MISTLETOE MEMO EDITION – be sure to give a nod to the Solstice on Dec. 21 as the Shortest Day goes by. Our next Memo will be the eve of the traditional holiday, Monday, Dec. 24 – but don’t forget to get yourself ready for the Statewide Progressive Maryland meeting, coming up…. More in this week's Memo, below...

 MISTLETOE MEMO EDITION – be sure to give a nod to the Solstice on Dec. 21 as the Shortest Day goes by. Our next Memo will be the eve of the traditional holiday, Monday, Dec. 24 – but don’t forget to get yourself ready for the Statewide Progressive Maryland meeting, coming up….

WE ARE MAKING THE MOST OF 2018. On Saturday, Dec. 29, Progressive Maryland’s statewide meeting convenes at 11 a.m. at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Annapolis. This mass meeting will shape Progressive Maryland’s activism for 2019 and beyond – first, preparing for the 2019 General Assembly session that begins Jan. 9, but more broadly to build power for working families as we push the legislators to shake loose from business as usual. That’s a process that will continue.

Saturday December 29th at 11am, our Progressive Maryland statewide meeting will celebrate our victories, discuss our challenges, and prepare our next steps. Building power is on the table and on the horizon. Many of you have already RSVPed and we’ll be calling you to confirm your attendance and find out what YOU think should be on the agenda.

You can RSVP here.

Need a lift? Want to offer a ride? Fill out the form for carpooling here. https://goo.gl/forms/gHIQhVmBRItmfla12 (this link is also at the RSVP registration page).

What do you want to see on the agenda? Email the moderator at [email protected].

We have included this message in every Memo this year – but in case you missed it, here it is up front:

 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 CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE

Progressive Prince George's

Saturday, Dec 22 Participatory Defense Community Meeting at 01:00 PM -- Oakcrest Community Center rsvp

And every Saturday through December – see our events calendar

TUE  Dec 18^th The Prince George's County House Delegation Public Hearing on local bills,  6:30-9 PM. At PRA Auditorium, 6600 Kenilworth Ave, Riverdale Park, MD 20737.  For more information on the hearing, see their website: 

https://www.princegeorgeshousedelegation.com/calendar   RSVP HERE

PMD Montgomery

Take Action Anne Arundel County

Take Action AAC Events

Monthly Chapter Meetings

Thursday, December 20 at 7 pm at the Edgewater Community Library Share Facebook event

Wednesday, January 9 at 7 pm at the Edgewater Community Library

Topics: State Legislative Session, Speaker Jennifer Dwyer, Progressive Maryland Legislative and Policy Director

Jen will discuss Progressive Maryland's priority bills that impact women, including paid family leave, salary history, and pregnant worker protections. Education and environmental actions planned at the state and county level will also be discussed.  Share Facebook event

Other Anne Arundel Events

Wednesday, December 19 School Board Meeting & Action at 7 pm at the Anne Arundel County Board of Education 

Shady Side Elementary School Cell Tower Proposal

Stand with the Shady Side Coalition Against the Cell Tower which is currently in process to be located in a children's playground at the elementary school which is also a wetland area. If you plan to testify, arrive by 6:30 pm to sign up. Share Facebook event

2020 School Board Operating Budget by Superintendent Arlotto

This is the first presentation of the 2020 budget. The budget will be the key item for the school board to review in January. Stay tuned for more information about the two public hearings about the budget in January.  

Friday, December 21 Henry Davis Lynching Remembrance: A Path to Reconciliation at 6:15 pm at the Civil Rights Foot Soldier Memorial at 44 Calvert Street in Annapolis

Join the Caucus of African American Leaders for an evening march of remembrance and a renewed commitment to fight racism Share Facebook event

Environmental and Health Briefings

The Maryland Environmental Health Network is hosting a series of briefings through December prior to the 2018-2019 legislative session.  You can register for these webinars by clicking here. 

Progressive Howard County

Talbot Rising

 See the latest newsletter with a post-election letter from the co-chairs https://www.talbotrising.org/newsletters31/2018/11/12/weekly-newsletter-nov-12-2018

Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

Read the Caucus chair’s post-election letter on the website.

PMD Baltimore

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

EVENTS FROM PROGRESSIVE ALLIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Monday, December 17 — Reel and Meal at the New Deal presents The Unafraid , which follows three DACA-eligible immigrants in Georgia as they try to get an affordable college education and win rights for their families and communities. Film at 7, followed by discussion led by local advocates for immigrants’ rights. We offer a delicious vegan meal for $14 at 6:30 PM. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you are joining us for dinner. The free film starts at 7 PM, New Deal Cafe – 113 Centerway in historic Greenbelt, MD
For more about this month’s program contact Lucy Duff at [email protected].

 Monday, Dec. 17 MoCo Exec Listening Tour Continues: County Executive Marc Elrich continues his series of listening sessions at Churchill High School, 11300 Gainsborough Road, Potomac. The session starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, December 18 Community Meeting on Racial Equity in Policing | 7:00 - 8:30 pm Turner Memorial AME Church 7201 16th Place, Hyattsville, MD -- a community discussion on building trust and knocking down barriers with police.

Tues. Dec 18th the Prince George's County House Delegation local bills public hearing at 6:30 PM; PRA Auditorium 6600 Kenilworth Ave Riverdale Park, MD 20737. For more information on the hearing and bills at  https://www.princegeorgeshousedelegation.com/calendar   RSVP HERE. To deliver verbal testimony:  Please sign up between the hours of 3:00p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day of the hearing.  

 Wednesday, December 19 Black Lives Matter at School: Open House  | 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Teaching for Change 1832 11th St NW, Washington, DC -- D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice, Center for Inspired Teaching, and many other D.C. area organizations are organizing a Black Lives Matter Week of Action in our communities. Learn more about the week of action and sign up to participate at http://bit.ly/blmdc2019.

Sunday, January 13 Prince George’s Sierra Club group Potluck Social and Climate Change Update, 5-7 pm; Watkins Regional Park Nature Center. Guest speaker Dr. Astrid Caldas, Senior Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, will provide an update on climate change and its impacts, in light of recent high-profile reports. $5 with a potluck dish, $10 without, kids free. Please RSVP so we can get a head count, and indicate what you'll be bringing. Directions will be sent to those who register. RSVP here: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z0000027LKaQAM. Contact: [email protected]  

 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:

December 13, 2018 Raising progressive hell in Annapolis will be harder this year

The rehabbing of the cozy confines of Lawyer’s Mall, the traditional Annapolis location for demonstrations in front of the State House – where legislators need to pass by and view the festivities on their way to chambers and session – means protestors will have to locate elsewhere during at least the 2019 General Assembly session. Poland, hosting the latest climate summit, passed laws restricting protests and keeping them distant from the summit’s meetings; guess somebody was paying attention in the Hogan administration. Maryland Matters' Danielle Gaines has the details here.

December 11, 2018 US Voters Want Health Care, Not Walls

People’s Action director George Goehl shows how deep the electorate’s concern for health care provision is across the country – and how many GOP incumbents paid the price in the midterms for dissing the Affordable Care Act. The traction for “Medicare for All” in Maryland didn’t translate into a win at the top, we know—but that may be because the number of Marylanders without health coverage is at an historic low, with around 94 percent having some kind of coverage. But we still have to make it good coverage and keep for-profit providers focused on care, not stock prices.

December 10, 2018 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, Dec. 10, 2018

WE ARE MAKING THE MOST OF 2018. On Saturday, Dec. 29, Progressive Maryland’s statewide meeting convenes at 11 a.m. at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Annapolis. This mass meeting will shape Progressive Maryland’s activism for 2019 and beyond. Register and find a ride below.

>>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