Lobbyist Sentenced A lobbyist was sentenced for his seventh DUI offense following an accident in Bowie in October. A related article in the Gazette had the following funny bits from District Court Judge Hassan A. El Amin during the sentencing.
"You cannot have any alcohol," El Amin told Jacobs. "No cocktails, no nothing. If you get behind the wheel after what I've told you, you can bring everybody here — you can even resurrect Johnnie Cochran here — and you will go to jail."
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Jacobs must also pay $40 per month to the state to compensate for his supervision and would need to apply to the court to get his driving privileges back.
"That's going to be a while, Mr. Jacobs," El Amin said. "You're making enough money to get a chauffeur. Just get a chauffeur."
Bowie Man Charged with Obstructing Governmental Administration According to a Buffalo News article, a Bowie man was charged with several crimes after allegedly assaulting a police officer in Jamestown, NY. Not only was he charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, but he was also charged with obstructing governmental administration. Come on! Everyone knows that no matter how bad things get, you should never, under any circumstances, obstruct governmental administration! What was he allegedly thinking? If anyone knows what obstructing governmental administration is, let me know.
Verizon to Offer Early Separation Packages This article in Tech Journal South originally caught my attention because the story was supposedly from Bowie, but what I found interesting in the article is the use of the term surplus employees. I guess it's not a new term, but I had never heard it before.
Louie's Holiday Hope Project The Bowie Baysox are once again sponsoring Louie's Holiday Hope Project to help needy families during the holidays.
Audrey Scott The Maryland Republican Party overwhelmingly selected former Bowie Mayor Audrey Scott as their new party chairwoman at a convention held Saturday in Bowie at the Comfort Inn Conference Center. Rumor has it that party faithfuls were impressed by the many elephant trinkets that Scott has on display in the Republican safe haven that she calls home. The elephants were featured in an Audrey Scott promotional video on YouTube. Scott's colorful opponent, Daniel "the Whig Man" Vovak, posted his own promotional video featuring inspirational music from the movie Rocky. An unidentified source claims that after the loss, Vovak was seen on the steps of the conference center yelling, "Adrian!"
Despite big party financial problems and claims by some that the Republicans are having trouble finding talented candidates for 2010, the Maryland GOP displayed optimism at Saturday's event.
Read more details about the convention in this Baltimore Sun article. The Sun describes Chairwoman Scott as "spunky."
Maryland Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Turnbull issued a "bring it on" style congratulations to Scott shortly after the convention. Turnbull's statement can be read here on Maryland Politics Watch.
Bowie Police Department Plans Icy Water Dip for Charity Members of the Bowie Police Department plan on participating in the 14th annual Polar Bear Plunge to raise money for Maryland Special Olympics. The department's team will be dipping into the icy Chesapeake Bay waters at Sandy Point State Park on January 30, 2010. Click here to make a donation or to track the team's fund raising progress. They are still looking for donations and additional team members. According to the team's page, Bowie Councilwoman Diane Polangin will also be taking the plunge.
Lt. Richard Wohkittle, Chief Katherine Perez and Deputy Chief John Nesky pose in the water for a promotional picture for the fundraiser.
Arrest of Chief Perez Imminent Bowie Police Chief Katherine Perez will be locked up as part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual Lock Up Event on Tuesday, November 17. Click here to make a donation or track the Chief's progress. She still has $2,000 to raise by Tuesday!
Bowie Health Center Temporarily Open Around the Clock The Bowie Health Center is temporarily open 24 hours a day to accommodate a spike in the number of patients seeking treatment. The average number of patients has jumped 74%, and most patients are reporting flu like symptoms. Read more details in this Gazette article.
Schools to Continue use of SchoolMax The Prince George's County Public Schools have decided to stick with the troubled SchoolMax computer system despite well publicized scheduling problems at the beginning of the school year. Many of the problems with the software have been resolved, and switching to a new software package would be very costly. Read more details in this Washington Post article.
Audrey Scott I recently wrote about former Bowie Mayor Audrey Scott vying to be the chairwoman of the Maryland Republican Party. She posted the following campaign video last week to tout her credentials for the job. This is definitely an interesting use of the Internet for an old school politician like Audrey. I love the intro music and the description of her house full of elephant trinkets as a "Republican safe haven." No donkeys in that house!
Northview Fire Station The Northview Fire Station recently opened in Bowie on the corner of Northview Drive and Health Center Drive. According to a Gazette article, this station will be staffed better than most area fire stations.
I snapped the following picture a couple of weeks before the station was operational. An electrician was working on the lights for the station's stained glass tile and mirror mosaic depicting a very happy and diverse workforce.
The mosaic was designed by local artist Cheryl Foster. Right on, Cheryl! Cheryl assembled the mural with help from several volunteers, including a group of elderly assistants from the nearby Bowie Senior Center.
This photo doesn't do the piece justice. The blue circles in the background contain symbols associated with Bowie and Prince George's County. I'll have to go back to the station for a close-up.
The girl featured in the mosaic is a young Rockledge Elementary School student and artist who inspires Cheryl Foster.
You can read more about the Northview Fire Station stained glass tile and mirror mosaic in a recent article published in The Sentinel.
Seven New Police Officers for Bowie It's a good thing that the new Bowie City Hall project has been kicked off. The Gazette recently reported that seven new police officers were sworn in during a recent City Council meeting. It would be a crime to force these new officers to work out of double-wides indefinitely. Plus the new digs for the city may give us the opportunity to have our very own call center to improve Bowie Police response times. Good times. Good times.
BGE Customers to Participate in Obama's Smart Grid Plan Baltimore Gas & Electric will be getting $200 million in federal stimulus money to install new "smart meters" in two million customer homes as a stepping stone to having a more advanced electrical grid. BGE will be kicking in $251 million of its own money for the project.
Each new smart meter will contain a component that is mounted on the inside of a house, and a light signal will help alert customers to upcoming peak energy usage times. BGE will implement a new energy pricing model, and customers will be able to save money by reducing their energy usage during the peak usage periods.
The program is not expected to be completed until 2014.
Aggressive Tree Trimming Continues Aggressive tree trimming continues along Maryland Route 197 in Bowie. I'm sure that there will be more unhappy residents.
Bowie City Elections Next Tuesday Don't forget to vote. Click here for election day information from the City of Bowie web site. I pretty much want the existing team to stay in place.
Lock Up Fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy The Bowie Baysox are hosting an event to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Donations will benefit Bowie and Crofton families. The event is described as follows on the Bowie Baysox web site.
Community and business leaders agree to be locked up "for good" and are asked to raise bail by reaching out to family, friends, colleagues, and vendors are asking for help raising funds for MDA. The Lock-Up will celebrate the Jailbirds’ success in raising money to help send local children to MDA Summer Camp at Camp Maria in Leonardtown, MD. They will receive actual mug shots and a scrumptious lunch donated by Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
