Bladensburg

Peace Cross Now a Satanic ‘Monument,’ Too

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The national Satanic Temple church will adopt the Bladensburg Peace Cross as a monument to Satan and Satanic veterans.

Mount Rainier

Pepco lobbying of former Mt. Rainier mayor draws ethics complaint from Montgomery County lawmaker

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Editor’s note: The headline has been edited to more clearly state the nature of the dispute

A Maryland legislator has asked the Mount Rainier Ethics Commission to look into Pepco’s lobbying relationship with former Mayor Malinda Miles during her closing months in office. In a June 10, 2021, letter to the city’s Ethics Commission, Del. Al Carr, a Democrat representing Kensington, Wheaton and Chevy Chase as part of the District 18 delegation, raised concerns about how Pepco solicited Miles’ support for the energy company’s pending application before the Maryland Public Service Commission to raise electric rates over the next several years. 

Miles’ support was most-visibly rendered in an April 25, 2021, virtual public hearing before the Public Service Commission. During that meeting she praised the energy utility company for providing electrical services to re-open the Mount Rainier Library, its work to install electric vehicle charging stations in the city, and enthusiastically urged the Public Service Commission to approve the rate change. The case is under consideration.

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier might endorse Medicare for All Act

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Mount Rainier City Council is considering joining a growing list of local governments to endorse a congressional plan to expand Medicare. The measure to support a partisan congressional proposal – the Medicare for All Act is a proposal from Democratic legislators – is notable in Prince George’s normally non-partisan city governments. 

The measure was introduced by Mount Rainier Mayor Celina Benitez at the city’s June 15, 2021 City Council meeting, who noted the partisan, all Democratic Prince George’s County Council had issued a similar resolution. In introducing the measure, Benitez said the pandemic underscores the need for a healthcare reform. 

“It’s not just the fact that Covid has been a problem,” said Benitez. “It has highlighted a lot of the areas that need help in the healthcare system.”

The measure seems to have support from most of the rest of City Council, who each offered brief remarks indicating at least conceptual support of Benitez’s resolution. 

Only Councilor Luke Chesek had reservations, saying “I’m just not necessarily there yet on this.”. In a three-minute discourse in which Chesek noted he once wrote a paper on health law policy in law school and also reads long-form journalism on the topic, he contrasted Medicare with insurance options available under the existing Affordable Care Act.

Hyattsville

Hyattsville approves housing plan calling for rent control, tenant rights

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Editor’s note: Route 1 Reporter is a subscriber-supported local news website. In the interest of the public discourse, articles about government policy are available for free. If you like the reporting, please support Route 1 Reporter on Patreon. Hyattsville City Council unanimously approved an ambitious “Housing Action Plan” whose policies, if fully fleshed out, they hope will preserve and produce affordably-priced housing in the growing suburb. The vote came during the city’s May 17, 2021, Council meeting without much comment, perhaps because City Council has been deliberating over the document for more than a year.