Welcome to the Progressive MD Community Blog
The thoughts and opinions expressed on our community blog are those of individual Progressive Maryland members. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Progressive Maryland Board of Directors, staff, or the organization as a whole.
A secularist agenda in Maryland for 2016
The back-and-forth contest between a Maryland legal and social landscape influenced by religion and one free of religious aspects gets renewed in the Assembly each session, with mostly limited bills submitted on both sides. Mathew Goldstein offers a look at the state of play this year.
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Maryland Could Lead the Nation on Police Reform
Advocates for significant reform of police accountability measures in Maryland -- in the wake of notable instance of police misconduct -- packed a hearing in Annapolis as Assembly members fashioned a package for change.
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The Joy of Citizen Lobbying
Trekking to Annapolis to lobby your legislators face to face is a somewhat scripted ritual, yes. But it often has an effect, and has other compensations.
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WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THE BLOGS: An Index, June 2015 to the present
Bloggers for Progressive Maryland have covered the range of local, state and national issues important to PM activists in 42 posts since last June. Here's an index and summary of the posts so you can catch up.
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Union-Community Unity Leads to 700 Jobs Saved in Prince George’s
A mega-grocery company's backsliding after getting public benefits brought unity between workers, the community and local officials that forged a favorable outcome in a struggle with the hedge-fund mentality.
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MONTCO COUNCIL STRENGTHENS ENFORCEMENT ON LIVING WAGE LAW
Montgomery County's Living Wage law raised wages for employees of county contractors -- but some slick operators were cheating their employees without penalty. The County Council passed a strong enforcement package Feb. 2 to prevent this abuse.
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PM cheers family-friendly paid sick leave bills in Assembly
Progressive Maryland and allied activist groups cheered Wednesday's introduction of bills in both Assembly chambers requiring employers statewide to offer paid sick leave to many of the 700,000 Maryland workers who now have to choose between work and a sick child.
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"Unscrew the locks from the doors"
Citizens returning from incarceration are still locked out from many of the jobs that give them a path to a full life. Proactive public policy is needed to make this path easier for more returning citizens, Kurt Stand shows.
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PROGRESSIVE PRIORITIES WILL BATTLE FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S ATTENTION
The Maryland General Assembly formally gets under way today (Wednesday, Jan. 13) and progressive bills and policies -- in which Progressive Maryland has a big stake -- are on the line. Here's a look at the contests ahead.
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Equality MD’s innovative survival
Following up on an earlier blog post about the threat that Equality MD, an important human rights organization, might have to close its doors, Matthew Snider provides an update and better news.
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