Governor O’Malley, in a recent visit to Prince George’s County, announced that violent crime in Maryland has hit a record low not seen since 1979. The significant decline in violent crime, particularly homicides in Prince George’s County, contributed significantly to the overall drop.

In March, the State of Maryland created almost 36,000 jobs, more than anywhere else in the U.S. This is the biggest increase in new jobs in Maryland since 2008. While this is wonderful news, your representatives in Annapolis are still doing all they can to create more employment opportunities for out-of-work Marylanders.

Legislation I introduced to combat growing rates of diet related disease in low income areas without access to fresh foods, unanimously passed the Maryland General Assembly and has been signed into law by the Governor. The bill creates a tax credit for Grocery Stores that offer fresh produce, dairy, and meats who open in low income areas.

The Hyattsville library will soon be offering job technology and interview training in both English and Spanish. This new service was made possible by a $5,000 grant.

During the 2010 meeting of the General Assembly, I worked diligently to correct State funding formulas in order to increase State aid for Prince George’s County. I also fought to ensure that additional funding was included for our County in the Governor’s supplemental budget. Please click here to read about the increased funding the State allocated for Prince George’s County.

According to a recent report, Prince George’s County experienced the greatest surge in home sales in the mid-Atlantic region. This is great news for our County as it struggles to prevent further foreclosures and declining property values.

Since the strict but necessary limits were placed on the harvesting of Maryland blue crabs two years ago, the crab population has since doubled in the Chesapeake Bay. Blue crabs are an essential part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the Maryland seafood economy’s most important natural resource.

Please click here to read about legislation I introduced this session to combat the proliferation of liquor stores in our County. This legislation has since been signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley.

Greenbelt has recently received almost $45,000 in funding to hire a part-time juvenile delinquency prevention counselor to address issues of bullying, gang involvement, anger management, and learning with a disability.