News and Views
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Exile the Poor, Keep the Golf Courses
Read more: Exile the Poor, Keep the Golf CoursesIn his 1967 speech The Three Evils of Society, Martin Luther King, Jr. accused white civil rights leaders, and whites in general, of promoting “socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.” His line of argument was compelling, and evoked what today’s free-market activists think about government programs: no matter what that program is,…
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Flashback: Will Jawando’s Dubious Claim About His Student Activism and Why He Started an NAACP Chapter at Catholic University
Read more: Flashback: Will Jawando’s Dubious Claim About His Student Activism and Why He Started an NAACP Chapter at Catholic UniversityMontgomery County Councilmember and current U.S. Senate candidate Will Jawando has made dubious, thoroughly misleading claims about his ancestral history in the past, whether through speeches at official county government African-American history events or via his office’s official e-mails to constituents. We’ve documented several of these instances at CleanSlateMoCo.com, using the Councilmember’s own words and…
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Wanted: Rent-Control Stories
Read more: Wanted: Rent-Control StoriesCouncil Members Mink and Jawando are pushing hard to get rent control passed in Montgomery County. CM Stewart is on board, because she really believes that rent control gives renters a “predictable housing,” an outcome that didn’t happen in Takoma Park. It’s hard to know what the final version will look like, but one thing…
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The Fallacy of the Small Business Narrative
Read more: The Fallacy of the Small Business NarrativeWhen I think of MoCo’s small, home-grown businesses, the first one that comes to my mind (and should come to yours) is Carmen’s Italian Ice. And when I think of Carmen’s, the first flavor that comes to my mind (and should come to yours) is Chocolate Rum Cake. Mercifully, Carmen’s has only two locations (Rockville…
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It’s Literally Theater
Read more: It’s Literally TheaterIn March of 2021 current Council Member Dawn Luedtke was nominated and elected to the Olney Theater Center Board of Directors. And though as of 2023 she is no longer part of the Board of Directors, while campaigning for the County Council, Dawn highlighted the Olney Theater on her campaign website. And her bio on…
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WSSC Office of Inspector General Reporting on In-House Procurement Office Performance Reveals Much to “Be Improved”
Read more: WSSC Office of Inspector General Reporting on In-House Procurement Office Performance Reveals Much to “Be Improved”As we previously posted, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) pretty much always gets what it wants from Montgomery County Council politicians, particularly when it asks for approval on water/sewer rate hikes for the upcoming fiscal year. These rate hikes hit your wallet and mine and increase the cost of living for each and every resident…
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Community Profile: Justin Valenti
Read more: Community Profile: Justin ValentiCleanSlateMoCo is conducting interviews of local community members. These are people that though they do not hold office, are important voices in Montgomery County. They represent the fabric of the county; individuals that might have had a unique experience, or maybe are involved in a unique activity, or maybe are just normal folks trying to…
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Selective List Promotion Part 2: How Does the “Silver Spring – Rockville – Frederick” Metro Area Stack Up ?
Read more: Selective List Promotion Part 2: How Does the “Silver Spring – Rockville – Frederick” Metro Area Stack Up ?“We’re ranked 100th!” Last month we showed how local Montgomery County politicians love to selectively crow about and promote “best list rankings” from select news sources when these news “orgs” pump up a certain city or area in MoCo. Back then, it was the unincorporated area of Silver Spring, which Fortune Magazine claimed was #3…
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MoCo’s Sierra Club: It’s not about the trees, it’s about the control
Read more: MoCo’s Sierra Club: It’s not about the trees, it’s about the controlYou’re a Clarksburg parent of two young children. You spend your first 20-minute commute dropping them off at Snowden Farm Elementary School, and now you start your next 60-minute commute into Tyson’s Corner (total 80 minutes). After a day of “work” (in the DC sense of the word), you start your 75-minute commute back to…
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Kate Stewart’s Public Campaign Funding (and do we abbreviate Board of Elections “ATM?”)
Read more: Kate Stewart’s Public Campaign Funding (and do we abbreviate Board of Elections “ATM?”)In a previous post we explored the possibility that Council Member Kristin Mink’s campaign took almost $9,000 from the public election fund beyond what it was allowed. In this post we explore the possibility that CM Kate Stewart took about $7,500 in the same manner. Recall that MoCo contributes up to $125,000 of matching funds…