As October becomes November, stirrings begin in advance of the 2018 General Assembly session. It will run from January to almost April, and then in a few galloping months the June 26 primaries for the November elections will arrive. In many parts of Maryland, the primaries are where general elections are won. So Progressive Maryland will be ramping up – starting now – efforts to make sure people are registered in time for the primaries. Remember, if you are registered, you can always decide whether or not to vote when the election comes around. If you aren’t registered, the decision is out of your hands.

 


Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Oct 23 – 30

As October becomes November, stirrings begin in advance of the 2018 General Assembly session. It will run from January to almost April, and then in a few galloping months the June 26 primaries for the November elections will arrive. In many parts of Maryland, the primaries are where general elections are won. So Progressive Maryland will be ramping up – starting now – efforts to make sure people are registered in time for the primaries. Remember, if you are registered, you can always decide whether or not to vote when the election comes around. If you aren’t registered, the decision is out of your hands.

Watch this space as we begin to roll out opportunities to register people in your community. Voting is not the only thing that’s important in a democracy, but it is smack-dab in the center of the things that matter.

Statewide Events Calendar

Sat October 28 Movement Politics Leadership Training in Baltimore, Maryland. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Project Success Youth Place 5005 Park Heights Ave Baltimore, MD 21215  Google map and directions CONTACT  Alexiss Kurtz  RSVP  Movement politics is the process of fighting for a democracy where people - not corporations - set the agenda, and where we all have a voice. We are looking for people to help with both issue and electoral campaigns to win victories all Maryland. In towns and neighborhoods across the country, we hold conversations with voters about the issues of the day and the world we’re fighting to build. We train volunteers to knock on neighbors’ doors and transform their communities into a force at the polls. We ask candidates tough questions and secure policy commitments. And, crucially, we help leaders in our movement transition from community activists to elected office, transforming our political system town by town and state by state.

Please note that we have started charging on a sliding scale (Non-PM Member, PM Member, and Student/Scholarship Tickets) for our training to ensure that we can continue to provide quality training. Our training will give you the skills to engage others around the issues and campaigns you care about - so RSVP today! Questions about the training? Contact Alexiss Kurtz at [email protected].

Calendar for our chapters around the state – check their sites for activity updates

Progressive MoCo:

Thanks to everyone who came out to build power for working people in Montgomery County this last weekend! If you want to contribute to our canvassing efforts, we need you. Join us next week to trick, treat, or canvass for the #Fightfor15.  Sign up here: http://pmdmontgomery-progressivemaryland.nationbuilder.com/events

And PM lead state organizer Justin Vest reports: “Our MoCo chapter had over a dozen volunteers canvassing in Sydney Katz's district in Rockville where they knocked at over 300 doors this weekend and talked to nearly 100 people who signed a postcard in support of a strong $15 minimum wage bill. “

Take Action AAC

Tuesday, Oct 24 -- The Fracking Battle is not over! A critical hearing scheduled for Oct 24 -- Please submit comments online or attend: Fracked Gas Compressor Station-Laplata Md: Dominion also wants to built a compressor station to pump it’s fracked gas into Charles County.  This presents major safety and health issues to the residents there, and facilitates the flow of fracked gas products.
http://s525533305.onlinehome.us/?p=1  https://www.facebook.com/events/1421906597924302 Or contact John Wells [email protected] 410 507-1862 
http://anind.org 

Progressive Prince George’s

Saturday, October 28 What if We Funded Ourselves?  12 noon at the Seat Pleasant Activity Center , 5720 Addison Road Seat Pleasant, MD 20743

. Progressive Maryland is starting a Community Power-Building Co-op in Prince George's County to create a sustainable way to address the specific needs in the County! Non-profits must often rely on dwindling foundation and corporate dollars to sustain their work but this gets in the way of making a difference in our County. The Co-Op will give Prince Georgians the flexibility to work more independently of these dollars. Join other interested Prince Georgians Oct. 28 at Please RSVP using this link: https://goo.gl/forms/stNmck3ZU76p9s4c2 For more details, contact Seanniece Bamiro at 240-245-0268.

Note Nov. 1 Legislative Briefing with Del. Jimmy Tarlau (in Allies Calendar below) is co-sponsored by Progressive Prince George’s.

>>You matter!  Get involved and get your issues addressed. <<

Email the issue leads below to join a group. RVSP meeting attendance with the issue lead.

 Join Our County Council Teams Today!

We are looking for a point person for each County Council District. This team will mobilize when needed to advocate with their councilperson on a progressive issue, or to support new candidates for the office. If you are interested in this, please reach to Diane Teichert, County Council Lead [email protected].

Frederick County Progressives

Progressive Howard County

Talbot Rising

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

Events From Our Allies And Others

TONIGHT Mon, Oct. 23 The Prince George’s County Council will host a Town Hall meeting on Education, Monday, October 23, 2017, 7-9 p.m., in the Council Hearing Room of the County Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro. Schools CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell and School Board Chair Dr. Segun Eubanks will be featured guests. Metered parking is free after 6:00 p.m., and guests may also park for free on the upper level (third) of the CAB parking garage.

Tues Oct 24 MDOT informational meeting on Maglev train project, 5-8 p.m. Laurel High School, Cafeteria, 8000 Cherry Ln, Laurel . Info comes from Prince George’s Del. Erek Barron, who also reports that more info  on this high-speed rail project, whose proposed paths have raised anxiety throughout the state, “is at SCMaglev project website, www.bwmaglev.info, which in addition to an interactive map, has a comment form and a video describing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Please sign up for the Baltimore-Washington Superconducting MagLev Project mailing list at http://baltimorewashingtonscmaglevproject.com/index.php, to receive mailings going forward.”

Wed Oct. 25 Albert Shanker Institute presents a discussion and reception for Deborah Meier & Emily Gasoi, authors of These Schools Belong to You and Me: why we can’t afford to abandon our public schools. 4 to 6:30 p.m. 555 New Jersey Ave N.W. Washington, D.C. Books will be on sale REGISTER HERE “    ‘MacArthur award–winning educator, reformer, and author Deborah Meier draws on her fifty-plus years of experience to argue that the purpose of universal education is to provide young people with an “apprenticeship for citizenship in a democracy.” ‘

Saturday, Oct. 28 -- Real Food Festival –Real Food for Kids- Montgomery’s Real Food Festival on Saturday, October 28th from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Bethesda! The Real Food Festival will feature a chef-led student-team competition to create a delicious, healthy, school lunch entrée. Students will then get to taste test the different entrees and vote on their favorite dish to choose the winner. There will also be a variety of workshops for kids and parents on cooking, nutrition, mindfulness and other wellness topics. The festival will also have tables from local restaurants sampling healthy food. Details here.

Monday, October 30 The Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO will host a Meet & Greet with candidates for County Executive in Prince George's and Montgomery counties with reception from 6-7 p.m. followed by presentations of the candidates from 7-9 p.m. at the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland, College Park campus in celebration of the recently opened exhibit For Liberty, Justice and Equality: Unions Making History in America RSVP here.

Wed Nov. 1 – Legislative Briefing with Del. Jimmy Tarlau. 7 p.m., IBEW Local 26, 4371 Parliament Pl, Lanham. What are the concerns and issues that face us and our Prince George’s community?  Come meet & greet Delegate Jimmy Tarlau (D-47th Dist.) to discuss advancing a progressive legislative agenda in the Maryland General Assembly in 2018 and the potential impact various measures being considered might have upon the state and our county.  Panelists will pose questions about labor rights, criminal justice reform, defense of immigrants, campaign finance reform, protecting the environment, advancing the cause of peace.  Sponsored by Prince George's Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive Prince George's County, Prince George’s Peace and Justice Coalition and Our Revolution PG/ Come gather at 7:00 pm; meeting begins 7:30 pm at IBEW Local 26 4371 Parliament Place, Lanham.


Thursday, November 2 -- Progressive Cheverly forum: Can Single-Payer Health Care Really Work and Will It Work For Me? 7 p.m., Hoyer Education Center (cafeteria), 2300 Belleview Ave. (Parking Available) The Affordable Care Act is in serious trouble because of White House and Congressional efforts to kill it. But there is a renewed interest in Single-Payer or a Medicare for All approach. Come hear our speakers: Dr. Margaret Flowers, pediatrician and co-chair of the Maryland chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, and Maryland State Senator Paul Pinsky. They will discuss what is meant by a single-payer health system, how it might function in the US, what is happening here in Maryland, and how to build a movement to support single-payer, including its role in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

 

Tues November 7: Kickoff Event for Maryland Peace Action -- 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., Busboys and Poets
5331 Baltimore Ave, Hyattsville, MD, 20781 RSVP here  Maryland’s local Peace Action groups are joining together to enhance our power state-wide, under the name Maryland Peace Action.  Speaker is David Swanson,  author, activist, journalist and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Suggested donation of $10.

Baltimore comrades, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

To keep up with progressive events in and around DC consult the invaluable calendar at the Washington Peace Center, http://washingtonpeacecenter.org/alerts

 It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our high-maintenance politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here.

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]

We recently posted these blogs:

October 19, 2017 MoCo Exec Debate Addresses Minimum Wage Question Through Wrong Lens 

As candidates for Montgomery County Executive debated wage regulations and the county's economy earlier this week, PM activist Helen E. Burns was there and identified a false narrative that pitted the welfare of working families against the health of county businesses. Here she analyzes the way this distorts the discussion and who among the candidates seemed most swayed by the shaky "hostile to business" argument against raising the wages that support working families. This account also appears on the MoCo chapter blog at their website.

October 18, 2017 Advocating for Environmental Justice -- Saturday, Oct. 21, 2-5 p.m.

When we have a positive connection to nature, we connect with what it means to be alive and with what it means to be human. This connection helps us respect nature and see the value of clean water and clean air for ourselves and our families. Unfortunately, many of us take it for granted. If you connected with these memories, this Saturday in Annapolis it is your turn to become an advocate.

October 17, 2017   Kirwan Commission eyes state education course that could raise cost

We present today a twofer on the recent work of the “Kirwan Commission” aka the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, after its major two-part public work session and hearing last Thursday.

The first is a broad-brush report last Friday from Conduit Street, the blog of the Maryland Association of Counties, who run the state’s dozens of school systems and would have to make any changes in the school landscape that survive the gauntlet of both the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and the administration of the Republican governor, Larry Hogan.

The second is a focused report on one proposed solution involving enhanced tutoring provision, under consideration from the commission that gets its informal name from its chairman, Brit Kirwan, former chancellor of the state university system. The account is provided by the news blog Maryland Reporter – which has given this potentially game-changing commission effort much the most attention of any of our news outlets.

October 16, 2017 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for October 16-22

The Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for October 16-22: Another busy week – not much rest for the Resistance in Maryland. Check out events both statewide and in our growing number of county and regional chapters...

Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017 starting from here.

 

woody woodruff

About

M.A. and Ph.d. from University of Maryland Merrill College of Journalism, would-be radical, sci-fi fan... retired to a life of keyboard radicalism...