I spoke this morning at University of Maryland Hillel on the paradoxes of the federal school lunch program, on a panel with Julie Gunlock of the Independent Women’s Forum. You can read more about the school lunch program here.
Posts Tagged ‘Maryland’
How GOP votes carried same-sex marriage to victory, cont’d
One important reason same-sex marriage won on three state ballots last month is that many Republican voters, especially in affluent suburbs, crossed over to vote in favor of it. I’ve continued to document this phenomenon in a piece in this weekend’s Washington Post “Outlook” section (incorporating precinct-level detail on Minnesota and Maine) as well as in a second Huffington Post piece (with precinct-level detail on Maryland; my earlier HuffPo piece is linked here). Also, this Cato podcast:
One correction on the podcast: I mistakenly said Question 6 carried the two biggest Romney counties in Maryland, but I should have said two of the biggest three.
P.S. Mine was the second-most-popular article on WashingtonPost.com as of early morning Dec. 2.
Environment roundup
- As wildlife policy goes wrong, it’s guano on the rocks for La Jolla [Matt Welch, language]
- Georgia-Pacific West vs. NEDC: “Millions of jobs at stake in logging case” [David Hampton, Wash. Times; Henry Miller, Forbes]
- Ontario environment ministry won’t investigate complaint of noise from neighbor’s basketball play [National Post, earlier]
- Maryland: Following state mandate, Howard County prepares to stifle farmland development without compensation [HoCoRising]
- Role of local government structure: “New England vs. Midwest Culture” [George Mattei, Urbanophile]
- More re: suits vs. utilities over Sandy outages [Bloomberg (Long Island), NJ.com] Pre-Sandy, NY pols kicked around Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) for decades [Nicole Gelinas/ NYP]
- “Reckless Endangerment: Global Warming in the Courts” [Michael Greve, Liberty and Law] Various interest groups have already locked themselves into EPA’s jury-rigged scheme to limit carbon emissions [Greve]
Must be a case for Child Protective Services
In Rockville, Maryland, a ten-year-old kid is riding the city bus [Free-Range Kids]
Small-bank CEO: I spend 50-60% of my time dealing with regulatory issues
Maryland Reporter on what an Eastern Shore banker told a forum arranged by the state’s tax authorities:
The CEO of Easton Bank and Trust, Mike Menzies, said the new standardized approach in how the banks count assets along with state regulation policies have a distinct impact on the loans they can lend to small businesses….
Menzies said that regulations associated with the federal Credit Card Card Act, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act and Dodd-Frank Act have have placed large burdens on banks, forcing them to devote more human resources toward regulatory compliance than is necessary.
“I would say that seven years ago, I would spend 20 to 25% of my time as CEO of a small company dealing with regulatory issues,” said Menzies. “I spend no less than 50 or 60 percent of my time today dealing with regulatory issues. It’s unbelievable.”
Convicted Maryland delegate prepared to sue to regain seat
She was convicted in June of stealing $800 from the Maryland General Assembly to pay an employee of her private law firm. But on Tuesday… [Tiffany] Alston’s attorneys said that the Prince George’s County Democrat is prepared to sue, if necessary, to continue serving in the House of Delegates. …
How she intends to do that is unclear. Her sentencing last month on a charge of misconduct in office triggered her “permanent” removal from the House under the state constitution, according to a lawyer for the General Assembly.
Alston’s attorneys disputed that interpretation after Tuesday’s court hearing, in which an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge agreed to modify Alston’s one-year suspended jail sentence to probation before judgment, essentially striking her conviction.
Update: Curiouser and curiouser, with revelations about potential Alston replacement Greg Hall.
My new HuffPo piece: GOP votes carried Maryland Question 6 to victory
Romney voters swung in large numbers to provide the decisive margin for Maryland’s approval of same-sex marriage, according to county-level data I analyze in this new Huffington Post piece. In my own precinct Question 6 ran 14 points ahead of the vote for President Obama, a margin not uncommon in other parts of the state that could be described as economically conservative and socially moderate.
“Why Firing a Bad Cop Is Damn Near Impossible”
A brief history of the “law enforcement bill of rights,” pushed for by police unions and adopted in many states beginning in Maryland in 1972, which entrenches problem cops who have not actually been found guilty of a felony [Mike Riggs, Reason]
Labor and employment law roundup
- Maryland: “Montgomery County Police ‘Effects’ Bargaining Bludgeons Public Safety” [Trey Kovacs, CEI, earlier] Time to revisit “effects” bargaining for other employee groups too [Gazette]
- “A New Whistleblower Retaliation Statute Grows Up: Dodd-Frank is the new Sarbanes-Oxley” [Daniel Schwartz]
- Proposal for disclosure of “persuaders” would threaten many employers [Michael Lotito/The Hill, earlier]
- Judge greenlights union suit challenging new Indiana right to work law [RedState]
- “Discovery of Immigration-Status Denied in FLSA Case” [Workplace Prof]
- “Same Song, Umpteenth Verse – No Discrimination, Retaliation Worth $2 Million” [Fox/Employer’s Lawyer; Ithaca, N.Y.]
- NLRB on collision course with Indian tribal sovereignty [Fred Wszolek, Indian Country Today]
Maine Question 1, Maryland Question 6, Washington Referendum 74, Minnesota Amendment One
Voters in four states will decide same-sex marriage ballot questions on Nov. 6. As many readers know, I’ve been writing actively on the Maryland question, and those interested in catching up on that can follow the links here to find, among other things, my recent interview on the subject with the Arab news service Al-Jazeera, my thoughts on Judge Dennis Jacobs’s decision striking down Section 3 of DOMA (the federal Defense of Marriage Act), and my reaction to the other side’s “bad for children” contentions.
The Cato Institute has been doing cutting-edge work on the topic for years from a libertarian perspective; some highlights here.
Yet more: Hans Bader on religious liberty and anti-discrimination law [Examiner, CEI] And my letter to the editor in the suburban Maryland Gazette: “Civil society long ago decoupled marriage law from church doctrines.”