News you can use.

We start with the MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY -- because they are almost finished -- Session enters frenetic stretch BUT it ain’t over till it’s over on Sine Die, which is a week from today. Some big bills with veto potential were sent to the Guv in time last Friday. Here are  Nuts and bolts from the Maryland Legislative Coalition for the final stretch week.

Down in DC, the national budget dropped $5.8 trillion and includes a wide range of pro-family, pro-worker provisions that will have to be defended in Congress. By us.

Read all about it here.

Even if today’s chilly weather makes it hard to believe, Spring is here! We’ve had a great time gathering with supporters and allies for safe, socially-distanced outdoor actions like last week’s Rally for Environmental Justice, and we’re excited to announce more upcoming opportunities to hit the streets! Read on for more...

Larry Hogan and Assembly leaders agreed today (Monday, March 28) on a tax-cut package with social spending that melds their conflicts. There’s movement on the big climate bill, the impact of the gas tax holiday, and more. Also, lots going on in Congress and agencies to catch our eyes – “Build Back Better” may come in a discount version. Our Monday "News You Can Use" blog wrapup keeps you current on federal, state and local government activity. Alas, we don't have very much news about cute animals but we will keep looking.

On Thursday, Progressive Maryland and other involved progressive groups called for passage of three laws aimed at reducing the scourge of overdose deaths in Maryland.

Today in a Maryland Matters opinion, two state legislators and a colleague from Maine -- another state hard hit by overdose fatalities -- also urge movement on one of those bills, HB 190. The measure would strengthen the state's Good Samaritan statutes. The lawmakers explain how it could ease the fears in local communities that calling for help with an overdose can have bad consequences.

Progressive Maryland today joined the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) Maryland, Communities United and Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition to demand that the state, starting with the General Assembly, act quickly and thoroughly to combat the rising tide of overdose deaths in the state. Three bills awaiting action in the Assembly session can make significant progress in saving lives from the overdose epidemic in our communities.

It's Crossover Day in Annapolis! This is one of the key dates of the Maryland legislative session — if a bill hasn't passed out of at least one chamber of the General Assembly by the time lawmakers adjourn this evening, it no longer has a chance of becoming state law this session. It's a busy day for advocates and legislators alike, and we've been watching committee and floor votes closely to see which bills will still have a path forward when voting wraps up. We expect some major disappointments, but we also anticipate movement on some critically important bills. Read on for updates and actions you can take today to support progressive legislation and build a more just future for our state and communities! 

Here is News you can Use for this week (it’s mostly last week’s news, of course):

• Crossover day in the Assembly session, with highlights and movement on the $58b budget;
• news about money with a gas tax holiday and how it might or might not help; other tax changes;
• news about possibly dirty money from big corporadoes happy to buy more laws;
• what budget good news means in two big counties, and for whom;
• and at the federal level, progressives eye the gridlock in Congress and tell Biden: time for executive orders.

All that and more in this week’s News you can Use roundup.

Next Monday, March 21 is Crossover Day, one of the most important days in the Maryland General Assembly session. To have a chance of becoming state law, bills need to be voted out of the chamber they began in before the Crossover deadline. That means there’s less than a week left to ensure progressive legislation continues moving forward this session — we need all hands on deck! 

News you can use.

• Gas tax holiday sought to reduce bite of pump prices, which survey shows would reduce driving across nation;
• police records still hard to get despite new transparency law;
• climate bill struggles but gets passed while Hogan agencies found slack on pollution enforcement;
• bills tackle auto insurance costs and bad roads;
• housing is unaffordable but evictions are down;
• reproductive health in two versions;
• Maryland schools improvement program delayed/community schools

– all Maryland news that affects you and your family, plus what's going on in D.C.

Read on...

As Maryland launches (belatedly, after overriding a veto) into the Blueprint for school reform, education writer Jeff Bryant in The Progressive magazine identifies a problem of trust that can be repaired through developing these innovative "wraparound services" schools. "By emphasizing communication and trust-building," Bryant says, "they offer a solution for repairing the frayed relationship between parents and schools."

Tomorrow is International Women's Day, a global holiday celebrating the contributions of women and the ongoing struggle for gender equity and justice. The holiday originated from labor struggles at the start of the 20th century, and its recognition broadened when it was adopted by the United Nations in the 1970s.

This year, we celebrate the achievements of women leaders who are driving our society toward a more progressive future — but we also take this opportunity to celebrate the women who rarely appear on the national stage. We honor these women, the workers and organizers whose critical contributions take place largely outside the public eye. Their struggles play an essential role in our lives and in the fight for a better world.

Progressive organizations join in appeal to Sen Schumer to move people-centered programs while Ukraine aid and COVID relief kick-start Senate gridlock. In Maryland, business complaints are obstacles to climate action, and a House committee inquires if Hogan's agencies are playing politics (what?!) on COVID care. This and more in your roundup of Maryland news you can use, plus a federal garni following the State of the Union address. Read on.

Black History Month is coming to a close, but we remain committed to uplifting and celebrating Black leaders and communities all year round. Black activists have been on the frontlines of struggles for racial, social, and economic justice throughout history, and we are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate their enormous contributions in the struggle to build a better world. We hope you, too, will continue to recognize and appreciate the ongoing work of Black leaders and organizers every day of the year.

Close to home: final action on allowing local school systems flexibility in mask policy. Plus, the General Assembly continues to churn through its calendar with many bills, for good or ill, crossing over or getting crucial hearings. Be sure to check our Weekly Memo for the ones that matter the most. And we hear from our allied folks at our national affiliate People's Action about what needs your attention at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, down where the Metrorail lines cross. See it all in this roundup of News You Can Use.

Maryland's Senate leadership, initially cautious about the highly popular paid family leave concept, yesterday got on board, as this article from Maryland Matters shows.

Find out more about this bill and its backers -- including Progressive Maryland, who testified in its favor to a House committee Feb. 15 -- in our BlogSpace.

Progressive Maryland has testified Feb. 15 in an Assembly hearing in support of Maryland House Bill 8, the “Time to Care” act, which “would give workers up to 12 weeks paid time off to take care of a newborn, themselves or a loved one who has serious medical conditions.” Find out more about the bill and see our testimony below.

Yesterday would have been the 82nd birthday of the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis. Representative Lewis was well-known for encouraging people to make "good trouble" — the kind of trouble that gets stirred up when you fight injustice, as Lewis did with courage throughout his life. 

Let's remember to draw inspiration from Rep. Lewis in moments when progressive change feels difficult or distant. We are committed to continuing to organize, agitate, and make good trouble around the issues that affect working people until we live in a society that treats everyone with dignity and respect. We hope you'll stand with us. 

Our leverage for peace seems limited, especially this morning, but we can work for justice here in Maryland and in the nation because when justice is done, peace is more likely. News you can use from Maryland and the progressive-possible landscape in the US are just below:

Where to get news you can use in Maryland? The landscape is shifting under us every day, as this roundup from Baltimore Fishbowl outlines. Financial squeezes on the legacy media all over the world are bringing change, not all of it good, and it's getting harder to tell well-grounded, factual news from misinformation.

Happy Valentine's Day! Here's the Weekly Memo from Progressive Maryland — your road map for progressive action in this and coming weeks. We can do it. Change starts today.