Texas and California appear to be in a five-Red, five-Blue mathematical standoff as redistricting fever continues to take hold in states all over the nation. Even here in Maryland, the dominant state Democrats want to root out the last Red district in the state (on the Eastern Shore) and provide eight-out-of-eight Democratic members of the House of Representatives. Everywhere this is risky, as safe-ish seats become less safe while populations are moved around at the whim of their state political establishments. A little grace is provided in, for instance, quite Red Indiana, where huge pressure from Trump has been resisted. Fans of the political horse-race are advised to watch where insurgent candidates of both political persuasions demolish the certainties of the computer-savvy redistricting consultants. Sometimes even the aged writer in this corner of things can’t resist the intrigue. Real or imaginary, it’s News You Can Use.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Summaries by Maryland Reporter

Moore, Ferguson Jostle for Political Advantage In Redistricting Fight: Gov. Wes Moore has a difficult, but not insurmountable, path to redraw the state’s eight congressional districts. With the House of Delegates apparently on board with the governor, Moore needs to find 24 votes in the 47-member Senate to add Maryland to the list of states redrawing their congressional maps to gain partisan advantage ahead of the 2026 elections. But Senate President Bill Ferguson put his 34-member caucus on record against redistricting on Oct. 28 with a three-page letter outlining a series of arguments against it. Maryland Matters.

Many Speak Against Congressional Redistricting: Members of Gov. Wes Moore’s redistricting advisory commission sat stone-faced Friday as dozens of Marylanders weighed in for two hours, most suggesting that redrawing the state’s congressional boundaries is a bad idea. Some residents supported redistricting.The majority, however, argued the existing maps should remain as they are. Baltimore Banner.

Maryland Sheriffs Assisting ICE At Fast Rate; Pushback from Dems: Sheriffs in Maryland are assisting President Donald Trump’s administration in carrying out his immigration policy at a faster clip than almost every other part of the country. Maryland sheriffs have transferred at least 119 people from their local jails to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since Trump’s inauguration back in January. Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter. ALSO : Maryland Del. Nicole Williams (D) plans to reintroduce legislation barring law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE. The bill targets 287(g) agreements between local agencies and the federal government. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) says he backs the bill, which failed last session. (Maryland Matters) >>  Outraged by stories of immigration officers raiding workplaces, yanking people from vehicles and breaking up families, top Maryland lawmakers say they’ll ban cooperation agreements between local law enforcement and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Baltimore Banner. 

GOP Counters Dems Push For Redistricting: Republicans in the General Assembly said they will propose legislation to limit partisan redistricting, by creating a new independent redistricting commission and by codifying part of a 2022 court ruling that called for compact districts with commonsense boundaries. Maryland Matters.  >> Maryland GOP leadership on Thursday had a plea for Democrats amid the state’s redistricting war: Cool the temperature. Baltimore Sun >> Maryland GOP leaders opposed to state Democrats’ midcycle redistricting push say they’re preparing a bill to ban the practice. Baltimore Banner.

Campus Food Pantries Fill Gap For Students Amid SNAP Uncertainty: At some Baltimore campuses, administrators say more students have been relying on campus food resource centers and pantries for support during the federal shutdown’s SNAP pause.  Baltimore Sun. 

THE REGION AND THE OTHER 49

Eroding Water Infrastructure Tops Want Lists: Voters and state lawmakers are approving billions in funding to replace aging and failing water infrastructure systems. Texas voters approved $1 billion a year in sales taxes to pay for water infrastructure. California spent $2 billion last year on similar projects. New York has spent $6 billion on clean water infrastructure since 2017. Nationally, experts believe states face $1 trillion in unfunded water projects. Governors in Arkansas, Minnesota, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin all approved legislation this year to funnel money to water infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers, in an annual report on the nation’s infrastructure, said the federal government is the only body capable of spending enough to address the systemic shortfall. (Pluribus News) [paywalled]

National school bus driver shortage persists, despite recent gains

School districts have made some progress in addressing the national shortage of school bus drivers, but there still aren’t as many drivers as there were in 2019, according to a new study. The number of drivers has increased by 2,300, or 1.1%, since last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning research group. But there are still 21,200 fewer bus drivers than there were in 2019, a decline of 9.5%. The researchers link the employment gain to higher wages: Average hourly wages are up 4.2% in the past year, the largest jump since the COVID-19 pandemic. States Newsroom

Federal supportive housing grants slashed; said crushing blow to homelessness relief

Minnesota organizations that provide housing to people exiting homelessness called new federal rules issued last week the “most devastating housing cuts in modern U.S. history,” Minnesota Reformer reports. The new rules will cut federal spending on permanent supportive housing by more than half, forcing the organizations that provide housing to find new funding sources and cut spending — likely by reducing the number of buildings they operate and people they serve. News from the States

Pennsylvania: A number of changes to K-12 school policy and funding are included in the state's long-awaited budget, including efforts to increase oversight of cyber charter schools and retain teachers. Pluribus

HOUSING: Connecticut lawmakers have given final approval to new legislation requiring towns to develop detailed plans for adding affordable housing, or to opt into regional housing plans. The bill bars towns and cities from requiring smaller developments to include off-street parking, and requires towns and cities to allow “middle housing,” like townhomes and duplexes, in commercial areas. (Pluribus News) [paywalled] Connecticut is at least the ninth state this year to enact a big pro-housing legislative package.

Pluribus by the Numbers: Nearly 24%: The drop in air travel between Canada and the United States, compared with last October. It’s the tenth consecutive month that travel from Canada has declined. (New York Times)

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

DEPARTING NATIONAL GUARD [troops may be thinking “is this what I signed up for?” but]: Texas National Guard troops are expected to leave Illinois in the midst of legal challenges. California National Guard troops are headed home from Oregon after six weeks. A federal judge issued a permanent injunction barring the Trump administration from deploying troops to an ICE facility where protests have taken place. (Texas Tribune, Oregonian) via Pluribus

As health costs spike, a sour and divided Congress escapes one shutdown to face another  — Congress has roughly two months to find bipartisan agreement to curb rising health insurance costs if lawmakers want to avoid another government shutdown. It’s a task much more challenging after lawmakers spent the last 43 days criticizing each other instead of building the types of trust that are usually needed for large deals. Democrats maintained they wanted to address skyrocketing premiums for individual health care plans, while Republicans insisted those talks had to occur when the government was open.

At the same time, congressional leaders will try to wrap up work on the nine full-year government funding bills that were supposed to become law before Oct. 1 and weren’t included in the package that reopened the government. 

Congress must pass all of those bills or another stopgap measure before the new Jan. 30 deadline, regardless of how well or disastrous talks on a health care bill turn out. States Newsroom DC Bureau

Trumponomics Down-ArrowThe pileup: Past due utility balances jumped 9.7 percent annually, according to a separate analysis from the liberal think tank The Century Foundation, a reality that “overlaps with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period,” AP’s Josh Boak reports. “Troubles paying electricity and natural gas bills reflect an economic quandary as Trump promotes the artificial intelligence industry as a key part of the economic boom he’s promised.”