News and Views
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MoCo Bringing Up the Rear in Housing
Read more: MoCo Bringing Up the Rear in HousingSince elected officials harp on and on about the housing crisis in Montgomery County I was surprised to find these recent area stats when looking through Reventure App. First up is the for sale inventory. This metric shows the number of available listings on the market. You will see in looking at the map that…
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Unelected Annapolis Representatives: It’s Not Who They Are, It’s What They Do
Read more: Unelected Annapolis Representatives: It’s Not Who They Are, It’s What They DoWhile awaiting jury duty a few years ago, I was in the Well Being Cafe inside the county’s Executive Office Building. Perusing the news on my tablet, I overheard a conversation between a few people who apparently were high-ranking county or state Democrats. One of them concluded the conversation, “Great! We’ll have A run for…
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MoCo’s Relationship with Annapolis
Read more: MoCo’s Relationship with AnnapolisIn February 2024, Delegate David Moon promoted, on behalf of the entire Montgomery County delegation in Annapolis, HB1300. The brutally concise summary of that legislation holds unenforceable certain restrictions in housing associations, specifically those meant to limit construction of dense housing on lots designated as single-family detached. The bill’s title appears as Montgomery County –…
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Members of MoCo Council Debate “Tay Tay Carbon Tax” for the Air Space Above MoCo to Help in “Fight” Against Climate Change
Read more: Members of MoCo Council Debate “Tay Tay Carbon Tax” for the Air Space Above MoCo to Help in “Fight” Against Climate ChangeIn light of new reporting that superstar singer Taylor Swift’s “Carbon Footprint” from private jet travel creates some 8,000 tons of CO2 (just one year of global touring), members of the Montgomery County Council are proposing a “Tay Tay” Carbon Tax. The tax “would ensure that whenever this extreme CO2 emitter crosses MoCo airspace in…
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CleanSlate MoCo Spotlight: Local Opponents of Prosperity & Individual Choice – State Delegate Marc Korman (District 16)
Read more: CleanSlate MoCo Spotlight: Local Opponents of Prosperity & Individual Choice – State Delegate Marc Korman (District 16)Occupation: Maryland State Delegate, representing MoCo’s 16th District Affiliations: Maryland Democratic Party. Former legislative assistant to longtime career politician (since 1997!) U.S. Representative Bradley J. (Brad) Sherman of California. Former legislative director to U.S. Representative Brian N. Baird of Washington state (2005-07). Member of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus. Also a member of the Maryland Legislative Jewish…
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Montgomery College Names Anti-Israel Professor Faculty Member of the Year
Read more: Montgomery College Names Anti-Israel Professor Faculty Member of the YearIn May 2024, Montgomery College President Jermaine Williams named Anti Israel activist, Dr. Katya Salmi, faculty member of the year, weeks after he demanded she not show the Antisemitic film Occupation of the American Mind. This included a $5,000 cash award. Faculty Awards | Montgomery College, Maryland Dr. Salmi is a member of Montgomery College’s…
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Looking Into Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Big-Money Individual Donors Based in Montgomery County this Cycle
Read more: Looking Into Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Big-Money Individual Donors Based in Montgomery County this CycleCongressman Jamie Raskin (Democrat) lives in Takoma Park, MD and has now represented congressional district MD-08 (most of MoCo) for several years. The congressman graduated from Harvard Law and still holds a law professor title at his former (main) employer, American University in tony NW, Washington DC. The average household income in American U’s neighborhood? …
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Marilyn Balcombe puts a soft touch on zoning reform
Read more: Marilyn Balcombe puts a soft touch on zoning reformWe often hear about the struggle between progressives and centrists in the Democratic Party. Among MoCo’s Democrats, the progressives demoralize the police force and reward cover-ups of sexual harassment with severance pay. The centrists focus on policies that get resources to those who need it, such as bus service. That’s not a hard and consistent…
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Montgomery History Lauds 90 Years of “Potomac River Ferries” as MoCo Residents Still Don’t Have a Functional Way to Cross the Potomac, North of Beltway
Read more: Montgomery History Lauds 90 Years of “Potomac River Ferries” as MoCo Residents Still Don’t Have a Functional Way to Cross the Potomac, North of BeltwayYou still can’t cross the Potomac River in your car or bike or moped in any coherent, quick, functional way north of the American Legion Bridge in Montgomery County in 2024. Need to go to Dulles airport? You’ll have to go down to the beltway, fight traffic around it, and then back up, along the…
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Rent Control: The Data Collection Begins
Read more: Rent Control: The Data Collection BeginsIt’s hard to believe that a full year has passed since rent control was passed by the County Council at the behest of Will Jawando and Kristin Mink. On July 18, 2023 I published the first snapshot of the county’s rental market. On October 7, 2023, I published a second snapshot. Since then I’ve been…