Happy Monday! We are one month away from the Progressive Maryland Annual Gala so if you haven’t yet secured your spot for this event, make sure to grab a ticket before they sell out! This will be an evening full of food and fun that you won’t want to miss. The event features Maryland’s very own Rep. Jamie Raskin, a champion for Democracy! See you in a month, on Thursday, September 21st from 4-8pm at a beautiful Annapolis waterfront location. 

Be sure to check out the latest events on our calendar and stay informed about our ongoing task force initiatives, ways to get involved, and news you can use!

In Solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

PS - Don't forget to tune into our radio show, The Progress Report, live on air Fridays from 5-6pm ET on WPFW 89.3 PM or online at wpfwfm.org/radio.

Here’s what’s in today’s memo:

• • PM Events: Annual Gala
  • PM task forces & issue campaigns: HCTF & RCTF
  • Local Chapter Updates: Harford County
  • Events from Allies
  • State & National news

PM EVENTS:

ANNUAL GALA – Grab Your Tickets Before They're Gone!

Join us at our Annual Gala on September 21st at 4pm in the city of Annapolis. Featuring Rep. Jamie Raskin, a cocktail hour, an art auction, awards, and more! If you haven't already secured your place, now is the moment to act. Get your tickets today!

Updates: PM Task Forces & Issue Campaigns 

Healthcare Justice Campaign: Care Over Cost Campaign, Join Us This Weekend!

Health Insurers are spending tens of millions of dollars to keep our broken private insurance system in place. They benefit (especially their CEOs and stockholders) as their profits keep soaring. The people who lose are the rest of us - as our premiums, co-pays and deductibles go up and our care options go down.

What should we do?

We should work to win short term and long term public policy solutions to improve and transform the current system, and to pave the way to a  truly universal publicly funded healthcare system.  

How do we win these positive changes? 

Stepping up our community organizing and building strong public pressure campaigns.

Who can make it happen?

You can! Knock on doors with us this weekend to talk to other Marylanders about this issue. We’re petitioning, gathering stories, and identifying potential new volunteers.

Sign up now! We provide all the logistical support you need (more details about the shift times and locations in the links below). Email Patty to learn more. 

Returning Citizens Taskforce

Nine people attended RCTF’s meeting on Monday, August 14 where the focus of discussion was our Town Hall held on the previous Saturday.  Although the Town Hall was judged a success, discussion focused on what needs to strengthen our public events and work overall going forward.  All agreed that we need to strengthen our ties to those groups and agencies that already work with returning citizens.  Meeting participants also recommitted ourselves to further develop our legislative work especially when it comes to addressing the housing needs of people after incarceration. Contact Kurt for more information regarding the RCTF.

Environmental Justice Taskforce

EJTF Joins the Baltimore Vegan SoulFest for the First time

The vitality of our climate is largely impacted by the waste sector: Globally this amounts to 20% of human-driven methane emissions. In support of the Black Vegetarian Society of Maryland’s two-day national Vegan SoulFest--an eco-friendly, vegan, music festival at West Covington Park in South Baltimore--SirJames and the Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF) educated attendees on cogent waste reduction practices such as recycling and composting. 

Moreover, the EJTF also had it’s petition on full display to raise awareness to the community of the need for municipal and statewide elected officials to make stopping the life-grabbing incinerator in Baltimore city a priority this year. We thank the organizers of the Vegan SoulFest for allowing us to be apart of such an earth shattering event to raise awareness of the need to recycle to save our planet.

If you're interested in getting connected to the EJTF, reach out to our Environmental Justice organizer SirJames.

Local Chapter Updates: 

Progressive Harford County

Come together with Progressive Harford County for our monthly meeting TONIGHT August 21st at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This session will focus on strategizing the forthcoming phases of our campaign concerning proactive measures against PFAS chemicals found in our local water supply. Additionally, we'll delve into a preview of upcoming events. Register here!

EVENTS FROM ALLIES:

Reel and Meal Showing — August 21

Reel and Meal will show the film "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North" at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 21 at the New Deal Café, 113 Centerway in Greenbelt and via Zoom.
"Traces of the Trade" uncovers slavery's pivotal role in New England's economy. From Rhode Island to Ghana’s Middle Passage ports and Cuban sugar plantations, descendants trace their family's significant slave-trading past and prompt reflection on historical injustices and ways to address them. The New Deal Café offers a full menu for the live screening. If you can't make it in person, pre-register here to attend virtually.

State and National News:

It appears that for the eight years of Larry Hogan, building more roads to create more access to more real estate development was seen as the key to prosperity in Maryland.

Meanwhile, neighbor states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania were taking different steps, and Gov. Wes Moore told this weekend's gathering of the Maryland Association of Counties that economic data shows Maryland residents are losing earning power compared to our neighbors, and that was hampering economic progress he hopes to see in our state. So, tough times ahead. (And, we see in this week’s episode, not all lessons from the Hogan road-building frenzy were learned by his successor).

This and more news you can use in this week's roundup, including the return of People's Action's congressional watchdog with, well, the usual dismal news about our fearless leaders on the Hill. Read it all here.

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.

• New Today-News You Can Use: MD Budget may be bigger scramble than was hoped 

• While Congress is at bay, the states will play -- in Indianapolis

• Progressive Maryland Endorses Three Candidates for Municipal Races this 2023 Election

• News You Can Use -- Maryland among the states, in green jobs, cannabis consumption, maternal mental health and more

• Announcing Our New Radio Show "The Progress Report"

>>Read more on the homepage of progressivemaryland.org

Don't forget to follow us on social media!

Progressive Maryland
P.O. Box 6988
Largo, MD 20792