NEW FRACKING RULES: Maryland environmental officials proposed new regulations Monday to govern the controversial gas-extraction method known as fracking, saying they expect to finalize the rules by the end of the year, writes Josh Hicks of the Post. State Environment Secretary Ben H. Grumbles called the guidelines “the most stringent and protective regulations in the country” for the drilling technique, technically called hydraulic fracturing.
LOWER SAT SCORES: Maryland’s graduating seniors scored lower as a group on the SAT than any class in the past 20 years and also scored below the national average, according to results being released Tuesday. But a top state education official downplayed the significance of the decline, Liz Bowie and Pamela Wood of the Sun report.
POLL ON HOGAN & FRACKING: Josh Hicks of the Post reports on the latest Goucher poll, writing that a majority of Marylanders support Gov. Larry Hogan’s executive order mandating a post-Labor Day start for public schools, according to a new statewide poll, but state residents are divided over the gas-extraction method known as fracking.
- The poll released Monday by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College found that 43% of those surveyed said they support or strongly support a ban on the process commonly referred to as fracking, Bryan Sears of the Daily Record writes. “The public sentiment on this issue is far from decided,” said Mileah Kromer, a political science professor and director of the poll.
MO CO RAPE REPORTS: Andrew Metcalf of Bethesda Beat reports that several Montgomery County state delegates say they’re concerned about what they say is a lack of transparency from county police regarding reported rape cases classified as “unfounded” in the wake of an investigative report by BuzzFeed News. Montgomery County police officials disputed the accuracy of statistics in the BuzzFeed report and said they plan to meet with some delegates Oct. 3.
UMB, HEBREW U. STRENGTHEN TIES: Gov. Larry Hogan, during a weeklong trade mission to Israel, says the University of Maryland, Baltimore is expanding ties with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, according to an AP story in the Daily Record. Hogan said the “agreement will further strengthen the successful partnership between these world-class universities and help to advance research in Maryland, particularly in the study of military medicine.”
SPEAR HUNTING REGS: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is proposing rules aimed at banning spear-hunting for big game, the AP is reporting in the Daily Record. The agency says in a statement it’s accepting public comments through Oct. 17 on a proposal to add regulatory language stating that only the weapons listed in the regulations may be used for deer and black bear hunting. Those weapons are bows and firearms, including a powerful new type of air gun that shoots full-sized arrows.
URGING WOMEN TO RUN: Erin Cox of the Sun reports that Maryland’s female politicians were shattering glass ceilings decades ago, putting the state in the vanguard of electing women to federal office. But now, as Hillary Clinton makes history as a major party’s first female presidential candidate, progress has stalled in a place that once led the way in political gender equality, and it appears to be falling behind. This year, the retirement of U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski has raised the prospect of Maryland sending an all-male delegation to Congress for the first time in 45 years. Connie Morella tops the story with a video on getting women to run.
MCDONOUGH, RUPPERSBERGER DEBATE DEBATES: WBAL-AM is reporting that state Del. Pat McDonough and U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger are sparring over a debate schedule. McDonough, who hopes to unseat Ruppersberger, is claiming that he can’t pin his opponent down on a schedule. Ruppersberger says they have been scheduled.
CLINTON V. TRUMP: In two articles, one after the other, MarylandReporter.com’s Len Lazarick and Richard Vatz assess last night’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who are running for president. Clinton’s cool demeanor seems to have helped her win the day, if only by a slight margin.
- Marylanders turned to Twitter to share their thoughts on the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Click here for some samples of their reactions in the Sun.
- David Zurawik of the Sun writes that in TV terms, Donald Trump had a pretty bad night. He lost to Hillary Clinton on several levels in their first debate Monday with millions of undecided voters watching. He started out strong – and looked for about 20 minutes like he was going to do the two things everyone said he had to: seem presidential and not take the bait Clinton was sure to wave in front of him on a variety of matters.
TU HIRES ULMAN FIRM: Towson University is hiring former Howard County Executive Ken Ulman to develop a strategy to strengthen ties between the university and the surrounding community and businesses, Daniel Leaderman of the Daily Record reports. Ulman’s Margrave Strategies consulting firm has spent the better part of two years working with the University of Maryland, College Park both to attract and retain tech companies and develop an innovation “ecosystem” around the campus.
- Ulman will be contracted by the university to develop a “placemaking” strategy to strengthen the connectivity between communities, core institutions in Towson and emerging businesses. The partnership is expected to be unveiled on Tuesday and more details will be made available, Morgan Eichensehr reports for the BBJ.
SCHUH TAKES TRANSGENDER STANCE TO PUBLIC: Megan Brockett of the Annapolis Capital reports that County Executive Steve Schuh is urging residents to contact the school board about the guidelines distributed to principals and senior staff last month for supporting transgender students. The guidelines, which Schuh asked the Anne Arundel Board of Education to rescind late last month, state students should be allowed to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their gender identity, among other policy suggestions.
NEW AMBASSADOR TO MICRONESIA: Pat Furgurson of the Annapolis Capital writes that when Robert Riley graduated from Key School in 1973 he had no idea he would end up as a career foreign service officer. Last month, he was named U.S. ambassador to the Pacific island nation of Micronesia, islands previously known as the Caroline Islands, north of New Guinea and southeast of the Philippines. All the islands together make up a land mass equal to four times the size of Washington, D.C.
https://dianeravitch.net/2016/08/29/breaking-news-whistle-blower-says-the-new-and-improved-sat-is-a-fraud/
Just read this and you will see what hell the new SAT has become.
https://dianeravitch.net/?s=SAT
Just read a little of this to see just how corrupt College Board is. It’s no wonder the scores are lower
I can’t read the article in The Sun about the lower SAT scores since it’s behind the paywall but I will throw in my 2 cents anyway.
1) The Common Core curriculum is the most ridiculous piece of junk ever forced upon the education system. The CC math is very similar to the “new math” concepts that were scrapped back in the late 60’s – early 70’s due to it’s obscure nature. The CC ELA standards are all about reading informational text and pulling out only certain key points. There is no reading for meaning or for pleasure. It’s find the piece of information that will answer the question on the PARCC/SAT/ACT/AP test….period.
2) David Coleman (architect of the Common Core) is now President of the College Board (maker of the SAT) and he and his staff have butchered the SAT. SAT was losing market value to ACT so the idea was to make the SAT look more like the ACT, but the College Board has failed in it’s attempts. The SAT has been the subject of numerous scandals involving cheating, roll out issues, time issues (students unable to complete) due to the “wordiness” and obscure nature of how the questions are asked. SAT is an utter mess!
Over 900 universities nationwide are not even using SAT or ACT scores for their college admission applicants. They are instead looking at what classes were taken in High School and how well those students did in their High School years. The colleges are realizing that student success doesn’t equal a big number on a stupid standardized test.