Douglas Jemal, Slowing You Down.

From the Examiner...

Who knew that piling soil on the corner of a lot could cause a hillside to fail?

Metro is suing a well-known D.C. developer for $11 million, arguing that soil stockpiled on the company's property caused damage to an elevated section of the Orange Line.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland says that Jemal's Fairfield Farms LLC, a company run by Douglas Jemal, piled soil on a corner of its property off Addison Road in Prince George's County near the transit system's Orange Line tracks.

Rico Pollo, Not Worth Your Time.

We here at ChvBlog spend our time and money going around eating at places so that you don't have to. This is certainly one of the restaurants that you shouldn't spend your hard-earned dollars. (with the exception of government archives workers, whose dollars are not hard-earned)

We saw the sign for this new restaurant in Bladensburg over a month ago, and were happy to see that it was open. So today, after the Community Market, we headed in to sample their chicken.

First impressions were not great. There were absolutely no signs in the restaurant, including menus, and we were finally shown a sheet-sized paper with the food choices. The service was surly and the language barrier was tall. The bathrooms were in dis-array, and devoid of paper towels.

$7.49 buys you a half-chicken and two sides, with a choice of two rice sides, beans, a potato salad and a potato slop. We settled on the rice and beans, and with our 1/2 chicken in hand, we ate. The chicken was flavorless, as were the beans. The rice dish we had was the only redeeming food from the place, and it wasn't spectacular, but up against it's bland platemates, it shone brightly.

We also added a side of Yucca, which added $2.68 to the bill, which with two soft-drinks ended up totalling $14.79.

Sub-par food, poor cleanliness, and higher prices are a combination that no restaurant can survive. We might try them again in the future to see if there's improvement, but don't hold your breath.

A Single Story House...

Now exists on Hwy 202 where the two-story Palm Reader house used to be.

It's part of the demolition process of the house. I thought that the demolition would involve a large wrecking ball, and a crew of sledgehammer-wielding workers. Apparently, this is a precision operation involving a careful dismantling of the house.

This is significantly more boring than I thought.

Cheverly Market goes Uptown!

In a feat of Public Works logistics, and Cheverly Police traffic control, the entire Cheverly Market will be held tomorrow morning on Cheverly Avenue. Of course, this means that Cheverly Avenue will be closed to traffic between Forest and Inwood Streets.

Beware of high speed Metro buses on the side streets, and make your way to this very special Cheverly Community Market. It promises to be much more interesting than the normal market, with added vendors, and tables with multiple community groups represented.

Vendors Include:

Shlagel Farms

Rebert Farms/Benny's Fruit Stand

C&E Farm

Clan Stewart Farm

Eve's Cheese

Simple Pleasures Ice Cafe

Martha's Jams

CUMC Fair Trade Coffee Tea Gifts

ChvBrew

Cheverly Breadbasket

Running Hare Vineyards

Radix Farm

New Starts Farm

Mystic Water Soaps

Rose Fennel Pottery

Linda Priebe

We'll see you there, we'll be rocking right next to Soul Revolver, who will be belting out their Beatles tunes.

September, Be Prepared in Cheverly.

Did you know September is National Preparedness Month? Neither did I, until we got an email from Cheverly resident Stacey L. letting us know.

I'm a pretty big fan of preparedness, and I think it's every citizens responsibility to do everything they can to take care of their own problems and not depend on government hep if an emergency were to strike.

Learn more about being prepared here.

Cap Centre, Now with More Traffic!

You've all noticed the $37,000,0000 construction project in between Hwy 202 and Hwy 214 over the past 2 years, which has resulted in a different traffic pattern for Outer Loop traffic when exiting for Hwy 202. This has all been done to circumvent Federal guidelines in regards to the number of exits allowed in a certain distance on the Interstate system.

Because of the changes that were made the exit to Arena Drive, which allows access to the Cap Centre and FedEx Field, the exit will now be open all of the time.

Our local state Senator David Harrington was quoted in the Gazette as saying,
"For far too long people have driven by the Boulevard at the Capital Centre without easy access to it. This is a major coup for Prince George's County."

(Photo Credit Leah L. Jones, the Gazette)

Public Safety Night, Tonight!

Come on down to Town Park tonight from 5:30 to 7:30, enjoy free food from Outback, and meet your local Cheverly Police Department and see some of their equipment, and some of the equipment from the County department as well.

It's a great time for kids, as there are SWAT tanks, helicopters, armaments, and lots of other interesting tools of the job.

St. Ambrose Golf, Take a Swing!

The St Ambrose Men's Club having it's annual Golf Tournament on September 25th. It's a scramble so players of all skills will have fun. So join you neighbors and come have some fun. The cost is $100 per player, which includes; golf fees, cart, range balls, beverages & beer on the course, a box lunch, dinner at Fannon Hall, and lot's of prizes.

We are also looking for local sponsors who want to reach over 130 local residents with there advertising dollars. For $125 you get a placard announcing you sponsorship on the course, and a "shout out" in our program. You can also choose to donate a product or service for a door prize.

Get a foursome (or ask if you can join another) and contact Mike Callahan (301) 772-3197 if you'd like more info.

Lilja 4-Ever screening

Here's a note from Joani Horchler about a very good cause she and her daughters are supporting. You can support it too by going out to see a movie and eating great food on Monday! OK, it's a movie which promises to be a deeply disturbing and depressing but it still beats sitting at home on Monday night and I can vouch for the food. Check it out!

Dear Cheverly friends,

My daughters Ilona Horchler and Gabrielle Christian (an actress in LA) and I are volunteers for a wonderful (international but DC-based) organization that comforts victims of domestic violence and human trafficking and helps them start new lives FAIR Fund is a 501c3 nonprofit working to prevent human trafficking in the lives of youth, especially girls, right here in the DC area and also around the world. (See fairfund.org for more info.) Just in the DC area recently, 35 American teen girls were rescued from the sex trade by law enforcement and nonprofits like FAIR Fund.

Please come to see Lilja 4-Ever, a dramatic portrayal of one girl's descent into the world of sex trafficking. This is a film made in Sweden about a Russian girl trafficked into Sweden. The film will be shown Mon Sept. 14 at the New Deal Cafe at 113 Centerway (Roosevelt Center) in Greenbelt. The time is 7 to 9:30 pm. Contact www.newdealcafe.com for more info about the restaurant. The price is $14 for food and the film and a voluntary $15 suggested donation at the door to support FAIR Fund. STRONG CONTENT--18 years and older advised!!!

ChvGarden Open House Today!

You are cordially invited to join us at an Open House for the

Cheverly Community Vegetable Gardens.

Date: Friday, September 11, 2009

Location: George M. Boyd Park 1801 64th Avenue Cheverly MD 20785.

Time: 5:30 pm till 7:00 pm.

Light snacks and beverages will be provided.



We wish to take this opportunity to thank those individuals and organizations that

have helped to make the Cheverly Community Vegetable Gardens a reality. Walk

through the Garden and see what has been accomplished. Learn about Maryland

residents growing their own food close to home.



Overflow parking available courtesy of the Community Temple Bibleway Church at 6207 State Street

( the end of 64th Avenue).

Squeezing Our Wineries.

This is an editorial written by Crystal Lal, Cheverly community Market Manager, that was published in this Sundays Post.

Two articles in the Aug. 19 Food section got my blood boiling about an issue on which I had hoped Maryland was making progress: making local wines more available in farmers markets. One article pointed out the delicious benefits of hosting a dinner party of "locally produced, seasonal foods" bought at a farmers market ["So Southern, So Summer"]. Veggies, cheese and meat all combined to make a simple, elegant, celebratory meal worthy of discussion in The Post. The one dinner party staple not bought at the market was the wine.

In an adjacent article, five local wines from Virginia and one from Maryland were pitted against wines from California and France, with surprising results ["Glass Acts"]. The Virginia wines scored particularly high, and considering Maryland's laws that inhibit our wine industry, I was proud that one of our wines was included and received a respectable score.

During the last legislative session, a bill that would have helped with both issues in Maryland was killed for no good reason by state Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Prince George's) in the final hours of the final day. It would have increased the number of permits that Maryland wineries can have to sell at farmers markets in Prince George's County.

I'm hopeful that during the next session, legislation will pass to help local wineries increase their market share. Wine is just as much an agricultural product as the fruit the wines are made from. Everyone benefits when local wineries can be a part of the movement to buy locally.

Get Your Self-Defense On!

The Cheverly Police Department would like to host another Women's Self Defense Class, which previously have been very well attended. If you've not attended one before, or would like to take a refresher course, then please call Janet at the Police Department at 301-341-1055 and let her know you're interested.

Once enough people have signed up, they will contact you and announce a date.

Ili Horchler in the WaPo!

We see Ili regularly, at the Community Market, at the pool, and most other town events, and we saw her today in the Washington Post.

It's an article about her job teaching at Robert Goddard School in Seabrook, MD, a school that she went to as a child.

We also learned that in addition to French, she speaks Hungarian and Japanese.

We'll be sure to put this to the test the next time we see her. Congrats on the article Ilona!

Gazette Article on Apartment Homicide

Link to Story

Prince George's County and Cheverly police are investigating a Saturday night shooting in Cheverly that left one teenager dead and another man injured.

Police responded at about 10:50 p.m. to the Cheverly Terrace Apartments in the 6300 block of Landover Road to find Abdul Karim Barrie, 17, of the same block, and an adult male, 19, also of Cheverly, suffering from gunshot wounds, said Cpl. Mike Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department.

Barrie was transported to the hospital where he later died, Rodriguez said. The 19-year-old, whom police did not name, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and has been released, Rodriguez said.

The shooter targeted the victim, Cheverly Police Chief Buddy Robshaw said.

"This wasn't just somebody driving down the street firing randomly," he added.

Witnesses saw a man emerge from a green minivan, fire shots at the two men, and then re-enter the van to flee the scene, Robshaw said.

Police do not know how many people were in the green minivan. The gunman "was a passenger, which would indicate there was more than one but there's no description on anybody else," Robshaw said.

A dispute appeared to have led to the shooting, Rodriguez said, adding that police do not know the details of the dispute.

Barrie's death marks Cheverly's second homicide this year.

Spencer Morris III, 22, was shot and killed July 4 outside of his home after walking from the Cheverly Community Center basketball courts. Although Morris' shooting also was a targeted one, the cases are unrelated, Robshaw said.

Police have made no arrests in connection with Morris's death, Robshaw said.

"We have leads that we're still tracking down," he said of the Morris case. "It's not like it's stagnant. It's fair to say an arrest is not imminent but it's not by any means cold."

Barrie's relatives could not be reached for comment.

County police are asking anyone with information about Barrie's shooting to call the county's Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS.