Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Facebook page. According to the official Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Facebook page, deputies with the Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff arrested Jose Sanchez-Sanchez on August 5 on charges of sexual abuse of a minor. The charges stem from an investigation by the Prince George’s County Police Department into allega

Auditions for Babes In Toyland The Musical will be held on October 2 and 3 UpStage Artists is pleased to announce auditions for its holiday production of Babes in Toyland, featuring a cast of adults and children ages 8 and older. Auditions for adult roles will be held Friday, October 2, at 7 p.m., with children’s auditions on Saturday, October 3, at 12 p.m. at Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 11416 Cedar Lane, Beltsville, MD 20705. The production will feature principal roles

LARGO, MD — As required by Maryland Election Law, Moisette “Tonya” Sweat, Esquire has collected the requisite number of signatures from registered voters in Prince Georges County on her petition to run as an Independent/Unaffiliated Candidate for the Office of County Executive in the November General Election. Mrs. Sweat will file the signed petitions at the Prince Georges County Board of Elections, 1100 Mercantile Lane, Suite 115A in Largo, MD 20774, on Monday, August 3, 202

New online portal for Maryland taxes Beginning September 1, individual Maryland taxpayers may use the online Maryland Tax Connection for filing income tax returns, making estimated payments, setting up payment plans, and more. Tax Connect is already in use by Maryland businesses to file returns and communicate directly with the Comptroller’s office. Now, it will be free to use to all Maryland individual taxpayers. If you are experiencing technical difficulties, please don’t h

Two scouts, one Cubmaster and a double rainbow! This month we had a FUN time at National Night Out!! We introduced kids to one of our favorite activities- Stomp Rockets! We also caught a rainbow this week as we were trying to do a simple experiment using salt/sugar and will they make an egg float? We discovered you can’t use fresh eggs - but we saw a double rainbow!! I hope to see lots of folks at Back-to-School nights and our Join Scouting Night on Sept. 28th at our meeting

(From left to right) Retiring Sergeant Kenneth Hibbert, Council Member Tom Dernoga, Retiring Corporal Alan Jones, and Chief of Staff Michelle García at the District VI PGPD 2026 National Night Out. Data Center Update I want to update you with the latest information regarding data centers. I reviewed the 2025 Data Center Task Force report and believe that the County has not yet completed the necessary work outlined in the report to move forward this Legislative year. It is cru

The Community Was Out In Force at the 2026 National Night Out! Beltsville residents came together on August 4 for an evening of food, fellowship, and community spirit during this year’s National Night Out celebration at the Beltsville Library and Police Station. The highlight of the evening was the recognition of Cpl. Hibbert and Cpl. Jones upon their retirement. The Beltsville community is grateful for their many years of dedicated service and for the commitment they have sh

FBI Headquarters in Washington DC. Photo Courtesy of Travel Aficionado (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/) Greenbelt, MD – The City of Greenbelt acknowledges the U.S. District Court ruling blocking the relocation of the planned FBI headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The ruling restores the path forward for the FBI headquarters project in Greenbelt. After years of federal review and a competitive selection process, Greenbelt was chos

There was an updated, albeit, informal community meeting at the Beltsville Library on August 18th. It was held as a hybrid meeting as well, there was a virtual option via Google meetings. There was a presentation by Donna Borgwardt-Mabry and then by Paul Seyler, from Mathews Environmental Solutions, the company who makes the possible equipment that would comprise the possible crematorium. The Maryland Department of the Environment was also on hand to answer any questions. The

The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) after the 2001 tornado. Photo by Billy McNeel. Twenty-five years ago, this month held a lot of pain. Just after the attacks of September 11th, an F3 tornado swept our area on September 24th. It hit Beltsville, the BARC campus, College Park and the UMD grounds, and then Laurel as well. I lived in College Park at the time and my mother, who grew up in the Midwest and knew the warning signs, saw the funnel cloud and ushered myse

CHANGE FOR SEPT. MEETING: Because of the club’s Massachusetts trip, our monthly meeting will be on the SECOND Thursday instead of the third. We will meet on Sept. 10—regular time and place—10:30 a.m. at the Beltsville Community Center. Our speaker will be talking about “How to keep more of your money in retirement.” We’ve had Mr. Sciannella speak to us earlier this year on a different subject, but it should be an interesting subject and suggestions. We’ll have our usual light

6505 Belcrest Road in Hyattsville. Photo courtesy of https://www.cityfeet.com/cont/listing/6505-belcrest-rd-hyattsville-md-20782/cs7981951 Community members are organizing in opposition to the proposed expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations at 6505 Belcrest Road in Hyattsville. The Metro 1 building has long housed Prince George’s County services, including programs related to food assistance, healthcare and education. An ICE law office already operat

NOTE TO OUR READERS: THERE HAVE BEEN SOME MINOR CORRECTIONS IN THIS VERSION OF THE ARTICLE. THE ONE IN THE PRINT VERSION HAD A FEW MISTAKES. Much has been said, written and even shouted, at times, about the expansion that the Borgwardt funeral home plans to add to their building on Powder Mill Road. While community meetings were held, the owners have not said much beyond what was shared and I wanted to chat and see what the situation looked like from their side. I got the cha

Peabody Conservatory graduate and Kennedy Center performer now accepting students of all levels David C. Griffiths, founder of Griffiths Vocal Studio, a Beltsville-based online vocal coaching practice. BELTSVILLE, MD — David C. Griffiths, a longtime Beltsville resident and classically trained baritone, has launched Griffiths Vocal Studio (griffithsvocalstudio.com), an online vocal coaching practice serving singers of all ages and skill levels — from teenagers preparing for sc

Emmanuel United Methodist Church has announced that its regular food pantry distribution program has come to an end following changes to its primary source of food donations. For many years, the church's food pantry has relied on food provided through the Capital Area Food Bank. The organization recently informed the church that it is ending its partnership with Emmanuel United Methodist Church as it shifts its resources toward organizations serving a larger number of househo

Our members feel a little lost since we could not meet since June. But I’m sure the kids had fun in “our” room for their “kids camp”. We will be meeting on Thursday, August 20 with songs from Dan & Cheryl DeVito. They are a terrific couple and we look forward to hearing their songs again. In September, we had to change the monthly meeting date to September 10 (second Thursday), since so many of our members will be going on the trip to Massachusetts with Diamond Tours. Our spe

The Morning Flag ceremony at Cub Day camp Friday, July 17th. This month a couple of scouts from Cub Pack 1031, and Regina Halper, attended Cub Day Camp at Allen Pond in Bowie. This year’s theme was Dinosaurs! The scouts learned about Dinosaurs, played games, went fishing and hiked to the other side of the park! On the 27th of June fishing event led by scouts from Troop 214G, most of the scouts caught fish!! We will be at National Night Out and finish the summer with a Rain Gu