A Independence Declaration for 2012

As I look back over 2011, I have found that like most years, there was plenty of good and a bit of bad news.  I am hopeful that 2012 will be better for Laurel, Maryland, and for America.

As I reflect on 2011's national and regional challenges, I can't help but put some of the blame on our current lawmakers at the national and state levels.  Individually, they seem to be for the most part, good, upstanding citizens.  But collectively, they live in a corrosive system designed to turn even the strongest among them from the practice of statesmanship to the depths of partisanship.  A few examples:

-- Redistricting debacles, where the good of the region is sacrificed to partisan gerrymandering.  See PA and MD for examples from both parties.
-- Budget impasses brought on by partisan posturing.  See U.S. Congress.
-- Ever hardening partisan demands to not compromise with the other side while chronic and acute state and national problems continue to plague us.
-- Party-line voting is now the norm and expected.

It's become clear to me that my only recourse is to send a shock to the political system.  An action that shakes up the system and demonstrates for all observers that priorities must change.   This action must be seen as, not a turn away from any current party in power, but rather a condemnation of the practice of partisanship itself.

So I have decided to declare my independence and, regardless of affiliation, I will vote strictly anti-incumbent.  If a candidate now holds any partisan office, I declare my vote for their challenger without exception. 

If we are successful in this strategy and incumbents lose their seats in large numbers, I'm convinced that our anti-party message will be loudly received.   I am also convinced that if we stick together, we can break free from the evils of partisanship and therefore, I offer the following Declaration.

A Declaration of Independence From Partisan Candidates

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for People to dissolve the political bands which have connected them for far too long to their wayward Lawmakers, and to re-commit to those priorities that put the welfare of the People over the welfare of any political party.
 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments and their elected Lawmakers are instituted to serve the People, not political parties.  That whenever any Form of Government becomes so destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish their services, and to select new Lawmakers who demonstrate the following:
 

-- To hold the rights, safety and good of the People over the needs of any political party, or even their own elected or appointed offices.

-- To work together in good faith, in a spirit of compromise and collaboration that encourages the broadest, most innovative and most lasting solutions to the myriad difficult problems of the People.
 

-- To spend substantially more time working for the good of the People than working for their own reelection or any other partisan priority.

-- To draw representative district boundaries for the good of the People living within them and without regard to party priorities, or their own reelections.

-- To ensure that they put their legislative duties and imperatives ahead of any other work and that they vow to complete their official tasks before they adjourn for any reason.

-- To promise to be fully transparent and immediately disclose fully and publicly; any and all meetings with, formal or informal requests from, and any form of resources provided by any person, organization or other group with direct or potential legislative matters before them.

We, therefore, the People of these United States of America, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People, solemnly publish and declare ourselves free from the corrosive power of partisan politics and we pledge to remove all Lawmakers who have not demonstrated that they hold the needs and dreams of the People over the prerogatives of party.

To join the cause, just acknowledge your independence in the comments section.  

Anonymous

Is anonymous debate useful?

We are in the final few days of a hotly contested election here in beautiful, downtown, Laurel, MD.  It certainly has been one of the most contentious campaigns that I can remember during my 30+ years of living here.  Three people are running hard for Mayor and the "at-large" council seat is also locked in a tense struggle.
 
I like elections.  I enjoy the debate.  Elections cause me to think about issues.  Elections are healthy for a community.  But I've been watching a growing anonymity trend that's very troubling for me.

Both of our hometown news organizations, the venerable Laurel Leader and the upstart Laurel Patch are cranking out news, opinions and in a novel twist for a Laurel election, dozens of anonymous online comments. 

Go to the bottom of any article, especially in the Laurel Patch and you will see a handful of people strenuously debating.  Some of the comments are a bit over the top to say the least.
Some commenters are using -- what appears -- to be their real name.  And others are commenting behind a screen name.  Of course, there is no way to know for sure that commenters are offering their real names.  A commenter could easily use any name, even the name of a candidate.  Who could really know the truth?

Yesterday's mail also delivered to me a four page article anonymously attacking the Sarich campaign.  It looks like the authors spent a lot of money mailing the piece to every registered voter in Laurel.  This is a considerable investment in time and money for over 10,000 voters in the city.  Unfortunately, these authors chose to only identify themselves as "17 Laurel Taxpayers."

And finally, a neighbor told me last night that she was called by an anonymous phone pollster.  She was asked who she planned to vote for in the Mayoral race. The caller did not provide any affiliation.

I've written about anonymous comments in the past.  While I allow them here, I believe that anonymous articles, comments and polls are not very useful.  I think anonymity diminishes credibility.  It also tends to encourage people to be more rash, untruthful or hurtful in their comments.  However, we have a tradition of anonymous political speech in this country.  In some cases, anonymously speaking truth to power is useful for the good order of society.

So what do you think?  Opinions about candidates aside, does anonymity help or hurt political debate?

Please respond below.   Feel free to respond with your real name or anonymously.  Please be temperate.   

Actual Email to Laurel's Public Works Department

Dear Laurel Department of Public Works:

I have a 27 inch television that has finally died.  None too soon if you ask me, because now I can finally buy a big screen, 1080p, HD, LED, TV that I've wanted for so many years but my wife, she-who-must-be-obeyed, would never allow me to buy as long as our ancient TV kept working.  

Now, as happy as I am about the long-awaited demise of my old TV, you can see that I'm in need of your wonderful bulk pick up services. 

I do realize that there will be a small fee, that I'm more than willing to pay, given that I've been waiting for this old thing to die for years.  My old TV that is, not my wife.  Although, how much do you charge to, ....?  Just kidding about the wife.

All joking aside, I would appreciate a bulk pick up of my old TV at your earliest convenience.  Laurel's Public Works Department is the best!

Sincerely,

G. Rick Wilson
Laurel Ave

Speed Cameras Blinded

It looks like someone was upset over a $40 speed camera ticket in Oldtown Laurel.  A vandal recently painted the lens cover on both speed cameras installed on 7th Street between Main and Montgomery.

I hope the vandal is caught.  I believe that these cameras are always taking pictures on a loop.  Maybe we will get lucky and the vandal's picture was taken holding the spray can.

7th and Main
click to enlarge

Painting over the lens cover is not the answer.  Slowing down is the answer!  I strongly supported the law to permit speed cameras.  Speeding cars on neighborhood streets was the the top constituent complaint when I served on the Laurel City Council.  The camera is a much better solution than chewing up the time of an officer with a radar gun.  I'd much rather have our cops free to solve more serious crimes.

There are at least three speed camera locations in Laurel.  Here on 7th, Cherry Lane near Laurel High and on Dorset Road near Scotchtown Hills Elementary School.

By the way, even police officers are not exempted from the speed laws and must pay the fine. So let's all be careful out there.

(Hat tip to Mike McLaughlin for the tip.)

A New News Source for Laurel

Laurel Patch, an online local news source is now available on the web at laurel.patch.com.  AOL’s hyper-local news network called "Patch" now has over 500 community web sites.  Laurel's Patch is one of the latest to go live today. 

“Yes, you read that right: 500 different websites, all with the same look and general feel, but each one staffed by an editor devoted to writing about the people and businesses in that community,” writes Bizjournals.  AOL is planning on investing over $50 million on the Patch Network in an attempt to capitalize on the dearth of local news web sites.

We have two local newspapers in town.  Well, we really only have one, the Laurel Leader.  The Gazette quietly shuttered their Laurel operation earlier this year and clumps Laurel's news in with Beltsville, College Park and other communities in the northern part of the county.  And let me be honest, the Gazette really never committed the resources necessary to serve our community well.

Editor Melanie Dzwonchyk and her plucky band of journos at the venerable Laurel Leader cover our fair city quite well.  Unfortunately, they are saddled with a web site from their publisher that is so lame and old fashioned, it looks like something invented by the late Senator Ted Stevens.  In spite of her lame web site, Dzwonchyk has been posting breaking news online and on Twitter. 

So now we have another online local news source in Laurel.  A source with a modern web site, a commitment to getting the story online regardless of the day of the week, and with access to AOL's deep pockets.

Let the competition begin. 

Had Enough Robocalls Yet?

I've had it with the candidate robocalls this election season.  I must get six calls a day.  Do the candidates really think that a robocall is going to make me vote for them?  They must have a pretty low opinion of us if they think a few dozen robocalls will change our minds.

"Gee, what a nice guy, I'll be sure to vote for that candidate."

So I've decided to fight back.  Click here for the robocall that I'm sending out to every candidate this season.  I'm fighting robocalls with my own robocalls.  This link goes to an mp3 file located here.

Rebuilding Main Street With a New Library

Should a new library be built downtown?  I believe it should.  A new library near Main Street will bring more people to Main Street, providing a solid anchor for increasing retail sales in our shopping district.  I also believe that a new library would become the foundation to revitalize downtown while enhancing recreational and cultural opportunities along Riverfront Park.

Building a new library near Main Street will also require unusual cooperation and collaboration from both our county and city governments.  Before I explain, let me summarize the situation.

• Prince George's County wants to rebuild the Laurel Library at its current location at Seventh and Talbot.
• However, the current location has challenges.  The property is not large enough to support a new building along with all the necessary parking spaces.
• The county would need to acquire additional land from the city to support the new building project.
• The need for a larger parcel opens up the opportunity to consider other building locations.  
• The City of Laurel has the old Police Station property at 350 Municipal Square.  It's one block off  Main Street and right along the river. The city would like to sell this 1.8 acre property and 19,000 square foot building for 2.5 million dollars.

"Bring Our Library Downtown," or BOLD, is a grassroots group advocating for building the new library downtown at the old Police Station location.  They have a slide show highlighting many of the benefits of moving the library downtown.

I agree with BOLD but I would like to go a bit further and suggest that the city simply give, not sell, the old Police Station property to the county for the new library.  The city has the most to gain from moving the library downtown.  While 2.5 million dollars is a lot of money that could be used for many other city projects, I believe that this is a small price to pay to help revitalize Main Street. 

This 2.5 million dollar gift should come with three conditions.  First, that the city and county would jointly appoint a dedicated planning commission to design the building and grounds of the new library.  Second, the city would get final approval of the county's site and building plan.  Third, the county would agree to buy the property on the northwest corner that sits between the old Police Station and the river, highlighted in red below.

By removing all of the existing buildings on the site, we will have a large parcel that opens north to the river.  With an open lot, we can build a large, innovative library and learning center that fully incorporates both the river and adjacent park land into its design.  This approach also opens options for increased parking for Main Street visitors.

This is obviously an aggressive plan.  It will cost both the city and county significant resources, not just money, but also time and attention.  The city has a long history of augmenting county services with city tax dollars.  For example, the city has contributed over $250,000 per year towards the county's fire and ambulance services.  I think it is entirely reasonable for the city to contribute funding that will lead directly to augmenting Main Street's revitalization.

This plan also requires that both county and city governments to work together on the project in good faith and for the benefit of all.  It will be difficult because governments rarely share the same priorities or have business and planning processes that are compatible.  But the enhanced library and learning center that could result from this cooperation will be so much better than what either government could possible accomplish alone.

Please see the sidebar to take our poll, "Should the Laurel Library Move Downtown?"

Good Morning Laurel

Wow, it has been quite awhile since I last posted on this far corner of the internets. There has been a lot going on and I really didn't have anything useful to say.  So I've been laying low and saving my rapidly diminishing brain cycles for other pursuits like counting campaign signs on Route 1.

Back at Easter time, a couple of doctors said that I needed to have a little heart plumbing done.  My advice to everyone is to try to avoid this kind of plumbing job.  It's messy, shockingly expensive and  personally disruptive for much longer than you might originally be led to believe. In these regards, I guess heart plumbing is like any other plumbing project.  You are happy to have had it done until you learn that now you must be even more careful about the bad stuff you can't throw down your new pipes.

I have a new diet and exercise regime.  Well actually, she-who-must-be-obeyed, put fresh batteries in her taser to motivate my daily exercise sessions.  She also uses that same taser to enforce her award-winning diet plan, "if it tastes good, spit it out."  I've become the "biggest loser" on so many levels ...

And since we've now entered the mass hypnosis period that we call our local political campaign season, I thought I would freshen the blog with a little redesign and jump back into the blogging fray.  We have so many interesting local issues to consider. 

Good Morning!

* The Laurel Lake sunrise picture above was taken on 27 June 2010 from Oxford Drive.  I took it quickly before Joanne could turn on her taser.

Where to Buy the Best Sandwich in Laurel?

A good sandwich is hard to find.  A great sandwich is the world's best comfort food.  It cures what ails you.  A sandwich can take you back to your youth.  Or remind you of sharing a special sandwich on your first date.  Your circumstances may be different but all of us have strong food memories.

This brings us to today's Laurel Connection's poll.

Where do you buy your absolute favorite sandwich in Laurel?

Here are the sandwich shootout guidelines:

1. Tell us where to buy it - Unless you want a bunch of hungry people camped outside your grandmother's house demanding a grilled cheese with tomato and bacon...your favorite sandwich must be available from a commercial food establishment near Laurel.
2. Tell us how to buy it - Be specific.  Tell us about your sandwich in loving detail.  Help us to really taste it.  Write it like you would see it on the menu or as described in a food column. Help us to order it and fix it just like you eat it.  For example, "A steak sub on a lightly toasted Italian hoagie roll with grilled onions and two slices of smokey provolone cheese, gobs of real mayo, lots of dill pickles, shredded crisp romaine and  a generous helping of hot pepper relish."
3. The source of your sandwich should be in general vicinity of Laurel.  We can be a bit flexible, but make sure it's within 10 miles or so.  Nobody wants to drive too far for comfort food.
4. Last but not least, tell us why the sandwich is so special you?  When did you have it the first time?  First date?  First time driving the family car alone after you got your driver's license? After a big game or a big promotion?  A sandwich you ate late at night after the birth of your first child?

That's it. You can share your favorite sandwich in the comments section below or simply click here.  Or send it to me via email (g dot rick dot wilson at gmail dot com).  And I'll add it to the Laurel Sandwich Shootout Menu for you.

Thanks for sharing,   rick

Sunday Morning in Laurel - Winter or Spring?

Cody and I woke early today. We made a trip for Cody's "hurry-up" and it felt surprisingly warm outside.  The air was still and the temperture just a smidge above freezing.  It smelled damp.

The street light committee on our block seemed unsure if it was really morning.  Two streetlights had already turned off but a third holdout remained on, waiting for more evidence of morning.  Perhaps the holdout was simply hoping to collect a bit of overtime for BG&E before spring's longer days arrive and reduce profits.

This is a fitting dilemma for Cody and me to ponder at the end of February.  Is it spring or winter?  Night or day?  Will we have a few more weeks of cold and snow?  Or will Joanne's spring flower bulbs soon announce springtime?  We can't be sure.

Time for us to go back inside for coffee and wait for more evidence.

Photowalk Wednesday Night

Here's a new slideshow.  I took a cold walk around town Wednesday night. 

The only things moving around Laurel were plows and my chattering lips.  

Kudos Laurel Leader

Laurel Leader's Editor, Melanie Dzwonchyk, has continued her unflagging support of digital publishing to keep us informed during the storm.  Melanie has heroically filed online stories during the teeth of the storm proving that local journalism doesn’t need ink and paper to serve our community. 

The Leader has published early and online this week.  You can read the Leader’s latest snow story here.  Kudos to Melanie and her team at the Leader.

It's too bad the Leader’s publishers refuse to create a professional website for our much beloved Laurel Leader.  We are left with their absolutely horrible “explore howard dot com” website.  

The fact that the “explore howard dot com” loses the brand identity provided by the Laurel Leader is sad enough.  However, the technology that their site runs on must have been first deployed by Gutenberg himself.   There seems to be simply no commitment to digital publishing by this publisher. It appears to be only an afterthought and is certainly not being worked as an emerging profit center.

I understand that community newspapers are losing money.  But it's a damn shame that the people running Patuxent Publishing do not embrace the web and dedicate their time and energies to improving their digital editions.  If there is any way to stop hemorrhaging money, the tourniquet must be built from their digital product.

Community news is vitally important to every small town in America.  I have dozens of sources for national news.  There are thousands of reporters in DC covering the federal government.  But on a good day, we only have a precious few reporters like Gwendolyn Glenn and Melanie Dzwonchyk to tell us what is happening in our own back yard.  

Come on Patuxent Publishing please give us a real community news website for the Laurel Leader.  A website that lives at laurelleader.com and a website that carries a local brand and logo that we can identify with. 

 

The Calm Between the Storms

Cody and I are taking a break today.  Here we are at the Laurel Connections Crisis Operations Center, i.e., the LCCOC.  We are getting a bit of much needed rest between these historic and breathless snow storms.

Dogs and bloggers both need their rest after five days of tweeting, face booking, TV watching, emailing, non-stop eating, web surfing, aimless walking, photographing, general and specific malingering and the occasional nip of medicinal hooch.

Cody is keeping watch for she-who-must-be-obeyed (SWMBO).  If we sleep too soundly, SWMBO gets all excited and assumes that we kicked the bucket.  Cody's job is to make sure SWMBO doesn't haul us outside for special pick-up.  The DPW guys are much too busy clearing the streets to drag our large carcass away to the landfill.

We've also been adding new pictures to our LCCOC storm-of-the-century slide show.   

On an serious note, Council President Gayle Snyder emailed us this morning saying that Richard Kluckhuhn is concerned that his famous Christmas Tree may have been severely damaged by the February 6 storm. The Kluckhuhn family has brightened Laurel's Christmases for at least two generations with the lighted tree.  This picture shows some of the damage.  Let's hope that the tree can be saved for future generations.

A few more pictures as the storm abates

Eric and I walked around this evening as the sun was setting.  Blue skies emerged for the briefest moment.

Tastee Diner and another business on Main street lost their window awnings to the snow.  Impressive drifts were found on roofs all over town.  


Tomorrow we start the big dig.

Slide show is found here.

UPDATE: Laurel Leader posts a snowstorm story.

Snow Stories

I took a walk around town this morning.  Here is the slide show with pictures  including last night's and this morning's shots.

I had a chance to talk to Laurel's Mayor, Craig Moe.  Hizzoner is out plowing in a small city truck.  He does a pretty good job, talking on the radio and clearing the LVFD station driveway at the same time.  Craig explained that the county will plow station 10, but that in a storm like this, everybody needs to step up to help.  He said it's important that the fire trucks and ambulance can get out of the station.

Marty Flemion and his team of senior staff members are at the City's Emergency Management Operations Center directing the city's response. Council President Gayle Snyder has been volunteering since early this morning answering phones at city hall.  Ed Ricks, a long-time city volunteer and former council member, has been up all night cooking for the city crews.  You may have seen Eddie and his helpers in the city's emergency canteen vehicle in the past.  Everybody in town is hard at work.

The city has been at work for a few days getting ready for this historic storm.  Every resource that the city has available is now engaged in the battle.  Crews are working around the clock.  The mayor told me that his first priority is responding to the storm and protecting the residents.  He and the city council will work together to find the money to pay for whatever we need to respond to this storm.  He said that is why we set aside financial reserves.

The biggest worry now is the loss of electricity.  According to the mayor, we have had a few limited outages.  But as the storm progresses and the wind increases, he is concerned that we may lose more trees.  Trees rip out the electric wires. 

Be sure to call BG&E if you lose power.  That is the only way they will know that your power is out.

Laurel is a unique place with so many wonderful people.  Jim McCeney has been clearing his neighbor's walks with his snow blower all morning.  I just heard that Jim's snow blower may have died before he cleared his own driveway.  City staff are working around the clock.  Neighbors are helping neighbors.  We are truly blessed.

Stay inside.  Stay out of your car.  Stay in touch.  Stay warm.

Oldtown Is Quiet

Joanne, puppy named Cody, Marybeth, and I took a short walk at about 9pm.  It was about 28 degrees F. and snowing heavily as you can see.  Marybeth, aka number 1 daughter, measured about 6 inches of snow.  

The streets are very quiet.  A few cars and plenty of plows.  Laurel's snow emergency streets have already been plowed at least twice.  Laurel avenue has also seen a plow at least once.  DPW valiantly keeping up so far.

Quick slideshow here.

History Books May Be Rewritten

The National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. has issued the following statement:

...RECORD SNOWFALL FORECAST IN THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON DC REGION...

...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS DEVELOPING TONIGHT...

GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH VISIBILITIES FREQUENTLY FALLING BELOW ONE-QUARTER MILE DUE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT TO PRODUCE NEAR-BLIZZARD AND EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. TRAVEL IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED TONIGHT AND WILL BE VERY DANGEROUS.

LOOKING BACK AT THE BIGGEST STORM OF RECORD FOR WASHINGTON DC... THE JANUARY 1922 KNICKERBOCKER STORM ... 28.0 INCHES OF SNOW WAS PRODUCED FROM 3.02 INCHES OF LIQUID WATER. CURRENT FORECASTS FOR THIS EVENT HAVE TOTAL LIQUID FALLING FROM THIS STORM APPROACHING 3 INCHES ... WHICH ACCORDINGLY WOULD CREATE A SNOWFALL THAT WILL RIVAL THE KNICKERBOCKER STORM TOTAL. GENERALLY ACROSS THE REGION ... 20 TO 30 INCHES OF SNOW WILL FALL BY SATURDAY EVENING.

Top Ten Snowstorms for DC

From the washpost - Here are the top 10 snowstorms on record for Washington, D.C.:

1. January 27-28, 1922 ... 28 inches
2. February 11-13, 1899 ... 20.5 inches
3. February 18-19, 1979 ... 18.7 inches
4. January 6-8, 1996 ... 17.1 inches
5. February 15-18, 2003 ... 16.7 inches
6. February 11-12, 1983 ...16.6 inches
7. December 19-20, 2009 ... 16.4 inches (Snowpocalypse)
8. February 15-16, 1958 ... 14.4 inches
9. February 7, 1936 ... 14.4 inches
10. February 16-18, 1900 ... 14.3 inches

Laurel MD Snow Totals via Twitter

We are going to be tracking snowfall in the Laurel region via Twitter.  Just include #laurelsnow in your tweet.

To follow all of the measurements just go here: http://twitter.com and search for #laurelsnow

Or if your firewall blocks twitter, I've added a twitter widget to the Laurel Connections blog.   

Here is a tutorial for measuring snow. 

SNOW ALERT FROM CITY OF LAUREL

This is an alert from the City of Laurel Emergency Operations Department.
Mayor Craig Moe has declared a snow emergency for February 5, 2010 effective 10:00am due to the predicted inclement weather that will hit the Laurel area.

If you live on a snow emergency route, please be aware that parking is not allowed on the even addressed side of the street. If your vehicle is found parked illegally on a snow emergency route, the police department will attempt to identify and locate the vehicle’s owner to remove it. However, if the vehicle’s owner cannot be found, the vehicle will be ticketed and possibly towed. If you find that your car has been towed, contact the Laurel Police Department at their non-emergency phone number at 301-498-0092. Please be aware if your car is towed, a parking violation will be issued for which the vehicle’s owner will be responsible. Additionally, if your vehicle is impounded, a fee for storage will be assessed to the owner which will have to be paid prior to the release of the vehicle.

Additionally, please follow the City ordinance that after the cessation of snowfall, all public sidewalks around your property must be shoveled within 12 hours or you will be cited. However, it is recommended that you also clear the walkways on your property in case emergency assistance is needed at your home. And when clearing off your cars, driveways and sidewalks do not throw the snow into the street.  This is a violation of City Code as this will create hazards for motorists and more problems for Public Works when they are clearing the streets.

The City of Laurel Emergency Operations Department is asking homeowners and residents to also please check that their downspouts, drains and sump pump discharges are free of snow to allow for proper drainage operations as well as check that fire hydrants are cleared of snow in case emergency personnel need to gain access. Due to the amount of snowfall that is being called for, you are urged to stay off the streets and stay home so that the Public Works vehicles can do their jobs sufficiently. If you do find yourself out on the roadways during the storm, please be reminded that if traffic signals are out or not visible due to snow, you must treat the intersection as a 4 way stop.

Finally, the Emergency Operations Department is asking that because of the cold temperatures that will be in place for this snow event, please check on neighbors, especially any elderly neighbors, to ensure that they are warm and safe. For more information regarding snow removal, please call the Department of Public Works at 301-725-0088. If during the storm you need emergency service, Fire and EMS can be reached by calling 911 and the Laurel Police can be reached by calling 301-725-3000 for emergency needs.

If you have any other questions that the City of Laurel can answer, we plan (subject to change dependent on weather conditions) on having City Hall front desk manned and you can call at 301-725-5300. Thank you.