Riverdale Park Community Wiki - Recently Updated Pages

RP Community Wiki

dwightrholmes — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:31:05 CST

Local News	Farmers Market	Topic Index (Site Map)

Local News

Farmers Market

Topic Index (Site Map)

Welcome to the Riverdale Park Community Wiki -- a community space where residents, friends and neighbors of Riverdale Park MD come to share and get information and discuss matters of mutual, local interest, whatever they may be. This Wiki can be anything you want -- our bulletin board, Welcome Wagon, community calendar, scratch pad, scrap book, photo album, file cabinet, encyclopedia, yellow pages, Rolodex, 'Whole Earth Catalog,' entertainment guide and community center -- all rolled into one. Whatever we make it.	Riverdale Park Festival of Lights Saturday, December 12 Vendors & Live Music: 12 noon to 8 pm Festival Trolleys: 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm (last trolley leaves at 8 pm) Unique Holiday Gifts Food, Hot Cocoa & Cider Live Holiday Music Free Pictures with Santa “Festival of Lights” Trolley Rides More info? see http://www.rpholidaymarket.com/ Are you suffering from the I-Can't-Wait-til-April-for-the-Farmers Market-to-open Blues? No need to wait! The vendors will bring the stuff you want to you - on SATURDAYS! NEW WINTER DELIVERY MARKET TO RUN DEC. 5th - MARCH 27th Place your order by Tuesday and pick it up at the market on Saturday (Every other Saturday) More info? see RP Farmers Market Wiki page *** Puts Stimulus Dollars to Green Use: "Let's Keep Building the Great Society" "Green streets have been built in Seattle and Portland, Ore., but they're novel in small towns such as Edmonston..." Washington Post article highlights innovative steps to enhance the quality of life for town residents; read more here.

The best part is that anyone can contribute here -- that's the whole idea. You can edit an existing page or add a new one. Add audio, video, photos, links, articles. The only qualification is that you can navigate the process of creating a wetpaint account for yourself. And nothing is set in stone -- thus the name, "Wetpaint." No need to let the paint dry! Anyone with a wetpaint account can log in and then add or edit content. If you want to track the progress of a particular page, you can sign up to be alerted by email when that particular page is updated.

	Riverdale Park Sings the Blues and we're ecstatic! . Click on Blues Heritage Foundation to see our RPwiki page about the Archie Edwards Blues Hertitage Foundation new home and its Saturday afternoon jams in RP, or click on the image/paragraph below to visit the Foundation's homepage. (Pictures at left and right are from a recent jam in RP taken by Don Lynch.) We are saddened by the recent passing of N.J. Warren, seen above on the right. A great musician and one of the original members of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation.

Riverdale Park Sings the Blues
and we're ecstatic!

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Click on Blues Heritage Foundation to see our RPwiki page about the Archie Edwards Blues Hertitage Foundation new home and its Saturday afternoon jams in RP, or click on the image/paragraph below to visit the Foundation's homepage. (Pictures at left and right are from a recent jam in RP taken by Don Lynch.)

We are saddened by the recent passing of N.J. Warren, seen above on the right. A great musician and one of the original members of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation.

Holiday Market music videos on YouTube! Check out these music videos featuring several Archie Edwards Blues Heritage stalwarts -- and some of our favorite musicians -- from the Holiday Market Music Stage. These were filmed and produced by Don & Melissa Avery and uploaded to YouTube:

1) Michael Baytop and Riverdale Park's own Nicholas Spicer doing "Don't Let Go"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdLRWbCeZi8&feature=channel

2) Rick Franklin performing "Ain't Goin That Way"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78fvQXr_Bzc&feature=channel

3) Eleanor Ellis singing "CC&O"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvLySG7U86c&feature=channel

4) and last but not least, BanjerDan and Miles Spicer accompany Joe
Uehlein singing the old Commander Cody tune "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (that
cigarette)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwn-eFWl__I&feature=channel

10/12/08 MSG The Acoustic Blues Trio -- the band of Riverdalian blues musician Miles Spicer -- has a new CD out entitled "Done Spoke My Mind." (You may have heard them on the lawn at Riversdale Mansion.) To get your copy grab Miles when you see him, or go to their website to order your copy. It's a great album, featuring mostly original material.

Photo album from the 1st Annual ArtsFest (2008) here.

Getting oriented on the Wiki

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Want to see the layout of the wiki? There's the navigation bar in the upper left -- or you might find this helpful: Site Map.
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Want to discuss an aspect of the wiki? Suggestions for a better way to organize an existing section, or ideas for a new one? Here's a page to brainstorm and discuss ideas: RP Wiki Talk
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Just One Request

Please sign your name whenever appropriate.
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If adding a comment, or entering a restaurant review, or a new paragraph with a new idea to an on-going discussion, etc. please sign your name. Many "user names" don't tell us who you are, so please let people know who you are by signing your work.

What's a "wiki"? "From a Hawaiian word that means "quick", a wiki is a website that can be quickly edited by visitors to produce a kind of collaborative website." . "A website that includes the collaboration of work from many different authors. A wiki site allows anyone to edit, delete, or modify the content on the web. (The first wiki creator named the site after a chain of buses in Hawaii; Wiki means "quick" in Hawaiian.)" . A famous example is the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia.org.

What's a "wiki"?

"From a Hawaiian word that means "quick", a wiki is a website that can be quickly edited by visitors to produce a kind of collaborative
website."
.
"A website that includes the collaboration of work from many different authors. A wiki site allows anyone to edit, delete, or modify the content on the web. (The first wiki creator named the site after a chain of buses in Hawaii; Wiki means "quick" in Hawaiian.)"
.
A famous example is the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia.org.

Riverdale Park Farmers' Market

dwightrholmes — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:03:51 CST

Can't wait til next year? No need to wait!
NEW WINTER DELIVERY MARKET TO RUN DEC. 5th - MARCH 27th
Place your order by Tuesday and pick it up at the market on Saturday
(Every other Saturday)

"The Farmers Market in Riverdale Park on Thursday afternoons ... is wonderful. There are all kinds of food, including meats and herbs as well as fruits and veggies. The best part is seeing neighbors and taking in the general atmosphere." --Delegate Anne Healey (Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from our district, District 22) X

"The Farmers Market in Riverdale Park on Thursday afternoons ... is wonderful. There are all kinds of food, including meats and herbs as well as fruits and veggies. The best part is seeing neighbors and taking in the general atmosphere." --Delegate Anne Healey (Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from our district, District 22)

The 2009 market ran from April 4th through November 19th. Congratulations to everyone involved in making this 11th year of the Riverdale Park Farmers Market the most successful ever! Stay tuned for next year's schedule, to be announced in early 2010.	No need to wait til next April to get your favorite items from the market RPFM WINTER DELIVERY MARKETS Every other Saturday See below for details	Vignettes from this year's RP Farmers Market Photos by Don Lynch

The 2009 market ran from April 4th through November 19th. Congratulations to everyone involved in making this 11th year of the Riverdale Park Farmers Market the most successful ever!

Stay tuned for next year's schedule, to be announced in early 2010.

No need to wait til next April to get your favorite items from the market

RPFM WINTER DELIVERY MARKETS

Every other Saturday
See below for details

Vignettes from this year's RP Farmers Market
Photos by Don Lynch

Located in our historic town center

Great live music every week with award-winning local artists

A variety of great food vendors - shop and then stay awhile while, enjoy dinner while you take in the live music or chat with your neighbors!

More eggs, Maryland produced organic meats, and farm-raised oysters!!

Train displays every week by the RIVERDALE MODEL RAILROADERS!

New this Year: Winter Delivery!

Riverdale Park Farmers Market is launching its new winter delivery market this week. This will be a great resource for all of us!

See below for a list of participating vendors.

The pickup will be every other week from 10am to Noon on Saturday.

You will need to order through each vendor by 8 p.m. Tuesday in order to receive delivery the following Saturday at 10 a.m. The schedule will run as follows: ·

Delivery Market Day - Order Deadline

December 5, 2009 - Tuesday, December 1 at 8pm

December 19, 2009 - Tuesday, December 15 at 8pm

January 2, 2010 - Tuesday, December 29 at 8pm

January 16, 2010 - Order by Tuesday, January 12 at 8pm

January 30, 2010 - Tuesday, January 26 at 8pm

February 13, 2010 - Tuesday, February 9 at 8pm

February 27, 2010 - Tuesday, February 23 at 8pm

March 13, 2010 - Tuesday, March 9 at 8pm

March 27, 2010 - Tuesday, March 23 at 8pm

Here are the vendors' contact info for ease of ordering:

Groff's Content Farm
301-447-6148
http://www.groffscontentfarm.com

farm@groffscontentfarm.com

TGIF Produce (while supplies last)
aturner@gonzaga.org
Produce Prices

Kale $3/bunch
Turnip Greens $3/bunch
Mustard Greens $3/bunch
S. Potatoes $3/bundle

Neopol Savory Smokery
Dorian Brown & Barbara Lahnstein
410-433-7700
http://www.neopolsmokery.com/menu_files/cateringmenu2009.pdf
neopoldsb@yahoo.com

Stone Hearth Bakery
301-662-2338
Pablo Montano

In A Pickle
Jason
4102370147
inapickleco@gmail.com

Ole Pioneer's Kitchen
Grace Brock, Ole Pioneer Kitchen
Sausages & Pastas
Phone: (703) 938-0505; Fax: (703) 268-5032
info@opkfoods.com

Dmitri Olive Farms
443-834-0707 (U.S.A.)
http://www.dimitriolivefarms.com
greeksuperfoods@yahoo.com
Olive Oil Prices

1 Gallon $45
3 L Can $38
.5 Gallon $25
1 L bottle $20
750 ml Can $15
8 oz. bottle $10
5 oz. bottle $5

Zeke's Coffee
phone: 443-992-4388
fax: 410-444-0264

Nice Farms Creamery
Bob & Carol Miller
www.nicefarmscreamery.com
nicefarmscreamery@gmail.com
410-829-4456
Price List

1/2 gallon pasture fed creamline whole milk- $3.50
Quarts of yogurt (plain, vanilla, and fruit)- $4.00
8 oz cups of vanilla or fruit yogurt- $1.50
pint of chocolate milk- $2.00

Mystic Water Soap
Michelle Burns

Tel: 240-396-6831

E-mail: michelle@mysticwatersoap.com

Web: Mystic Water Soap

PLEASE NOTE:
Order minimum is $10 per vendor. This minimum amount may be lowered by the individual vendor at their discretion.

Each vendor is responsible for coming up with their own delivery price list and available items for delivery.

Each individual vendor will determine if preorders need to be prepaid or not before pickup.

It is up to the vendor’s discretion that the number of orders meets their criteria for delivery at Town Center. However, during the trial period, the vendors will be encouraged to come every week for the first month of the trial period to stimulate demand.

When a vendor is unable to get to Town Center for delivery, each effected pending order customer must be contacted to preserve the integrity of the vendor-customer relationship.

Products will be held for customers for the first ninety minutes of the delivery period. Once the holding period is over, products will be available for sale to other customers.

For more information on the Riverdale Park Farmers Market, including complete list of vendors, musicians calendar, etc., please visit our website here.

Musical scenes from a day at the market:

Farmers Markets Make for a Greener, Happier Community

"Consumers have 10 times as many conversations at farmers' markets as they do at supermarkets—an order of magnitude difference. By itself, that's hardly life-changing, but it points at something that could be: living in an economy where you are participant as well as consumer, where you have a sense of who's in your universe and how it fits together. At the same time, some studies show local agriculture using less energy (also by an order of magnitude) than the "it's always summer somewhere" system we operate on now. Those are big numbers, and it's worth thinking about what they suggest—especially since, between peak oil and climate change, there's no longer really a question that we'll have to wean ourselves of the current model."

--Bill McKibben, "Reversal of Fortune: The formula for human well-being used to be simple: Make money, get happy. So why is the old axiom suddenly turning on us?"

Mother Jones,March/April 2007

Attention Patrons! In search of Volunteers to join our new grant proposal writing team! Email or talk to Jim Coleman for more information.

RECYCLE YOUR OLD YELLOW RECYCLING BINS & HELP MAKE THE FARMERS MARKET GREEN!
To our fabulous loyal patrons, RPFM's desire to do the right thing on recycling has bumped up against our interest in not squandering money on more equipment. We are wondering if you, our benefactors, would like to donate your old yellow recycling bins to us so we can place them in various locations around the market for recycling at the market, if your town has switched to the new larger recycling cans. You are welcome to decorate them if you so desire so we can show them off to other patrons too. We ask that your good taste, the retention of the original yellow color (to make it easier to spot and use), and your consciousness of their use (dirtiness on a rotating basis, cleaning, etc.) be the determining factors in your decoration of these necessary items for the market's use. Please contact Jim Coleman (rpkfarmmkt@gmail.com) with any other questions.

Got other ideas?
We are looking for small-scale, low-capital ideas for change. To paraphrase Gandhi, Be the change you want to see at the Market! Koh's Bulgogi cart sets a great example with their low-impact, earth-friendly packaging, an idea for composting at the Market is in the works . . . what else can we do to make a difference? Talk to or email Jim Coleman and share your thoughts!

We can do it: change begins in Riverdale Park!

WIC Coupons accepted.

VENDORS & VOLUNTEERS	NEWSLETTER
Farmers Market has found some fantastic Volunteers Craig Lindsay of Riverdale Park, retired from the FAA, has come forth to professionalize our bookkeeping and accounting functions. Please give him a pat on the back the next time you see him. Cynthia Mitchel, another stalwart customer, is in the process of being blessed to volunteer for graphic design work. Melissa Avery, from Music on the Rise, a non-profit supporting cultural arts in the Washington, DC area providing musician booking. Don Lynch, from Garret Room Studios providing sound engineering and photography, We are very lucky to have found such high caliber people to help us improve our functional operations.	To sign up for the RP Farmers Market Newsletter (weekly e-mail list during the season): Via e-mail: RPFarmersMarket@riverdale-park.org Via the Web: http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/rpfarmersmarket Newsletter Editor: Joyanna Priest jepriest@gmail.com
Riverdale Park Farmer's Market is a volunteer-driven effort. To get involved, e-mail Jim Coleman, coordinator, at rpkfarmmkt@gmail.com	TOWN INFO We love Riverdale Park! Visit us at the town's website or on the RP Community Wiki.

How to Get There

The Riverdale Park Farmer's Market is held in our Historic Town Center, right next to the Riverdale Train Station (on the MARC Camden Line). This is at the corner of Queensbury Rd. & Rhode Island Ave., and is just three blocks from the intersection of Route 1 (Baltimore Ave.) & MD-410 (East-West Highway). There is free parking in the parking lots on both sides of the railroad tracks.

Riverdale Park is inside the Beltway on U.S. 1, a short drive from Washington DC (to the south) and the University of Maryland - College Park campus (just to the north). It is surrounded by the neighboring communities of Hyattsville, University Park, College Park, Edmonston and Bladensburg.

Commuters using the MARC Camden Line can easily take the MARC to Riverdale Park, get off, shop and enjoy the market, and then catch the next train home. Trains leave Riverdale Park headed north towards Baltimore at 4:49, 5:26, 6:53 and 7:45 pm.

The market is served by the F4 Metro bus, and "The Bus" Route 14. It is one mile from both Prince George's Plaza and College Park Metro stops on Metro's Green Line.

The market is just 6 blocks from the Northeast Branch Trail of the Anacostia Tributary Trails System, and looks forward to being directly on the new hiker-biker trail that will one day soon connect Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, and College Park along the old trolley trail alignment: The Green Alternative to Route 1!

Get driving directions via Google Maps.

Sounds of Colombia, Jaime Pajaro on Accordion

BorderWars

dwightrholmes — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:46:15 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

The Greening of Edmonston

dwightrholmes — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:26:41 CDT

Wiki Green page

Paving an Environmentally Friendly Path

Pr. George's Town Sees Facelift, Economic Boost in Road Project

By Lisa Rein

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, July 23, 2009

For decades, the town of Edmonston in Prince George's County has been an industrial back lot for a toxic and stinking waterway. In the suburb split in half by the Anacostia River, freight trains rumble along Route 1, factories churn out auto parts and Greyhound repairs its buses. Stormwater rolls down warehouse roofs and swells the river, flooding already threadbare homes. Now the hamlet of 1,500 near the District line, with numerous foreclosures and many residents out of work, is trying to remake itself by joining an environmental movement more often embraced by wealthier communities.

In a few weeks, workers will start ripping up Edmonston's main road and replacing it with an environmentally friendly street of rain gardens, porous brick and a drought-resistant tree canopy designed to shade the concrete, filter rainwater before it flows into the river and put people to work.

When the work is done, Decatur Street will naturally treat more than 90 percent of the pollution from the 40 inches of rainwater that sweeps into the Anacostia each year. "We're a town that's been beaten up by floods," said Adam C. Ortiz, Edmonston's mayor and the firepower behind the project. "We have to make things happen for us instead of making things happen to us."

Ortiz, 35, who speaks Spanish with many of his constituents, has a framed poster in his Town Hall office from Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign: "Let's keep building the Great Society."

In a few weeks, workers will start ripping up Edmonston's main road and replacing it with an environmentally friendly street of rain gardens, porous brick and a drought-resistant tree canopy designed to shade the concrete, filter rainwater before it flows into the river and put people to work. When the work is done, Decatur Street will naturally treat more than 90 percent of the pollution from the 40 inches of rainwater that sweeps into the Anacostia each year. "We're a town that's been beaten up by floods," said Adam C. Ortiz, Edmonston's mayor and the firepower behind the project. "We have to make things happen for us instead of making things happen to us."

Ortiz, 35, who speaks Spanish with many of his constituents, has a framed poster in his Town Hall office from Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign: "Let's keep building the Great Society." Edmonston's "green" street will be its biggest public works project, employing about 40 workers from the town and neighboring communities. The project qualified for $1.3 million in federal stimulus money. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) got Ortiz an audience with Vice President Biden at an Earth Day event in April, and Ortiz said that Biden told him that he would try to attend the groundbreaking next month.

"A little town like this?" mused Robert Kerns, a Town Council member who works as a ground supervisor for FedEx. "In a million years, I would never have thought it would happen." Green streets have been built in Seattle and Portland, Ore., but they're novel in small towns such as Edmonston, which has no system to filter stormwater.

Planners are just beginning to use roads to reduce the community's carbon footprint. There are apparently no similar projects underway in the Washington area. "As we start rebuilding infrastructure, this is a great way to do it," said Neil Weinstein, executive director of the Low Impact Development Center in Beltsville, who is working with Edmonston with help from planners at the Environmental Protection Agency. "The thing here? Edmonston's got diddly."

The town, between Hyattsville and Bladensburg, is one of the Washington area's lowest-lying communities. It probably got its name from James Edmonston, a captain from Bladensburg who paid five shillings in 1742 for land that eventually was developed into dairy farms. It has always been a working person's community: Just 8 percent of the adults went to college, the mayor said. It's a diverse place where newcomers, many of them construction workers, hail from 19 countries, a fact celebrated in a mural that artists are painting on the retaining walls of the bridge over the river. It reads: "Diversity Without Division Creates Harmony."

Flooding has always been Edmonston's Achilles' heel. A new pumping station was built at the river's edge in 2007, and it has helped keep the town dry. Decatur Street runs three-fourths of a mile, and it's a throughway for trucks whizzing between factories on Kenilworth Avenue and Route 1. It is lined with Sears model homes, old Victorians and Edmonston's only restaurant, La Fondita. Grass peeks through the cracked sidewalks. There's no bike path. Main streets in wealthier towns often have a strip of grass between sidewalks and roads, but the area along Decatur Street is just a foot wide, browned by the sun.

The project, to be completed in six months if construction goes as planned, will usher in dramatic changes. Thirty maple, elm, sycamore and oak trees will line the street, and energy-efficient streetlights will be powered by wind. The street will be eight feet narrower to reduce paved surfaces, with landscaped "bump-outs" filled with moisture-loving plants to absorb and filter stormwater. The sidewalks will be laid with permeable concrete blocks to absorb the residue of daily life. And a bike path will encourage people to get out of their cars.

"The biggest thing to me is, it will help us find shade," said Jose Hernandez, 17, who moved to Edmonston from El Salvador in 2005. And there are a lot of people who don't have jobs, said his brother, Luiz, 16, as they helped artists from the Port Towns Youth Mural Project paint the bridge one morning last week. Their father, a construction worker, has steady work, they said.

Most of the design and engineering work was done for free because the town couldn't afford to pay. Maggie Pooley got involved right away. She has raised her four children in a Sears house on Decatur Street. Although she said she is disheartened about the foreclosed Victorian two doors down that's for sale for $145,000, she is proud that the town is trying to revive its fortunes. "This will put us on the radar screen," Pooley said of the new street. "Even a working-class community can glom on to being a little bit aware of the environment."

Wiki Green page Wiki Home Page

Green

dwightrholmes — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:05:23 CDT

Chris Martin posted to the Hyattsville HOPE list:

"Thanks to people like Jim Groves [of Hyattsville] the 2007 sales of ENERGY STAR® compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) have nearly doubled since 2006, according to the estimations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2007, 290 million CFLs were sold, and the special energy-saving bulbs now account for approximately 20% of the American light bulb market." [See our wiki page on Mercury in CFLs and Recycling for ways to safely recycle CFL bulbs in our area.]

http://www.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=11520

What can we do here, in Riverdale Park?
'A Final Warning to Humanity'

'Global warming is "unequivocal." Climate change will bring "abrupt and irreversible changes." The report …is: a final warning to humanity.'

--"Final Warning on Global Warming, Time, 11/17/07, referring to the recent report by the Nobel recipient Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Greening of Riverdale Park Do you have ideas on what we can do locally to improve the local and global environment?
Solar Hot Water - DIY Support Group
Stopglobalwarming.org's "Take Action" page lists dozens of concrete steps you and your family can take to help reduce our impact on the environment

"The Stop Global Warming calculator shows you how much carbon dioxide you can prevent from being released into the atmosphere and how much money you can save by making some small changes in your daily life. It’s our hope that the calculator will promote action, awareness and empowerment by showing you that one person can make a difference and help stop global warming. "There are many simple things you can do in your daily life — what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home — that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antactica. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference."

What to do with all this stuff?

Garbage & Recycling in Riverdale Park
Mercury in CFLs and Recycling for ways to safely recycle CFL bulbs in our area.
Ideas on Reducing Waste & Recycling More: Includes link to CatalogChoice.org, the new site where you can opt out of all those catalogs you get in the mail but don't want
Plastic Bags Are Evil (See also Banning Plastic Bags at Grocery Stores, below)

Resources for communities - Here is some information on what others are doing, or recommend that we can do:

Sierra Club's Cool Cities: Solving Global Warming One City at a Time
Annapolis, Hyattsville, Gaithersburg, Kensington, Rockville and Takoma Park are listed as cool cities (as of 11/11/07)
ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability
Annapolis, Chevy Chase, College Park, Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Rockville and Takoma Park are members of ICLEI (as of 11/11/07)

Resources for the home

1000 bulbs.com All kinds of Light Bulbs, Rope Lights, Halogen & Fluorescent Light Bulbs

What are our neighbors doing?

"Let's Keep Building the Great Society" - Edmonston Goes Green

Banning Plastic Bags at Grocery Stores
Annapolis Kills Plastic Bag Ban Proposal
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1107/474141.html
"The Annapolis city council has killed a proposal to ban retail use of
plastic bags. Instead, a bill that calls for a comprehensive study of the bags'
impact was introduced."

San Francisco First City to Ban Plastic Shopping Bags
Supermarkets and chain pharmacies will have to use recyclable or
compostable sacks
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/28/MNGDROT5QN1.DTL

Bill Would Make New Jersey First State to Ban Plastic Grocery Bags TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey would become the first state to ban the use of plastic grocery bags under a bill introduced in the Assembly.The measure would require supermarkets and other retailers with a minimum of 10,000 square feet of space to phase out the bags over three years. Each year as many as 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide, said Assemblyman Herb Conaway, a sponsor of the measure. (11/21/07)

Maryland Bottle Bill?
A bill in the 2007 Maryland legislature's regular session would have required a 5c deposit (and refund) on glass, aluminum and plastic beverage containers. Currently, 11 states have such laws already. The CURB (Citizens Using Resources Better) blog is devoted to this issue: http://mdbottlebill.blogspot.com/

What's being done at the state, regional and federal levels?

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI-10)

Maryland joined nine other states in this consortium of northeastern and mid-Atlantic states in 2007. RGGI-10 is developing ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions. One strategy that is in the process of being implemented is what they call a "cap-and-trade" system, where polluters (namely power utilities) have their allowable emissions capped at a certain level (which will be reduced in future years) and they can buy and sell the rights to exceed the permitted level. This provides incentives for them to be good steward-citizens while penalizing those who don't keep up. A similar (though more stringent) system is also being considered on Capitol Hill these days.

Midwest states have also signed an anti-global warming pact: Time magazine reports

Sky Trust: How to Fight Global Warming

One idea is to install a "cap and trade" system, where the polluters buy polluting rights in a federal auction, and then to distribute the proceeds of that auction equally to every resident of the U.S. (similar to what Alaska does with oil revenues). It's projected these auctions would take in somewhere between $50B and $300B per year (somewhere in there I think we've achieved "real money"). It is further estimated that the distributions to low- and middle-income households would more than make up for the direct costs they'll incur as energy costs go up as we take steps to reduce emissions and combat the effects of global warming.

Issues

Global Warming

How our high-carbon-emission lifestyle is like laying our seat backs all the way back, without regard for the guy sitting behind us on the airplane. David Sirota blogs The Last Row of the Plane.

"The seat recliner uses the public domain — in this case, space — and we have gotten used to using as much of that domain as we can, not just on planes but everywhere. This is our destructive “me” culture: Anything we want in the public sphere, we take or use, with little regard for the overall ramifications.
"A stranger reclines into your lap. Someone in a theater talks through the movie. The guy at the next table yammers so loudly on his cell phone that you can't hear your lunch companion. A passerby litters in the park. In each example, the public domain is trampled and usurped by the "me" culture. But what happens when this culture affects the really big stuff — like, say, planetary survival? It is a critical question because, according to the new book "Apollo's Fire," that's precisely what's going on."

How serious is it? The report just released by the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) amounts to what Time magazine has called a "Final Warning to Humanity." Read a summary of the report here on the Center for American Progress website.

"After a rigorous multi-stage review process that includes 2,500 scientific expert reviewers, 800 contributing authors, and 450 lead authors representing 130 countries, the IPCC warns that "all countries" will be affected by climate change if carbon emissions continue to spiral. By 2100, global average surface temperatures could rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees celsius, and carbon dioxidein the atmosphere could lead to an eventual rise in sea levels of up to 1.40 meters. With "strikingly" blunt language, the report reads like "a final warning to humanity," notes Time magazine. "What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment," declared IPCC chairman Dr. Rajendra Pachauri."

The Energy Solution: Do Something:"Conserve, invest, clean up the developing world. Repeat."

Will the costs of combating climate change adversely affect the poor?

It certainly could, in the absence of specific policies designed to offset the impact of these costs. The Center on Budget & Policy Priorities -- leading advocates for policies to protect and support low- and moderate-income Americans -- spells out its initial proposals which, if implemented, will help to "...reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in a way that does not increase poverty or otherwise harm low-income households and is fiscally responsible. The Center is beginning a major new area of work on the effects of climate-change policies on low-income households, as well as these policies’ fiscal implications."

Peak Oil - resources:

Learn about Peak Oil: "We are not running out of oil, but soon demand will outstrip supply because we will reach the maximum amount of oil that is possible to extract in a day. Learn more."
Wikipedia has a long, detailed entry on the issues surrounding "peak oil"

Transportation

Are We a 'Walking Town'?
Hiker-Biker Page
- Bike Trail Advisory Group
- Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail
On the MARC

Jobs & the Economy

Can Green Jobs Save the American Middle Class?
Green Jobs, Good Jobs On The Way? - Van Jones, TomPaine.com, 5/25/07
Green-Collar Jobs for Urban America: Oakland looks for a greener path toward prosperity -- Van Jones and Ben Wyskida, Winter 2007:Go Local!, yesmagazine.org

July 4th Celebration

dwightrholmes — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:35:37 CDT

Celebrate the 4th of July
Riverdale Park Town Center
1 - 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 4th 2009

SPONSORED BY THE
Riverdale Park Arts Council and
the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department

Fun for the entire family

Welcoming address by Police Chief "Honest Chief" Teresa Chambers

Cook out - Riverdale Volunteer Fire Dept.

Live Music-
*

Bike Raffle - generously donated by the Engaged University (UMD)

Fire truck & Emergency Vehicle Demonstrations
Fire Safety Tips
Free Blood Pressure Station

Riverdale Model Railroaders Club & their Awesome Model Trains Exhibit
CSX Special 4th of July Train Viewing

Arts Festival

Underfed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:58:28 CDT

2009

The Riverdale Park Arts Council wishes to thank everyone -- artists, sponsors, donors, volunteers, musicians, Active Cultures, Jamie the Sound Guy, Mike's Southern Cafe, the Town of Riverdale Park and its Public Works Department, and all the dedicated participants of all ages who braved the weather to come out -- who helped to make the 2nd Annual ArtsFest a success!		Celebrate the 4th of July Riverdale Park Town Center 1 - 6 p.m. Saturday, July 4th 2009 SPONSORED BY THE Riverdale Park Arts Council Fun for the entire family Welcoming address by Police Chief "Honest Chief" Teresa Chambers Cook out - Riverdale Volunteer Fire Dept. Live Music- * Don Walters * Liz Lohr & Sonny Setz Bike Raffle - generously donated by the Open University Fire truck & Emergency Vehicle Demonstrations Fire Safety Tips Free Blood Pressure Station Riverdale Model Railroaders Club & their Awesome Model Trains Exhibit CSX Special 4th of July Train Viewing

**************************************************************************************************************

The 2nd Annual Riverdale Park ArtsFest * Free Event for the Entire Family * Artists & Artisans Sales, Exhibits, Demonstrations, Workshops and more * Children's Activity Tent Hands-on activities and lessons *** An Afternoon of Outstanding Live Music! *************************** Rick Franklin Marianna Previti Honky Tonk Heart Ira Gonzalez Janine Wilson& Max Evans Eric Brooks Sound by Jamie Platt ****************************** Theatrical Performance by Active Cultures Presenting SPORTACULTURE A festival of short plays about local sports Active Cultures Theatre Puts the Art in the Game * Food by Mike's Southern Cafe * Special Evening Performance at Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation across the street from the ArtsFest Same day as Riversdale House Museum's Children Day 3 blocks away * 12 noon * $2 per person		Elephant Art

		ArtsFest List of Artists Angela Anderson * Denise Bentley * Michelle Burns (Mystic Water Soap) * Wilveria Clark * Laurie Gilkenson * Angela M. King * Gerald King * Brigitta Kral (BrigaBauble) * Robert Kraft * Kelleen Lonergraf (The Laytonsville Collection) * Patricia Merritt * Delia Mychajluk * Katie Qiao Pan * Kim M. Peterson * Sara Pollack (Arden Jewelry) * Daniele Pressoir * Jenny Seo * Isabel Smith * Tamara J. Thomas * Anastasia Trock (Fresh Stitches) * Cindy Vargas (Cindy's Creations) * Beverly Yates (Scents by Sassee) * Oswaldo Villena * Karen Wallace * Australia J. Worsley * Colette Zanin (Colette's Creations) * Bonnie Zuckerman & Brie Hebron (Picky Chicky) * Ward 7 Arts Collaborative How tweet it is! Twitter daily updates, musings, and news about the RP Arts Council and ArtsFest.

Elephant Art
About Riverdale Park Arts Council's Elephant Art Gallery
and support of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center

The Thai people who live at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC) give up all worldly
life style to dedicate themselves to caring for the elephants that cannot roam free any more due
to human encroachment.

They are doing research on what does it take to make an elephant happy living on a preserve
and meeting their physical, mental and emotional needs.

Humans always thought elephants were smart but the research now shows them to be the most
intelligent animal along side the dolphin and highly super sensitive. Humans are still learning
about the pros & cons of measuring intelligence in humans so there is a whole new science on
the horizon regarding animals intelligence.

In order to help supplement the Thai villagers income, RPAC will be selling handmade Thai
greetings cards & stationery in the Gallery & every week at the Farmers Market as part of RPAC
fund raising.

Please help support this endeavor by buying their stationery paper for art work & scrapbooking &

Greetings cards from RPAC.

Khang and Emily

***************************************************************************************************************

Photo album from ArtsFest 2008.
***************************************************************************************************************
ArtsFest happens because of the generous civic and private donations together with
the volunteer efforts of residents and friends of Riverdale Park and the arts.

Want to know how you can help? Want more information?

For information about participating in this year's event, or to inquire about
purchasing artwork displayed in the Street Gallery at Town Center,
please email rpartscouncil@gmail.com
or contact RPAC President Emily Fanning at 301-864-5561

____________________________________________________________________

The Riverdale Park Arts Council, on behalf of the entire community,
wish to thank the following sponsors for their generous support, making this event possible:

The Riverdale Park Arts Festival is organized and promoted by:

Riverdale Park Arts Council
5008 Queensbury Rd.
Riverdale Park MD 20737
301-864-5561
rpartscouncil@gmail.com

Please contact us if you have questions, would like to participate and/or would like to help!

How to Get There

The Riverdale Park ArtsFest is held at the same location as the Riverdale Park Farmer's Market,
in our Historic Town Center,
right next to the Riverdale Train Station (on the MARC Camden Line).
This is at the corner of Queensbury Rd. & Rhode Island Ave.,
and is just three blocks from the intersection of
Route 1 (Baltimore Ave.) & MD-410 (East-West Highway). There is free parking in the parking
lots on both sides of the railroad tracks.

Riverdale Park is inside the Beltway on U.S. 1, a short drive from Washington DC (to the south) and
the University of Maryland - College Park campus (just to the north).
It is surrounded by the neighboring communities
of Hyattsville, University Park, College Park, Edmonston and Bladensburg.

The market is served by the F4 Metro bus, and "The Bus" route 14. It is one mile from both Prince George's Plaza
and College Park Metro stops on Metro's Green Line.

Get driving directions via Google Maps.

History

dwightrholmes — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:59:03 CDT

General Riverdale Park MD entry in Wikipedia.com History of the Town Excerpts from The Riverdale Story: Mansion to Municipality, edited by Christina A. Davis, and published by the Town of Riverdale Park (1996). Historic Overview of Riverdale Park A chapter from the Mixed-Use Town Center (M-UTC) Plan Historical Marker Database List of Historical Markers in Riverdale & Environs A History of the Founding of Maryland Agricultural College (later UMd) with extensive discussion of the role of Charles Calvert (of Riversdale) in its founding This links to an unpublished manuscript written by George O. Weber who was the Director of Physical Plant for the University of Maryland at the College Park campus from 1946 until 1972. There's good description of the history of UMd's founding, Charles Calvert's role in that, the Prince George's County of the time, etc. Along the Old Post Road: Indian Queen Tavern (Geor ge Washington House) in nearby Bladensburg Rossborough Inn (now on University of Maryland campus, land given by Charles Benedict Calvert for what was called Maryland Agricultural College, and later became UMd-COllege Park). Cafritz Property Meet MacAlpine, or Past Lives of the Cafritz Property Airports ERCO Field (Airport) & Factory History (with photos and maps) Trains Trains: A Riverdale Railfan's photo journal of the CSX tracks, with some good historical links "Seeing a Future Along Old Tracks: History, Opportunity Intersect in Rail Town Housing," Washington Post article 7/8/06 Telegraph This unpublished work of George O. Weber, establishes that the first telegraph was actually sent from Riversdale, and that Charles Calvert not only was instrumental in the founding of Maryland Agricultural College (now UMd) but was similarly important in getting congressional support for Samuel Morse's telegraph project. Trolley Washington - Laurel Trolley	*Hyattsville - Riverdale running feud* The boundary between the towns that now runs down the middle of 43rd St. (then known as Calvert Avenue) used to run down the property line of the Riverdale residents on the east side of the street; so the entire street lay in Hyattsville. This led to confusion as to who was responsible for infrastructure maintenance and improvements, and the city of Hyattsville and some of its residents claimed that Riverdale police and fire had no jurisdiction on the street. The situation was tense enough that "the two police forces occasionally became involved in skirmishes over the dividing line." (p.68) Shots fired during high-speed chase; Riverdale Police Chief arrests Hyattsville counterpart! "[Riverdale] Chief Bailiff E.S. Aldridge, commonly referred to as "police chief" in the town minutes and newspaper articles, caused the greatest stir of the decade. As part of an ongoing feud with the Hyattsville Police Department (and after Mr. Aldridge had lost Riverdale's mayoral election by a wide margin), in August 1927, Chief Aldridge arrested Hyattsville Chief Carl M. Blanchard for reckless driving and shooting a gun in Riverdale. The Riverdalian reported that 'residents were alarmed...when two automobiles sped through the town from the direction of Hyattsville, east on Madison Avenue [Queensbury Road], through the entire limits of East Riverdale, during which chase shots were fired." Chief Blanchard had been pursuing a motorist." (p. 70) --The Riverdale Story: Mansion to Municipality, edited by Christina A. Davis, and published by the Town of Riverdale Park (1996).

General
Riverdale Park MD entry in Wikipedia.com

History of the Town
Excerpts from The Riverdale Story: Mansion to Municipality, edited by Christina A. Davis, and published by the Town of Riverdale Park (1996).

Historic Overview of Riverdale Park
A chapter from the Mixed-Use Town Center (M-UTC) Plan

Historical Marker Database List of Historical Markers in Riverdale & Environs

A History of the Founding of Maryland Agricultural College (later UMd) with extensive discussion of the role of Charles Calvert (of Riversdale) in its founding
This links to an unpublished manuscript written by George O. Weber who was the Director of Physical Plant for the University of Maryland at the College Park campus from 1946 until 1972. There's good description of the history of UMd's founding, Charles Calvert's role in that, the Prince George's County of the time, etc.

Along the Old Post Road:

Indian Queen Tavern (Geor ge Washington House) in nearby Bladensburg

Rossborough Inn (now on University of Maryland campus, land given by Charles Benedict Calvert for what was called Maryland Agricultural College, and later became UMd-COllege Park).

Cafritz Property
Meet MacAlpine, or Past Lives of the Cafritz Property

Airports
ERCO Field (Airport) & Factory History (with photos and maps)

Trains
Trains: A Riverdale Railfan's photo journal of the CSX tracks, with some good historical links

"Seeing a Future Along Old Tracks: History, Opportunity Intersect in Rail Town Housing," Washington Post article 7/8/06

Telegraph
This unpublished work of George O. Weber, establishes that the first telegraph was actually sent from Riversdale, and that Charles Calvert not only was instrumental in the founding of Maryland Agricultural College (now UMd) but was similarly important in getting congressional support for Samuel Morse's telegraph project.

Trolley
Washington - Laurel Trolley Hyattsville - Riverdale running feud
The boundary between the towns that now runs down the middle of 43rd St. (then known as Calvert Avenue) used to run down the property line of the Riverdale residents on the east side of the street; so the entire street lay in Hyattsville. This led to confusion as to who was responsible for infrastructure maintenance and improvements, and the city of Hyattsville and some of its residents claimed that Riverdale police and fire had no jurisdiction on the street. The situation was tense enough that "the two police forces occasionally became involved in skirmishes over the dividing line." (p.68)

Shots fired during high-speed chase; Riverdale Police Chief arrests Hyattsville counterpart!
"[Riverdale] Chief Bailiff E.S. Aldridge, commonly referred to as "police chief" in the town minutes and newspaper articles, caused the greatest stir of the decade. As part of an ongoing feud with the Hyattsville Police Department (and after Mr. Aldridge had lost Riverdale's mayoral election by a wide margin), in August 1927, Chief Aldridge arrested Hyattsville Chief Carl M. Blanchard for reckless driving and shooting a gun in Riverdale. The Riverdalian reported that 'residents were alarmed...when two automobiles sped through the town from the direction of Hyattsville, east on Madison Avenue [Queensbury Road], through the entire limits of East Riverdale, during which chase shots were fired." Chief Blanchard had been pursuing a motorist." (p. 70)

--The Riverdale Story: Mansion to Municipality, edited by Christina A. Davis, and published by the Town of Riverdale Park (1996).

Elephant Art

Underfed — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:02:34 CDT

On the MARC

dwightrholmes — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:19:34 CDT

SCHEDULE CHANGES Monday, May 11th - Thursday, May 28th MARC Camden Line train no. 851 that normally stops in Riverdale at 9:04 a.m. will not operate Monday through Thursday due to CSX track work. 851 will operate on Fridays ONLY during this 3 week period. MARC Train 849 (7:20 AM from Camden), normally an express train that does not stop in Riverdale, will stop (approximately 8:10 a.m.)

SCHEDULE CHANGES Monday, May 11th - Thursday, May 28th

MARC Camden Line train no. 851 that normally stops in Riverdale at 9:04 a.m. will not operate Monday through Thursday due to CSX track work. 851 will operate on Fridays ONLY during this 3 week period.

MARC Train 849 (7:20 AM from Camden), normally an express train that does not stop in Riverdale, will stop (approximately 8:10 a.m.)

from an MTA announcement of 5/7/09:

New MARC diesel to be named for Senator Mikulski

Governor O'Malley Announces New MARC Locomotives:

On Wednesday, May 6, Governor Martin O’Malley delivered on his commitment to improve service for MARC Train customers and unveiled one of 26 new MARC locomotives.

The new locomotives, to be gradually placed in service starting later this month, are more powerful, fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly than the units they will replace. At a cost of more than $100 million, the engines are a significant investment in more reliable service.

In recognition of her service to the citizens of Maryland and her support for public transportation, the first engine is named for Senator Barbara A. Mikulski.

MARC ridership hits all-time high in July: 33,000.

MARC performance has been lousy of late. Trains late, trains cancelled, MARC tracker not tracking certain trains, email alerts late and not comprehensive... MARC put out an official apology to its riders recently. The Baltimore Sun responded today (Sunday, July 27) in an editorial:

Fixing MARC

Our view: There's no excuse for the commuter line's dismal service

July 27, 2008

Maryland's rail commuters may appreciate a personal apology from the Maryland Transit Administration for delays and overcrowding on its MARC trains, but what they need is for the line to run on time and with enough cars that passengers don't feel packed in like cattle.

MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld e-mailed commuters last week to express regret for recent service he called "far below what customers expect or deserve." He also outlined what went wrong - heat-stressed tracks and equipment, power outages and reliability problems with the fleet's locomotives. Still, he left commuters to wonder exactly what the MTA planned to do about it.

To be fair, MARC's options are limited by the fact that it's not a completely independent actor. Though MARC owns its rolling stock, the trains are operated and maintained by Amtrak staff. Ditto for the tracks MARC trains use, which belong to Amtrak and CSX. When problems come up, MARC can only monitor the work it's hired Amtrak to perform.

Is this any way to run a railroad? Apparently it's not that unusual. Amtrak has similar arrangements with commuter rail services around the country that are owned by regional transit authorities. This month, for example, the managing director of the commuter line in San Francisco wrote a similar apology to customers for many of the same shortcomings MARC riders are enduring.

But with gas prices soaring and more people turning to mass transit as an alternative to driving, MARC trains are in demand. The MTA can't just throw its hands up and expect people to tough it out. Nor can Baltimore market itself to Washingtonians or to newcomers from soon-to-be-closed military bases in New Jersey and Virginia if it doesn't have reliable rail service. MARC says it's buying new locomotives this year that will cut delays and adding more cars to accommodate the increase in ridership. That's a start, and the sooner the better

As more news reports on increased mass transit ridership in Maryland, this from The Capital newspaper from Annapolis, I'm wondering where the outcry is for budget support for O'Malley's proposed improvements in MARC service. --Dwight

Ridership On MARC Lines Up 6%

Reported by: Angelique Gonzalez

Thursday, Jun 26, 2008 @08:02am EST

BRUNSWICK, MD - Maryland's transit administration said ridership on MARC trains is up in our area.

Officials said more than 32,000 people rode MARC trains last month. The MTA said that is a 6% increase over May 2007 and the fifth time since January that average daily ridership has exceeded 30,000. The Penn line was the most traveled, averaging more than 20,000 daily boardings. The Brunswick line also experienced an increase of about 8%.

The Camden line recorded an 11% gain.

As the above article notes, ridership on all MARC lines, and especially our Camden Line that serves Riverdale, is up. No surprise. Another report from WBAL-TV in Baltimore reports that "Increased MARC Ridership Clogs Up Parking"! Although we have some new riders here at our station, we're a long way from clogging up the parking lot. Can anyone say $5 gas??

Residents Say Commuters Taking Their Spots

POSTED: 6:03 pm EDT June 25, 2008

PERRYVILLE, Md. -- Many new users to the MARC train line are clogging up parking spaces in several locations, angering some local commuters who said overflow parking is taking away spaces in front of their homes. Ridership on MARC trains is at record levels due to high fuel prices, and the change is having huge effects on parking at stops such as Perryville, town residents said.

MARC Growth & Investment Plan - read about the plan as well as news articles and an editorial from the Sun and Post.

MARC train schedule (Riverdale Park & College Park)

MARC train schedule wallet version (Excel file)

MARC train tracker site Did you know you can see exactly where your train is on MARCtracker.com?

MTA/MARC website (for all route, schedule & fare information)

One of the many factors that weighed in on our decision to buy our home in Riverdale Park, was the convenience that the MARC service offered in terms of my getting to work, and leaving the car at home!

These stats about the DC Metro area come from the AAA and were published in today's Washington Post (9/4/07), Metro section, p. B2:

3.3 million vehicles in the area
Half of those -- 1.7 million -- are driven by people commuting to work alone every day!
900,000 people headed to school every day (schools and colleges)
700,000 people riding Metro (I believe that is "trips", not people)
446,000 people riding Metro's buses
70,000 people riding trains into Union Station (MARC, VRE, Amtrak)

Only 70,000?!? Wow. Obviously the MARC trains aren't convenient for everyone - but for a town like Riverdale Park, I have to think that the MARC is a very underutilized resource.

From our lovely MARC station in Town Center, it is a 10 minute ride to Union Station - for me it's then another 15 minutes by Metro to Farragut North. All told, half an hour or 35 minutes door to door, from my home on Riverdale Rd to my office in NW. I nominally pay $100 for a monthly MARC ticket and $2.70 per day (roundtrip, Union Station to Farragut North) on the Metro -- but due to Uncle Sam's penchant for providing perks to the middle class, I save a quarter of that by purchasing the tickets with pre-tax dollars through my employer. If I go to the office 20 days a month on average, that's effectively $3.60 per day for the MARC + $3.89 per day for Metro = $7.49 per day total -- and the car stays in the driveway. If I drove to work I'd pay more than that just for the parking downtown -- never mind the gas, wear and tear on the car, and increased insurance premium. And if I drove to the Metro, I'd save the $3.60 for the MARC everyday -- and use it to pay $3.50 for parking! (Plus it would cost me additional for the longer ride on Metro). [UPDATE: In 2008, Metro fares and especially Metro parking fees have gone up while MARC fares have remain unchanged: Advantage MARC! It definitely pays to walk or drive to the MARC station, use their free parking, and ride the train.]

I believe that in my one year of riding MARC to work, I was unable to get a seat just one time. And I can take my coffee on board and savor it all the way to Union Station if I want to (unlike Metro). And then there's the comraderie with all the other MARC regulars... All in all, I love my MARC!

All in all, by riding the MARC to work I find I'm saving time, I'm saving money, and I feel good knowing I'm helping the environment as well -- plus I actually enjoy and look forward to my commute, which was definitely not the case back when I used to drive to work every day.

--Dwight Holmes

MARC Growth & Investment Plan - read about the plan as well as news articles and an editorial from the Sun and Post.
--
originally posted in Riverdale Park Coffee House (blog only-BYOC)
http://rpcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/

MARC train schedule available here (for Riverdale Park & College Park)

MARC train schedule wallet version (Excel file)

MARC train tracker site Did you know you can see exactly where your train is on MARCtracker.com?

MTA/MARC website

Journalists writing about the MARC
Bar Car: Thousands of Baltimoreans Practically Live on the MARC Train—Some of Them Live It Up by Gadi Dechter,City Paper -- amusing article in which you learn the rail equivalent of the "mile-high club". Warning: This Is Not the Camden Line!

Surf Club Live!

Underfed — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:12:06 CDT

It is with great sadness that I pass on the message that Lou Rao aka"Blue Lou" passed away March 28th, 2009 from cancer.

Lou was instrumental in keeping the Surf Club alive and well for many years.

A great musician and a great friend to anyone who knew him.

We all miss you Lou!

2009 Election Results

dwightrholmes — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:09:42 CDT

2009 VOTE TALLIES MAYORAL & COUNCIL Total: 220 ballots cast		NUMBER OF CANDIDATES, NUMBER OF VOTES CAST & NUMBER OF UNCONTESTED SEATS IN WARD REPRESENTATIVE RACES 1999-2009
OFFICE	VOTES RECEIVED
Mayor
Vernon Archer	183
Ward 1 Representative
Alice Ewen Walker	61
Ward 2
Alan Thompson	47
Ward 3
David Lingua	43
Ward 4
Christopher Henry	38
Ward 5
Raymond Rivas	19
Ward 6
Keelah Allen-Smith	4
*Total votes cast for council*	212

Data for above chart:

Mayoral	1999	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009
No. candidates	2	2	2	2	1	1
Votes cast	838	971	793	841	424	183

Ward Council
No. candidates	13	11	10	9	8	6
Seats with 1 or 0 candidates	0	1	2	3	3	6
No.					1
Votes cast	832	965	778	809	496	212

Ward votes as percentage of mayoral votes	99%	99%	98%	96%	117%	116%

NUMBER OF VOTES CAST IN MAYORAL AND WARD REPRESENTATIVE ELECTIONS
BY CANDIDATE, 1999-2009

TOWN OF RIVERDALE PARK	REGULAR ELECTIONS							SPECIAL ELECTIONS
	Number of votes cast
Mayoral	1999	2001	2003	2005	2007	2009	Average	2005 Dec	2006 Feb
Candidate 1	527	450	450	478	424	183
Candidate 2	311	521	343	363	-	-

Total Mayoral	838	971	793	841	424	183	675

Ward 1
Candidate 1	141	126	138	243	89	61		100	121
Candidate 2	32	82	130	54	119	-		88	30
Candidate 3								32	2
Total votes cast	173	208	268	297	208	61	203	220	153

Ward 2
Candidate 1	111	128	167	164	79	47
Candidate 2	58	123	59	73	-	-

Total votes cast	169	251	226	237	79	47	168

Ward 3
Candidate 1	78	127	106	114	97	43
Candidate 2	70	83	86	79	48	-
Candidate 3	71				1	-
Total votes cast	219	210	192	193	146	43	167

Ward 4
Candidate 1	127	139	65	53	35	38
Candidate 2	34	66	-	-	-	-

Total votes cast	161	205	65	53	35	38	93

Ward 5
Candidate 1	29	31	14	12	-	19
Candidate 2	19		0	-	-	-

Total votes cast	48	31	14	12	0	19	21

Ward 6
Candidate 1	47	35	13	17	9	4
Candidate 2	15	25	-	-	19	-

Total votes cast	62	60	13	17	28	4	31

All Wards	832	965	778	809	496	212	682

Elected Officials Contact Information

dwightrholmes — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:39:24 CDT

Mayor

Vernon Archer
4510 Oliver Street
Riverdale Park, MD 20737

Cell Phone: (240)832-2257 (preferred)
Home Phone: (301)927-1281

mayor@ci.riverdale-park.md.us

Town Council Members

Ward Boundary Map

Election Results

The mayor and council members are serving terms that run from May 2009 through May 2011.

Ward 1

Alice Ewen Walker
4705 Oliver Street
Riverdale Park, MD 20737

Cell Phone: (301) 379-5303 (and voice mail)
Home Phone: (301) 699-3999

ward1@ci.riverdale-park.md.us

Ward 2

ALAN THOMPSON
4711 Sheridan Street
Riverdale Park, MD 20737
Home: 301-927-7407
Email:twacks@gmail.com

Ward 3

David Lingua
5902 Riverside Dr
Riverdale, MD 20737-2044

Home phone: (301) 779-3849
ward3@ci.riverdale-park.md.us

Ward 4

CHRISTOPHER HENRY
Riverdale Park, MD 20737
Cell: 301-910-9855
Fax: 301-474-3246
Email: chenry3240@verizon.net

Ward 5

RAYMOND RIVAS
5309 Riverdale Road
Riverdale Park, MD 20737
Home: 301-625-9435
Email: rrivas@wcsmith.com

Ward 6
KEELAH ALLEN-SMITH
5410 Kenilworth Terrace #1
Riverdale Park, MD 20737
Cell: 240 751-6688
Email: keelahd@yahoo.com

Election Results

dwightrholmes — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:37:29 CDT

Election Results

Elections

dwightrholmes — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:32:10 CDT

Next town elections will be Monday, May 2, 2011.

Results from the 2009 municipal elections, along with historical data for elections back to 1999, are here.

Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail

dwightrholmes — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:30:09 CDT

What Should We Name the Trail?

This update on the trail was written by Fred Schaeffer of M-NCPPC and published in the February 2009 edition of Town Crier.

Planning Continues for the Extension of the Trolley Trail

Several segments of the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail have been completed by the City of College Park. Local and area master plans have long called for the extension of this rail-trail project to both the north and the south of College Park. Recently, funding was placed in the M-NCPPC budget to complete a planning and design study for the Riverdale Park and Hyattsville segments of the trail corridor. M-NCPPC has used the money to hire a consultant team headed by Toole Design Group and Sabra, Wang & Associates, Inc. The consultant team has worked closely with M-NCPPC, Riverdale Park, Hyattsville, and Councilman Olsen’s office to develop a Concept Trail Plan and 30% design drawings for the trail corridor.

The concept report and design plans evaluate alternative alignments and layouts for the trail, as well as incorporate trail related amenities and features such as trailheads, lighting, and community access. The Riverdale Park portion of the trail will be within the abandoned trolley right-of-way, while further to the south in Hyattsville the trail will be within the narrow linear open space on the east side of US 1, as indicated on the map below. The trail will serve as an important link in the area’s trail network and provide Riverdale Park residents with access to the larger regional trail network. The southern terminus of the trolley trail will connect to the existing Northwest Branch Stream Valley Trail. To the north, the Riverdale Park segment of the trail will connect into the existing College Park segment of the trail and the Paint Branch Stream Valley Trail.

By adding connectivity to the local trail system, it is also anticipated that the trail will be a viable option for some transportation trips. The trail will provide access to the approved EYA development, the Riverdale Park Town Center, College Park Metro, and several local parks. Although the design is still being finalized, it is hoped that the completion of the 30% design drawings will make the project eligible for federal transportation enhancement funds that can be utilized for trails that serve a transportation function.

Riverdale Park will continue to work with M-NCPPC, the consultants, and other area stakeholders to develop a plan for a first class trail that will enhance the usability of the overall trails network, provide access to area destinations and mass transit, and improve the walkability of local neighborhoods and communities. In addition to providing recreational opportunities, it is anticipated that the trail will also serve as a multi-modal transportation connection for Riverdale Park and surrounding communities. The M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation has funding in the FY 2009 Capital Improvement Program to complete the design work and construct initial phases of the trail. Fred Shaffer of the M-NCPPC Planning Department can be reached at 301-952-3661 for additional information on this important project.

Planned Trolley Trail alignment	The trail will improve access to destinations such as the Riverdale MARC and Bladensburg Waterfront Park (above).

Planned Trolley Trail alignment

The trail will improve access to destinations such as the Riverdale MARC and Bladensburg Waterfront Park (above).

Running errands, leaving the car at home!
Dwight Holmes

Hiker-Biker Page

dwightrholmes — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:28:13 CDT

Update on the Trolley Line Trail - What Shall We Name the Trail?

Someday -- assuming continued good efforts from our elected officials and local enthusiasts -- you'll be able to get on your bike and casually ride down to Franklin's, or Busboys & Poets, or up to College Park Bike Shop -- or anywhere else between Ch. Armentrout Rd in Hyattsville and MOM's and REI in North College Park -- on the Trolley Line Bike Trail. Here's a picture of the trail -- now a dirt path -- leaving Town Center headed north towards the Cafritz Property. Envision in its place a nice, wide, well-lit (and hopefully still green!) paved surface ferrying commuters, shoppers, students and folks just out for a stroll or ride between Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, University Park, College Park, and the UMd Campus, as well as to and from the Metro and MARC stations.

Here's a link to a Google Map of the entire route of the proposed hiker-biker trail: Map of Riverdale Park MD Trolley Hiker-Biker Trail; see more hiker-biker links, below.

Wheels of Fortune

Riverdale Park is extremely fortunate, being right on the Northeast Branch Trail of the Anacostia Tributary Trail system. (It's one of the reasons we wanted to live here.) This also places us right on the East Coast Greenway, which follows the Northwest and Northeast Branch Trails, and then the Indian Head Creek Trail up to Greenbelt Rd -- and beyond. All of this means that we have easy access to an entire network of trails that are ideal for recreational purposes. The proposed Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail will contribute enormously to making this a truly biker-friendly place to live, by making it convenient and safe to run errands around town while leaving the car in the driveway. But there is much more that we can do as well. For example, Rob Oppenheim earlier suggested designating at least one on-road bike lane that would provide a safe connecting route between the Northeast Branch Trail and the Trolley Line Trail. (I would think it makes sense to choose a route that aligns with the new Anacostia Trails signage in town).

The Hyattsville Bikers Unite group has made important strides towards Hyattsville someday being a safer, friendlier place to walk and cycle. You can see some of what they've accomplished on the Hyattsville Wiki site here: Hyattsville Bikers Unite. Riverdale Park is much more than just our Town Center. If some of us dedicate ourselves to the task, perhaps we can improve the safety conditions on our roads and sidewalks all over town -- including Kenilworth Ave and perhaps even Route 1!

And here's a powerpoint presentation on the Hyattsville end of the Trolley Line trail -- as part of the broader Hyattsville Legacy Trail, Concept Plan (PowerPoint) 2/17/04 - includes Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail.

Please share any ideas you have on how to make our town a safer place to live, walk, and ride.

Biking to Work

Some folks are biking to work from our area -- and some of these helpful, community-minded folks are using the Gmap site to plot and measure their route on a Google map. Here are a few that have been done:

Marc Molino's Riverdale Park to Chinatown:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1103282
Jim Groves' Hyattsville to Logan Circle - Scott Circle
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1100960
Anne Villeacres: Hyattsville to Bethesda

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1100912

Alice Ewen Walker's Riverdale Park to College Park

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1411753

What are your favorite rides?

Please share your favorite (or most-hated) rides. Where you go, why you like it. What wildlife do you see? Map it, too, if you desire, and share the link here.

Riverdale Park to the end of Northwest Branch Trail (paved portion) and return via UMd Campus and River Rd [15.8 miles, Dwight Holmes] What a gorgeous ride the upper end of Northwest Branch Trail is. The middle six miles of this route, up from the University Ave crossing to the Beltway and back, are pretty spectacular. The creek travels mostly in a pretty deep ravine, and the trail follows it pretty closely. It's like a mini-Rock Creek Park - you really can't ever see any of the houses above you, on either side of the trail (this isn't true once the leaves fall, of course, but even then the feeling of seclusion endures). And the tunnel crossings of Riggs, New Hampshire and Piney Branch take you through true Kodak moments. I know the NW Branch Trail continues on beyond the Beltway, but it looks like you'd want a mountain bike for that portion of the trail. If you simply reversed your route along the NW and NE Branch trails to home, the ride would be 18 miles. Leaving the NW trail at University and coming home through campus and the pedestrian tunnel at the College Park MARC station makes the ride shorter by about two miles, but does give you the uphill between University and Adelphi. You can find photos of the Montgomery County portion of the trail (north of Piney Branch) at Neighbors of the Northwest Branch home page.

Riverdale Park to Cherry Hill Rd (via Paint Branch Trail) and back [14 miles, Dwight Holmes]
This is our regular ride - Northeast Trail to Lake Artemesia, Paint Branch Trail through campus and up to its end (Cherry Hill Rd), and home. Actually, the roundtrip distance is a bit less than 14 miles if you take the short side around Lake Artemesia on the way home (as we do). We don't seem to get tired of this trail at all (and Michelle rides part of the same route up to College Park to go to work and back too).
Wildlife: We regularly see deer and rabbits. These days (summer '07) I think we've seen deer every single time out. I can't think of a day we didn't see at least one. On the section of the Paint Branch Trail between the RxR tracks and Rt 1 we usually see a family of deer -- and they don't seem to be bothered by our presence at all.
(I once saw a fox in this area -- just after crossing the Trolley Line trail and heading into the woods between there and Rt. 1. But only once, and it's been a while).

There's an odd critter that lives near College Park airport. Perhaps a groundhog? It seems quite large. It lives in a rotting log on the west side of trail, just before the sharp turn at the end of the runway.
Of course there are the rabbits (almost always visible along the banks of Lake Artemsia on the south/west side (Paint Branch Trail side), and also near the soccer field just north of Metzerott, between Metzerott and University.

Riverdale Park - Greenbelt Park-Lake Artemesia Loop (10.5 miles, Dwight Holmes)

We just tried this for the first time. Quite a shock -- we get spoiled with the lovely but flat Anacostia system trails. There are a couple of pretty good climbs -- the first one up Good Luck Rd to Parkdale High School, then one or two more inside the park. It's gotta be good for us, right? Next time it will seem easier... There are other ups and downs inside the park of course, but the first uphill was the killer. (though I doubt it's really any more of a climb than what we get in Rock Creek Park -- we just weren't prepared for it, I think.
Wildlife: We did the trip at midday -- not a time we usually expect to see much wildlife. We saw a single deer inside Greenbelt Park -- just as we passed a "Deer crossing" sign. Then we saw another single deer just as we were leaving Lake Artemesia, before the high-arched bridge before the airport. And of course, the proverbial rabbits along the side of Artemesia were there too.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1135196

Riverdale Park - Takoma Park (downtown) (8.1 miles one-way) [Northeast Branch-Northwest Branch-Sligo Creek Trails + city streets in Takoma Park]

The Sligo Creek trail would be great if it weren't for the three grade crossings on busy, main roads that come in quick succession: Riggs Rd., East-West Hwy, and New Hampshire Ave!

Hiker - Biker Links

Media (articles, etc.)

Without a Car, Suburbanites Tread in Peril

Loudoun Residents Blaze Their Own Risky Trails Where Sidewalks and Bike Paths Are Lacking
By Michael Alison Chandler, Washington Post, Monday, July 16, 2007

Mass Transit

Links to Bicycle/Advocacy Organizations

Mapping

Map out and measure your route using Gmap -- and save the map, too.

Local Bike Shops

Arrow Bicycles (Hyattsville)
College Park Bikes (College Park)
Proteus Bicycles (College Park)
Mt. Rainier Bicycle Co-op (Mt. Rainier)
REI (College Park)
The Bicycle Place (Silver Spring)

What Shall We Name the Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail?

dwightrholmes — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:27:36 CDT

A trail is a trail by any other name... but shouldn't this trail have a name that's easy to remember, easy to say, and resonates with the history of our town and our pride in it (and in this trail)?

I posted this to TownTalk on May 4th, 2009

I'm not sure why I should be thinking ahead to the day our new bike
trail is operational on such a rainy, dreary day, but so be it. I
finally got around to posting the update on the trolley trail that was
published in the February 2009 Town Crier, complete with map and photo
(that were not included in the Crier). You can find it here, on the
Wiki: http://rpwiki.wetpaint.com/page/Trolley+Line+Hiker-Biker+Trail

There are several reasons why I think it will be absolutely fantastic
to have this trail available for the use of pedestrians and bikers.
For me, first and foremost is that it will really make biking a viable
alternative to the car for doing errands, going out to eat, have a
beer, etc. We are currently blessed with a great network of trails
that, while some do indeed use them for commuting purposes, are
largely used for recreational purposes. And of course there's nothing
whatsoever wrong with having recreational bike trails -- au contraire.
More is better! But to be able to add to that the ready ability to
hop on the bikes and get to any of the business establishments
starting with Rhode Island Reds to the south up to any of the many
establishments in "downtown College Park" to our north will really
enhance our lives here in Riverdale Park, I believe.

I only have one question: What will we call the trail? I fear that it
will inherit some long and cumbersome bureaucratic name, as a result
of its history. Since it will subsume the old alignment of the
Trolley Line, it is perhaps natural to incorporate that into the name.
You'll note that the M-NCPCC refers to it in the February 2009 update as
the "Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail". And I suppose it could be
worse. But I believe it could be better. What do you think? I also
fear that if we do nothing proactively, it will end up with a long,
bureaucratic name that will be too long to use, and then we'll be
reduced to calling it the "bike trail," only to cause confusion since
we already have "the bike trail" a few blocks to the east (Northeast
Branch Trail).

One idea I've had is to tie the route into some even older history of
our area. When Riversdale was one of the few things on the local map,
it shared that distinction with the George Washington House (now home
to the Anacostia Watershed Society offices) and the Rossborough House,
which is now part of the campus of UMd. The old highway that
connected Bladensburg to Baltimore and served these 3 historical
buildings was known -- as best as I can tell from available online
documents, was the "Old Post Road." (There may well have been other
old names as well -- do you know of any?). Although the alignment of
that old 'goat path' highway may not precisely coincide with our
soon-to-be hiker-biker trail, I think it would be a great way to bring
in a bit of local history. Painted arrows or footprints (or whatever)
could direct tourists from each of the historical places to the trail
itself, and the trail could be marked with "street signs" that say Old
Post Road (or Old Post Road Trail); the signs likely would be brown,
to denote historical significance. That's one idea.

Another idea plays off the "Alt 1" and "Route 1" highways we have.
Since this trail is by definition "green" since it uses "alternative
power", we ought to be able to come up with a short, sweet, succinct
name for the trail that connotes "alternative," "green" and Route 1
(since it parallels, and provides an alternative route to that ugly,
unbikeable street 2 blocks to the west!) I welcome suggestions for
exactly what the name could be. "Alt 1 Green"? 'Alt Green Trail"?
???????????

Creatively done, this could perhaps even help attract some grant
funding - at least for the signs and historical plaques and trail
markings.

It could also provide a more unique and prestigious address to our
Town Center businesses. Currently there is great ambiguity as to
whether these buildings are on Queensbury Rd. or Rhode Island Avenue.
Why not have them be on Old Post Road? or Alt-1 Green?
--Dwight Holmes

Where to dine & drink

dwightrholmes — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:24:29 CDT

Tara Thai to open restaurant in Hyattsville

Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb Staff Reporter

Tara Thai has leased space for a new restaurant at Arts District Hyattsville, a 25-acre mixed-use development along Route 1 in Maryland.

This will be Tara Thai’s tenth location in the D.C. area and its first one in Prince George’s County. The restaurant will offer gourmet seafood and traditional curry dishes, alongside a full sushi bar.

Bethesda-based developer EYA will start the retail construction this fall, and retailers should be open by the end of 2009.

Tara Thai is the fifth business to commit, with other tenants to include Busboys and Poets, Weight Watchers, Woodmont Dry Cleaners and Hyatts Market.

Please add your favorite places to the lists below,
and add reviews and comments to the places already listed.

(There are two lists below, first coffee houses, then restuarants...)

Got Jo? - Where's your favorite place to get a cup of coffee?

-- I hate saying this but I require convenience and high quality coffee in the neighborhood for me to be satisfied with a coffee place. None of the current offerings fit my qualifications yet. I'm still hopeful we'll get the right combination soon.
-Jim C.

--I hear you, Jim! Right now, Starbucks in College Park wins out just because of proximity to home. If I want to sit with my laptop or a book, though, I do go to the College Perk, esp in daylight -- the outdoor tables are nice. We usually only get to the New Deal before a movie at Old Greenbelt -- and the new "policy" of not letting you bring in New Deal coffee to the theater sure put a damper on that routine! All won't be entirely well til we have coffee brewing in Town Center! --Dwight H.

Shagga Coffee & Restaurant, Rt 1 (in the old doughnut shop). 6040 Baltimore Ave, 6 am - 9 pm. 7-days/week. 240-296-3030.

I had an excellent Cappuccino today (Aug 23, 2008) and was thrilled to get it in a fancy ceramic mug - so much nicer than paper/plastic. Their kitchen is now open and I enjoyed a half dozen delicious sambusas (a thin crispy dough filled with vegies and/or chicken/beef etc.). Also served on a beautiful ceramic plate. The owners (Adamu and his wife Kelem) are from Ethiopia and logically enough feature Ethiopian cuisine. Since I had two dogs with me, I ate outside and several people came out to greet me and the dogs. Everyone was very friendly.

Coffee starts at $1.45 with Cappuccino from $2.65. Fruit smoothies from $3.50, Sambusas $1.50 each (cheaper by the dozen at $12 or half dozen at $7.50). Breakfast from $2.25 for an egg sandwich ($3.95 for eggs with ham, bacon or sausage and cheese). Weekday lunch specials are available 11am-3pm M-F for $6.95. Dinners from $7.50 to $12.95 (vegetarian, chicken, lamb, and beef entrees available). For the brave, they even offer steak tarter! (available raw or cooked). They have beer, wine and spirits and offer catering too. ~Rob

Click here for a Shagga Coupon - 25% off food and coffee.

Artmosphere Cafe, Rt. 1 in Mt. Rainier

In Gentrifying Mount Rainier, Some Artmosphere -Washington Post review 11/22/07

College Perk, Rt. 1 in North College Park

NOTE: July 4, 2008: Temporarily closed due to a fire on the premises - Chris hopes to reopen by mid-August

For a more off-beat approach to lunch, this is actually one of my favorite places to get work done. The food is great too. Just barely north of 193 on Route 1, a bit south of Seven Seas. May be a bit "funky" for some.... –Sarah
Absolutely, I agree Sarah. And they've got free wi-fi. A very good option for vegetarians, by the way. I particularly enjoy the outdoor seating in good weather during the day, and the music indoors at night. Really makes me wish we had a place to stage music for local artists in Town Center! Oh, yeah, and did somebody mention coffee too? --Dwight

New Deal Cafe, Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt

- The New Deal has changed hands, and is no longer a coffee house. They still have live entertainment, and feature a middle eastern menu. Check out there website here.

RESTAURANTS

In Riverdale Park

Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue)

Calvert House Inn

6211 Baltimore Ave
Riverdale, MD 20737
301-864-5220
11:30 am - 10 pm Mon-Sat
11:30 am - 9 pm Sun
Menu

Article announcing Calvert House re-opening in The Gazette 4/13/06

Calvert House - love crabcakes. But is expensive & only for special occasions. They need a regular menu for dinner that is equal in price to Platos in College Park. --Emily

Great crabcakes! -- Jim C.

Calvert House is reliable, great crabcakes. -- Nancy A.

Shagga
See Shagga above (under coffee). They are now more of a restaurant than a coffee shop with fine Ethiopian Cuisine.

Kenilworth Avenue

The New Surf Club Live!

4711 Kenilworth Ave, Hyattsville, MD
(301)927-6310
www.SurfClubLive.com

The Surf Club is under new management and is still the premier venue in the area for live musical performances. Check http://www.surfclublive.com for our up to date schedule. A neighborhood bar and friendly "road house". Come by and enjoy a show or have a beer and shoot a game of pool after work!

Alamo Restaurant (Mexican)

5510 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale, MD 20737
301-927-8787

Alamo - great food, like the people & atmosphere. But due to our diets we do not go there a lot but used to. --Emily

I've been to Alamo twice, and both times they had two older gentlemen
playing guitar and singing, very nice. --Nancy A.

I've had takeout from Alamo once, and the food was good, not great. It beats fast food Mexican, but there are better sit down restaurants.
-- Zuchinibut

Not Mexican but Tex-Mex -- and not the greatest Tex Mex.

Here's a review from the Washington Post from 2004:
Alamo Restaurant "Editor's Pick"

see also County provides alternatives to Tex-Mex restaurants in the Gazette

El Bucanas Cafe

5409 Kenilworth Ave.,
Riverdale Park, MD 20737
301-209-9699
Washington Post review

Pollo Fiesta (Peruvian style Rotisserie chicken plus Mexican foods)

6408 Kenilworth Ave, Riverdale, Md 20737
(Bright yellow building, on the west side of Kenilworth, about 3 blocks north of E-W hwy).
301-277-0298
Open 7-days/week, 11 am-10 pm.

Excellent food. Freshly made. I was very pleasantly surprised. Even the mixed vegies were fresh and delicious.

Pollo Fiesta has a wide range of prices, most very reasonable. As an example, Burritos with guacamole and sour cream $7.25. Enchiladas are about the same. 1/4 chicken $6 (includes 2 sides) or 1/2 chicken (w/2 sides) $7.25, Grilled fish $14, Steak and shrimp $13.50, Seafood combo (fish, shrimp, lobster) $21, Steak and seafood (shrimp & lobster) $23. Lunch specials (M-F 11am-3pm) $6.25.

Other raving reviews:

Washington Post
http://www.yelp.com/biz/49aR5Wq1UjE2xPIlq1RNjw (4 and 5 stars).

(Excerpts: Craig says: "Their Peruvian style burritos are to die for. The steak burrito is enormous (much bigger than Chipotle)." Ethan says: "Don't let it's boxy-warehouse-meets-McDonalds exterior fool you, the inside is clean and more upscale than would be expected."

Dannielle Glaros recently wrote a very positive review of Pollo Fiesta in the Town Crier.

Some of the menu is online here: http://www.comedorlatino.com/pollofiesta.html along with a map and a picture of the building (which is a bit ugly on the outside, but reasonably nice on the inside). -Rob

We haven't eaten in, but have gotten their rotisserie chicken for take-out, and it's excellent! -- Dwight UPDATE: OK, we finally ate in! Nice place, nice people,. good service, varied menu. The tamales are wonderful. Nothing else we had quite lived up to the standards of their rotisserie chicken, but that's just one try. There are a lot of choices on the menu, so I'm sure we'll give another try.
Pollo Fiesta rocks because they've found the magical combo of style (inside only), food quality, and overall value I look for. Try the pupusas and tamales also.--Jim C.
Tried Pollo Fiesta for the first time with their half chicken and a chicken chimichanga. Very impressed with both meals and excited to try some more things on their menu. --Zuchinibut

Taqueria Tres Reyes
- 5403 Kenilworth Ave.,Riverdale Park, MD 20737
  301-779-6060

Washington Post review by Tom Sietsema (2004)

"Korean Restaurant" (formerly Yi Jo, the Korean restaurant that used to be at Days Inn in CP.Now right next door to the Alamo, under the sign that says "Sports Bar" -- there own sign is only in Korean as of this writing 2/14/08))
- Get the bibimbap in the stone crock. Yum. --Regina
- Very delicious Korean food, no change in atmosphere from Alamo's bar (numerous large screen tv's) but if you can live with the incongruity, it's worth a trip over! --Jim C.
- We ate there last night (2/13/08) and had a truly wonderful meal. Ditto what Jim said on the contradictions -- we had American Idol showing on 3 big screen tv's while we ate -- but I'd have to say this is easily the best restaurant food I've had within the borders of Riverdale Park. Thanks to everyone on TownTalk for singing its praises and getting us to try it out! -- Dwight
- We ate there last weekend. Never tasted Korean food before - but it was very good. Nice to have a diff. flavor. We will definitely be a regular there. Emily, Del, Michael

Here's a 2004 review from The Gazette

NEW PHONE NUMBER: 301-927-8888
NEW Address: approximately 5512 Kenilworth Ave (the Alamo is 5510)

In the Area

Hyattsville

Franklin's Brewpub and General Store:

Great food of the "generic americana" variety - though that doesn't do it justice - the chef is very creative. (Be forewarned, the website is dreadful, but it will give you an idea of the options.) About 1 mile south of campus on Route 1. –Sarah

Franklin's has really good bar food, but the entrees are worth skipping --Nancy A.
I *love* the mussels; everything else seems to be hit or miss. Too bad, love the atmosphere, am in awe of what Franklin's has done for our whole area. I think we go out of loyalty, not for the food. Always hoping that'll change in the future. --Dwight
Washington Post review by Nancy Lewis, The Guide, April 26, 2007
The atmosphere at Franklin's is great. I've always enjoyed my visits there. The beer is decent, but a bit hoppy for my liking. The food is really good, and I look forward to seeing what their specials are. --Zuchinibut

Edmonston Rd (off Kenilworth Avenue)

La Sirenita (look for the blue mermaid on the sign; a small place on the left side of the road as you drive south on Edmonston Rd, coming from Riverdale Park)

4911 Edmonston Road
Hyattsville (isn't this really in Edmonston?)
301-864-0188

I love this place for its chile rellenos, which are to die for. The atmosphere is great too -- picture menus on the wall, Latin tunes on the juke box, and Mexican soaps on the satellite tv! --Dwight

The Post puts in a good word for their burritos here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=cityguide/profile&id=1119908
and the Gazette gives a full review (1/12/06), County provides alternatives to Tex-Mex restaurants

Bladensburg (Kenilworth Avenue)

Beijing Palace
- Chinese, sushi and sub, carry out, Kenilworth Av,Bladensburg--Jonah
Three Brothers, Italian, on Kenilworth Av Bladensburg (near Beijing
Palace) --Jonah
El Tapatio (4309 Kenilworth Ave, Bladensburg) is one of my favorites --Nancy A. I second that! (tho I thought it was RP) --ReginaK

College Park

Hanami Restaurant (Japanese):

- Sushi, tempura, teriyaki. This is my absolute favorite restaurant in the area. Extremely close to CASL (behind the Fire Station on Route 1.) --Sarah

Seven Seas (Chinese, sushi):

They have good vegetarian options, food is okay. Also nearby (between U of MD and 193/University on Route 1.) To be honest, I haven't yet found a nearby Chinese restaurant that I really love. Silver Spring/Wheaton has much better hoices. –Sarah

Chinese and sushi, College Park Balt Blvd --daily lunch
buffet, dim sum on Sunday --Jonah

College Perk Coffehouse:

- For a more off-beat approach to lunch, this is actually one of my favorite places to get work done. The food is great too. Just barely north of 193 on Route 1, a bit south of Seven Seas. May be a bit "funky" for some.... –Sarah
- Absolutely, I agree Sarah. A very good option for vegetarians, by the way. I particularly enjoy the outdoor seating in good weather during the day, and the music indoors at night. Really makes me wish we had a place to stage music for local artists in Town Center! Oh, yeah, and did somebody mention coffee too? --Dwight
- Fun hangout with activities on many nights. --Jim C.

China Buffet
- on Rt 1 - all you can eat & has crab legs/shrimp. I like the flavor of their food but it is full of MSG which I cannot have. They did not use to have MSG in their food but do now. The price is right but we cut back going. People nice to us. Big lines sometimes on weekends. --Emily

Plato's Diner
- We eat there a lot cause of the prices but I do not like the food much but Del does as he likes vinegar & Greek food. –Emily
Coffee Shop/Cafe on Rt 1 by Md. Univ. - they have so many teas to choose from. --Emily
Food Factory - "Afghan, Pakastani, Indian, Iranian, Turkish and
Bangladesh" -- shish kabob, fresh baked nan, and some good vegetarian
dishes. in College Park (Near Hanami Japanese restaurant) --Jonah
Curry Express
- OUT OF BUSINESS: You see! The free market works! (Dwight)
- carry out Indian, great curry etc College Park (in the
  old White Tower Hamburger joint. (check out their website:
  dabbawalli.com and read about the lunch delivery industry in Bombay.) --Jonah
- I'd love this place to be awesome; unfortunately I've found the quality to pretty much match the price (cheap). anyway, nice to have it as an option! The people are very friendly. --Dwight

94th Aero Squadron

5240 Paint Branch Parkway,
College Park, MD 20740
301-699-9400

Washington Post review

I love AeroSquadron as food is always good & the atmosphere is wonderful - fireplace, music etc. But is expensive for special occasions. --Emily

Yi Jo, the Korean restaurant at Days Inn in CP. Get the bibimbap in the stone crock. Yum. --Regina NOTE: Yi Jo has moved to Riverdale Park -- directly next door to the Alamo; as of now the sign is only in Korean! see reviews above--Dwight 2/13/08

Greenbelt

Beijing in Old Greenbelt Mall by movies

Beijing Of Greenbelt.
131 Centerway,
Greenbelt, MD
Tel: (301) 345-3996

- great food, spoil you rotten & prices higher than Plato but not too bad. We eat here a lot. --Emily

Secret Chef [Thai] on Greenbelt Road –

5810 Greenbelt Rd.
Greenbelt MD 20770
301-345-6101

Good Food but on the expensive side. Nice people. –Emily
Got takeout one time, but my brother, wife and I were not impressed. - Zuchinibut

Siri's Chef's Secret: - We all know this nearby Thai restaurant on 193 east of Route 1. --Sarah

Ya know, I try to be charitable in these matters. But we just did takeout from Secret Chef last night... I've probably had their food 20 times over 6 or 7 years -- you get desperate for Thai food every now & then, but sometimes it's just not practical to drive up to Wheaton... I can safely say with certainty, I've never had a single dish from them that makes you go 'wow.' And more often than not, the food's just mediocre, at best. Last night's was a definite mediocre. For starters theBasil Delight had exactly 3 little leaves of basil in amongst the beef, which was tough. Not much delight in that. Spices were just strong enough to let you know 'this is Thai food,' but just that. I've often thought the nice thing about Thai restaurants in this country (vs Chinese) is that they don't go overboard in Americanizing their cooking. Sure, it's not near as hot as it would be in Thailand, but most restaurants here give you a full portion of flavors -- but not at this restaurant, not in my experience. The pad thaiwas decent enough, nothing to write home about (unless your home is on the Wiki ;-). I wish it weren't so. I'd love to drool over every item on their menu... --Dwight 12/19/07

New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt - good desserts & healthy foods - like the music/art plus the music outside that we can sit around and listen to. --Emily

Further Afield

Prince George’s County

Langley Park

Tiffin (North Indian) (sister restaurant to Udupi Palace (South Indian))

Really fabulous Indian food, but a bit more of a trek (on University just before New Hampshire.) --Sarah

One of the three very good Indian restaurants at the Langley Park intersection; but this one really is outstanding. I lived in South Asia for 13 years, and I’ve tried out more than a few Indian restaurants in the U.S. and Canada over the years. I really don’t know another place that serves consistently better food (and at very reasonable prices) than Tiffin. We’re very fortunate to have them so close. --Dwight

I hate to pile on but this is by far one of the best Indian restaurants in the DC area (especially for the price). --Jim C.

Woodlands(South Indian)

Really excellent, all vegetarian. Atmosphere is not as fancy as Tiffin but the prices are much lower and the hospitality and service is just as great, if not better. Checkout the restaurant review in Washingtonian. Located in the shopping plaza caddy corner from Udupi. Tell the owner, Anand Pujuray, that you are from Riverdale Park and want him to open another restaurant here. He attended the Town's June '08 open house in our Town Center and expressed some interest in one of Jemal's buildings. - Alice

Adelphi

Golden Bull

9107 Riggs Rd
Adelphi, MD 20783
(301) 439-4800
I like their beef. Many years ago I used to go there for company dinners. But have not been there in retirement years. --Emily

Seabrook

Jerry's Seafood in Seabrook. Crab Bomb and crab cakes are wonderful. But it is expensive but well worth it - for special occasions only - big lines.

Montgomery County

Wheaton

Ruan Thai

11407 Amherst Ave.
Wheaton, MD 20902
301.942.0075
Washington Post review

My very favorite Thai restaurant in the Metro area. Never been disappointed, A true "hole in the wall" kind of place; family operated, very friendly. Nothing fancy whatsover (though they did upgrade the menus a year or so ago!)
--Dwight

I really like Ruan Thai in Silver Spring (it's a dive though, but the
food is great)... --Sarah W.

Read what the Chowhounds have to say about Ruan Thai (and Dusit Thai)-- if you are not familiar with chowhound.com and you like eating out -- well, you're in for a treat.

...or Dusit Thai (nicer atmosphere). -- Sarah W.

Dusit Thai Cuisine
2404 University Blvd W
Wheaton, MD 20902-4510
Phone: 301-949-4140

Note: Strange as it may seem, I found this note re Dusit Thai at: "Takeout is not available from Dusit Thai Cuisine."

Rockville

Clyde’s - up towards Rockville 270 off Montrose Rd./Old Georgetown Rd area - done up in the Adirondack atmosphere - - the food was expensive but to die for and I would go back there in a flash - for special occasion. --Emily

Frederick County

Cozy Inn - Thurmont Md.

The Cozy Restaurant
103 Frederick Road
Thurmont, MD 21788
Phone: (301) 271-7373

Cozy Buffet is absolutely wonderful - best we have found and the price is reasonable and the drive there is beautiful and the rooms are great. We are going for our anniversary - fireplace, big cushy chairs, king size bed with new type mattress that you sink so far down in - I thought I would never climb back out. Our refrigerator was encased in an old time safe. Little shops surrounding the Inn. All rooms are reasonably priced for what you get. --Emily

CROGHAN, NEW YORK

Up in the north country NY, land of deep snows, there is a wonderful early 1900 ice cream store decked out in all the old tyme dairy stuff - that still makes old tyme sodas - the rare one that nobody else will make here in our area - ice cream to die for and a fair price - what Baskins & Robbins gives you for $4 here - Wishy's gives you the size of your head. That is right, Del & I got a banana split - it was so huge we did not think we could begin to eat it - but talking to the owner - before we knew it - that split disappeared down the hatch. If one day any of you want to come up to visit a spell with us, we will take you there & other neat places on the farm.

Emily & Del

Maybe Merge this with Hyattsville's list?

You can also check out a similar list on Hyattsville wiki's "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!" page.

There has been some discussion of expanding the excellent Hyattsville wiki (http://www.hyattsvillewiki.com) to include Riverdale Park -- or perhaps a larger, regional focus, or even statewide. (You may see some of the actual discussion at: http://www.hyattsvillewiki.com/page/The+Wiki+Future)

To date, no action has been taken towards any kind of merger. If it were to happen, then the Riverdale Park-specific pages on this wiki would simply be moved to the Riverdale Park section of the new wiki, while pages such as this one -- restaurant information and reviews -- would be merged into a common page serving the broader community.

This week's Wiki Poll:

To what local area restaurant would you happily steer your open-minded, omnivore friend looking for a recommendation?

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Local Bookstores

dwightrholmes — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:10:30 CDT

Book Nook Bookstore
5606 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, MD 20781
(301) 209-0035
For info: info@booknookbookstore.com
For ordering: order@booknookbookstore.com

Vertigo Books [No more! See below!]
7346 Baltimore Ave.
College Park, MD 20740
(301) 779-9300

The following was posted to the Hyattsville HOPE email list. It's a good lesson of how global, local, and personal economics are closely related.

So Long, Farewell: Vertigo Books is Closing!

Hello-

After seventeen and half years, the time has come. Curtains down and goodbye--in two weeks Vertigo Books will close.
Starting today, EVERYTHING IN THE STORE IS 20% OFF. If you've been eyeing that special something, come in and grab it now, before someone else does. And our new rules for the next couple weeks: no checks, no returns and no exchanges. Please note: we will be closed Easter Sunday, April 12, our usual hours will resume Monday

Why are we closing? There are many reasons, but basically, not enough people buy books here.

We have many loyal customers, just not enough of them, and our cloning experiments have not yielded satisfactory results. And way too many people (not you, but someone you know) are buying their books at Amazon. We'll spare you the inside baseball stuff about the near monopolistic force Amazon has become in the industry. You can also skip to the party info at the end if you like.

Connecting the Dots
As we have said before, your shopping dollars help create the community you want to live in. For every $10 you spend at locally-owned businesses, $4.50 stays in our community. The math is simple and compelling:
Vertigo Books $4.50
Barnes & Noble/Borders/Costco $1.30
Amazon $0.00
The money you spend with locally-owned businesses continues to circulate as we pay employees, buy supplies and pay taxes that are used to provide basic services to residents.

Our local economies are key to a successful recovery from the current financial crisis. Amazon and many online retailers contribute nothing financially to our state and local economies, yet suck up an enormous amount of Maryland's shopping dollars and compete heavily with small natural foods stores, hardware stores, bookstores and specialty stores of all kinds.

While Amazon may have made their name selling books, they want you to buy a DVD player, organic foods, power tools and pick up the latest John Grisham title when you visit their site. They actively fight any attempt to force them to collect sales tax--even in those states where they have a physical presence. Maryland Senate Bill 1071 will allow us to join other states, such as New York and Kansas, that are now collecting sales tax for online sales and using the revenue for education and public safety.

Building Community as You Shop
Building community is an ongoing process, the result of small choices made everyday. We know you understand this, but are very busy and shopping online is seductive. We sympathize and have many of the same worries. But independents live in and serve your community and make many intangible contributions. What does Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, do for our community? We are:

working for quality public schools
advocating for smart growth and sustainable development
pushing for comprehensive planning and public transit
serving on local boards and committees
supporting your causes
and operating a business that recycles, reuses and donates.

And, except for that last item, we'll continue to do these things.

Please take a fresh look around your community, temporarily ditch the iPod, stop Facebooking and tweeting for a moment and explore your neighborhood's businesses. Use one of the coupons below to visit new locally-owned businesses that need your support. If you want a small business to offer something else or do something differently, let them know and help them improve. If we want more than chains in the area, we need to start by supporting the local businesses we already have.

Any Excuse for a Party: Join us Saturday, April 18 5 pm-??
One of us grew up Irish Catholic and, under these circumstances, a wake is required. Bring a dish or something to drink and join us for a free form wake and potluck on Saturday, April 18 from 5 pm-?? If you shopped, read or worked here, we want to see you.

We hope Vertigo Books has served as a thoughtful literary and political gathering place, community and author resource, provided challenging, interesting conversation along with some laughter, and generally served, as one customer put it, as "an intellectual oasis on Route 1" (and previously at Dupont Circle).

Please stay in touch by sending us a note at staff@vertigo-books.com. We were never good about photographing and documenting the store's activities. If you have event calendars, photos or memorabilia to share, please send them on. A computer with archived materials was stolen last summer, so your contributions would be much appreciated.

We owe an enormous thank you to the friends and family who made this adventure possible. We thank the many authors who so enriched these years, and our sales reps, publicists, event partners, publishers and our outstanding customers for their friendship and encouragement.

Thanks for your support over the years,
Todd Stewart, Bridget Warren &
The Staff of Vertigo Books

Come in and browse, there are many titles to choose from,
but shop now for best selection.

Please stay in touch-- follow us via or visit Vertigo Books on where you can join our customers' Vertigo Books Appreciation Society or the Save Vertigo Books Group.