Voices of Laurel

07/30/2025

Konterra Master Plan To Undergo Changes

Hundreds of people packed the Laurel-Beltsville Senior Center on July 28 to learn of plans for the Prince George’s County area of Subregion 1 known as Konterra. Adjacent to Laurel along the 95/200 corridor, Konterra was to include 3 downtowns with anchor stores and 24 local centers. Changes in the real estate market, the demise of department stores, and other factors have necessitated changes to the 2035 Master Plan. Developers now propose more housing, smaller but more plentiful shops, walking and biking paths, and activity centers. County Councilmember Tom Dernoga, who hosted the meeting, stressed that public input is crucial and will be gathered for the next few months. Contact his office here:

District 1 | Prince George's County Legislative Branch, MD
https://pgccouncil.us/149/District-1---Dernoga

The current master plan can be seen here:
https://www.pgplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Subregion-1.pdf

07/29/2025

Two natives of Laurel who play music as Green Eggs & Ham are playing a 40th anniversary show on August 24 at the New Deal Café in Greenbelt. But the duo’s band name isn’t the only unusual thing about them: since birth, they grew up as pals in Laurel and eventually became stepbrothers. https://www.voicesoflaurel.com/post/green-eggs-ham-not-the-book-40-year-anniversary

07/25/2025

07/22/2025

A brutal 1981 Laurel murder investigation ends near the gates of Graceland in Richard Friend's latest edition of "Laurel Noir."

Laurel Noir is a series focused on historic crimes and the darker underside of our hometown.By all accounts, Danny Wayne Ward was a quiet, well-liked young man. The 30-year-old U.S. Army veteran had been drafted right out of high school and served in Vietnam from 1970–71, and later re-enlisted in ...

07/18/2025

It’s not unusual for religious denominations to live a nomadic existence in the years leading up to finally securing a permanent home. But Laurel’s Jewish community faced an additional hurdle in their years-long quest for a home of their own—the threat of eviction from their own synagogue:

It’s not unusual for religious denominations to live a nomadic existence in the years leading up to finally securing a permanent home. In the late 1960s, for instance, St. Mary’s Catholic Church was bursting at the seams, leading parishioners who lived in the South Laurel area to explore creatin...

07/16/2025

Rick McGill is closing the book on his popular "We had a guy..." column, which has regaled readers with authentic cop stories from his time with the Laurel Police Department. In this, the final installment, he recalls the tremendous work that went into making the Laurel Police Memorial at Ivy Hill Cemetery a reality 25 years ago—a very special endeavor that he was instrumental in.

We're grateful to Rick for his years of service to the community, and for being such a key contributor to Voices of Laurel since the very first issue.

Tales From the Laurel Police DepartmentSummer 2025This series of articles has been an uncomplicated string of personal war stories from my time at a small municipal police department between Baltimore and Washington, DC, told without a lot of extravagant details; just the facts, ma’am. Other cops ...

07/15/2025

Our Summer edition's cover story focuses on the recent Main Street Festival, which enjoyed a massive success despite two high profile incidents that could have been far worse:

Photos by Charles Sisler/Soft Reflections Vision SolutionsThe morning of May 10 started out as the perfect Spring day: sunshine, clear skies, and a forecast of moderate temperatures perfect for strolling in downtown Laurel for the 44th annual Main Street Festival. No one could have predicted that tw...

07/11/2025

Effective Friday, July 11, 2025, through Saturday, August 31, 2025, Mayor Keith R. Sydnor has issued Executive Order 2025-04, establishing a temporary city-wide curfew for juveniles.

This temporary curfew is intended to promote the safety and well-being of Laurel’s youth and to support broader public safety goals during the summer months.

Learn more: https://www.cityoflaurel.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=509

07/07/2025

Our Summer edition is at the printer—look for it to hit the street soon!