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Maryland

Maglev Isn’t The Transit Future Our Cities Need

Like many Marylanders, I want a faster, more reliable way to get around. But speed without equity, sustainability, or connection to real community needs isn’t progress — it’s just a flashy detour. The proposed Superconducting Maglev (SCMaglev) train between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore is being marketed as a bold leap forward in transportation. In reality, it risks becoming another expensive infrastructure project that bypasses the people it claims to serve. For nearly a decade, I’ve followed the SCMaglev proposal through public meetings, community briefings and presentations to elected bodies. Its proponents have promised everything from reduced traffic congestion to job creation to futuristic innovation.

Following Kamala’s Script, Maryland Governor Vetoes Reparations Bill

With his veto earlier this month of legislation to study reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, signaled two things: first, he intends to seek his party’s nomination for the White House in 2028; and secondly, he plans to redeploy the discredited strategy of appealing to white voters by distancing his campaign from African Americans. If recent history is any guide, that dog won’t hunt for Moore, the nation’s lone African American governor, any more than it did for Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign last year or Hilary Clinton in 2016. Both Harris and Clinton cut their teeth as politicians with policies that the African American working class widely regarded as deeply racist; both lost to Donald Trump.

Baltimore Is Improving Its Playspaces; Here’s How

In 1950, Baltimore had a population of just under 950,000 people. The 2020 census put the city’s population at just over 585,000. Today, that number continues to drop with estimates of Baltimore’s 2023 population sitting at just over 565,000 people. “There’s been a precipitous drop in population over the last 70 years, which means that a housing stock that was needed for roughly 300,000 more people 70 years ago is no longer needed today,” explains Frank Lance, President & CEO of Baltimore’s Parks & People, a nonprofit that aims to improve Baltimore through green space and education. “As Baltimore City thinks about its future, there’s a great opportunity to create green space where you had asphalt, where you had roads, where you had housing that’s not going to be redeveloped.”

In Maryland, Cracking Down On A Crime Wave That Doesn’t Exist

Here in this deep blue state, a coalition of judges, attorneys, youth advocates, civil liberties and racial justice organizations are trying to persuade Maryland lawmakers to amend Draconian legislation that requires prosecutors to charge children as young as 10 in adult criminal court for a wide range of felony offenses. At issue is Senate Bill 422 , which, if passed by Maryland’s General Assembly in this legislative session, would reduce by nearly two-thirds the 33 criminal offenses for which juveniles in Maryland are automatically charged as adults.

How Common Ground Cafe Workers Won A Union And A Cafe

In December 2022, workers at Common Ground Cafe in Baltimore started to talk about forming a union. They wanted to address issues of pay equity and workplace discrimination, among others. They hoped their boss would be open to working with them to improve the cafe, which had been a mainstay in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood for over 20 years. Instead, when the boss found out about their union drive in July 2023, he closed the business with less than 12 hours’ notice. Nik Koski, a Common Ground worker involved in the union campaign, was completely shocked: “We prepare ourselves for the different ways a boss might retaliate, but to actually experience it was something else.”

Locals Hit Elon Musk Tesla Car Dealers Again

Local grassroots organizers stepped up actions on Saturday for the second weekend outside Elon Musk’s Tesla electric vehicle dealerships in hopes of spurring a boycott against the company. At least four dealerships were targeted in the region as fury rose against the mega-billionaire and world’s richest man. The protests were part of a national effort by many grassroots groups. Local dealerships of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DC-MD-VA) at Georgetown, Washington DC; Rockville, Maryland; Tysons Corner and Arlington, Virginia were among those sites of the weekend protests.

Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition Prevails Over Housing Commission

On February 11, the Montgomery County Circuit Court (the “Circuit Court”) sided favorably with the motion for equitable relief from the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) against the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC.) The BACC filed a lawsuit to stop HOC from selling Moses African Cemetery to a private developer, Bethesda based Charger Ventures. The decision was appealed to the MD Supreme Court. In a split decision, the Maryland Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Circuit Court and provided BACC and plaintiffs with the opportunity to amend their complaint and demand equitable relief, including financial damages for HOC’s desecration of Moses Cemetery.

Baltimore Media Create A False Impression That Youth Are Responsible For A Lot Of Very Dangerous Crime

Some listeners may know the Sentencing Project for their work calling out racial disparities in sentencing associated with crack versus powder cocaine, and mandatory minimums. A recent project involves looking into another factor shaping public understanding and public policy around criminal justice—the news media. In this case, the focus is young people. “The Real Cost of ‘Bad News’: How Misinformation Is Undermining Youth Justice Policy in Baltimore” has just been released. We’re joined now by the report’s author. Richard Mendel is senior research fellow for youth justice at the Sentencing Project. He joins us now by phone from Prague.

IKEA Workers Vote To Extend Strike Into The New Year

Perryville, Maryland - On December 28, 320 unionized workers at the Perryville IKEA distribution center in northern Maryland voted to remain on strike into the new year after voting down a tentative agreement offered to them by the company and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union. The distribution workers have been on strike since mid-November, citing seniority treatment and pay which is below the cost of living. “Seniority is the most important thing here,” said striking worker Lisa Mengel in a video statement released by More Perfect Union.

In Baltimore, Urban Farming Isn’t Just About Growing Food

Urban farming is often heralded as a practical solution to food deserts, providing fresh produce to communities where unjust urban planning and policy have limited access to nutritious options. But urban farms can also sow seeds that grow far beyond the garden beds. In Baltimore’s Curtis Bay neighborhood, Filbert Street Garden is showing the power of community-led transformation. Once an overgrown lot, it has evolved into a vibrant community hub, thanks to the dedication of Black farmers like Brittany Coverdale, whose passion for racial and environmental justice led her to the garden coordinator role at Filbert Street Garden.

Protests Highlight Maryland’s Ties To Israeli Tech And Defense Systems

More than a year after the Oct. 7 attacks that spurred Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, some Maryland residents have continued protesting Israel’s conduct in the conflict.  Like others around the world demonstrating in solidarity against Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories and the tens of thousands killed, these protestors have illuminated the local dimensions of this international issue. Much of their attention has fallen on an organization using public and private resources to facilitate economic exchange with Israel — including with companies developing tech for its military actions. 

College Park MOM’s Workers Reject Effort To Oust Union

College Park, MD - United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union announced workers at the MOM’s Organic Market in College Park, Md. have resoundingly voted down an effort to decertify the union at the store. The attempt to oust the union was backed by the National Right to Work Committee, an anti-union organization based in Northern Virginia. Workers resoundingly rejected the effort and voted 22–9 in favor of remaining unionized with UFCW Local 400. “We know MOM’s can be a better place to work and the best way to make that happen is to stand together and collectively demand the change we need.

Baltimore Is Setting A National Standard For Diversifying Its Economy

One of the crucial economic lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic is the importance of diversifying local economies, even in America’s largest cities. New York City continues to struggle with an economy too heavily reliant on tourists and commuters; Las Vegas saw its entertainment industry shut down when out-of-state visitors stopped traveling; vacant storefronts are prominently visible in major business districts and on main streets nationwide. Diversifying often implies attracting new industries by luring them from elsewhere – often a zero-sum game, if the industries are simply shifting locations within the United States.

Apology Demanded: County Executive Bars Civil Rights Hero From Meeting

On Thursday October 31, 2024, Paul Pumphrey, a highly respected community elder and organizer was refused permission to attend a meeting on racial justice and later escorted out of the Executive floor by orders of Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “Mr. Pumphrey is a giant among civil rights leaders in Montgomery County,” said Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, President of BACC. “This is unacceptable and the community demands an independent investigation and a public apology. Ironically, this behavior by Mr Elrich represents a continuation of Jim Crow policies.

Maryland Supreme Court Decision Favors The Bethesda African Cemetery

On Friday, August 30, the Supreme Court of Maryland issued its decision in the case of Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition v. Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County. The case, which began in the Circuit Court of Maryland in 2021, deals with the issue of whether or not the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), a government agency responsible for building, developing, financing, owning, and managing low and moderate-income housing, could legally sell an African Cemetery and the remains of African people without permission from descendants or the court. For decades, Montgomery County, the HOC and the State of Maryland have covered-up the desecration of Moses African Cemetery and the state-sponsored violent destruction of an African “Maroon” community in collusion with white supremacist groups, such as the ‘white caps’ and the KKK.

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Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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