HUD wants their money back from Prince George’s County, One speed camera in PGCo is raking in the doe, Lockheed Martin donates to Bowie State University and Kimberly Elaine Smith kills her mom’s boyfriend.
There is some stuff you just have to live down. The big thing Prince George’s is going to have to live down is Jack Johnson. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has given Prince George’s County until April 5th to refund them $1 million dollars of HOME Affordable Housing Program funds that were mishandled by Jack Johnson and his cronies. Johnson gave contracts to his buddies Kerry A. Hill of the Kairos Development Corporation to build affordable housing in Suitland and Temple Hills. Kerry A. Hill is a former Prince George’s County delegate with ties to Johnson. Needless to say, nothing has been built.
Kerry A. Hill
The Washington Post reported, “HUD is also asking the county to return $50,000 allocated to Omega Gold Development, which received $100,000 in federal funds during the Johnson administration, for operating expenses. Omega is trying to build housing in Suitland. Company officials did not return calls for comment.
Cleaning up the county’s housing department has been a top priority of Johnson’s successor, County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D), whose administration was recently cited for making progress. An outside consultant hired by the county to track change at the $100 million housing agency recently gave it high marks for making fixes but said more work was ahead. Prince George’s Housing Director Eric C. Brown, who has spent much of his first two years in office trying to fix a host of problems at the agency, said he hoped to resolve the lingering disputes with HUD soon. “It is like peeling back an onion,” he said. “We keep finding new problems.”
The county would like to repay the $1 million HUD is seeking from Kairos by selling the property, where no affordable housing was built. But there are potential stumbling blocks, Brown said. It is not clear who owns the property or what might happen to people who had been living there, he said. “We told HUD we do not have a million dollars and if we could acquire and sell the land, would they accept that. We will either get that satisfied or find a way to make the [repayment] . . . as little as possible,” Brown said.
Like I said, I don’t agree with everything County Executive Baker does or says, but he and his staff are a big step up from Jack Johnson. What we have to do is vote for people who best represent who we are as a county AND where we’re going. Johnson never represented that. He was able to slide into the ballot box on the grease of an inflated real estate market.
Lockheed Martin made a donation of $10,000 to assist Bowie State University in continuing its focus on the development of comprehensive educational programs aimed at recruitment, retention, graduation and matriculation in STEAM and STEAM-related disciplines of study (STEAM- Science & Technology interpreted through Engineering & the Arts, all based in Mathematical elements). It will also help the university build a foundation to establish the Education Innovation Initiative (EI2) career pathways program within Prince George’s County, Md.
Speed trap camera at Pointer Ridge Drive and Route 301 is the highest money-maker for the county, bringing in a juicy $373,050.
Major Robert Liberati of the Prince George’s County Police Department told NBC Washington news, “We’re going to 72 from 23 active right now.” He says he doesn’t ever see the program going away because the county has the highest number of traffic fatalities in Maryland. “With nearly 500 square miles there’s a lot of intersections a lot of roadways that need to be covered,” he said. Major Liberati says the county is looking at mobile red light cameras as well. “Once it’s achieved its goal and traffic is now compliant, it’s time to move on.”
Just in case you’re driving around in bliss, here’s a list of all our wonderful, tax-assessment-funds-replacing speed cameras. Note: The general public is not dumb enough to believe that the real reason behind these cameras is traffic safety. I mean, come oooon. The list of speed cameras in school zones is VERY long so here’s the link: School Zone Speed Cameras
Red Light Cameras:
NORTHBOUND ROUTE 301 @ POINTER RIDGE DRIVE — NORTHBOUND ROUTE 5/301 @ CEDARVILLE ROAD — EASTBOUND ALLENTOWN ROAD @ BRINKLEY ROAD
NORTH BOUND ROUTE 410 @ ROUTE 450 –EASTBOUND ROUTE 410 @ 64TH AVENUE — SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 210 @ KERBY HILL ROAD
NORTHBOUND SILVER HILL ROAD @ MARLBORO PIKE — NORTHBOUND ROUTE 301 @ OLD INDIAN HEAD ROAD
ROUTE 450 @ ROUTE 3 — NORTHBOUND ROUTE 301 @ GOVERNOR BRIDGE ROAD
SOUTHBOUND SILVER HILL ROAD @ MARLBORO PIKE — SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 210 @ FARMINGTON ROAD
SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 301 @ POINTER RIDGE DRIVE — SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 301 @ SOUTH OSBORNE ROAD
WESTBOUND ROUTE 410 @ AGER ROAD — WESTBOUND ROUTE 223 @ OLD BRANCH AVENUE
SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 5/301 @ MCKENDREE ROAD — NORTHBOUND ADELPHI ROAD @ RIGGS ROAD
WESTBOUND SHERIFF ROAD @ VILLAGE GREEN DRIVE — WESTBOUND ROUTE 450 @ PRINCESS GARDEN PARKWAY
SOUTHBOUND ROUTE 210@ ACCOKEEK ROAD — WESTBOUND MARLBORO PIKE @ DONNELL DRIVE
EASTBOUND ALLENTOWN @TEMPLE HILL ROAD — EASTBOUND MARLBORO PIKE @ BROOKS DRIVE — WESTBOUND IVERSON STREET @ 23RD PLACE
On February 21, 2013, at approximately 11:55 pm, police officers responded to the 1100 block of Kennebec Street where they found an 51 year old Charles Blyther Jr. of NE Staples Street in Washington, suffering from a stab wound to the chest. Mr. Blyther was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The preliminary investigation reveals Blyther was in a relationship with Smith’s mother. Blyther and Smith’s mother got into an argument inside the home. That’s when Smith grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Blyther.
And yes, that is a tattoo of the Route 295 sign on her neck.
Yup. Now deal with it.
