The Intersection Mag LLC

07/24/2025

Brandywine is one of the potential areas where a data center could be built in Southern Prince George's County. If you live in Brandywine or the surrounding area, please get in contact with us. We would like to add your perspective to an article one of our reporters is working on. Please DM

07/23/2025

From The Intersection Magazine:

The Prince George’s County Courtwatch, a program under Life After Release, a non-profit organization based in Prince George’s County (South County), is expanding its work to Charles County, Maryland.

The organization aims to expand its services further south to ensure that the Charles County court system upholds the law and delivers fair sentences.

“We want to make sure that bond hearings are adhering to Maryland Rule 4-261.1,” said Dr. Carmen Johnson, director of Court Watch PG. Johnson has trained over 400 court watchers and has attended over 6,000 bond hearings. The Maryland rule “is designed to promote the release of defendants on their recognizance or, when necessary, unsecured bond,” according to a legal document.

The Prince George’s County Courtwatch, a program under Life After Release, a non-profit organization based in Prince George’s County (South County), is expanding its work to Charles County, Maryland . The organization aims to expand its services further south to ensure that the C

07/21/2025

From The Intersection Magazine:

Surrounding the room were a variety of different displays, showing a map of existing data centers in Prince George’s County, and planning boards that explained the benefits of data centers.

Following the presentation overview, residents were encouraged to engage in a roundtable discussion. They sat at three different tables, each addressing a different topic of conversation. They discussed community benefit opportunities, mitigation strategies, site considerations, and building designs.

During the discussion, residents presented many suggestions and concerns. Residents felt this presentation appeared to be for a project that was already somewhat finalized and not just an idea.

Brian Deyo, a resident of Mt. Rainier, said that an indicator to him that this project was far along was that there was already a task force in place. He said that while it looks like the project could be positive, the way it was presented was misleading.

“One of the most important things that we can do is think about the benefits to PG County,” Deyo said. “If it’s inevitable whether we like it or not, what can we get out of it that’s going to benefit us?”

The County government is meeting with community members to talk about building more data centers in Prince George's County

07/16/2025

From Elizabeth Bruenig, writer from The Atlantic

“I had been trying to compose my thoughts about the death penalty for a while, distilling them into scraps and stubs of writing, but the only certainty I had going into the Indiana death chamber in December 2020 was the simple sense that it’s generally wrong to kill people, even bad people. What I witnessed on this occasion and the ones that came after has not changed my conviction that capital punishment must end. But in sometimes-unexpected ways, it has changed my understanding of why.”

What years of witnessing executions taught me about sin, mercy, and the possibility of redemption

07/15/2025

From The Maryland Wire:

For decades, the prevailing narrative in Maryland politics has been clear: Baltimore City and Prince George’s County take too much from the state’s coffers while contributing too little. It’s a trope that’s been weaponized in budget debates and campaign sound bites alike. But what if the real “mooch” counties aren’t urban at all? What if the most subsidized jurisdictions are rural, Republican strongholds?

This is not to critisize these countys but instead when theydemand smaller government they argue against them selves. When counties in Western Maryland wanted to leave Maryland no one wanted them.
A fresh look at state aid dependency data from the Department of Legislative Services reveals a more complicated truth. Some of Maryland’s smallest counties are, in fact, the biggest net beneficiaries of state dollars, receiving far more than they generate in local taxes. Let’s name names.

https://open.substack.com/pub/themarylandwire/p/the-five-biggest-mooch-counties-who?r=1s3o1x&utm_medium=iosnd

By Barry O'Connell

07/14/2025

From NPR:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that it would allow the Trump administration to resume dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.

The court stayed a preliminary injunction issued in May by a federal judge in Massachusetts. That injunction had directed the administration to stop gutting the department and to reinstate many of the nearly 1,400 workers the government had laid off.
Monday’s ruling is not the final word, as the case continues to work its way through the lower courts. But it deals a serious blow to the states and schools districts who had filed suit and who worry that, without an injunction, much of the damage done to the department before a final ruling will be impossible to reverse.

The Trump administration had appealed a decision that had directed it to stop gutting the U.S. Education Department and to reinstate many of the workers the government had laid off.

07/10/2025

From The Intersection Mag:

Her economic life has somewhat improved. Now, Luana has money to purchase enough food so that she, too, can eat. “I am no longer sacrificing one thing for the other — and that makes me feel calmer,” she said.

Prince George's County basic income program has provided some relief for youth that have transitioned out of foster care. However, some still struggle to find their way forward.

07/08/2025

From The Intersection Magazine:

Not long ago, there was a time when Luana had only enough money to buy food for her sibling. Her younger sibling lived with her. For Luana, based on the situation, it was logical to give the food to her sibling rather than eat it. There wasn’t enough. It’s not clear how often this happened — but she thinks it has resulted in a recurring stomach problem. “I need to make a doctor’s appointment for that,” she told me. However, things have changed. Her economic life has somewhat improved. Now, Luana has money to purchase enough food so that she too can eat. “I am no longer sacrificing one thing for the other — and that makes me feel calmer,” she said.

In 2024, Luana was accepted into the Prince George’s County basic income pilot program for youth who have transitioned out of foster care. The program not only provides financial support but also mentorship that helps them to navigate the road ahead.

“ You don't think [$800] is much at first,” explained Luana, who was once in the foster care system in Prince George’s County. “Then you think about how it does help you.”

Prince George's County basic income program has provided some relief for youth that have transitioned out of foster care. However, some still struggle to find their way forward.

06/11/2025

Harrod, our founder and reporter, will participate in a discussion about local journalism on June 14 in University Park, Maryland.

Time (Panel discussion): 4-5
Networking/ Reception: 5-7
Location: 4413 Tuckerman St., University Park
Cost: Free
RSVP: email [email protected]

06/02/2025

From The Intersection Mag:

On Sunday, May 18, community members gathered at the Creative Suitland Arts Center in Suitland, Maryland, to experience poet, activist, and artist Omowale-Ketu Oladuwa’s Octogenarian Poetry Tour. From 3 to 5 p.m., attendees were immersed in an afternoon of liberating speeches, spiritual reflection, riveting art and poetry, and soul-stirring music.

Sharing the space with Oladuwa were fellow activists and creatives: author and poet Caroline Brewer, singer and storyteller Dr. Karen Wilson-Ama’Echefu, and percussionist Abasi Johnson.

Community members were seated in a semicircle. The Elders Ensemble, a collection of artists, sat within that arrangement. While sitting there, they gently informed the crowd that they were not there to perform, but to connect with them.

Creative Suitland

On Sunday, May 18, community members gathered at the Creative Suitland Arts Center in Suitland, Maryland, to experience poet and artist Omowale-Ketu Oladuwa’s Octogenarian Poetry Tour . From 3 to 5 p.m., attendees were immersed in an afternoon of liberating speeches, spiritual reflection, rivet

05/17/2025

Maryland Matters:

“Advocates rallied in Annapolis a week ago, urging the governor to sign the bill, which had the backing of the Legislative Black Caucus. The caucus released a statement to express “deep disappointment” in the governor’s decision and that the “legislature will have a final say” when lawmakers meet to consider veto overrides.

“At a time when the White House and Congress are actively targeting Black communities, dismantling diversity initiatives and using harmful coded language, Governor Moore had a chance to show the country and the world that here in Maryland we boldly and courageously recognize our painful history and the urgent need to address it,” the caucus said in a statement Friday evening.

“Instead, the State’s first Black governor chose to block this historic legislation that would have moved the state toward directly repairing the harm of enslavement,” the statement said.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced Friday that he will veto the Reparations Commission bill that called for a study of historic inequality endured by African descendants in Maryland.

05/16/2025

From Maryland Matters:

“Our research has determined that OCME was especially unlikely to classify death as a homicide if the decedent was Black or if they died after being restrained by police,” Brown said. “These findings have profound implications across our justice system. They speak to systemic issues rather than individual conduct.”

Dozens of police-custody deaths that were ruled accidental or of unknown causes have been reclassified as homicides after a four-year review of more than 1,300 cases handled by former Maryland State Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler.