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

The determined redistricting effort by Maryland Dems runs into lots of pushback from its target -- dissident voters in Western Maryland and on the Eastern shore. Passage or failure, many say, may depend on how understandable the ballot language turns out to be for most voters. In other, more competitive states, the races are actually exciting. 

Maryland news, even a week prior to the midterm election, is about how school reform is going (slowly, but with better attendance), and how hard it can be for the state government to explain (abnd account for) all the ways it spends money. More broadly, states are ginning up regulations on AI as the Trump administration takes a pass on regulation; more women run for state legislatures than ever before in US history, and (Trump again) the GOP Congress declines to enforce its own rules against executive overreach.

Does it all sound familiar? Alas, yes. Life might be different next year as a result of what happens next Tuesday; we'll see. Meantime we'll just continue to keep our eyes out for News You Can Use.

If you think we are missing important news, you should let the writer know, or write your own blog post and submit it. 

National-type news abounds with a Maryland imprint -- college sexual assault prevention, managing ICE depredations in the state, auto and cycle accident frequencies diverge, struggles over the cost of power -- and all as elections approach. The plebiscites in Maryland are likely to be boring, but there are some states where real alertness will be required as state officials try to cut the number of eligible voters. Also: cheap plug-in solar OKed in more states and an upbeat report on Chesapeake Bay health. Nevertheless, here and in most every state,  we find tussles about data centers, called "the biggest financial bet in US history." It's News You Can Use.

Remember that early voting in Maryland starts this Thursday, Oct. 22. Friends don't let friends stay home when it's time to lift every voice.

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.

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.