Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, August 4, 2025

August is here, and it already feels like a shift is in motion. The intense heat is easing up, the breeze is back, and we’re stepping into a new month with fresh energy and focus.

It’s also Black August, a time of remembrance and radical resistance. Born out of the Black liberation struggle, this month honors political prisoners, freedom fighters, and the generations who’ve pushed for justice and self-determination. At Progressive Maryland, Black August grounds us in our commitment to equity, community power, and fighting back against systems of oppression. One way you can directly support that mission is by donating to our Black Worker Center, which is building real power for Black workers in Maryland with our career readiness program, which provides training, support, and access to economic opportunity.

As we enter this final month of summer, we’re laying the groundwork for a fall organizing season that will be full of power-building, holding elected officials accountable, and mobilizing our communities across the state.

This week, we’ve got both virtual and in-person opportunities to help shape issue campaigns across the state. Read on for updates, ways to get involved, and important state and national news.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Here’s what’s in today’s memo:

PM Events
Local Chapter Updates
Ally Events
PM Careers
State & National News

PM EVENTS:

Hold Andy Harris Accountable – Join Us to Make Calls!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5, at 6pm ET, we’re hosting a virtual phone bank to call voters in Rep. Andy Harris’s district about his vote for the devastating Trump budget package. We’re letting folks know what’s in the bill, how it will raise healthcare costs and cut vital services, and how they can express their concerns. Never phone banked before? No worries, we’ll show you how! Sign up here to join us.

Local Chapter Updates:

Shore Progress:

National Night Out with Shore Progress

Join our Shore Progress chapter tomorrow, August 5, at Salisbury City Park for National Night Out! Starting at 5 p.m., this is a great chance to connect with your neighbors, meet local leaders, and get plugged into local organizing. We’ll be sharing info about key election dates, local involvement opportunities, and how to make sure your voice is heard in 2026 and beyond. Join us and be part of the community we’re building together.

Click here to sign up!

EVENTS FROM ALLIES:

This Sunday: Renters United Maryland Housing Justice Summit

The movement for housing justice is coming together this Sunday, August 10 in Baltimore, and you don’t want to miss it! Join Renters United Maryland for our annual Housing Justice Summit, a powerful day of connecting with tenants, organizers, and advocates from across the state. We’ll strategize, build power, and shape a bold 2026 renters’ rights agenda.

In person in Baltimore | Hybrid option available
Register here.

And if you’re a renter in Maryland we want to hear from you. Help guide our work by taking the 2025 Renter Survey. Your voice matters.

News You Can Use: ICEmen cometh, flood damage gets no relief; Moore is No. 2 Guv

People in the DC suburbs -- northern Prince George's, specifically -- are breathing a sigh of relief because a pretty unnecessary but locally disruptive sorta-rail pilot project has had its federal funds pulled. It would have meant a VERY expensive 15-minute ride from DC to Baltimore at a construction price ticket of $20 billion. Gov. Moore was a "magnetic levitation" fan, having seen such a wonder in everyday use in Japan, where they know how to do this stuff. Perhaps some improvements to the existing Amtrak right-of-way to NYC and Boston would allow Amtrak's trains to go as fast as they are actually able to. That would be a start.

Also in Maryland: superhot weather, superthunderstorms and flooding (and don't swim in that water); the state's plan to hire laid-off federal workers is crosswise with a state hiring freeze and buyout offers; the race to build solar renewable power while extremely dirty backup generator plants have to be turned on in the hottest of high-demand weather.

Maryland, like many states, is avoiding losing population because of immigration, but the fastest-growing states are in a battle to redistrict House seats to improve their chances in 2026. It is more exciting than baseball (some consider that a low bar).

And speaking of Congress, they have gone home exasperated, having been blocked from mass-appointing Trump Chumps to the federal bench. GOP warriors aim to change the Senate rules to make those appointments debate-free; that sword cuts two ways, election to election, so stay tuned.

It's News You Can Use, as always.

PM Careers

Community Organizer

Progressive Maryland BlogSpace:

We value creating space for our members to express their thoughts on any issues related to our campaigns. Have an idea for a blog post? You can submit writing, film, graphic design, etc., to be published on our website to the blog moderator, Woody.

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