Week In Review

The week began with a quick update on the status of the opening of the retail outfits at EYA’s East Village.

If you drive by the development now, you'll see some really cool things happening. Row homes are popping up — and some even have their facades on them. Cranes, bulldozers and crewmen are hard at work out there building out what could become one of Hyattsville's highlights.

On Monday night, we learned that Hyattsville Mayor William Gardiner is calling it quits as the city's head honcho after eight years of service in his current role, and two years before that as a City Councilman for Ward 4.

Gardiner’s terms have been marked by a substantial increase in mixed-use development and the annexation of new areas into the city.

No one has officially thrown their hat in the ring for this race, but announcements of intention are expected soon.

We also rolled out our new Moms Talk feature — as part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to families.

Hyattsville Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Hyattsville.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions. So join the conversation!

Editor Cydney Cappello wrote about Metro’s fare hike for MetroAccess. The fares will be double as of Feb. 27.

The new fares are part of Metro’s overall fare adjustments approved last June for this fiscal year. The new fare is calculated based on the distance and time of day for travel and that MetroAccess fare will cost twice the amount of what the fare would cost for Metrobus or Metrorail service, but will not exceed $7.

Patch brought you the details on the Prince George’s County Council approval of a resolution to waive developers’ contributions to the public safety fund in the Hyattsville portion of the county's designated arts district.

The action is expected to expedite the redevelopment of the Route 1 corridor in Hyattsville by easing the surcharge developers must pay before building development.

We reported on the Hyattsville City Council’s meeting on Monday. The council approved plans for a community garden at Hyatt Park, approved budget guidelines for this year and decided not to weigh in on a liquor license for Kitchen Near You restaurant.

The number of black-owned businesses in the U.S. increased by about 60 percent — more than three times the national average for business growth — between 2002 and 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Among the states, Maryland had the third-largest percentage of firms with black ownership in 2007, behind Washington, D.C., and Georgia.

Patch tipped you off to three local open houses for this weekend in our new feature, House Hunt. One of those homes is on 42nd Avenue.

Over 300 people were evacuated from a building at University Town Center after reports of a foul odor. It turns out, the odor wasn’t anything serious and no one was hurt.

Finally, Patch has continued to provide you with roundups of burglaries in the city since last year.