Photo credit PGCMLS
(Left) Pamela Hamlin, the Library’s family literacy specialist, presents information about the Books From Birth program to Charlene Lopez (center), the coordinator of Lactation Services and Child Birth Education at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital.
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Public Library Celebrates Giving Milestone One Millionth Free Book to Young Children in Prince George’s County
By PRESS OFFICER
PGCMLS
LARGO, Md. (Dec. 9, 2024)—This December, the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) is celebrating the major milestone of sending over a million free books to children in Prince George’s County as part of its Books From Birth program in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Since 2017, thousands of children and their families have benefited from the free books, helping to build their home library and establishing a solid foundation for their lifelong journey of literacy and reading.
The Library also partners with two hospitals in the county to give parents immediate access to the information needed to register for the program right when their babies are born. PGCMLS has been working with the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center since December of 2022, and most recently, MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital since June of 2023.
PGCMLS CEO Dr. Mark Winston and COO Megan Sutherland, along with Books From Birth program leads, visited the MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 3, 2024, to meet with organizational partners and leaders and present forty early literacy “baby bundles” for the institution’s Newborn and Women’s Center.
“I truly appreciate the partnership with MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital,” said Pamela Hamlin, the Library’s family literacy specialist. “The team has helped share our program with so many families. They are a pleasure to work with and understand the importance of books for babies!”
These bundles, intended for the families of newborn babies, are a gesture of both celebration and gratitude for the shared achievement of reaching so many young minds in Prince George’s County. The bundles include items to help families get a jump start into early literacy such as a bilingual board book, an egg shaker, a finger puppet, information on local early childhood education, and more.
Charlene Lopez, the coordinator of Lactation Services and Child Birth Education for the hospital, helped solidify the current relationship with PGCMLS and has her own personal experiences with the life changing potential of early literacy.
Having a child who is neurodivergent, she “realized that early literacy actually made [Lopez’s daughter] do better in school.” Having access to books as a child helped Lopez’s daughter develop her own unique skills that helped her find her own way to excel in school.
Joyously, Lopez shared: “and that daughter, who’s dyslexic, just had a baby two weeks ago, and I was very happy to sign him up for Books From Birth.”
Books From Birth, launched in July 2017, has become a cornerstone literacy initiative in the region. Currently, 16,912 Prince George’s County residents are enrolled, and an impressive 19,042 children have graduated from the program. The Library receives financial support for the program from the Prince George’s County Government, Maryland State Library Agency’s Young Readers Matching Grant Program, and the PGCMLS Foundation.
A parent of a Books From Birth participant, who is also a public school reading teacher, recently shared: “I am proud to say that my son is a strong reader with a diverse range of interests, and he is currently scoring above his grade level in reading. This achievement is a testament to the early and continued exposure to the written word that programs like ‘Books from Birth’ provide.”
In continued celebration, PGCMLS is hosting themed library events during the month of December to welcome young readers and their families into the larger, wondrous world of public libraries and literature.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is the flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation. It reaches more children than any other early childhood book gifting program, and mails free, high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth until age five, no matter their family’s income.
The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) helps customers discover and define opportunities that shape their lives. The Library serves the 967,000+ residents of Prince George’s County, Maryland through 19 branch libraries, a 24/7 online library, the County Correctional Center Library, and pop-up services throughout the community. PGCMLS is the recipient of two Top Innovator Awards from the Urban Libraries Council (2023 - Democracy; 2021 - Workforce and Economic Development). Learn more at pgcmls.info/about-us.
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Council Sets Special Election Dates
By PRESS OFFICER
Prince George’s County Council Media
[On December 10] the Prince George’s County Council set dates for special elections to fill vacancies in the Office of the County Executive and in Council District 5. The special primary election will be Tuesday, March 4, 2025, and the special general election will be Tuesday, May 27, 2025. The date by which a certificate of candidacy must be filed with the Board of Elections is Friday, December 20, 2024.
The special election will be conducted by mail with drop boxes available. District 5 voters will vote for a Council representative and County Executive on the same ballot.
Council Chair Jolene Ivey (At-Large) and Council Member Calvin Hawkins (At-Large) recused themselves from today’s meeting due to their County Executive candidacies.
The vacancy in the County Executive’s Office occurred when U.S. Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks resigned as County Executive on December 2, and the vacancy in Council District 5 happened when Council Chair Jolene Ivey was sworn in as an At-Large Council Member on December 5.
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Public School Athletic Field Reservations Migrating to M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County
By PRESS OFFICER
M-NCPPC
RIVERDALE, Md. (Dec. 10, 2024)—The M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation in Prince George’s County is happy to announce the migration of athletic field reservations from Prince George’s County Public Schools to pgparks.com/fields. The one-stop shop will offer a convenient, 24/7 online booking system for individuals, sports teams, and organizations to secure time on the county’s top-quality artificial turf fields. To streamline the process, the Department has entered into a joint agreement with the Public Schools for the construction and operation of athletic field permitting.
The permitting process features an intuitive interface that allows users to easily check field availability, make reservations, and manage bookings in a few simple steps. Whether you are booking an athletic field for a youth league or organizing a community event, the platform is designed to meet the needs of all types of users.
Key Features of the Reservation System:
• Real-Time Availability: View open time slots and request fields
• Easy Online Process: Make reservation requests from any device, anytime
• Flexible Payment Options: Secure online payment for all reservations
• User Accounts: Track your bookings, receive reminders, and manage payments
• Field Information: Access details on field capacity, bathroom type, and sport
“We are glad to offer this new, accessible way for people to reserve public school athletic fields,” said Bill Tyler, Director of the Department of Recreation in Prince George’s County. “Our goal is to make the booking process as seamless and efficient as possible, and we believe this migration will greatly enhance the experience for sports teams, event organizers, and community members.”
Reservations will be able to be made on January 6, 2025, but users can visit pgparks.com/fields today to explore the system.
With over 29,000 acres of parkland, trails, athletic fields, playgrounds, and more, the M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation in Prince George’s County provides an award-
winning park system through progressive, quality, innovative leadership and a commitment to its community and environment. The Department delivers first-class recreational activities and programs for people of all ages and ability levels. It strives to improve the quality of life for Prince George’s County residents and the communities in which they live, work, and raise families. The Department’s Formula 2040 Plan establishes a framework that will ensure the Department can meet future parks and recreation programmatic and facility needs, fulfilling its mission to determine the combination of land, facilities, and programs that will provide appropriate experiences for Prince Georgians in the future. To learn more, visit www.pgparks.com.
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NASA to Maryland Lawmakers: ‘High Risk’ Goddard Project Had Unrealistic Launch Schedule
By SHAUN CHORNOBROFF and JAMES MATHESON
Capital News Service
WASHINGTON (Dec. 10, 2024)—NASA described a plan to launch a multi-billion dollar spacecraft in 2026 as “overly optimistic and not credible” in a September letter to Maryland lawmakers that Capital News Service obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.
On Sept. 4, NASA informed Congress it was ending the $2 billion OSAM-1 project, which was expected to service existing satellites and expand their lifespans in space, among other capabilities.
Twelve days after the announcement, nine Maryland lawmakers demanded that NASA explain why it cancelled the project, which was based at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
In its response, dated Sept. 25, NASA cited numerous risks, an overly ambitious plan and a low return on investment as rationales for ending the project.
“The majority of NASA technology demonstrations are less complex and have orders of magnitude lower project lifecycle costs (in the $10 million-$100 million range) than OSAM-1,” said the letter signed by Alicia Brown, NASA’s associate administrator for the office of legislative and intergovernmental affairs. “Therefore, NASA is willing to take more risk in managing these technology demonstration projects. … OSAM-1 is considered by NASA to be a high cost and highly complex project.”
Multiple parts of NASA’s response were redacted in the copy of the letter CNS obtained.
Since its start in 2015, the OSAM-1 project has been subjected to sizable cost increases and delays, leading to NASA first announcing the mission's shutdown on March 1. The agency has stood firm on its decision despite urging from the Congress, especially members of the Maryland delegation.
The NASA website for the project says the OSAM-1 mission “is developing an unprecedented capability for a robust, cost-effective space infrastructure.”
Despite NASA’s insistence on cancelling the mission, Maryland lawmakers continually have advocated for OSAM-1 to proceed, citing the importance of the project and the efforts of the workers at Goddard. As of Aug. 31, OSAM-1 had 249 contractors and 76 civil servants associated with the project, the letter said.
In a statement, Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Maryland Reps. Steny Hoyer and Glenn Ivey, maintained their criticism of NASA for ending the mission. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger separately told CNS he concurred with the sentiments of his fellow Democrats.
“This critical program provided NASA a distinct solution to a difficult challenge: maintaining our satellites in space,” the lawmakers said.
“With the capabilities being developed by OSAM-1, NASA had the opportunity to both service satellites while still in orbit and extend the useful lives of these valuable assets,” they said. “In its shortsighted decision to cancel this mission, NASA has put these important long-term benefits aside, while also undermining the tireless efforts of our Goddard workforce.”
An OSAM-1 independent review estimated development of the mission would cost $1.6 billion, a 200 percent increase since its inception. Originally targeted to launch in 2020, OSAM-1 was years behind schedule.
Congress provided $227 million for OSAM-1 in the 2024 fiscal year budget and had a 2026 target launch for the spacecraft.
In the letter, NASA said any plan for a 2026 launch would involve risks not normally taken for a project this expensive. To execute the mission, NASA would have had to treat OSAM-1 as a Class D mission according to the letter, which normally represents a “lower priority mission with medium to low complexity.”
The cost to launch the proposed mission would be $353 million as of Oct. 1, while the shut down costs are $29 million, according to the letter.
One of the major dangers of the 2026 plan, according to the letter, was a reduction in testing. With the new plan, there would be less testing on the overall system, on the launch site and on some of the systems within the spacecraft.
“The project replanned OSAM-1 to adopt a ‘Class D-like’ risk posture typically reserved for smallsats and lower value, high risk tolerant assets—not a $2 billion spacecraft,” the letter said.
Despite OSAM-1 ending prematurely, NASA emphasized to the Maryland delegation that it sees Goddard as vital.
Goddard is home to the Nancy Grace Roman telescope, the Atmosphere Observing System mission and plays an important role in managing the Near Space Network, which provides communications services to missions within one million miles of earth, including the International Space Station.
Despite their disappointment, the Democratic lawmakers said they were committed to supporting contributions to space exploration coming out of Goddard.
“We strongly disagree with NASA’s decision and are deeply disappointed with their moving forward, despite clear Congressional opposition,” the lawmakers said. “Together, we will be fighting to secure critical funding for Goddard and Maryland’s major future programs.”
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