Wednesday, May 18, 2011

And now for something completely local

Former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson has now pled guilty to charges of corruption (i.e. bribery and developer shakedowns) and appears to be headed to 11-13 years in prison. Johnson, who just finished serving two terms as County Executive, was arrested, along with his wife, on bribery charges at the end of last year.

Johnson is apparently "sorry for what happened" but wants to remind PG residents that "all have sinned..."

So what did Johnson's bribery yield for residents of PG County? Apperently not more or sufficient grocery stores:

What a luxury for the residents of Washington’s Cleveland Park neighborhood to fight over the redesign of a Giant grocery store. Not long ago, the Safeway serving the Landover Hills area in Prince George’s County fled. Quite recently the nearby Giant packed up; the company said that the footprint was too small for its current business model.

While I’m grateful that an Aldi’s is slated to move into that location in the fall, its stores don’t accept WIC payments — a real drawback for the low-
income residents who have walked to that location for the past 30 years.

Ah, to get into a snit over whether the new Giant will maintain the historic integrity of the building it will occupy, or whether the addition of mixed-use development there would cause traffic problems. In Prince George’s, we’re facing what’s closer to a food desert rather than the glut of Cleveland Park, which has at least five supermarkets less than two miles from the Wisconsin Avenue Giant.

“The Cleveland Park community is going to have a bright new supermarket,” says Giant’s public relations office. If its residents can’t agree on that new supermarket, please send it to the Landover area. We’ll take it.

Jolene Ivey, Cheverly

The writer is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates (D-Prince George’s).

While many will be glad Johnson is finally getting his due, as rumors and allegations of corruption surrounded him for years, it's the people of PG County who will bear the brunt of Johnson's "sins".

No comments: