The City is excited to partner, for the first time in FY21, with Cyberninjaz. Founded in 2014 by educators and professionals with a passion for workforce development, Cyberninjaz’s programming helps kids and young adults develop into more educated, disciplined, empowered, and well-rounded individuals with the skills needed to work in the modern digital era.

Through the “Quality of Life” Grant program, Cyberninjaz is offering FREE and all-virtual, after-school STEAM courses Monday thru Saturday starting October 26th. Classes for each course last one hour and are held twice a week, and students may sign-up for more than one course concurrently.

Classes begin the week of Monday, October 26, 2020.  Register today.

• Explore Physics on Monday/Wednesday between 4 – 5 pm (Ages: 11+)
• Intro. to Programming on Monday/Wednesday between 5 – 6 pm (Ages: 8+)
• Web/UX Design on Tuesday/Thursday between 4 – 5 pm (Ages: 8+)
• 3D / Game Design on Tuesday/Thursday between 5 – 6 pm (Ages: 13+)
• Cyber Security on Friday between 5 – 6 pm, and Saturday between 1 – 2 pm (Ages: 13+)

The City of Takoma Park’s Community “Quality of Life” Grant program provides financial support for projects that provide greater access and participation in the arts and sciences for predominantly low-and moderate-income Takoma Park residents. 

The City has partnered with Maryland Sustainable Ecologies to offer Saturday workshops on tree issues. The 30-minute workshops will take place remotely on Zoom, beginning at noon on each of the days indicated.

Remaining Session topics:

• Session 3 – Common pests, diseases, and invasive species
  Date: Saturday, November 14
  Time: 12:00 pm – (30-minute session)

• Session 4 – Legal considerations and how to hire a contractor
  Date: Saturday, November 21
  Time: 12 pm (30-minute session)

The sessions will be taught by Board-Certified Master Arborist, Richard Jones, and Meg Smolinski, ISA-Certified Arborist, Maryland Sustainable Ecologies has developed the course content from nearly 25 years of cumulative experience in arboriculture, safety, tree care, and best practices in the tree world.

• Each workshop can have up to 25 participants.
• Attendees can register for one or all of the sessions
• To register, please send an email to: UrbanForestManager@TakomaParkMD.gov
• Provide your name, address, and which session you want to attend.

I appreciate the work of the Marshall Project in its many efforts, including the recent series on Police K9s. One article in the series focuses on a terrible accident in 2018 when a Takoma Park Police dog bit a woman who was out for a walk with her boyfriend and dog in Washington, D.C. at the border with Takoma Park, Maryland. Our Takoma Park Police officers immediately provided aid to the victim. The City of Takoma Park provided information for the investigation of the incident undertaken by the District of Columbia, undertook our own thorough investigation, and provided information to our insurance carrier regarding the case. Neither the K9 involved in the incident, nor the dog’s handler, works for Takoma Park at this time.

While that incident was the only such incident in the 29 year history of the K9 program of the Takoma Park Police Department, it was a traumatic incident. A major reason the City of Takoma Park instituted a K9 unit in 1991 was to minimize having K9s from other police agencies, with different standards on use and control, in Takoma Park. Currently, the Takoma Park Police Department has one police dog. Whether or not the City of Takoma Park should continue to have a K9 program is part of the charge of a Reimagining Public Safety Task Force being formed in Takoma Park. The primarily Black and Brown membership of the Task Force will provide recommendations on this subject to the Takoma Park City Council, with recommendations to be provided by June 2021.

A copy of the questions asked by a reporter for the Marshall Project is here; the responses to the questions are provided.