Cynthia Prairie, Author at MarylandReporter.com

State Roundup, March 23, 2017

Gov. Hogan meets with Trump administration cabinet secretaries to push for health care, transportation and housing priorities; Hogan’s plan for redistricting reform falls in Senate; fracking ban continues to advance while bill to compensate landowners for loss of mineral rights dies; cash bail reform effort fails; Senate zeroes out acting Planning secretary’s salary after Hogan withdraws her nomination; Senate votes to restrict suspensions of pre-K through Grade 2 pupils; and Montgomery official blasts Hogan over claim county isn’t cooperating in rape probe.

Opinion: Baltimore’s ‘most elegant’ new community not fit for a fish

It has been his joy and anguish through the last five decades to keep track of little Dipping Pond Run, a rare and trouty tributary of Baltimore’s central drainage way, the Jones Falls, says environmental writer Tom Horton. He details the fate of brook trout and other trout that might be wiped out by development.

Opinion: Opioid epidemic requires treatment for addicts

The opioids addiction epidemic sweeping this country is staggering. It’s a travesty, and it doesn’t discriminate. It affects us all. A big part of dealing with this overwhelming issue is to support and encourage people addicted to opioids to seek professional medical help on their path to recovery.

State Roundup, March 22, 2017

Late breaking: Gov. Hogan numbers are down in new Post poll; Gov. Hogan’s independent redistricting reform bill gets booted by Dems in favor of “neighbor-dependent” bill that relies on other state’s action; Senate OKs weakened version of bail reform; Hogan attempt to limit amount of painkillers doctors can prescribe turned back; Hogan says jurisdictions should aid immigration enforcement; and Hogan, Trump administration weigh in on Rockville teen’s rape by undocumented teens.

Relief for toll road penalties put on hold, Senate chairman says

A Senate bill to address “predatory” toll penalties, technical problems with transponders and poor customer service at E-ZPass will die in the Senate Finance Committee this session, its chairman said Tuesday, along with a watered down House version that delegates supported unanimously on Monday. Instead, Senate Finance Committee Chair Thomas “Mac” Middleton said he is holding off legislation for a year to give the Maryland Transportation Authority time to improve customer service and pursue new contracts with vendors to operate Maryland’s toll system.

Opinion: It’s great to be a gangster in Maryland!

Open borders. Marijuana. Relaxed rules on bail, lifer parole, and criminal sentencing. Anti-police legislators. It’s great to be a gangster in Maryland! Aspirations to make Maryland a sanctuary for undocumented migrants are getting rave reviews from the “maras” and the transnational human trafficking cartels which smuggle men, women, and children into our state.

State Roundup, March 21, 2017

House revises Trust Act, allowing some jurisdictions to continue working with ICE agents; House panel kills Gov. Hogan’s proposal for a nonpartisan redistricting commission; Attorney General Frosh may gain authority to sue price-gouging drug companies; Hogan’s statements on Senate President Miller during anti-fracking announcement disappoints Sen. Zirkin; Democratic congressmen rally to ask Hogan to come out against GOP Obamacare replacement; medical pot dispensary seeks OK for Arundel County site; Baltimore City Council OKs minimum wage hike; and Ed Hale Jr. plans to run for Baltimore County Council.

State Roundup, March 20, 2017

Gov. Hogan surprises just about everyone with announcement that he supports banning fracking in Maryland; Senate passes bill to monitor ways to prevent 400,000 Marylanders from losing health insurance under Trump administration; homeowners behind in water bill payment may get reprieve from home loss; House OKs brewery tap room sales bill; DHMH nominee gets a hearing; House approves ‘yes means yes’ standard for sex education in public schools; Trump win credited with revival of Democratic women’s club in Anne Arundel; and GOP lawmakers also push back over zeroing out of Chesapeake Bay program.

State commission would monitor health care coverage as Congress replaces ACA

The Maryland Senate on Friday adopted the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Act to monitor congressional plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act that could cost the state billions to maintain current coverage.

Rascovar: Saving the Preakness and Pimlico’s future

Thanks to revenue from Maryland’s successful slots casinos, the state’s thoroughbred racing industry has seen a re-birth that hints at prosperity for the Free State’s billion-dollar horse industry in future decades. To keep those good times a-rollin’, though, will require a major investment by Annapolis political leaders and by their counterparts in Baltimore City.

Cynthia Prairie

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