How to improve the Chesapeake Bay (and the complex forces, human, social and natural, involved) ties in with events like the Curtis Bay coal dust problem, enviro solutions like more bike-and-walk ways to get to work, the sudden closing of Atlantic Beaches, and on the political front big-time worries among state elections officials about whether the USPS mail system is being strangled (and mail voting endangered) by USPS's cost-obsessed (and Trump-appointed) Postmaster General. Ben Franklin, he ain't...

HERE IN MARYLAND (and the bioregion)

Why Reducing Farm Pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Region is a Complex Problem

For 40 years, the Chesapeake Bay region has struggled to sufficiently reduce nutrient pollution from farms. The reasons are complex. But it’s important to explore those challenges as the region engages in a tough conversation about the future of the Bay restoration effort. Previous articles in this series discuss difficult trade-offs with agriculture, the challenge of setting realistic goals, the dearth of technical support for farm conservation projects, concerns about the ag data used in Bay computer models and more.   Chesapeake Bay Journal

Community Irate Over Latest Coal Dust Storm at CSX Curtis Bay Facility: Visitors watched as a huge, probably toxic coal dust cloud is stirred up in track clearing. The Maryland Department of the Environment issued a violation notice against the company last week. Baltimore Brew

$16m In Grants For Md Bike, Pedestrian Infrastructure: Maryland is set to receive $16 million in grants which will be used for bicycle, pedestrian and trail projects across the state, Gov. Wes Moore announced last week. WBFF -TV News. /Maryland Reporter

State Legislative Lgbtq+ Caucus Says Hogan No Ally: Members of the Maryland Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus are accusing former Gov. Larry Hogan of not standing up for the LGBTQ+ community. Hogan, the Republican nominee for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat, has proved he is not an ally to LGBTQ+ Marylanders, a statement from five members of the caucus reads. All are Democrats. Caucus members said it is critical that the Democratic candidate, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, beats Hogan in November. Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.

[And note our REPOST of Progressive Maryland's role in the Alsobrooks campaign as related by Maryland Matters]

Marylanders Worry About Voting Safety, Postal Service: Maryland’s representatives to the Greater Washington Council of Governments represent jurisdictions from Frederick to Southern Maryland. And as Election Day approaches, these officials and their counterparts from Virginia and the District of Columbia are unified behind one idea: Ensuring the integrity of the vote and the safety of the voters. They agree that the very fabric of democracy depends on it. Maryland Matters/MarylandReporter.com.

And The U.S. Postal Service will play a large role in this upcoming election, but potentially not a good one, state and local election officials suggested in a letter on Wednesday. USA Today. [and see related article, “The Other 49” below].

And see our “NATIONAL AND THE FEDS” section, below, for a free webinar featuring Stacy Abrams on voting and how to overcome barriers to voting.

Md Renters' Cost Burden Rose In 2023: There were 21 states where a majority of tenant households spent 30% or more of their incomes on rent and utilities last year, compared with just seven states in 2019. The percentage of “cost-burdened” renters in Maryland rose from 49.9% in 2019 to 53.3% in 2023, the ninth-highest share among states for that year, the census numbers show. Maryland Matters/Maryland Reporter

Beaches Closed Sunday In DMV: Popular beach destinations along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia were closed Sunday to swimming and even wading as officials investigate reports of “medical waste,” including needles, washing up on shore. Swimming was not allowed at Ocean City, Assateague Island and Fenwick Island, as well as Chincoteague Public Beach, officials announced Sunday afternoon. WTOP-FM And Maryland officials closed Assateague State Park to swimming, wading, surfing or any other activities in the ocean. The Assateague Island National Seashore, which is in both Maryland and Virginia, prohibited swimming along “ALL” ocean-facing beaches, according to alerts sent Sunday. The island is 37 miles long. Parts of Delaware are also impacted, including Dewey Beach, where town officials also barred swimming. WaPo/Maryland Reporter

IN THE OTHER 49

MD’s Brown, Other AGs Want Surgeon General’s Warning Label on Social Media Platforms

In a recent letter, the attorneys general argue that social media poses a mental health risk to youths. Social media poses a big enough mental health risk that it should come with a tobacco-style warning label, the surgeon general has said, and 41 states' attorneys general agreed this week in a letter to Congress. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined the bipartisan coalition in a letter urging Congress to require warning labels on social media sites.  “Congress must safeguard the well-being of our youth,” Brown said in a statement, “and ensure they are protected from the harm lurking behind swipes and clicks.” Maryland Matters

BUDGETS: Some COVID Funds Still Hanging Around (The Disease Appears to Be Hanging Around, too): State and local governments have until the end of the year to allocate or spend their share of $350 billion in Covid-19 relief funds approved by Congress and President Biden in 2021. About 80% of that money had been allocated by March, but one in five governments reported having spent less than half the money. [Maryland is near 90 percent spent out, but neighbor states Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia are in the 50-60 percent range. See interactive map in the AP article]. (Associated Press) via Pluribus

Progress in Housing, Zoning Adaptation Appears to Slow: When Minneapolis, then Oregon, then other local and state governments began stripping away exclusive single-family-home zoning over the past five years to allow the construction of multifamily housing, many development advocates predicted the start of a pro-YIMBY revolution. But the “yes-in-my-backyard” movement has stumbled even before it’s really gotten started. Stateline Daily

HEALTH CARE: Florida Moves on Future Nurse Shortage. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the state will spend $130 million on programs to graduate more nurses from state schools. The programs, created in 2022, have helped boost the number of nursing graduates to 1,800, a record high. Florida is expected to face a nursing shortage of 60,000 by 2035. (Health News Florida) via Pluribus

2025 California Energy Code Updates Aim to Drive Heat Pump Adoption, Save Nearly $5B in Energy Costs

If approved, the new building energy efficiency standards are expected to drive 500,000 heat pump installations in the first three years, the California Energy Commission said. Utility Dive

Elections Officials, Including from Crucial Georgia, Urge USPS to Ramp Up Service for Mail Voting

In a rare bipartisan consensus about Georgia’s election process, both Republican and Democratic leaders agree that persistent mail delivery delays in the state could cost voters who use absentee ballots their chance to be counted on Election Day this November. Georgia’s county election officers joined several dozen of their counterparts from across the nation this month who are raising serious concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to properly deliver absentee ballots on time in the Nov. 5 general election. The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that listed a range of complaints that could put eligible voters at risk of having their registration canceled, or absentee ballots not delivered to local elections offices in time to have the votes counted. The two national election officials urged the postal service to move up the date of implementation of “extraordinary” procedures to at least a month prior to the Nov. 5 election. Georgia Recorder via States Newsroom

A School Where History May Actually Be Studied, Not Ignored: Construction workers building new facilities at San Pedro High School in Los Angeles have found a massive deposit of thousands of marine fossils. One bone bed dates back 8.7 million years to the Miocene era, and a shell bed dates back 120,000 yers to the Pleistocene era. Scientists say it’s the richest deposit ever found in the Los Angeles area. (Los Angeles Times) via Pluribus

NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

From Megan E, federal affairs director for our national affiliate People’s Action:

Hello People's Action!

The first and maybe only Presidential debate between Vice President Harris and Trump was last week. ICYMI here are the highlights. Trump and right wing white nationalists have spread vicious, racist lies about Haitian immigrants stealing pets and eating them in Springfield, Ohio. Since then, the town has been torn apart with schools, universities and the City Hall being forced to close due to bomb threats and safety concerns and the (legally in the US) Haitian American and immigrant community are afraid to leave their homes. NBC reports that Springfield was a struggling deindustrialized city that has recently experienced a resurgence of manufacturing jobs. Haitians fleeing violence through a humanitarian parole program are contributing to economic growth but there are some growing pains as the city’s population recovers and government services such as schools need to expand to keep up. 

In Congress, House Republicans are in disarray over how to fund the government. Because the far-right radical wing of the party will never vote for a funding bill until the Department of Education and half the other agencies are eliminated, Speaker Johnson must rely on Democratic votes to keep the government open while attempting to not look weak. The good news is that a shut-down is unlikely when everyone wants to go home to campaign for their reelection. 

There are 50 days until Election Day. 

Congratulations to all of our member groups that held deep canvass and door knocking events on Saturday! 

Here's what's in this email package today....

• ISSUE UPDATES:
  • CLIMATE:
  • HOUSING: 

But first: VOTING AND ITS OBSTACLES: Join Progressives & Grassroots for Harris-Walz Monday at 8pm Eastern with special guest Stacey Abrams to discuss the mechanics of how and where people can vote this year and the importance of your vote for our fundamental freedoms. Register here. 

Issue Update: Climate

Only in an Orwellian world of misinformation do we see our nation’s largest ‘public’ power utility pass a massive rate increase while providing the public the least amount of information compared to ‘private’ utilities,” said Stephen A. Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE),. “It’s highly unusual for a utility the size of TVA to issue a rate increase with zero independent review. This is a broken process, and every ratepayer in the Tennessee Valley is literally paying the price.” TVA supplies electricity to more than 150 local power companies, many of which are expected to pass the rate increase on to customers. Part of the rate increase will extend use of natural gas out several decades, as one TVA board member (who voted for the increase) lamented. Maggie Shober, also with SACE, said “But what is perhaps most disappointing is the fact that the people of the Tennessee Valley have never known anything different. They do not know that most utilities [like Maryland’s PJM] must present a detailed case for public scrutiny before raising rates. TVA has a visage of public power as a federally-owned utility but operates as an unregulated private monopoly.” [adapted from Inside Climate News]

ISSUE UPDATE: HOUSING

On Wednesday Representative Ocasio-Cortez (NY) and Senator Tina Smith (Minn.) will introduce their new social housing bill, the Homes Act. In a possible “Easter Egg” post on X Monday, Sen. Smith said:

“Our housing crisis can't be solved by just one level of government – it's going to take all of us. We need to come together at every level - from local governments all the way up to the United States Senate - to ensure everyone has a quality, affordable place to call home.”