Week In Review

Today, as a flood warning is in effect and the Metro area is expecting an inch of rain, I’m thinking about the wacky weather during this past week. We saw cold but sunny weather on Tuesday, balmy, shorts weather mid-week and a downpour on Sunday. Indeed, temperature and temperament rollercoastered in Hyattsville during the first week or March.

On Monday and Tuesday, Hyattsville Patch brought news, photos and videos about protests outside of Northwestern High School as five members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed across from the school on Adelphi Road.

Protesters from Hyattsville, University Park and other nearby communities made signs and held a counter-protest on the opposite side of the street in front of Northwestern.

On Sunday morning, Prince George’s County Fire/EMS found a trash compactor and an old car aflame near the intersection of Ager Road and Hamilton Street. No one was injured and Fire/EMS spokesman Mark Brady said the blaze might have been accidentally started by vagrants living in the one-story abandoned warehouse.

And a resident of Friendship Arms was hospitalized after her hair and clothing caught fire late Friday night. Brady said that an adhesive strip affixed to a curling iron the woman was using ignited and spread to her hair and clothes.

The current status of the woman's condition is not available due to patient privacy rules. She was transported to a burn center late Friday.

And speaking of fire, about 200 people filled Bunker Hill Volunteer Fire & Rescue Station on the evening of March 1 to remember a friend, father and firefighter —

Hook was serving at the at the time of his death. He was 44. Hook began his career with the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) in 2001 where he served until the time of his death; he attained his 10th year of membership just last month. One of Hook's accomplishments with the department was helping to purchase a new heavy-duty Rescue Squad when he was chairman.

On Monday, residents of the Mosaic at Metro apartment complex on Belcrest Road were evacuated after loud fire alarms and lights blared through the halls of one building. According to a Mosaic employee who was helping the firefighters, a resident on the third floor of building four left their gas-powered stove on high while it wasn't being used.

To keep the tempo up, Hyattsville Patch showcased Elevation Burger, soon to be a Hyattsville institution. Ideas for new development in have clung to an organic twist, intending to bring hip to the city that began booming late last decade. At 5501 Baltimore Ave., Christopher and David Wallis hope to shoehorn their burger joint into , set to open in the coming months.

Sonia Dasgupta, editor of the Riverdale Park-University Park Patch went to Northwestern High’s Henson Awards Night and snapped photos of the creations made by students. Jim Henson’s widow Jane attended the event.

This coming week, look for updates on this year’s city elections, a profile of a hometown author and photos of our little city.