»LARS Volunteer Appreciation Day« It was a pleasure to join with PG County Councilmember Jolene Ivey and members of the Laurel City Council on April 18 to recognize and personally thank the volunteers of the Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services (LARS). These individuals step forward every day and week to help our neighbors around town, whether delivering groceries, connecting them with helpful resources, helping with the balcony garden project, providing clothing, and more. Thank you Laurelites for your caring that translates into actions which make a difference in the lives of so many.

(Photo: LARS)

»CM Dernoga/ District 21 Md. Legislative Recap« That following Wednesday I helped represent Laurel at the PG District 1 Community Conversation hosted by PG County Councilmember Tom Dernoga where our state delegation from District 21 shared a recap of key outcomes from the 2026 Maryland Legislative Session ended the prior week. District 21 has a strong team including Speaker of the House Josalene Pena-Melnyk, Senator Jim Rosapepe, Delegate Ben Barnes, and Delegate Mary Lehman. Some of the topics covered included utility rebates, supported funds for CMIT, women’s health support, protections for foster children, and resolving questions around street maintenance when there’s multiple jurisdictions. Thank you CM Dernoga for hosting and for all of our District 21 representatives for your hard work figuring out the best path forward for Maryland and especially for your love of Laurel.

»Laurel Police Awards Ceremony« This past week I joined the Laurel Police Department for their awards ceremony during which officers, teams, and staff were recognized for their strong work protecting Laurel over this past year. To me, it’s important to be present to let them know we care and appreciate what they do for and the harm they stand in the way of to protect our elders, couples, families, small businesses, and more around town. Cases cited included those involving drugs, weapons, property damage/ theft, multi-jurisdiction coordination, evidence collection, months and months of work, quick thinking. As the Chief put it, our officers are called upon as rescuers and defenders. Hats off to all who were recognized and those that go unnoticed: thank you for your efforts to make and keep Laurel safe.