May Day tomorrow -- less than two months till the June 26 Primary Election in Maryland – a crucial time for mobilizing on behalf of not only progressive candidates but on the progressive issue stances to which we will hold them when they are elected. Make sure your neighbors and your community are energized on both counts by joining our canvasses across the state. Become part of our Movement Politics team.

Plus recent blog posts and info from around our state chapters and our allies.

Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for April 30_May 7 2018

STATEWIDE ACTION

May Day tomorrow -- less than two months till the June 26 Primary Election in Maryland – a crucial time for mobilizing on behalf of not only progressive candidates but on the progressive issue stances to which we will hold them when they are elected. Make sure your neighbors and your community are energized on both counts by joining our canvasses across the state. Become part of our Movement Politics team.

Find out who is fighting for us, not for the big money donors: view our list of endorsed candidates.

Action for people – Public pressure against the concrete batching plant permitting in Bladensburg put the decision on hold. But the next act appears ready to unfold May 9, and perhaps councilmembers hope the pressure will have slacked off by then. Read this detailed account in the Prince George’s Sentinel about the recent hearing.

OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE

Progressive Prince George’s

Court Watch

We'll be doing the Court Watch the month of May! 

Contact Qiana Johnson to sign up: [email protected]

Court watch is a court monitoring program comprised of volunteers who observe and evaluate the justice system and outcomes. This program tracks pre-trial services, bail amounts, trends in sentencing and provides a forum for feedback to facilitate systems advocacy change regarding Prince George's County criminal justice system. This program serves as a reminder to courtroom personnel that the public is interested in what happens in the courtroom and will hold the justice system and themselves accountable fora fair and justice system in their community. 

Sheriff's Candidate Forum

Thursday, May 3

6PM

Reid Temple 

RSVP here

State's Attorney Candidate Forum

Monday, May 7

6PM 

Oakcrest Community Center 

RSVP here

Get Out the Vote Block Party

Saturday, May 12

12PM 

Beltway Plaza

RSVP here

Get Involved with PMD Montgomery

Saturday May 5,  From Protest to Power Canvass:

at 10:00 a.m. sharp -- Four Corners, Silver Spring, MD

Canvassing is a cornerstone of democracy and we need you to help us keep the momentum going! We will be canvassing about the June 26th primary and our endorsed candidates. Come enjoy the spring weather and speak to your neighbors about our shared progressive values! RSVP here.

WED May 16, Takoma Park Happy Hour

, from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Stop by any time!

Republic, Takoma Park

Join Progressive Maryland at our monthly happy hour! Every month we get together to socialize, network, and share a few drinks and snacks as a progressive community. It's a great chance to see old friends, make new ones, and talk about the issues we care about. There's no agenda, just come and have some good conversations with some good people.

And if that's not enough of a draw, our friends at Republic have generously offered to give us some free snacks and extend their happy hour specials! RSVP now. 

New blog post: The Failure of SB 288 in Maryland

PMD Montgomery Member David Glenn mourns the failure of SB 288 in the Maryland Senate. Read his blog post.

Frederick County Progressives

Take Action Anne Arundel County

Progressive Howard County

Talbot Rising

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

FROM OUR ALLIES

Wed, May 2 GCAN discusses food waste and composting in Greenbelt.

To follow up to last month's movie on food waste, this month's GREENBELT CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK meeting will be about food waste and composting in Greenbelt. 7-9 pm, Room 114 of the Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road. 

Join us for a panel discussion with private individuals, as well as city staff, who are actively working on several food-related projects.  Learn about the work of the Greenbelt Department of Public Works as well as the Greenbelt Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability Zero Waste Circle's two projects (Hot Composting at Springhill Lake and Worm Composting at the New Deal Cafe).  Hear about the innovative efforts of the Food Waste Pickup Team from New Deal Cafe, Popcorn Pickup at the Old Greenbelt Theater, and Future Food Recovery Plan at the Greenbelt Food Coop.

For questions, contact Lore Rosenthal, Greenbelt Climate Action Network, [email protected], 301-345-2234.

Thursday, May  Our Revolution MoCo Publicly Funded Elections Forum Thursday, May 3rd, at the Silver Spring Library from 7-8:15 pm. Details here.

Baltimore comrades, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

To keep up with progressive events in and around DC consult the invaluable calendar at the Washington Peace Center, http://washingtonpeacecenter.org/alerts

It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our high-maintenance politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here. You know you meant to do it last week and now here you are again...

OUR BLOG POSTS IN THE PAST WEEK

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]

We recently published these blog posts:

April 27, 2018 Hoyer at center of corporate Dem intervention in Colo. primary

Rather than have a fair, honest primary election, the DCCC "selected" the Colorado candidate ahead of time and have been shuttling money and resources to a corporate lawyer they favor. Hoyer tried to get the progressive candidate to withdraw. This is back-door, anti-democratic politics, says Drew Langlois.

April 26, 2018 Kirwan Commission tackles the big question: education funding

Polls show that education is a top state and local concern of voters as the 2018 elections approach, and the state has a process in place to develop the most comprehensive educational reform package since the Thornton Commission of 1999-2002. The Kirwan Commission will be even more closely watched as it gets closer to polishing the package – and discussing how much it should cost.

Few reporters have paid more sustained attention to the evolving Kirwan report than veteran Len Lazarick of the online Maryland Reporter. Here he refreshes our memory on the group’s process as it resumes work after the General Assembly session. 

April 25, 2018 June 26: Putting the MD primary into your life plan

Voting in the June 26 Primary Election as part of your life strategy

We’re going to work through the question of voting and whether it makes a difference in a series of blog posts over the next several weeks, as we get to, and then inside, about 60 days until the June 26 primary election.

April 23, 2018 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for April 23-30 2018

Coming up on sixty days till the June 26 Primary Election in Maryland – a crucial time for mobilizing on behalf of not only progressive candidates but on the progressive issue stances to which we will hold them when they are elected. Make sure your neighbors and your community are energized on both counts by joining our canvasses across the state. Become part of our Movement Politics team.

>>REMEMBER – these blog posts are expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].

>>Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here