Jimmy's Ward Report - Sunday, August 8, 2010

City Clerk Janis Lomax Recuperating At Home


The City Clerk, Janis Lomax, is home from the hospital after undergoing surgery to repair broken bones after a bad fall into a partially open utility-access hole. Anyone wishing to send get-well wishes can do so at:



Ms. Janis Lomax

7105 Highview Terrace #102

Hyattsville MD 20782



Mount Rainier Homes, Garden & Green Tour 2010

Be a part of the city's first homes and garden tour in over 10 years! Tentatively scheduled for October 17, 2010, this public tour will feature a number of significant and historical sites, unique gardens and examples of green living. Homeowners interested in being on the tour or volunteering with event planning and implementation, should contact Jimmy Tarlau (jtarlau@cwa-union.org) or Sara Lilly (bambooblue74@gmail.com) by August 20, 2010.





City Council Vacancy



As a result of Alta Morton’s death, there is now a vacancy in Ward 1. The City Charter sets out the following procedure to fill a Council vacancy.



First the Council declares the vacancy (which will be done at a September Council meeting). Second, the other Ward 1 Council member (myself) submits recommendations of between 1 to 3 names to the Mayor and Council to fill the vacancy until the next bi-annual election (May 2011). If there is not a majority for any of the candidates there will be a special election 30 to 60 days after the vacancy is declared to fill the vacancy until May 2011. If you live in Ward 1 [East of 34th Street (including the East Side of the Street) from the railroad tracks to Shepherd Street, East of 31st Street north of Shepherd (including the East side of the street) and the North side of Shepherd Street from 31st Street to 34th Street] and are interested in serving as a Council member, please email me at jtarlau@cwa-union.org.



Council Supports Liquor License with Conditions for Spotlight Cafe



The owners of Spotlight Cafe (at the Rhode Island Circle) asked the city to write a letter to support their request for the issuance of a beer and wine license. After considerable discussion the Council wrote a letter of support but requested that a few conditions be attached to the license. These conditions were that the Spotlight Cafe be operated primarily as a restaurant (not a bar), that thire be no outside amplified music, that musical performances end at 10 PM on weekdays and midnight on weekends and that alcohol not be brought in and out of the cafe.

The Council fully supports the owners of the Cafe but are concerned that sometime in the future it not become a bar. Remember that Bass Liquor started out as a family restaurant and still had a license as a restaurant that could serve alcohol until it closed down. Their food requirement was no more than that they have a microwave in the bar.
I am a regular customer at Spotlight. The owners are really trying to help the community and we should help them. They have great coffee and have had local entertainers on Thursday evenings and community game nights on Friday evenings. If the business is to succeed we must support them.


Farmers Market Every Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM at 3200 Rhode Island Avenue (next to Thrifty Rental)

The Farmers Market is open every Saturday until November 6th. So far it has been a great success and I want to thank Councilwoman Ivy Thompson for having the initiative and follow-through to get the market going. The following vendors have been there on a regular basis:
Alchemy Caterers
Bupperts Doran’s Chance Farm
Jose Montoya Farm
Earthspring CSA
Tea 4 You DC
Uptown Bakery
Spotlight Cafe & Delectable Cakery


Come by, meet your neighbors and good some fresh produce and baked goods!!





Art Works Studio School To Open Above Mount Rainier Post Office

AWSS will offer after school classes for teenagers and evening classes for everybody beginning Sept 20th. They will have classes in drawing, painting, performance, belly dancing, and T’ai Ch’i. They will have an open house Sat. Sept 4 from 2- 6 PM and Sat Sept 18 from 2-6 PM. For more information send an email to info@artworksnow.org or call 301-454-0808.

Jimmy's Ward Report - Wednesday, May 26, 2010

New Cafe Now Open at Rhode Island Circle: I am excited to announce that the Spotlight Cafe at 3311 Rhode Island Avenue is now open for business from 7 AM to 7 PM. Please go by and try out the coffee and food. We really need to support our local businesses for them to succeed.
More Speed Camera Locations: On or after June 1st, there will be speed cameras put in place in the 3700 block of Rhode Island Avenue and the 3100 block of Queen Chapel Road (near the intersection of Buchanan Street). The camera will be operational from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. I know the speed cameras are controversial but I believe that they will encourage people to drive more cautiously in our residential community. We have already had one fatality on Queens Chapel Road where the speed camera will soon be placed. The speed camera on Arundel Road recorded over 2,000 violations but the Chief told us that the number had deceased as drivers paid more attention to the speed limits on that street.
Mount Rainier Farmers Market Starts Saturday June 5th: There will be a new Farmers Market starting next month at the former Bass Liquor parking lot on the 3200 block of Rhode Island Avenue. It will be open from 9 AM to 1 PM and will highlight local producers. All good will be from farms in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. We hope to have the market continue on Saturdays through mid November. Come by and make it a success so other vendors decide to sell their produce at our market.
Council Approves Budget for 2010-2011: The Council approved a budget for Fiscal Year 2011 (7/1/10 to 6/30/11) at our May 4th meeting. We are able to keep the police station open in the evenings and maintain our essential services (trash pick-up, recycling, etc.). Unfortunately we are going into our reserves. $300,000 this year. We have over $1.5 million so it is ok for now but in the next few years we will have to sell the Bass Property/Funeral Home to a developer because the payments on that property are costing close to $200,000.
Parking Discussion: The Council had a discussion on whether to change the parking meters in the downtown area. Right now the meters are set for 2 hours on the 3300 block of Rhode Island Ave and the 3700 block of 34th St. 1 hour on the 3200 block of Rhode Island Avenue. Some of the business wanted us to make all the meters two hours but other businesses (represented by the Mount Rainier Business Association) wanted the meters to be changed to a ½ hour limit. The Council decided not to do anything at this time but to reconvene the City’s Parking Task Force to review all the parking needs in our City and to make recommendations to the Council.
Council Meeting at Eastern Star Building: I am chairing the city’s Centennial Committee and we have had a busy few months. Last month (May 10th) we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the first City Council meeting by holding a ceremonial council meeting at the Eastern Star Building, where the Council used to meet. The City has recently purchased the building and we hope at some point to move the Council meetings to that location because the meeting room is considerably larger than the current meeting space. Six former Mayors and Council Members (Fred Sissine, Don Hibbard, Intisar Haamid, Devon Brown, Carol Gandee, and Doyle Niemann) reminisced about their time in office and the changes they have seen in the City.
Centennial Souvenirs for Sale: We have a bunch of souvenirs celebrating our 100th Anniversary that are for sale:
New Centennial History Book (it’s really good!!): $5
Mount Rainier Bumper Stickers: $1
Mount Rainier Coffee Mug: $6
Mount Rainier T-shirt: $8 (S, M, L, XL) $10 (2XL, 3Xl, 4XL)
1976 Bicentennial Celebration Program Book: $5
All these items are on sale at City Hall or if you e-mail me a request I would be glad to deliver one or more of these souvenirs to your house.
Future Centennial Events: We are planning on holding a Centennial Ball in December; a Historical House or Porch Tour and a Taste of Mount Rainier (sometime in the Fall), and a series of cable interviews with our long-time residents. We will give everybody more information as we get close to some of these events.
Mount Rainier Historical Event: 1966 Klan Protest at Queenstown Apartments: The Action Coordinating Committee to End Segregation in the Suburbs (ACCESS) organized 42 people to picket outside Queenstown Apartments to protest discrimination in rentals. Eight robed Klansmen (including the Grand Dragon of Maryland, Xavier Edwards) and about 100 onlookers formed a raucous counter-protest. For two hours, police had to keep the two groups apart. A scuffle did break out and one Klan supporter was arrested for disorderly conduct. (Washington Post 10/30/1966)

Jimmy's Ward Report - Sunday, April 4, 2010

Mt. Rainier Centennial Celebration Events Continue – 1) This Friday April 9th at 10 AM the City will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of our City. We will be honoring those residents who have lived in the City over 50 years. 2) Starting on Friday and continuing through May 15th there will be a Centennial Exhibition at Fountain Framing, 3911 Rhode Island Avenue. I encourage everybody to go see the exhibition. There are plenty of old pictures of Mt. Rainier and a great collection of old pamphlets and programs from the city’s 50th and 75th celebrations. Cheryl Fountain, the owner of Fountain Framing and curator of the exhibit, has done a great job in juxtaposing then and now pictures of many of the City’s buildings. 3) On Saturday May 1st Councilman Bryan Knedler will be presenting a Mount Rainier History Talk from 3 to 5 PM at Fountain Framing. 4) Councilman Knedler is also finishing up an updated history of Mt. Rainier which will be on sale ($5) at Mount Rainier Day. Everybody will want a copy of the book! 5) I have put together a historical web site with old pictures, articles and maps. It will give you an idea of what will be shown at the Centennial Exhibition and in the new published history. Check it out at: www.historicalmountrainier.org .

Council Is Reviewing Next Year’s Budget – The City Council is currently reviewing the budget for fiscal year 2011 that starts on July 1. This is a challenging time. The City is facing a major cutback in state support, a flattening out of property tax revenue, and over $170,000 of unanticipated costs related to this year’s snowstorms. The good news is that the City has built up a cushion over the last few years that will mean that we will not have to cut back essential services or raise taxes. The bad news is that in order to balance the budget we will be taking money out of our reserve funds. We can do this for two or three more years but at some point in the future we will have to match our expenses with our revenues. At that time we will have to reduce services, sell the recently purchased property on Rhode Island Avenue or raise taxes. Luckily we will not have to confront the issue for another two years. The Council will be discussing the budget again at a work session on April 13th and there will be a public hearing on the budget on Tuesday April 20th. The Council plans to vote on the budget on May 4th.

Singer Building Update – Representatives from HIP (Housing Initiative Partnerships) came to the Council to report on their plans to rehabilitate the building (on Rhode Island and 33rd Sts.) for 11-12 rental units and retail space on the ground floor. They received over $1 million in government funds for the project. But right now they are trying to see if they can purchase the property from Mr. Butler, the absentee owner, who lives out of the country. Not much can be done until they can get site control of the property.

Sweeping the Avenue – Joe’s Movement Emporium is planning a series of events to help reduce waste and protect our waterways in the city of Mount Rainier and beyond.
April 10 -Public Works Day and Community Clean Up - 10am to 2pm at 3715 Wells Avenue SPECIAL RECYCLING: Electronics recycling, tire amnesty, metal recycling. ACTIVITIES FOR THE FAMILY: trash pick up and sweeping, making art from found objects workshop, and cookout
April 12: Community Cleanup - 4 to 6pm. at 3309 Bunker Hill Road: clean up, sweep, tally up the pounds of Trash, have a snack
April 17: Earth Day Celebration – 2 to 8pm at 3309 Bunker Hill Road. Performances by Kinetics Dance Theater of "Trash Suite", art making workshops, film festival, Free Cycle Exchange, community potluck, and sidewalk sweep
April 19: Community Cleanup - 4 to 6pm at the Park at 31st and Arundel Road, clean up around the creek, and Queens Chapel Road. Sweep, tally up the pounds of trash, have a snack
April 22 Earth Day. Meet at Joe's, parade around town center 5 to 7pm; art making workshop, performance art processional, live music
April 24 - Community Clean up and Dance Celebration with State of the Anacostia Address: 6 – 10pm at 3200 Block of Rhode Island Avenue at the former Bass parking lot.
Tire Amnesty – bring tires to the public works department all month and the fee of $5 are waived.
Neighborhood Watch Meeting Sat April 10 1 to 2 PM – The Richardson Park Neighborhood Watch Committee will be meeting at the home of Joe Robbins (4501 31st St.). The area covered by this Neighborhood Group is from Arundel to Varnum and from 32nd St to 31st.
Rhode Island Metro Lot to be Closed for Construction - The parking lot at the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metro station will close April 30 in preparation for the construction of a mixed-use Rhode Island Station development. which will include 274 residential units and 70,000 square feet of retail space. .As part of the $90 million development, the 8.5-acre parking lot will also host a multi-level parking garage. The project is supposed to be finished in 2012. Some bus stops in the vicinity will also be relocated as construction progresses.

New Developments In the Area Should Help Mt. Rainier – If you go up Rhode Island Avenue past Franklin’s, you can see construction starting on the 36,000 square foot retail town center project on the East Side of Baltimore Ave. The developer has announced that they have commitments from Busboys and Poets , Tara Thai and Yes Organic Market to open at the location. Another new development is beginning at the Rhode Island Metro. Since our City is situated half-way between the two new developments it should make our City an even more attractive place to live. I’m excited about the upcoming opening of the Spotlight Cafe at the circle and a new restaurant in Brentwood at 4400 Rhode Island Avenue. Hopefully the worst part of the recession is past and housing values will see a rebound.
Pot-Hole Watch: See any pot-holes that need to be filled. Send me an e-mail and I’ll forward it on to Public Works so it can be taken care of.
Mt. Rainier’s Less Progressive Past – While we pride ourselves on being a progressive community, the history of our City sometimes paints a somewhat less progressive picture. In the city’s incorporation statute in 1914 there was a ‘grandfather’ clause that stated that men could only vote if they were entitled to vote before 1868 or were a male descendent of someone who was entitled to vote before 1868 which was when 15th (Voting Rights) Amendment was passed. This in effect disenfranchised Black Americans from voting in Mt. Rainier. The Supreme Court a few years later overturned these grandfather clauses and this section was taken out of the Mt. Rainier Ordinance. You’ll find out about this and a lot more if you purchase the revised history of Mt. Rainier which will be available on Mt. Rainier Day (May 15th).