Day: October 30, 2014

Current plans to restore Chesapeake won’t work without Conowingo cleanup, report says

Current plans to restore Chesapeake won’t work without Conowingo cleanup, report says

by | Oct 30, 2014 |

A new report from the Maryland Public Policy Institute warns that Maryland’s $14.4 billion plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay will not satisfy an EPA mandate—because the plan ignores the Conowingo Dam as the single largest source of sediment and nutrient pollution in the Bay.

The report laments that the lion’s share of the $14.4 billion burden, $13.5 billion, is disproportionately targeted to mitigate nitrogen pollution from sewage plants, stormwater, and septic systems, which only account for 7% of all the pollution into the Bay–and will only reduce nitrogen by a negligible 2% by 2025. The mandate was established in 2010 to meet Clean Water Act standards by 2025.

Don’t mess with Conowingo until you’ve cleaned up your act

Don’t mess with Conowingo until you’ve cleaned up your act

by | Oct 30, 2014 | ,

If I could amend the federal Clean Water Act, I’d include triple penalties for polluters who spend more energy pointing to other polluters than on cleaning up their own mess.

This “we won’t act till they do” dereliction has colossally delayed action to clean up the Chesapeake, and dodging the real issues has become a prime focus of conservative politicians and rural governments in Maryland.

Until someone musters billions of dollars to dredge centuries of sediment from Pennsylvania trapped behind the giant Conowingo Dam, they whine, it makes no sense for them to spend money on their pollution.

Videos profile statewide candidates

Videos profile statewide candidates

by | Oct 30, 2014 |

Haven’t voted yet? Haven’t made up your mind on some of the statewide candidates?

Capital News Service broadcast reporters have produced a series of 2 1/2-minute profiles of the statewide candidates. The first two on Democrat Anthony Brown and Republican Larry Hogan Jr. include interviews with Len Lazarick, editor and publisher of MarylandReporter.com and Josh Kurtz, political columnist for Center Maryland.
There are also profiles of Brian Frosh and Jeff Pritzker running for attorney general and Peter Franchot and Bill Campbell running for comptroller. And there is a package of ballot Question 1 on the Transportation Trust Fund.

State Roundup, October 30, 2014

by | Oct 30, 2014 |

The Republican Governors Association pours almost $300,000 into D.C. ads to tout Hogan for governor; if you missed it, there’s video of N.J. Gov. Christie, who is also head of the RGA, on the hustings with Hogan at the Honey Bee Diner; in a profile for the Post, we learn that Brown didn’t stay in the shadows as a new lawmaker; Mizeur offers an unflattering backing of Brown; problems continue to pile on for Baltimore County delegate candidate Jay Jalisi; Sun editorial board is all in for Frosh for attorney general; early voting ends tonight and hit a record high yesterday; state, Frederick County to answer suit on non-citizen voting and machine irregularities reported; and state to buy historic home in Annapolis.

Mizeur’s implicit support for Brown’s personal and unfair negative campaigning

Mizeur’s implicit support for Brown’s personal and unfair negative campaigning

by | Oct 30, 2014 | ,

Democrat Del. Heather Mizeur caused quite a stir among supporters of Anthony Brown Wednesday when she wrote an op-ed for the Sun urging the 104,000 Democrats who voted for her for governor not to write in her name on the general election ballot, but to support Anthony Brown. What upset Brown supporters was not that message, but the lengthy criticism she heaped on Brown and his campaign. Here’s another point of view of the Mizeur article by a Hogan supporter and frequent commentator Rick Vatz.

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