Topline news: Pepco's electric rate request was cut in half by the PSC, relieving strapped households. Maryland's schools start up again, so how are we doing at implementing the state's ambitious and costly Blueprint school reform project? A seasoned editor takes a look on a podcast while stressed local school districts and governments scramble to find the resources to comply. Meanwhile, the cost of UMD's university system schools has (shocker!) not gone down. The state's attempt to put a redistricting referendum on the November ballot has run into trouble from not just one but two judges. Sun Bucks, the nutritional supplement to cover kids' lunch-free summer hiatus, will run out 122 days after issuance, so use them fast. The Trump tariffs, as in many other states, are putting the hurt on Maryland's farmers. Statewide and nationally, data centers are suddenly a controversial element of economic development. And yes, Flock surveillance cameras have joined the list of nationally hated brand names. And we have Megan E's roundup (per People's Action) of misbehavior among the power classes in DC; the GOP-led House is back in session -- bad news since they won't bother to really govern. The good news is they work a week, take a week off (whew!), come back to work for a week  (maybe) and then skedaddle home to protect their incumbency. It's all News You Can Use.

HERE IN MARYLAND -- Most summaries from Maryland Reporter

Regulators Slash Pepco Rate Request by Over Half Pepco customers in Maryland will still see their electric bills go up, but by far less than the utility had requested after state regulators rejected more than half of the utility’s proposed rate increase last week. The Maryland Public Service Commission authorized a Pepco revenue increase of $50.9 million, less than half the $119.8 million the utility had originally requested, according to a commission news release. The new rates went into effect Friday. Residents will be paying an increase of $3.94 extra a month compared to the Pepco requested amount of $10.24. This residential bill impact in Montgomery County is 2.25% and in Prince George’s is 2.23%. “The order is the culmination of an extensive and open examination of financial data and witness testimony, submitted by Pepco, Commission Staff, the Office of People’s Counsel and other stakeholders,” said PSC Chair Kumar Barv. ”The Commission thoughtfully balanced the necessity for secure and dependable power delivery with the critical mandate of ensuring that rate adjustments remain fair for Pepco customers.” Pepco said it will work with regulators on affordability, reliability and growth of energy. “We agree with the Commission that affordability is critically important for Maryland customers. Our role is to identify and propose the investments we believe will best position the electric system to meet customers’ needs today and in the future,” said Valencia McClure, Pepco’s senior vice president of government, regulatory and external affairs. She said customers need affordability and reliability WTOP/Maryland Matters

Redistricting Ballot Question Nixed by a Second Judge: A second judge has ruled against a ballot question proposing changes to Maryland’s congressional redistricting rules. But the legal battles are far from over. In a Dorchester County case, Circuit Court Judge S. James Sarbanes on Friday ordered that the question cannot go before voters in November, echoing a ruling earlier this week in a similar case filed in Anne Arundel County. The state has appealed both cases, and they’re set for oral arguments in the Supreme Court of Maryland on Thursday. Baltimore Banner. >> Sarbanes’ 12-page decision hands Republicans a second victory in parallel court challenges to House Bill 2100, which would change the way the state draws congressional districts. In his ruling, Sarbanes found concerns similar to those cited by the judge in an Anne Arundel County case Wednesday, but also agreed with plaintiffs on the Eastern Shore that the passage of the bill after a key deadline and a “misleading” ballot question fail to pass legal muster. Maryland Matters.

State Workers: Delays In Insurance Coverage Worsens Recovery: Maryland workers who’ve been injured or sickened on the job say their medical problems are compounded by lengthy battles over workers’ compensation delays, denials and appeals — including disputes over the cost of prescription drugs. Workers say they fight for appointments, medicine and procedures. Some say they’re forced to pay out of pocket or turn to their own health insurance for treatment they say workers’ compensation should cover. Baltimore Sun.

Maryland Farmers Feel Pinch Of Federal Tariffs: Maryland farmers say rising equipment costs and weaker markets for some crops are squeezing their businesses, pressures they attribute in part to federal tariff policies. President Donald Trump last year imposed tariffs, or direct taxes, on goods from more than 80 countries, raising costs for some imported products. Retaliatory tariffs and shifts in global trade have also affected markets for some U.S. agricultural exports. Baltimore Sun.

Cursive Returns To More Public Schools In Maryland: The first day of school in Baltimore and Harford counties marks the return of cursive to all second- and third-grade classrooms in the two districts.The counties join schools in neighboring Baltimore City, Howard County and Anne Arundel County that teach the handwriting style, which is seeing a resurgence across the country.  Baltimore Banner.

Moore Urges Families To Use Up Their Summer “Sun Bucks” Nutrition Support: Gov. Wes Moore is urging Marylanders to use their Sun Bucks electronic benefits before the 122-day expiration window closes. The Maryland Sun Bucks program — formally known as the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program — provides $40 per eligible student each month from June through August, totaling $120 per student over the summer. The program is designed to help families with school-aged children who receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year afford groceries during the summer break. The benefits expire 122 days after issuance. WMAR-TV News.

Bay Region Pushes Back Against Data Centers: Data centers, which enable the internet and AI, are proliferating across the nation. Now, a wave of data center pushback is sweeping the Chesapeake Bay region as distrust with the industry deepens and energy bills rise. But pauses and bans on data center development could mean some localities miss out on key financial opportunities. Bay Journal.

Data Center Company Pulls Appeal Of MoCo Moratorium: One month after the Montgomery County Council’s passage of an 18-month moratorium on data center development, the California company looking to construct a data center campus in Dickerson continues to evaluate its options for the project, said Kris Warner, an Atmosphere Data Centers spokesperson. Warner said that last week the company withdrew its appeal of a zoning interpretation related to a now-moot six-month data center moratorium implemented by County Executive Marc Elrich in June. Bethesda Today.

Residents To Weigh In on Data Center Pause In Baltimore County: Data centers will be front and center this week in Baltimore County, with two hearings, including one on whether there should be a moratorium on data centers through 2027. That proposal already has the support of a majority of County Council members, which will hold a hearing on the legislation on Tuesday. WYPR-FM.

>>>> More on data center pushback in other states in The Region/The Other 49 below >>>>

Maryland-Made Telescope Blasted Into Space: NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before. SpaceX launched the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope, which was built in Maryland and named after the late Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer, shortly after daybreak aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center.  Associated Press

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Alleged Faulty Software To Blame For Multi-Million Dollar Medicaid Fraud: Maryland is suing a former state health department contractor for its allegedly defective software that hobbled regulators’ abilities to fight fraud in the drug and mental health treatment field. Baltimore Banner.

AG Brown Sues United Healthcare, Optum For Defrauding Medicaid Program: Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group (also known as United Healthcare) and Optum, Inc., alleging they defrauded the Maryland Medicaid Program by supplying a defective computer system. Fox 45 News.

Murders in Baltimore, once one of the most dangerous cities in the US, have plummeted to record lows, a remarkable turnaround that has followed dropping crime levels across the country. Killings in the city jumped to more than 300 a year after the 2015 death of Freddie Gray from injuries in police custody. But a combination of policy and improving economics — the city’s GDP has grown rapidly — is feeding hopes that Baltimore may record fewer than 100 murders in 2026. The city’s experience mimics the country’s: The US murder rate fell to its lowest level in decades, a fall that has improved public perceptions of crime. Semafor (paywalled)

The State Of The Schools Blueprint: The new school year means we’re a year further into the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the $4 billion-a-year decade-long reform plan that has dominated the public discourse about education in this state for the better part of a decade. In the latest Maryland Now podcast episode, we take a close look at the recent history of education in this state, and probe some of the factors, personalities and political imperatives driving the debates over the Blueprint. Josh Kurtz/Baltimore Fishbowl >> The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and its impact on county governments was also a hot topic at the Maryland Association of Counties conference in Ocean City earlier this month. Len Lazarick/The Business Monthly and Maryland Reporter >>And meanwhile: Tuition, Fees Will Rise at UMD Campuses This Fall: Many students returning to the University of Maryland this fall will pay more for the 2026-27 academic year, as tuition and fees rise across the University System of Maryland. For Maryland residents, annual undergraduate tuition increased about 5 percent, from $10,490 last academic year to $11,014 this year. Annual tuition for out-of-state undergraduate students rose from $40,252 to $42,266, also a 5 percent increase. Mandatory fees, which include athletics, shuttle bus and student activity expenses, also increased by $20 for both in-state and out-of-state students. Ellen Herbst, the system’s senior vice chancellor for administration and finance, said at the April finance meeting that comparison research found this university to be “among the strongest values within the Big Ten,” according to the meeting minutes. Students can view this university’s full 2026-27 cost of attendance breakdown on the Office of Student Financial Aid website. The Diamondback student newspaper

States Sue Trump Administration Over Family Planning Restrictions: Maryland is co-leading a lawsuit with 22 other states challenging new Trump administration funding requirements that threaten family planning grants unless states comply with what Attorney General Anthony Brown calls “unlawful and discriminatory conditions.” Maryland Matters. 

THE REGION/THE OTHER 49

Virginia to receive $353 million in landmark Meta child-safety settlement

Virginia is set to receive at least $353 million from Meta Platforms Inc. under a major multistate settlement that would also require the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to adopt new safeguards aimed at protecting children from addictive features and harmful content. The agreement, announced Wednesday, could reach more than $17 billion nationwide, making it one of the largest state consumer protection settlements in U.S. history outside the Big Tobacco agreements of the 1990s. Virginia Mercury

While Renewables Languish, Pennsylvania Pays Millions to Coal Waste Companies

More than 20 years after passing a landmark clean energy law, the state gets more of its power from burning coal waste than from solar. Inside Climate News

New Jersey: Trump administration appealing loss in Gateway tunnel funding case

The Trump administration told a federal judge Friday that it is appealing a court order that barred it from freezing funding for the $16 billion project to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River. The news elicited predictions of another loss for the administration from officials from New Jersey and New York, which prevailed in the lawsuit, and from U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ.05), who has criticized the White House’s push to end funding for the project, known as Gateway. Gottheimer called the Gateway tunnel project the “most important infrastructure project in the country” and condemned the Trump administration for wanting to “slam the brakes” on it. News from the States

ENERGY: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has signed legislation requiring data centers to report water and energy usage every six months. The law requires reports on total energy consumption, energy used for cooling and IT equipment, peak daily water use and water sources, as well as backup power supplies. (New Jersey Monitor) via Pluribus

MORE: Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer (D) has signed four bills targeting data centers. The bills would cap the amount Delmarva Power can recoup from nonessential spending; require data centers to create ten-year plans to ramp up energy production; and create a new higher rate for large energy users. (Delaware Public Media) via Pluribus

PUBLIC SAFETY: Blowback against Flock cameras is going national after recent incidents in which rogue police officers have used the cameras to spy on ex-girlfriends and other incidents. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) ordered reviews of camera use in their states. Gubernatorial candidates in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Iowa and Texas have brought up the cameras on the campaign trail. (Pluribus News) full article is paywalled

MORE: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has ordered state agencies to pause funding for Flock camera networks. The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority has helped state and local agencies install at least 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023. (Texas Tribune) Nevada lawmakers have asked for a draft bill to require agencies using Flock cameras to adopt written policies and train authorized users. (Nevada Independent)

Rhode Island: An ordinance that would limit city investments when they are tied to foreign countries “conducting severe violations of human rights such as ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation, or genocide” will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. Israel is not named, but the country’s actions against Palestinians are at the crux of the campaign for the ordinance’s passage. News from the States

SOCIAL MEDIA: Lawmakers and youth advocates say last week’s settlement between Meta and state attorneys general won’t stop their efforts to advance additional safety guardrails on social media giants. California is working toward a Monday deadline to approve increased liability and penalties for social media companies that would impose fines of up to $1 million per child. (Pluribus News) full article is paywalled

Recalls raise concerns about decline in US food safety scrutiny

A summer of food recalls, including the record-shattering cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands, has raised many Americans’ fears of contracting a foodborne illness, Stateline reports. The recalls have focused attention on the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding and staff at several public health agencies, and prompted questions about whether those changes have made consumers more vulnerable. In fact, this year’s tally of food recalls is roughly in line with the numbers in recent years. About 48 million people each year get sick from a foodborne illness. But experts worry that the scope, severity and scale of outbreaks and their associated food recalls are growing. While the United States sees some cyclosporiasis cases every year, this year’s outbreak has crushed records: Since May, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed more than 17,000 cases, with another nearly 12,000 reported cases still under investigation. The outbreak has resulted in at least 922 hospitalizations and two deaths. News from the States

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that the US had secured majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s oil reserves, expanding Washington’s influence over the country’s energy industry. Under the agreement, a joint company comprising the US government and a Venezuelan private operator will receive a 100-year lease to develop 17 oil fields. Venezuela’s acting president said the agreement could draw billions in investment, but critics across Venezuela’s political spectrum questioned its legality and warned it could undermine Venezuelan sovereignty. The deal marked a win for Trump, who has urged American oil companies to return to Venezuela since Nicolás Maduro’s ouster; after months of hesitation, Chevron and others are now nearing billion-dollar deals, The Wall Street Journal reported. Semafor

Trump blows up GOP's attempted pivot on data centers --As significant voter majorities trend against data centers in polling, GOP candidates trying to pivot on their previous enthusiasm found little help from Trump: In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump wrote: “The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign. “The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” The Guardian

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Here’s the update on federal/administration misbehavior this week… Megan E is federal affairs director for People’s Action, the national affiliate of Progressive Maryland.

Hello People's Action!

I’m sorry there was no update last week!

ICYMI, two weeks ago progressive & Democratic Socialist Florida House Representative Angie Nixon beat the establishment candidate for the Florida Senate race -- who outspent her at least 10 to 1. This was yet another primary victory showing that there is a lot of grassroots energy for people who refuse to take corporate or AIPAC money and campaign for systemic reforms like Medicare for All. 

Primary season is just about over but there are a few more tomorrow. Helena Foulkes, an establishment Democrat is running to oust incumbent Rhode Island Governor McKee. Foulkes is running to shake up the status quo promising to pass a millionaires’ tax and build 20,000 units of affordable housing. Massachusetts progressive champion Senator Ed Markey has a moderate challenger Rep. Seth Moulton, who is not likely to win but it’ll get him out of the House. 

The House is coming back today for one week, then they are out next week and come back the following week. They plan to pass a federal funding extension through December 11th then they want to cut more weeks in the schedule and go home to campaign until the election. 

Medicare for All 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is in hot water after saying on Meet the Press that he does not support Medicare for All anymore. Medicare for All polls at 65% overall with close to 80% among Democrats, 71% among Independents and just under 50% among Republicans. Leaders Jeffries formerly cosponsored the bill when he was not in leadership. He likely doesn’t want to scare off his corporate donors. 

Scientists at Yale’s School of Public Health and the University of Maryland, Baltimore recently released a study indicating that a single payer system like Medicare for All would save the U.S. more than $1 trillion and some 114,000 lives every year.

Shifting left, Democrats see universal health care, taxing the rich as 'essential,' Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

This poll finds that an astounding 96% of respondents see "Government provided healthcare coverage" as an essential position, which is on par with abortion access. Also worth noting that of ALL the positions covered in the poll, the healthcare position had the lowest percentage (3%) of respondents classifying it as "not important." 

According to Politico, top Trump pollsters told Senate Republicans that it’s politically popular to talk about going after insurance companies, according to reporting by Axios. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) released an ad where she dons a white coat and strides around a medical setting. “In Congress, I fight the big insurance lobby,” she says. “Hey, big insurance, bring it on.” If Democrats don’t embrace Medicare for All, a real solution to taking on the corporate greed of private insurance companies, then they will sound very similar to Republicans. 

Trump’s Inflation 

Last week the national debt hit $40 trillion and the bond market has reacted by raising interest rates. Right now the US has large deficit spending due to spending on foreign wars and tax cuts for billionaires. Yet Trump wants an astounding $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon next year. Running a deficit in the U.S. is not per se bad but the interest the government is paying on loans is now higher than military spending for the first time ever. The increased interest on Treasury Bond rates will further bolster inflation. Trump has been freaking out and his Treasury Secretary has been trying to intervene in the market to lower the rates in ways that experts say won’t work. 

Then there’s trade war with Canada. After failed negotiations where the US essentially asked Canada to give up its sovereignty, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (one of the only US allies really willing to stand up to Trump) walked away from the table and announced new tariffs on U.S. goods. The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on a wide swath of Canadian goods, and Canada hit back with retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on roughly $20 billion worth of American products — including steel. Working people on both sides of the border are paying the price. Detroit is taking it on the chin as the auto industry gets hammered, and border-state Republicans — including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senate candidate Mike Rogers (R-MI) — are suddenly discovering they have a problem with tariffs that hurt their constituents. Meanwhile, Canadians are overwhelmingly united against Trump's tariffs; the same cannot be said for Americans, who are mostly being told to eat it. This is what happens when a tariff is used as a regressive tax to fund billionaire tax breaks — working people lose, the rich win, and our closest trading partner retaliates. 

AND the US and Iran traded fire last night (Sunday) for the first time in a month.

In better news, the Senate is looking very competitive. Cook Political Report has NC in the lean Democrat category and AK, IA, ME, MI, OH & TX as a toss-up. Democrats have to hold  the MI seat, plus flip four of the other states to take control of the Senate. 

NEW RESOURCES

Accountability Resource Guide: Republican Budgetary & Policy Priorities & the Cost of Their Cruelty

In solidarity,

Megan