Lawmakers vote to extend moratorium on ray killing contests
Annapolis, MD - On Feb. 26 the Maryland Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 143, to extend the moratorium on cownose ray killing contests in the Chesapeake Bay until a fishery management plan is created for the species. Sponsored by Senator Ron Young [D- District 3], it was approved by a unanimous vote of 46-0. A 2017 law placed a two-year moratorium on sponsoring, conducting or participating in a cownose ray killing contest for prizes in Maryland waters to allow the Department of
General Assembly debates pathway to $15 minimum wage in Maryland
ANNAPOLIS — Thea Bryan, 49, remembers the eviction notice. She was working part time as a bartender in downtown Bethesda while completing a required unpaid internship for her Master of Social Work degree. At first, she was making $100 to $200 a night from her three shifts, but when customers stopped coming in, her paychecks plummeted to $50 or less. Bryan makes only $3.63 an hour before tips, but it is difficult to get a higher-paying office job with her class and internship
Property rights supporters, environmental protection camps address council about 2018 River Plan
The start of Tuesday’s County Council meeting was like most recent meetings, as less than a dozen people were scattered throughout the first-floor hearing room at Winchester Hall. But around 6:15 p.m., more people started to enter the room, eventually filling it nearly to capacity — and by 7 p.m., more than 30 people had signed up to speak at a public hearing. That public hearing was for the 2018 Monocacy Scenic River Management Plan, one that has largely divided people into
Child and Adult Care Food Program to return March 1 with city approval of FCAA sponsorship
Come March 1, the statewide Child and Adult Care Food Program should be back in Frederick County. On Thursday, members of the Frederick Board of Aldermen cast the final votes needed to allow the Frederick Community Action Agency to take over sponsorship of the program, which halted in December when the former longtime sponsor, the Frederick County Department of Social Services, abruptly pulled out of it. The Child and Adult Care Food Program is a Maryland State Department of
Prescription Price Regulations
The Department of Health and Human Services recently proposed a new regulation that addresses the price of prescription drugs. This new rule aims to lower drug prices by providing direct discounts to patients and repairing the broken rebate system. The current rebate system rewards increasing list prices, favors the middleman, and leaves patients without access to affordable drugs. This proposal promotes access for patients and strives to put them first. WWFH partners through
Maryland lawmaker willing to take chance on controversial combined reporting bill
Maryland Sen. Ron Young says multiple tech company executives have told him they will consider moving out of the state if an accounting tax change he is proposing gets passed by the General Assembly. Young wants to call their bluff. A bill proposed by Young, a Democrat from Frederick County, would require retail and restaurant chains in Maryland to use combined reporting for corporate income taxes. Combined reporting would require companies with subsidiaries in different stat
Frederick County could return completely to 6th District
ANNAPOLIS — An emergency commission assigned to redraw Maryland’s congressional map ahead of the 2020 election has given preliminary approval to return all of Frederick County to the 6th District. The proposed map would unify Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, and portions of Carroll and Montgomery counties into one congressional district. The commission settled on this concept because it will affect the smallest number of existing congressional districts while meeting
Stop the Trump clean car rollback
A letter signed by the lawmakers and sent to 20 automakers was released today and appeared in an ad in The Hill. Fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, also known as clean car standards, took effect during the Obama administration and already have made the air cleaner and saved consumers at the pump. But as soon as President Donald Trump took office, automakers lobbied him to roll them back. It appears that Trump will comply; his administration issued a proposal
Marylanders need to protect our forests
Letters to the Editor February 10 The Maryland General Assembly is hearing amendments to Maryland’s Forest Conservation Act. The act is more than 20 years old and is failing the next generation. Maryland lost 14,488 acres of forest from 2009 to 2017, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, despite a state policy that says we should have no net loss. Similar legislation was introduced a year ago but died in committee, and since that time, an additional 2,600
