DEMS BACK AWAY FROM MAP: The Democratic Central Committees for Montgomery and Prince George’s counties — the state’s two largest — decided not to recommend to voters whether they should vote for the map, which is on the ballot in November. Several Democratic lawmakers are working against it. Others are taking a more nuanced approach, speaking about the map only when asked, reports Annie Linskey of the Sun.
NAACP GAY MARRIAGE AD: The NAACP of Maryland is launching a radio ad today urging support of the same-sex marriage referendum on next month’s ballot, John Wagner blogs in the Post. The ad features Julian Bond, chairman emeritus of the national NAACP, who argues that voting for Question 6 is “the right thing to do.”
FOOSBALL FUNDER: Gov. Martin O’Malley and Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo are on the same side of Question 6, but they took opposite positions at the foosball table at a fundraiser for the same-sex marriage campaign Monday night, writes Annie Linskey of the Sun.
DREAM STUDY: Aaron Davis of the Post writes that a new study finds that Maryland’s Dream Act, if approved by voters on Nov. 6, would lure more illegal immigrants to public colleges and cost more than state analysts have predicted. But over decades the measure’s “net benefits” could far outweigh costs, returning tens of millions to the state for each class that earns advanced degrees.
Providing illegal immigrants more access to higher education in Maryland could generate an extra $5 million in revenue for the state per graduating college class, the Sun’s Annie Linskey writes of the study.
State Del. Pat McDonough, a Baltimore County Republican, cast doubts on the study and said he thinks more than 1,000 students a year could eventually take part in the program, which he said could raise costs to $40 million a year, reports David Hill for the Washington Times.
And the editorial board for the Sun writes that the benefits to the state of passing the Dream Act outweigh its costs.
$1.2B TO W.VA.: Marylanders left the state to spend about $1.2 billion at the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, W.Va., over the past decade, money they could have pumped into the local economy instead, according to a report released yesterday by a group that wants to expand casino gambling in Maryland, reports Matt Connolly for the Washington Examiner.
MANUFACTURING JOBS: The number of manufacturing jobs in Maryland seems to go in only one direction — down. The state lost 21,000 positions in the past five years. More than 40,000 in the past decade. Nearly 70,000 in the past two decades. But, writes Jamie Smith Hopkins in the Sun, the nonprofit Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland is trying to organize employers and local officials to get the sector growing again.
SOBHANI VS. BONGINO: The campaign of independent U.S. Senate candidate Rob Sobhani accused a volunteer for Republican rival Dan Bongino of verbally attacking one of Sobhani’s volunteers Saturday and claiming Sobhani’s campaign is funded by terrorists, writes C. Benjamin Ford of the Gazette.
CARDIN HEAVY LIFTING: David Moon of Maryland Juice features a new ad by incumbent U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin in which he is a baggage handler at the airport.
INDEPENDENT BONGINO: Red Maryland posts a new ad by Dan Bongino contrasting him with Rob Sobhani.
TIMMERMAN VS. VAN HOLLEN: In Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, no longer the progressive bastion it once was since it now includes much more conservative constituents in Frederick and Carroll counties, Republican candidate Ken Timmerman is contesting Democrat incumbent Chris Van Hollen, ranking member of the House Budget Committee member, for the seat, writes Sam Smith for MarylandReporter.com.
ZONING SCUFFLE: Some community leaders in Baltimore County are fighting a referendum drive they say is backed by developers who are trying to “hijack” the county’s zoning process because they didn’t get their way, Alison Knezevich writes for the Sun.
Community activists say prominent developer David S. Brown Properties is behind the petition drive to overturn zoning for Wegmans. Brown is developing a metro center complex just blocks from the proposed Wegmens, reports John Rydell for WBFF-TV.
FOLLOW THE WINNER: Lindsey McPherson of the Howard County Times writes of a common occurrence in politics, using Howard Exec Ken Ulman as an example: How some campaign staffers follow the winner into paid positions within an administration.
Recent Comments