COMMON CORE: In this one-hour video at the Council of Chief State School Officers, four state education chiefs talk about what’s going well with Common Core, where improvements can be made and what’s next for implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Lillian Lowery, Maryland superintendent of schools, June Atkinson, North Carolina superintendent of public schools, Kevin Huffman, Tennessee commissioner of education, and Hanna Skandera, New Mexico secretary of education, speak. Scroll down to click on the easy sign-in to view the video.
ONLINE VOTING: Glynis Kazanjian of MarylandReporter.com reports that wary members of the state Election Board said they could not certify a new voting system for use in the June primary election until more security measures are put in place. State election officials were hoping to certify a new online ballot marking tool that could be accessed when downloading a ballot online — a feature that is currently available to all voters.
- The five-member panel declined to certify a system for marking the ballots on a computer screen despite assurances from its staff that the system was secure and ready to be used in this year’s June primary and November general elections, writes Michael Dresser for the Sun.
DEFINING TAXIS: A judge with the Maryland Public Service Commission proposed Thursday to categorize Uber and other popular rideshare companies as “common carriers” — and subject them to the same regulations as taxis, Colin Campbell and Scott Dance report for the Sun. Uber has threatened to leave the state if the commission votes next month to classify as a cab company.
‘CARDS’ BACK TO WORK?: If there is one message that came through this week in Netflix executive Ted Sarados telling Wall Street analysts that the problems between “House of Cards” and Maryland are “over-comeable,” it is that enough’s enough, writes TV columnist David Zurawik for the Sun. The impasse and bickering have gone on long enough, and it’s time to get back onto the soundstages and make Season 3.
NO BENIGN NEGLECT OF GARRETT: Joe Gill, secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, responds to Barry Rascovar’s April 21 column in MarylandReporter.com, in which he describes the O’Malley administration’s policy toward Garrett County as one of “benign neglect.” The facts, Gill writes, say otherwise.
ENVIRONMENTAL VISIONARIES: Len Lazarick of MarylandReporter.com writes that it was an odd group of “visionaries” being honored as the premier Maryland environmental group, 1000 Friends of Maryland, celebrated its 20th anniversary Wednesday night. There were two real estate developers, a chef and a builder of roofs and walls.
ONE FROSH, TWO CARDINS: Political prognosticator Fraser Smith, in a column for the Daily Record, attempts to educate the public about the difference between a guy named Cardin, his nephew named Cardin and a candidate for Attorney General not named Cardin, but named Brian Frosh, and how difficult it is for the public to look past the name and look at the qualities of the candidates.
ON EDUCATION: In the latest Q&A with the gubernatorial candidates as Capital News Service addresses the issues, Ethan Barton writes, in the Cecil Whig that the candidates have a variety of strategies for the future of pre-kindergarten and to mitigate the struggle for power between the state and local school systems’ control over teacher evaluation protocols. Seven major candidates outlined their plans to manage Maryland education issues in response to a Capital News Service questionnaire.
ADDRESS GERRYMANDERING: Don Fry, writing in Center Maryland, is calling on the gubernatorial candidates to address the issue of gerrymandering and redistricting, and the polarizing effect that gerrymandering has had on the state of Maryland, the nation and Congress.
TALKING WITH GANSLER & IVEY: Marc Steiner of WEAA-FM interviews Attorney General Doug Gansler, who is running for governor, and his running mate, Del. Jolene Ivey as they discuss their campaign and their plan for Maryland’s future.
DEM TV DEBATES: The first televised debate in Maryland’s Democratic primary for governor will be May 7, followed by a second debate on June 2, according to the stations that will broadcast them. The first TV debate matching Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler and Del. Heather Mizeur is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 7 at the University of Maryland, College Park and will be broadcast on Washington’s NBC affiliate. According to NBC4, “Meet the Press” host David Gregory will moderate.
GANSLER’S PROBLEM: Sun columnist Dan Rodricks ponders the problems that Doug Gansler will have with voters by criticising rival Anthony Brown’s military service and finds that there will be consequences. But maybe not as much as he would have faced 30 years ago.
NO PREFERENCE & MIZEUR: Todd Eberly, an associate professor at St. Mary’s College, follows up his column from yesterday on the recent St. Mary’s inaugural poll, writing for MarylandReporter.com that the fact that “No Preference” has become a voter favorite for governor is a sad state of affairs. We have two rather well-known and established candidates in Brown and Gansler. Yet, the more they campaign and the more people learn about them the less people seem to like them. Mizeur is the only candidate gaining ground, she still has a lot of ground to make up, but it’s easier to gain on an opponent who is falling.
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