Author: Giacomo Bologna

Climate Defiance and Progressive Maryland members challenged utility executives and state regulators over soaring energy bills, corporate profits, and the growing burden of energy infrastructure costs on working families.

HYATTSVILLE, MD — Marylanders with Progressive Maryland's Affordable Energy Now campaign disrupted a panel at the Maryland Clean Energy Conference Tuesday morning, directly confronting Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) CEO and President Tamla Olivier and Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) Commissioner Odogwu Obi Linton over BGE's proposed $156 million electric rate increase. As utility executives and regulators discussed the future of energy inside, advocates rallied outside to demand an end to rate hikes, greater corporate accountability, and a regulatory system that puts Maryland ratepayers ahead of utility profits.

The Memo will be posted here after the email version has been sent

How do you lower the drastically high diesel fuel prices that are beggaring farmers and truckers and raising the cost of just every consumer good we count on? If you're D Trump, you shake hands with the murderous Vladimir Putin and cut sanctions against his assault on Ukraine in a vain attempt to lower diesel prices. Better known as this week's Trump Fail. Blaming the cost of diesel on Ukraine's successful self-defense is not distracting voters' attention from the supply disruptions brought about by D Trump's quagmire "two-week war" adventure in the Gulf, where oil supplies are tied up in Hormuz-bound tankers (a little wind and solar power might help keep costs down, that's but not in tune with Trump's fixations).

So you are one of 50 U.S. states trying to cope in a polity saddled with a demented leader. All you can do is made small efforts to keep vital costs down, such as changing rules on diesel fuel sold -- in your state. You can struggle to keep utility costs lower. You can seek out whatever federal help has not been capriciously erased, withdrawn by the mad king's toadies at the top of each cabinet department. And for everyday people, keep your heads down. Except when you vote. Early voting in Maryland starts in nine days. No excuses. As important: Contact friends and family in red states and remind them that voting is is a way out from under. That, too, is News You Can Use, and share.

When I saw a recent headline saying a typical retired couple in Maryland needs more than $1.2 million to retire comfortably, my first reaction was anxiety.

I started doing the math in my head. My mortgage. My electric bill. Groceries. Insurance. The money I have tried to put away for retirement. The things I know I will need to pay for as I get older.

Then I thought about how many years I have left to work and how much I would have to save between now and retirement to get anywhere near $1.2 million.

I honestly don't know how I am supposed to get there.

According to a new Investopedia analysis, Maryland is among the most expensive states in the country for retirees. A typical retired couple here needs at least $1.2 million in savings to maintain a comfortable standard of living. Nationally, the figure is about $1.16 million. And that calculation doesn't include everything a retiree might face, including long-term care and state taxes.

Surprisingly, Trump's EPA is filling some of the funding gap for the Chesapeake Bay's health left by Trump's cancellation of a Biden executive order for that funding (Trump just seems to be Sharpie-ing the list from top to bottom). Not necessarily connected, Maryland legislators are working up a bipartisan effort to manage the menhaden harvest so as not to starve ospreys and rockfish. Meanwhile the Guv has signed a housing-stock enhancement plan that, of course, is called insufficient by advocates.  Speaking of the Guv, third-party candidates are way past miffed because the only debate between Moore and his GOP opponent will not include Green and Working Class Party candidates. And when it comes to national politics, Rep. Jamie Raskin is agitating for an investigation into pro-Trump political ads that nakedly admit they are "funded by the US Government." Wha? This just adds to the nervousness around the states (who are constitutionally in charge of elections) that Trump & Co. might have some election-tampering up their sleeves.

And we have more, including new from states both next door and afar, an explanation of "Originalism" as the right-leaning Supremes begin their new term, and a Grovel of the Week from who else but Elon Musk. Check it all out in News You Can Use for this week.

The Memo will be posted here after the email version has been sent...

Whammies, although too varied to add up to a double whammy, approach Marylanders at maybe a higher rate of speed than we are ready for. If you are an ACA participant, medical costs could climb 15 percent as Affordable Care Act subsidies vanish with federal cuts made to make up for the big tax breaks for the rich (yes, it is that simple). A more modest Maryland levy, cleverly called the "flush tax" by the bygone Hogan campaign, may not be cut back in 2030 after all -- it is working too well keeping the Bay clean (Trump Inc. won't do it so somebody's got to). Gov. Moore disappoints the no-data-center coalition by stopping short of a moratorium on the facilities in the state but requires them to "minimize their projects’ adverse impacts on local communities, ecosystems and energy infrastructure."  Another federally-based gripe for Maryland parents is the federal cutback on special education funding -- while the state's own watchdogs measure the benefits of the Blueprint for school improvement against costs. Meanwhile, good news for households but risky for business: can AI agents help you find cheaper services, travel and banking sources -- and what does that mean for the businesses who have been counting on "consumer inertia" [that is, it's too much trouble to switch] to keep their customers? All News You Can Use for this week...