Tag: George Edwards
Maryland Divided Part 2: Western Maryland fracking fight reveals divergent economic visions
This is the second part in a five-part series examining the divide between rural Maryland and the rest of the state. Allegany and Garrett, the state’s two westernmost counties, tend to be lumped together as “Mountain Maryland,” their problems similar, their prospects equally muddled. But the two counties’ economic issues — and their approaches to solving them — differ starkly.
Read MoreRascovar column: The political isolation of Garrett County
There is nowhere in Maryland more isolated and cut off from the rest of the state than Garrett County, considered a part of the Pittsburgh census area. Adding to the county’s isolation is a political reality: Garrett is overwhelmingly Republican. Democrats are outnumbered 2-1. The mountain politics practiced there are decidedly conservative and at odds with the ruling liberal Democratic majority in the megalopolis far to the east.
Read More$10.10 minimum wage gets preliminary OK in Senate
A bill to hike the state’s minimum wage $10.10 has reached its final hurdles after a flurry of attempts from lawmakers Friday to amend the already fragile legislation.
The Senate gave preliminary approval to the legislation, HB295, a chief priority of Gov. Martin O’Malley, that would boost Maryland’s minimum wage to $10.10 by 2018.
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In the wake of prison scandal, legislators discuss reforms — body scanners, wiretaps, polygraphs
Body scanners and phone wiretaps throughout Maryland’s prison system are the latest in a series of legislative proposals being considered by lawmakers trying to eliminate corruption in the state’s correctional facilities.
Other suggestions include polygraph tests for correctional officer applicants and mandatory minimum sentences for convicted contraband smugglers.
Read MoreGas tax bill approved by Senate committee
A controversial gas tax hike already passed by the House of Delegates was approved by a Senate committee Thursday, moving it one step closer to becoming law. The committee also approved a constitutional amendment requiring three-fifths votes in both houses to use transportation money for other purposes, a so-called lockbox.
Read MoreMountain politics more elevated and bipartisan
It’s not just the topography that’s elevated in the mountains of Western Maryland. The politics seems to be as well, or at least more bipartisan. Republican State Sen. George Edwards attended the Democratic Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, as the Republican president of the county commissioners. Both were praised for working across party lines.
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