Latest news with #PrinceGeorgesCounty
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
Rain, flooding prompt rescues in Montgomery, Fairfax counties
With a month's worth of rain concentrated in a brief hour or two, creeks, streams and storm drains were overwhelmed Saturday in parts of the Washington area, forcing authorities to close roads and make rescues amid the fast-rising water. The heaviest rain appeared to be concentrated in lower Montgomery County, and adjoining parts of the District, Prince George's County in Maryland, and Fairfax County in Virginia. Rain fell elsewhere, but with lesser intensity.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Steny Hoyer raises $232,000 as he mulls reelection bid in Maryland
BALTIMORE — Maryland's oldest lawmaker hasn't announced whether he'll run for reelection. But if he doesn't, it won't be for lack of funding. Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Prince George's County Democrat, raised roughly $232,000 during the second fundraising quarter, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. After expenses, the cash influx gives the 86-year-old congressman over $636,000 in cash on hand for his campaign. He started the quarter with over $573,000. The sum is roughly $60,000 less than Hoyer's fundraising numbers during the same quarter of the previous election cycle, when he raised over $291,000 and went on to win reelection to his long-held seat. While the quarterly report won't be among the largest in Congress — Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat, raised roughly $1.2 million, for example — it's a fair amount for a long-tenured member in a safe blue seat. The fundraising boost comes during a precarious moment for veteran Democratic leaders like Hoyer. Age has remained a top-of-mind issue for Democratic voters since former President Joe Biden's presidential campaign fell apart last year after he struggled to answer questions during a debate with the then-presumed GOP nominee, Donald Trump, leading to Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee. It's only become more prescient since Trump's election. Three Democratic lawmakers have died since March. Each was at least 70 years old. As a former member of the party's leadership, Hoyer remains an influential member of the Democratic caucus, the House Appropriations Committee, and serves as the ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee. Hoyer's office did not respond to a request for comment. The age debate isn't strictly about age, but health — whether aging lawmakers are healthy enough to fulfill the responsibilities of a member of Congress. Reps. Gerry Connolly of Virginia and Raul Grijalva of Arizona both suffered from cancer. Turner passed after experiencing a medical emergency. Their deaths reinvigorated questions about the party's emphasis on experience in leadership, particularly given the energy needed to keep up with the frenetic pace of the Trump administration. Being a Democratic lawmaker under Trump hasn't been relaxing. The president has blitzed a series of immense structural changes to the federal government that Democrats have decried, while Republican lawmakers have passed new policies that Democrats have detested — most recently, the partisan 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' that extended current tax rates while enacting cuts to social programs. Donations from political committees accounted for $140,500 of Hoyer's new funds, with contributions ranging from $1,000 to $7,500. Individual donations made up $84,700. The campaign spent over $169,000 during the past three months. Hoyer has held his seat since 1981. He is one of the oldest members of Congress and spent years as the second-ranking House Democrat before stepping down from his post of Majority Leader in 2023, saying that, 'The timing was right.' In August of last year, Hoyer suffered a mild stroke. Despite the health scare, he went on to win reelection, defeating Republican Michelle Talkington with 68% of the vote. He received 72% of the vote during the Democratic primary, defeating three younger challengers. At least one Democrat will challenge Hoyer in 2026: political newcomer Harry Jarin. Jarin's campaign disclosures weren't available prior to publication. -----------
Washington Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Wonder how free buses will fare in New York? Watch these Md. counties.
I read the June 29 Metro article 'Buses now free in Md. county,' about Montgomery County's free bus program, with interest. In neighboring Prince George's County, we eliminated fares on TheBus, our county's transit service, on June 30. While scrutinizing the county's budget in the spring, the county council found that the amount of money it cost to collect the fares was greater than the amount being taken in. Not only is eliminating bus fares a better deal for riders and a stronger encouragement to choose transit, but it also will save the county $4 million over the next several years.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Squatting in Maryland is not a crime epidemic — it's a housing crisis
Vacant homes on E. Preston Street in Baltimore. (Photo by Elijah Pittman/Maryland Matters) When news headlines spotlight 'squatters' occupying homes in Maryland, it's easy to respond with punitive measures. But usually, behind every story of someone we're calling a 'squatter' occupying a vacant property is a larger crisis: rising housing expenses, declining wages, and a generational commitment to sabotaging our social safety net. Squatting in Maryland isn't new, but recent viral videos and sensationalized news stories have raised concerns about it as a growing threat to property owners and neighborhood safety. This framing is misguided. This isn't about relative 'bad actors.' It is about systemic failings forcing people into dire situations. If we are to understand the causes for the rise of squatting, we must discuss the absence of affordable housing. The Maryland housing market is increasingly out of reach for low- and moderate-income residents. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a full-time worker earning minimum wage in Maryland would need to work 100 hours a week just to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. And it is even worse in Baltimore, Prince George's County and Montgomery County, with decades of rent increases far outpacing wage growth. Public investments in housing have simultaneously dwindled. Federal housing assistance has not kept pace with housing needs, and only one in four eligible households will get help. Maryland also has patchy eviction protection policies and inconsistent enforcement. When individuals slip through the cracks, informal housing alternatives, including squatting, emerge as survival practices. Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@ We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates. Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines. Views of writers are their own. To be clear, squatting is not a permanent fix, nor should it be glorified. However, we have to stop viewing it as an inconvenience to be legally addressed, and instead, tackle the source of the issue: inequity. A large portion of those seeking shelter in vacant structures are leaving unsafe housing conditions, fleeing domestic violence or are recently evicted. Some are young adults leaving foster care. Some are people with disabilities or unemployed. The commonality is affordable and stable housing. Squatting is then the visible end of an iceberg. The underbelly of that iceberg includes systems flaws, including a stripped-down social safety net, defunding of mental health services and the criminalization of poverty. And Maryland is not alone. All over the country, municipalities are evicting encampments without solutions, states are passing laws to criminalize homelessness, and federal programs are both inadequate. The erosion of affordable housing is not incidental; it is the result of policy decisions. Since the 1980s, Democratic and Republican administrations have prioritized tax credits for housing development rather than aggressively building deeply affordable public housing and have not established units for the lowest-income sector. We have a plethora of buildings developed through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), but none of the housing is operationalized at the highest need. Maryland stands at a fork in the road. We can continue excursions in pathologizing poverty and depend upon law enforcement to make them go away. Or we can truly invest in good, durable options, such as expanding Housing First programs, establishing statewide rent stabilization policies, and building deeply affordable housing, not just housing for young people/new workers or market-rate apartments with several units subsidized. This will take political will and courage. This will mean rejecting the notion that housing instability and homelessness are the consequence of individual dysfunction. This will mean accepting that housing, beyond being a commodity, is a human right. We also must stop using the term 'squatters' and implying that they are 'stealing' homes. In most cases, these homes have been abandoned – some in foreclosure limbo, and most owned by absentee owners. The real theft is not around people working to survive; it is a lack of accountability for not honoring the public will to care for others. If Maryland truly wants to be a model on this front, it cannot rely solely on viral fear-based slogans or strategic, piecemealed solutions, but instead needs an audacious, justice-based housing agenda that prioritizes that all individuals, no matter income levels, have a safe and secure place they can call home. Squatting is not an epidemic. Inequity is the epidemic. If we want to stop homeless neighbors from occupying vacant buildings and homes, we need to give them real homes.
Washington Post
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Shake-up in Pr. George's leadership continues with fire chief
Prince George's County will have a new fire chief, one of several recent shifts in leadership since County Executive Aisha Braveboy took office earlier this month. Braveboy introduced on Monday Thelmetria Michaelides, a 26-year veteran of the county fire and emergency services department, as the fire department's next chief. Braveboy has also named a new police chief, George Nader, and an interim schools superintendent, Shawn Joseph.
