Tomorrow is the Primary Day, and election news doesn't stop bubbling right up to the deadline. But it is on the individual voter now, the only poll that counts. But: friends don't let friends miss elections; support one another in the solidarity of democracy.

Note that Progressive Maryland’s Weekly Memo will be sent early tomorrow (Tuesday, Primary Election Day) and it’ll be about… well, guess what?

HERE IN MARYLAND, of course it’s all about elections. Yep, tomorrow’s the day and thanks to Larry Hogan’s veto, we might not find out the results till two or more days later.

Note that Progressive Maryland’s Weekly Memo will be sent early tomorrow (Tuesday, Primary Election Day) and it’ll be about… well, guess what?

Election traffic

 Lots of intrigue about dueling PACs and slates in a Bowie district, with former Assembly members not on the ballot but in the spotlight.

Early voting surged on the last day (Thursday) but the real story is the boom in mail-in voting https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/07/15/turnout-surged-on-final-day-of-early-voting/ See above in re how long we might have to wait for results.

The state’s fractious race for the Democratic nomination for governor gets a look from the New York Times, which dug into the leading candidates’ claims and oddities. “Unpredictable Maryland Governor’s Race Pits Old Guard vs. Upstarts”

Perennial battle update: State said to be fudging numbers on Beltway tolls proposal   covers a report from a coalition of longtime public transit advocates

Mo Co To Target Pedestrian Safety In Fast-Tracking Sidewalks: As traffic congestion grows, the population ages and an increasing number of lower-income residents can’t afford cars, Montgomery planners say their 1 million residents need faster, more proactive and data-driven ways to make walking safer and less stressful. Building sidewalks more quickly — and before residents have to ask — is one of dozens of recommendations they presented this past week for the first countywide “pedestrian master plan” aimed at retrofitting suburbs designed for cars. WaPo

988 Suicide Prevention Hotline Goes Into Effect: This weekend individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts are encouraged to call or text a new phone number — 988 — to connect with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In Maryland, the old phone number of 211 will automatically route callers to the new hotline starting on July 16. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. WYPR-FM.

ON THE DC/FEDERAL/NATIONAL ISSUES FRONT (from People’s Action, via their federal watchperson Megan Essaheb:

After Sen. Joe Manchin’s latest sulk, progressives and climate activists are quickly pivoting to calls for immediate executive action to address the climate emergency. Here is People’s Actions statement and the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s statement on Manchin’s refusal to address climate change. 

Megan: “Sen. Joe Manchin pulled back again from the climate & tax provisions of the budget reconciliation package. It appears that the Senate may still move forward with a small healthcare package with the prescription drug plan and extension of ACA premium subsidies. Politico summarized what happened: 

‘The deal collapsed this week when Manchin refused to back any new tax hikes or spending on climate in the latest version of the Democrats’ reconciliation bill. Sen. Sanders said on Sunday:”[Manchin] has sabotaged the president’s agenda. He and SINEMA to a lesser degree, who are intentionally sabotaging the president’s agenda, what the American people want… Nothing new about this. And the problem was that we continue to talk to Manchin like he was serious. He was not. This is a guy who is [a] major recipient of fossil fuel money…” '

Manchin has not weighed in, amazingly, on state lotteries, major traps for the poor and desperate – but our student Capital News Service journalists at Merrill College of Journalism’s Howard Center find that lotteries while emptying the pockets of the poor are filling the pockets of corporations, which are increasingly getting in on the action of what should be a qualified public good, designed inmany states (like ours) to support education.

Megan: “The Senate & House will come back in session today (Monday). The Senate plans to hold a procedural vote on a pared-back bill to fund microchips, that would include, at a minimum, $52 billion in incentives and an investment-tax credit for US semiconductor manufacturing. The bill has been stripped of all controversial provisions.” Facing the August recess, House and Senate leaders are  moving what they can, as fast as they can.