Opinion - Centreville Spy

Senate Bill 1: They Make More. We Pay More. By Len Foxwell

March 5, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

Who is ready for more sticker shock at the grocery store? Well…get ready. It’s going to happen right here in Maryland.

On March 1, the Senate Committee on Education, Energy and the Environment voted favorably on Senate Bill 1, which means it will now go to the Senate for likely approval. If passed, it will end retail energy competition and choice in Maryland, and take us back to the days when everyone was forced to shop with the government-backed utilities.

It’s arguably the most anti-business and anti-consumer bill I’ve ever seen brought before the General Assembly. And if possible, the bill has gotten even worse.

Amendments have been added to the bill that will prohibit a green energy producer from marketing “green energy” unless it has been approved as such by the Public Service Commission. Which must, according to the bill language, consider THE STATE WHERE THE RENEWABLE ENERGY WAS PRODUCED.

Here’s what this means:

There will be even more pressure to chew up Maryland farmland for the installation of solar panels.

As a result, there will be fewer family farms producing less food for local consumption, and prices at the grocery store will go up even more than they already have.

That’s basic economics.

To summarize, we will be paying even more for our electricity because that’s what always happens in a monopoly.

And now we will pay more for our milk, bread, eggs and vegetables.

This is a windfall for the big utilities and it is a land grab for big energy corporations. It is a punch in the gut for consumers who don’t need and cannot afford to deal with higher costs at the grocery store.

Senate Bill 1 is anti-business. It is anti-consumer. And it is anti-green energy. Please contact your senator and delegates today and ask them to tap the brakes and think this through before voting for a bad bill.

Len N. Foxwell is the principal of Tred Avon Strategies and the former chief of staff to Comptroller Peter V. R. Franchot

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Disproportionate by Bob Moores

March 1, 2024 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Disproportionate. Maybe hyperbolic, but the most fitting word I can find for the present situation in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Twelve hundred people in Israel, mostly civilians, were killed in the horrific Hamas attack of 7 October 2023. In response, more than 30,000 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed so far by Israeli armed forces. Is not a 25/1 ratio of payback a bit of overkill?

I have supported Israel from the beginning. Israel declared its independence on 14 May 1948, one day after the British mandate expired, and six months after the UN approved Resolution 181 calling for division of Palestine into two states. At that time, Jews comprised a third of the population of Palestine.

The day after the Jews declared their independence they were attacked by Palestinian forces and the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Point is, although the state of Israel was sanctioned by the world body of the UN, the Jews were not home free. They had to fight to keep the land. They fought and they won, that war and the wars of 1967 and 1973. Since then, the only Arab country to recognize the state of Israel is Egypt. That treaty of March 1979 cost President Anwar Sadat his life.

Now to the current situation in Gaza. It is understandable that Israel had to react to the brutal attack of 7 October. Wasn’t that Hamas’ purpose? I supported Israel’s initial reaction even as I had doubts that the ideology of Hamas, the mindset that the state of Israel would never be recognized as legitimate, could ever be defeated. Wouldn’t the reckless killing of civilians along with Hamas fighters simply create more of the same? Turns out, the Israelis, in going after Hamas fighters who had embedded themselves within civilian populations, committed atrocities on non-combatant Palestinians disproportionately, in my opinion and those of many around the world.

One of my friends thought I was being too supportive of Israel’s retaliatory war on Hamas which saw cities leveled along with the humanitarian crisis which ensued. He suggested I read Witness in Palestine; A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories (2007), by Anna Baltzer. In the interest of objectivity, I bought the book and read it.

To say Witness was enlightening would be an understatement. I had no idea how badly Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank were treated. I am ignorant of any improvements since 2007, so I will limit my comments to what Ms. Baltzer found and photographed (many maps and photos in her book).

Palestinians were “governed” by Israeli soldiers. Israeli settlers were treated as Israeli citizens. Palestinians were less than second class. The “Palestinian Authority” had no teeth. Israeli settlers could possess firearms, including M-16 full-auto assault rifles. Palestinians could not possess firearms. Israeli soldiers could break into Palestinian homes on suspicion of any illegality – no search warrant, no privacy, and no due process as we know it. There were well-paved highways between Israeli settlements. Some Palestinian villages were connected by paved roads, many by dirt roads. Palestinians could drive on Israeli roads, but had to stop at numerous checkpoints to be searched for weapons and checked that papers were in order. Baltzer’s photos show long lines of Palestinians vehicles (identified by white or green license plates) lined up at checkpoints waiting to be checked. Israeli vehicles with their yellow license plates did not have to stop. They zoomed past checkpoints as in an EzPass lane. Human rights abuses of Palestinians by soldiers and settlers were legion.

There is much much more in Baltzer’s book. It was hard to resist the irony, the impression that I was reading about Gestapo tactics of Nazi Germany, when Jews had to identify themselves by wearing yellow star-of-David patches on their clothes.

And what happened to the two-state solution? Israeli settlements are polka-dotted all over the West Bank. Where would a new Palestinian state be? Israeli settlers are never going to agree to be under Palestinian control, so I’m not holding my breath waiting for the proposal for location of New Palestine.

I am angry with President Biden regarding his support of Netanyahu’s overkill strategy. I have supported him in almost everything he stands for and has accomplished. But this is too much. He should be more forceful with Netanyahu – ceasefire immediately or no more money forthcoming. Even worse for American democracy, Biden’s one-sided support of Israel could cost him the election in November.

Bob Moores retired from Black & Decker/DeWalt in 1999 after 36 years. He was the Director of Cordless Product Development at the time. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University

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Chicken Scratch: All clear. Are you ready? By Elizabeth Beggins

February 25, 2024 by Spy Daybook Leave a Comment

I followed two ladies down the grocery store aisle, like a bad odor, unpleasant and ignored. One woman walked alongside her cart, talking on her phone, while the other, a few paces on, ran her hand along the shelves as if checking for dust. I had a death grip on my Zen. The rack stroker was far enough ahead that I was sure I’d soon have a shot at a clear passage. Just then, another shopper wheeled into the vacancy from the opposite direction. I must have scowled. She made a point of apologizing.

“It’s not YOUR fault,” I said, none too pleased, as I finally pushed past them all.

In the time it took for the bottleneck to resolve, I’d had a spirited internal conversation, proud of my relative self-restraint, critical of Madam Chatty for taking up most of the aisle. The spongy computer that lives inside my skull took a nanosecond to assess, assemble data points it recognized, and generate a narrative about the two women. And every word of it was an assumption based on prior experience and preconceived ideas. Quite satisfied with its ability to organize and recall information in the blink of an eye, my brain fed me its version of their story without need of a prompt, the prototypal ChatGPT, and similarly lacking in emotional intelligence.

This was implicit bias in action, the automatic reactions, attitudes and stereotypes—be they positive or negative—we all have toward other people. It’s there whether we acknowledge it or not. Most of us don’t, but we should, because the stories we tell ourselves are at the heart of our polarization.

Yep, it’s us. We’re the problem, it’s us. Among people who have the luxury of focusing on challenges that extend beyond keeping themselves fed and sheltered, it is human hostility catalyzing the avalanche of political, racial, gender, climate, immigration, you-name-it division we’re all trying desperately to outrun. The world is awful, and we’re the cause.

But that, too, is just one version of our story.

It’s true, the world is awful. It is also true that the world is much better and can get better still.

In an essay titled,The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better, Max Roser, founder and director of Our World in Data reminds us that unsolved problems and progress are not mutually exclusive. He writes, “If we only see the problems and only hear what is going wrong, we have no hope that the future can be better. If we only hear about progress and what is going right, we become complacent and lose sight of the problems the world is facing. Both of these narrow perspectives have the same consequence: they leave us doing nothing — they are worldviews that paralyze us.”

Thus, he encourages us to accept that all of these statements can be simultaneously accurate. Certainly, there is deep suffering, but not as much as there was a century or two ago. Tragedies still occur with great frequency, but history teaches us that change is possible. The world can improve, and it is.

Roser points to trends in global child mortality by way of example, but there are other markers to validate his premise: advances in emissions, improved voter representation, the eradication of extreme poverty, and so on. These are skillfully illustrated in Beautiful Numbers, a visual story crafted by Austrian graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister.

In The Illusion of Moral Decline, a report published last June, researchers Adam M. Mastroianni and Daniel T. Gilbert conclude, as the study title suggests, that despite a pervasive notion, spanning 60 countries and 70 years, that we are on a highway to hell, “people’s reports of the morality of their contemporaries have not declined over time, suggesting that the perception of moral decline is an illusion.”

Importantly, the researchers also note concern that such beliefs make us less likely to ask for help or accept help from strangers, and more likely to use declining morality as a “veritable call to arms.” All the misperception feels real, and in the wrong minds, with a false narrative about exacting justice, that may be enough to provoke drastic consequences.

So, what of that? Should we sit tight, hold our breath and hope the other shoe doesn’t drop on our watch? Wring our hands and Henny Penny our way through life with no recourse? Continue feeling hopeless and helpless?

If that and your vote are all you feel you have to offer, then who am I to insist you do more? I promise I’m not judging you. The grocery lane is all clear. My implicit bias is fully in check, for the time being.

That said, I’m going to offer an overarching solution for those who sense that the time has come to do more. It is an approach that can be simple and straightforward, requiring minimal input on your part. Or it can expand to become a bigger, more collaborative investment while still being relatively accessible.

Are you ready? Here it is:

Talk with people.

In the grocery store. In the post office. On the bus. On social media. Around the dinner table. At the library. In the cafeteria. At the gym. Wherever you are, wherever you go, open the door to conversation.

Maybe you’re an introvert. Maybe you’re worried you’ll mess up. At its most basic level, we’re just talking about a mutual exchange, a casual remark, a dollop of decency dropped into the day.

“You have such a great smile.”

“I love your shoes.”

“Watching you interact with your children has brought me so much joy today.”

“I really appreciate you.”

While planning this piece, I reviewed a significant number of articles and books, videos and blogs. I found countless accounts of how we got this way and how long it has been building. (Hint: Much longer than the last two presidential terms). I read about extremism and nationalism. I found well-reasoned analyses of how social media algorithms are designed to engender disunion. I read about lack of trust and partisanship. I looked at list after list of supposed solutions until I finally landed on a theme that anyone at all could grab.

It works for individuals, and it works for groups. In communities across the nation, the programs with the most remarkable results were those that involved reaching out to people, respectfully and with a desire to learn, programs anchored in civil discourse.

There was the Tulane University Medical Center intervention that brought together local government and civic organizations, advocates and academics, to help reduce gun violence. There was a program model in Washington state called The If Project (the linked TED talk here is so damned inspiring!) designed to bring currently- and formerly-incarcerated adults, community partners, and law enforcement together to reduce rates of incarceration and recidivism. There were toolkits for library-hosted community conversation programs that truly seemed manageable for just about anyone with a desire to get something of value going in their area.

What I didn’t see was superiority or hubris. I didn’t see groups of people who were unwilling to accept that theirs might not be the only story.

In his book, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides, psychologist, and Stanford professor, Geoffrey L. Cohen details how situations and circumstances shape people far more than their inherent personality traits. What happens to us and around us is more impactful than our feelings, behaviors and character. What matters most are feelings of belonging.

It follows, then, that anything any one of us can do to shape perception and build inclusivity, even in our own minds, has the potential for profoundly positive results.

In the smallest corners of social life, we can look for opportunities to conjure some of the magic of belonging. Community can be found and created in the most unlikely places. We can all change the world in small ways. We can shape situations to make them less threatening and more welcoming, allowing people from all walks of life to feel that they belong and thrive.

~Geoffrey Cohen, Next Big Idea Club

I don’t know what will come in the next nine months, or four years, or the rest of my lifetime, or my children’s, or their children’s. I only know that I inhabit this swirling, warming, mass of matter with countless other beings who are doing their best to live good, happy lives. I have to believe that if we open ourselves to the possibilities, we can continue to form a more perfect Union.

Together.

p.s. There are many organizations nationwide who are committed to this kind of work. I am updating this post to include a few more here and, if time allows, will create a Google Doc to house a running list. Happy to add your suggestions!

Elizabeth Beggins spent over a decade as a niche farmer before becoming a food-focused freelance writer, educator, and consultant. As director of the You Food Project, an initiative rooted in school and community gardens, Elizabeth facilitated increased awareness of the connection between personal and environmental health. Now focusing on soil health, Elizabeth works through Chesapeake Bay Foundation as the Maryland Agriculture Outreach Specialist for the Million Acre Challenge. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Power for Themselves: The Truth Behind the Big Utilities’ Claims By Clayton A. Mitchell, Sr.

February 22, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

In the corridors of legislative power in Maryland, a bill looms large, bearing the ominous moniker Senate Bill 1 / House Bill 267. This legislative concoction threatens to strip away the cherished right of choice from Maryland’s electricity and natural gas consumers. The intended consequence? Cementing the dominion of utility monopolies while muffling the voice of the customer.

Baltimore Gas and Electric, among others, wields an iron grip over the market, a fact that evokes the ire of many consumers. Despite fervent opposition, BGE’s petition for a staggering three-year, $408 million rate hike found favor in December. If permitted, this would culminate in a jaw-dropping 30% monthly rate increase this year. Such unchecked control, it is plain to see, bodes ill for the ratepayers.

Cast your mind back to 1999 when Maryland’s lawmakers, in a gesture towards fostering consumer choice, ushered in legislation aimed at broadening the array of electricity options available. Yet, despite the ostensible diversity promised, the tentacles of utility monopolies still ensnare a staggering 80% of residential customers, leaving the notion of choice a mere chimera for many.

Advocates of Senate Bill 1 / House Bill 267, like former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, tout its virtues in a recent online news publication, alleging that retail energy suppliers have raked in undue profits at the expense of the consumer. However, this narrative conveniently sidesteps the elephant in the room – the exorbitant profits amassed by utility monopolies, which then find their way into the coffers of organizations like “Power for Tomorrow,” serving as a haven for erstwhile regulators and governors in their advocacy pursuits.

A damning report from The Energy and Policy Institute unmasks the opaque machinations of Power for Tomorrow, revealing its aversion to any attempts at fostering competition in the utility sector. Under the guise of consumer advocacy, this Arlington-based cabal furtively advances the interests of corporate behemoths.

The former champion of consumer choice, Governor Glendening, merits accolades for his role in shepherding the Electric Customer Choice and Competition Act of 1999 into existence. However, his dalliance with Power for Tomorrow warrants scrutiny, exposing the veritable collusion between regulated utility monopolies and those ostensibly tasked with safeguarding consumer interests.

SB 1 stands poised to usher in a new era of monopoly hegemony under the pretense of consumer protection—a wolf in sheep’s clothing if ever there was one. Let it be known: the erosion of the competitive market is no panacea. I urge you to wield your voice and preserve your choice, lest the specter of utility monopolies cast its suffocating shadow over the landscape of consumer rights.

Clayton A. Mitchell, Sr. is an attorney who resides on the Eastern Shore

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The Solar Industry’s Giant Land Grab of Maryland Farmland by Jay Falstad

February 14, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

Maryland’s farming lands, especially those on the Eastern Shore, are a crucially important food-producing asset of our State. Unfortunately, those rural lands and associated small-town economies are in the crosshairs of a giant land grab by the solar industry. The industry has weaponized ‘climate change’ as a low-cost way to capture tens of thousands of acres of Maryland’s food production capacity. Do we really have to let that happen?

Right now, the solar industry has Maryland policymakers by the tail. Masquerading as public utilities (which they aren’t), solar companies are ruthlessly trying to take advantage of Governor Moore’s goal of getting Maryland to 100% renewable by 2035. While the Governor’s clean energy goals are necessary in this age of rapid climate change, solar company representatives are forcing outrageous policy objectives concerning the siting of solar projects – putting them on Maryland’s croplands and open space. As a consequence, urban policymakers – most of whom know nothing about agro-economics – are making hasty, uninformed decisions that will irreversibly harm Maryland’s rural communities. Cheerleading on climate change at the expense of Maryland’s agricultural sector is short-sighted and irresponsible, especially when future food production becomes increasingly important on an ever-growing planet.

Nestled in the heart of the mid-Atlantic’s major markets, Maryland’s vibrant agricultural sector accounts for $8 billion in annual revenues, $20 billion in value-added products, and a whopping 350,000 ag-connected jobs across Maryland’s 23 Counties. Displacing crop-producing farmlands with solar panels – even incrementally – has the potential to irreversibly upend Maryland agriculture and the ancillary businesses it supports, devastating small communities on the Eastern Shore and in Southern and Western Maryland.

While solar projects are crucial in reaching Governor Moore’s clean energy goals, they should not come at the expense of Maryland’s productive agricultural sector. There are many other recognized options for solar arrays like parking lots, airports, brownfields, rooftops, industrial sites, and water bodies. But the solar companies don’t want that – they want carte blanch access to cheaper farmland and the ability to bypass all local zoning in their aggressive pursuit of larger profits. We should not allow that.

Right now, solar siting policies in Maryland are a chaotic mess in desperate need of leadership from the Governor’s office. The Maryland Energy Administration and certain state senators and delegates aren’t listening to the concerns of Maryland’s counties, and they’re not understanding how this “rush to renewables” will impact Maryland’s rural communities. Governor Moore needs to tap the brakes so that no one is left behind. Obviously, Maryland’s agricultural leaders should have a seat at the table when it comes to solar siting policies on agricultural lands – right now, they don’t.

Likewise, the Maryland Department of Planning needs to have a much greater role – similar to Comprehensive Planning – in determining where solar growth areas will be reasonably situated to prevent bait-and-switch scenarios coming from the industry. None of that has been determined, and solar companies are running the show.

While solar energy should be a priority in Maryland, it should not come at the expense of farmland. Farmland and open space should be very last on the priority list of where solar panels should go.

Jay Falstad is the Executive Director of the Queen Anne’s Conservation Association

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Opinion: The Republican Perspective on the State of the State by Senator Steve Hershey

February 8, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

In my role as the Senate Republican Leader, a position bestowed upon me by my fellow Republican colleagues, I am here today to communicate our collective vision for the State of Maryland. This vision encompasses both an acknowledgment of where we stand currently and an approach for where we believe we should be heading in this new chapter for our state.

As you have just heard, Governor Moore has put forth a bold and ambitious plan for Maryland, one that is built on the promise that no Marylander will be left behind. This is a vision we can certainly support; after all, our ultimate goal is the success and well-being of every single Marylander.

However, we must underscore that achieving such a lofty goal requires much more than grand declarations.

It necessitates concrete actions and collaborative efforts. To this end, we are fully prepared to work alongside Governor Moore and his administration to seek and find common ground that will advance the interests and welfare of all Marylanders.

As we embark on this journey of collaboration, it is also our duty to raise concerns whenever we perceive that the actions taken may NOT be in the best interest of our constituents.

Public Safety

Governor Moore has rightly stated that Marylanders should not have to choose between safety and justice. We wholeheartedly agree. The safety of our citizens in their homes, vehicles, schools, and communities is of paramount importance.

We believe Governor Moore is sincere when he says that public safety is a top priority of his administration. However, the Governor’s recently unveiled package of bills focusing on crime in our state merely addresses enhancing victim compensation, expanding apprenticeship programs to recruit law enforcement and creating an Obama/Biden schemed Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention.

To make a real difference, the Governor will have to push for a more proactive plan that defines swift and certain consequences for violent criminals thus preventing Marylanders from becoming victims in the first place.

Our vision for Maryland is one where public safety is not just a priority but the foundation upon which all other aspects of society rest. It is impossible to envision a thriving state without a strong commitment to ensuring that repeat violent offenders are held accountable and that our communities are protected from harm.

This vision requires a balanced approach that supports law enforcement and the judicial system in their critical roles. This is why the Joint Republican Caucus has introduced the Safe Communities Act which will eliminate diminution, or “good time credits” for those convicted of 1st and 2nd degree murder.

For other crimes of violence, this bill will cap diminution credits to know more than a 10% reduction in the sentence, as determined by a judge and prohibit bail for an individual charge with a crime of violence, similar pending charges are evident.

We have also introduced the Violent Firearms Offenders Act which increases penalties for committing crimes with a stolen firearm, creates penalties for an individual who gives or sells someone a firearm knowing they will use it to commit a crime, and closes the drug dealer loophole.

Not surprisingly, 89% of Marylanders support making the theft of a handgun a felony from a simple misdemeanor. This commonsense measure was discussed by the Governor, but not included in his public safety agenda. We have supported this legislation for the last four years and have once again introduced the Gun Theft Felony Act this year.

Maryland’s Looming Budget Deficit

In little over one year, Maryland has gone from a $2 billion budget surplus to a $761 million shortfall that is only projected to grow worse in upcoming years.

While it’s a relief that Governor Moore’s initial $63.1 billion FY25 Budget proposal does not include tax increases, long-term spending is still outpacing revenues, and this budget does not identify a solution to this ongoing dilemma.

An exorbitant part of the blame for Maryland’s multi-billion dehicit can be put at the feet of the Democrat leadership which advanced the one-sized hits all education reform known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future also referred to as “Kirwan”.

This alone increased the state’s $9.2 billion annual spending on public schools by an additional $40 billion over the next ten years.

In an attempt to make up for undisciplined spending, Democrat legislators are now proposing an omnibus tax increase proposal that would raise taxes on job-creating corporations, raise the state’s so- called death tax and increase the capital gains taxes. Even if these tax hikes were passed, this $1.6 billion annual projection does not incorporate how much revenue would be lost from individuals, businesses and jobs leaving the state as a result of them.

Conversely, Republicans have introduced the Economic Prosperity Act which would lower the income tax rates and rate brackets reducing the amount of income taxes paid by all Marylanders. Our bill will increase take home pay and put more of the hard-earned money back in the hands of Marylanders.

Additionally, we will continue to build on our previous year’s successes to alleviate the tax pressures on our retirees and those who have served in the military.

We recognize that tax cuts are only achievable if we address the expensive mandates from the past and refrain from adding new ones that will further weigh down the budget. We must be disciplined in prioritizing the programs that are cost-effectively achieving their intended results while eliminating or scaling back the ones that are no longer necessary.

Education

In the early days of the Moore Administration, we have observed, with growing concern, certain decisions and policies that, in our view, could potentially leave some Maryland children at a disadvantage.

This is especially true in the realm of education.

Maryland prides itself on making record investments in public education, with taxpayer money being allocated in unprecedented amounts. Yet, despite these significant financial commitments, the results we are seeing do not seem to align with the level of investment.

This discrepancy raises important questions about efficiency and effectiveness in how our educational resources are being utilized. Furthermore, it is crucial to recognize the diverse needs and circumstances of Maryland families when it comes to education.

While some have the means to choose private education for their children, many do not.

This disparity led to the establishment of the Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program, aimed at providing scholarships to some of Maryland’s most economically- disadvantaged students to attend private schools that better meet their needs.

The success of the BOOST program is evident in its reach and impact, benefiting thousands of students, including a significant number of children of color and English-language learners.

Over the stringent opposition of the Maryland Teacher’s Union, Republicans have led the efforts to fully fund and expand BOOST. It’s never been more clear in Annapolis, the Democrats represent the Teacher’s Union while the Republicans represent the Parents and Students.

Maryland’s Economic Climate

A thriving economy is crucial for the well-being of everyone in Maryland.

Unfortunately, our state ranks amongst the lowest in the nation regarding tax rates, regulatory challenges, and the climate for fostering private sector growth. It’s unsustainable to keep imposing heavy burdens on our businesses without expecting some to relocate.

Early last month, the Comptroller released Maryland’s State of the Economy Report, which underscored that Maryland is at a 1.6% GDP growth rate while neighboring states and the national average are just below 14%. According to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s Redbook, which provides key indicators of Maryland’s Business Climate, Maryland ranks 47th in the county for the cost of doing business.

This is why Maryland Republicans have introduced the Economic Competitive Act which will reduce Maryland’s corporate income tax from 8.25% to 6.25% over the next four years. With one of the highest corporate tax rates in the region, it’s imperative that we lower these taxes to boost our competitiveness.

Lastly, Maryland should reconsider its approach to environmental policies, particularly the proposal to blindly follow California vehicle emission standards that will ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles in Maryland by model year 2035, a move that is sure to have detrimental economic consequences for automotive dealerships and repair shops across the state. Adopting such extreme measures without pragmatic considerations once again puts Maryland at an economic disadvantage compared to our neighboring states.

To allow time for thoughtful consideration, we have introduced legislation prohibiting Maryland from implementing the new California Advanced Clean Cars Act regulations for an additional two years.

Under the previous administration, Maryland Republicans were able to demonstrate a clear and irrefutable commitment to hiscal balance, reducing regulations, and cutting taxes. Empirical data illustrates those states with lower taxes, pro-business policies, reasonable regulatory environments outperform other states in job growth, population growth and income growth.

Conclusion

In closing, while we share Governor Moore’s desire to transcend partisan divisions and work together for the betterment of Maryland, it is imperative that we also present alternative solutions and ideas.

The Republican Caucus is committed to advancing legislation that addresses the critical issues facing our state, from ensuring public safety and improving educational outcomes to revitalizing our economy. Our proposals are grounded in practical, common-sense approaches that we believe will make a positive difference in the lives of Marylanders.

We believe that by working together, in a spirit of bipartisanship and mutual respect, we can achieve a Maryland that is safe for all its citizens, offers unparalleled opportunities for education, and boasts a dynamic and inclusive economy.

Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey is proudly representing District 36 and the Upper Eastern Shore constituents of Caroline, Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne’s Counties.

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Solar Energy and Farmland are Compatible by Gerald Winegrad

February 2, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

The recent commentary published in Maryland Matters attacking the ability of farmers to install solar panels on their farmland is deserving of condemnation after a fact check. The lead author is the PR person for the massive poultry industry and appears to be worried that farmers choosing to augment their farm income with solar arrays may lead to less land to grow more chickens and grains to feed them.

Left out of this demand to curtail solar on farmland are these facts:

Maryland has 2 million acres of farmland, about 32% of all our land mass, with 12,400 farms averaging 161 acres.
From 2017 through 2021, the number of Maryland farms has remained the same.
Placement of solar panels on farms does not necessarily remove land from productive agricultural uses.
Farm owners can benefit from using the electrical energy produced and by payments from solar installation.
The biggest threat to farmland loss is from farmers selling land for development which solar installations can help prevent.

The authors would deny property owners the right to lawfully do

as they wish with their land, especially a revenue generating use with great societal benefits from the generation of carbon and pollution free electrical generation. There are already crippling regulations in place in many counties, including Anne Arundel, making it exceedingly difficult to place solar panels on farmland.

The column’s authors assert that “When farm fields are covered by solar panels, they cease to be farms.” Readers should know of the many examples of farming being augmented by solar installations.

Triple Creek Farm in Howard County has a 27-acre solar array on its 97-acres that has been in the family for 90 years. The owners were having difficulty surviving growing grains and cattle. The solar arrays are mounted on sun-trackers six feet above the ground allowing grasses and hay to grow underneath. Sheep graze in the shade below the panels, reducing the need for maintenance and providing farm income. This is happening all over the country and the term “agrivoltaic” farming has been coined.

The perimeter of the solar arrays not being used for sheep grazing is planted with native pollinator habitat enriching the soils and helping farm production as 75% of food crops rely at least partially on pollination. The solar arrays generate about 13.7 million kWh per year of electricity eliminating greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 1,282 cars off the road or planting 98,380 trees.

Left out of the column that would deny farmers the choice of what to plant on their farms, is that the Delmarva Chicken Association representative well knows that one of her most prominent members, Perdue Farms, in 2011 installed a 6,720-panel solar array on their land in Bridgeville, Del. And subsequently installed a 5-acre solar project next to their Salisbury headquarters.

They touted the planting of a pollinator-friendly habitat under and around the latter as “a no-brainer for us … pollinator habitat can help increase yields of a variety of fruits and vegetables, including soybeans — one of the key components of a chicken’s diet … pollinator-friendly solar is a great way for electric utilities and corporations to ensure the solar energy they are buying does not result in negative tradeoffs.”

In 2017, Perdue Farms was part of a coalition of agriculture, conservation, and energy organizations that gained enactment of legislation to establish statewide standards for pollinator-friendly solar.

The Delmarva Chicken Association representative would block significant solar expansion on farmland, the best and cheapest way to meet our state’s ambitious clean energy goals. This is despite the industry record breaking chicken production on the Eastern Shore in 2022 with $5 billion in wholesale sales for 4.4 billion pounds of chicken meat, a 38% production increase in 20 years.

Chicken litter (poop, etc.) produced from 4,889 chicken houses reached 1.6 billion pounds creating serious ecological issues. Farmers should not be denied the ability to plant solar panels under the guise of making more land available to grow chickens and the grains to feed them. Isn’t 2 million acres of farmland enough?

The writer is an attorney and environmental leader who served in the Maryland General Assembly for 16 years, 12 as a senator.

The editorial was originally published by Maryland Matters.

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The Value of Being Multilingual on the Shore: By Elena Deanda and Owen Silverman Andrews

January 30, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

Maryland is increasingly becoming a multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual state. Last July, the state reported that 16.7 percent of the population were born outside of the country– around 946,000 multilingual individuals out of 6,180,253 total residents. According to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau numbers and Data USA, about 22% percent of the state population identifies as belonging to ethnicities other than White American or African American alone, that is, Asian (about 6%), Multiracial (about 3.6 %), and Hispanic (about 12%). Relatedly, nearly 21 percent of Maryland households report speaking languages other than English at home as their primary language. The five most common languages in Maryland’s households other than English are Spanish (494,447 households) and Chinese, including Cantonese and Mandarin, (72,246 households), followed by French, Korean, and Tagalog.

These numbers demonstrate the linguistic and cultural richness of the state, and highlight the need to value the many economic, educational, and political contributions that this diversity brings to our communities. Multilingualism has always been part of our social fabric, despite English’s dominance. This has, for many years, created a tension between and within PK-12 education and higher education. While the first has often positioned the multilingual child as a “problem” to fix with the help of English Language Learning (ELL/ESL/ESOL) courses, the best higher education institutions, such as Washington College, recognize acquisition of an additional language is one of the most significant academic and professional assets one can obtain. This tension, between and within PK-12 education and higher education institutions, often limits students designated as English learners from accessing sufficient resources for their academic and professional success.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of a robust multilingual education, by the time high schoolers arrive at college, some have not fully developed their home languages. Similarly, many multilingual students (both ‘heritage’ speakers or international students) have to quickly “catch up” and acquire mastery of the English language during high school to thrive or get into college. Maryland community colleges do not currently award college credit for ELL classes, nor are these classes’s credits transferable to bachelor-awarding institutions. The problem with this “English first” approach is that we, as a society, are missing opportunities to energize multilingual citizens, value their multiculturality, and recognize their hard work.

Students and educators on the Eastern and Western Shores of Maryland are working together to ensure that the academic work of multilingual students is valued by passing the Credit for All Language Learning (CALL) Act in the Maryland General Assembly. The CALL Act requires Maryland community colleges to award degree-applicable credit for advanced ELL courses and requires Maryland colleges and universities to accept these transferred credits for the fulfillment of foreign languages requirements and/or Humanities electives. Multilingual students in Maryland who have taken ELL courses are working as hard as any other student learning French, Spanish, German, or Chinese. As a community college educator on the Western Shore and a World Languages professor on the Eastern Shore, we fully support the CALL Act because of the positive impact it will have on students, their families, and our communities. This Act brings value to the mastering of languages and to the academic work of multilingual English learners.

It is important to consider the positive impact the CALL Act will have on both the Western and the Eastern Shore’s education systems, economies, and cultural lives. At the high school level, the CALL Act would send a message to students learning English that the workforce and academic credentials offered at community colleges are for them, too. Community colleges, meanwhile, would likely see increased enrollments and retention of multilingual English learners. Currently, both Chesapeake College and Wor-Wic College offer robust ESL programs for beginners, and may add offerings of the advanced courses incentivized by the CALL Act. Many colleges and universities support this initiative, from ESL professors and staff at University of Maryland Eastern Shore to Washington College’s professors and staff. They all recognize that multilingual students are an asset for our state and our nation, regardless of a student’s first language.

The benefits of the CALL Act would also stimulate economic and cultural vibrancy in the region. Multilingual employees and multilingual businesses are better positioned to meet the needs of an increasingly multicultural and globalized world. Enhancing workers’ English skills is good for workplace safety, from the farm field to the packing plant to the hospital emergency room, energizing a more efficient workforce. Furthermore, valuing Marylanders’ multilingualism, and recognizing their hard work as active members of our society, is the first step in embracing the rich cultural tapestry made by the many cultures and languages they bring to our Shores.

We encourage our neighbors, on both shores of the mighty Chesapeake Bay, to support the Credit for All Language Learning Act. Contact your state senator and delegate and ask them to vote for SB395 and HB569, respectively. Our students will appreciate it, as will our local schools, businesses, and cultural centers.

Owen Silverman Andrews is a community college instructional specialist of ELL on the Western Shore. Dr. Elena Deanda-Camacho is a professor of Spanish and Black Studies at Washington College.

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Opinion: Architectural Misstep with New Regional Hospital by Jay Corvan

January 23, 2024 by Opinion Leave a Comment

Today I was bored and looking for a read, anything . I rifled through the mail and found nothing interesting to look at. More bills and promotions, Ad nauseam. In desperation, I picked up a University of Maryland Health flyer and turned the front pages and immediately I spotted what looked at an architect’s rendering of an extremely modern “ progressive architecture centerfold” building , and I learned it was to be the new county health facility slated to be built in 2023-2025 which I guess is right now! Horrors not here in historic Talbot county please!

Digesting more of the picture, I went into the next level shock imagining that new 6 story plate glass mid rise building is to be placed out on route fifty at the entry gateway to Easton on the old Longwoods road near the community center, but seriously, literally in the middle of a field. Two things struck me right away. In a green field a six story structure. Crazy , inappropriate. Why isn’t this in town! Who designed this?

Point One , this proposed building is both trendy , rather obnoxious and ugly , but most importantly horribly inappropriate. I ask what a trendy suburban modern structure doing out in the middle of a farm field. I thought Maryland was smarter than this , but I remembered this is a county site, not city. I thought that we as a state were focused on “smart growth” , That means we steer big buildings and new growth into towns, not out in green fields. We’ve made these similar mistakes in other counties and we are supposed to Know better.

Smart growth happens inside towns not outside of them. We keep green fields green because we like agriculture and we respect it. The big idea here is to use the existing town infrastructure already in place, build town density and not sprawl. . Also the need for transportation to and from that facility is reduced for those in town and trips to stores can be combined. Placing facilities like this is a green field is extremely bad planning, unsustainable, and energy intensive. . If state money in involved it this project should be shelved for violating the biggest guiding principle of smart growth, placement. It’s in the wrong place. Obviously looking at the pathology of this project, a county approval trumped city requests. They found a site that the city wouldn’t or couldn’t provide.

Second point: when all Is said and done , this building looks like it slipped off the shelf of a psychologist office, a classic case of multiple personality disorder, playing to modern architecture critics , designs like this are trendy but hold no lasting value.

The Talbot community center just next door is least an attempt at looking like it belongs to Talbot county architectural heritage , it’s looks like a warehouse or sorts albeit a bit out of place also. A community center outside of town ? Oh well. The community center building plays down the dazzle factor and attempts to link to county historical lineage as a commercial “packing house “.

This new medical building does nothing of the sort. It’s arrogant and it’s huge. And it sits right on a gateway site of the city of Easton. All six plus stories of it. I’ll bet the city is angry about this and they should be. The county should have respected the gateway entry site but ignored it.

But this building takes the prize for fish out of water, and As much as I know how important a hospital is to a community ( we all know the value of that investment in our county) , I am shocked to see how much this does not look like Talbot county and how much it does look like suburban PG county. In fact it may have already been built somewhere else and did in fact slip Off the shelf. It’s a bad franchise design at best.

My main point here is to say that nowhere in the process did it occur to the university of Maryland architects or the county commissioners that approved the design that this structure needed to respond to its site and context. It’s in a field!. Are we now a suburban extension of the Washington metropolitan area? Did they think we’d be impressed by modern imagery ? Not really.

Finding the right context for a buildings new image , That’s job one for an architect. It’s important as the building use which should also be legible ( readable) from the exterior.

If this building yells anything it’s saying “ I’m something modern and new” it will soon be dated and horribly out of place. Soon modern building becomes old and dated. Their visual language becomes trite and outdated and suddenly new looks out of place and old, like an ugly 1950’s sweater. It’s almost funny that it even was imagined to be interesting.

Unfortunately, we locals will be stuck looking at a hyperactive modern building out of place for decades to come because an arrogant corporate firm and medical corporation wanted to make a bold and heroic statement. Enough of this ! We demand better. This is hugely Inappropriate!

A bigger problem exists that allowed this to happen. The county has no one with architectural experience to point out the failings of any building design. If someone ( maybe a retiree) could help them through these growing pains, we’d all be better off. We wouldn’t get to where we are now without someone raising a question.

Linkage to our county history is the one thing that makes us special and it’s our distinct competitive advantage. When we throw it to the wind and don’t demand others respect that history, we are lessening our worth. We are corrupting our future..

The owners , university of Md corporations also know better too , but are playing the public using some off the shelf franchise design . No one asked for better. The new emergency care facility in Cambridge at least tries to link the warehouse history of Cambridge to their new facility, Cambridge demanded it in their zoning review but not Talbot. The Cambridge facility looks almost like it belongs. The city knew enough to ask for better. What was the linkage to Talbot , it was not even considered. No one asked or cared. That’s Talbot’s fault.

This building really could have been more. It’s a terribly disappointing performance and and horrible misstep. Building placement and exterior imagery are everything to a rural community. And this six story building ( tallest in county ) fails the test miserably and will scream as an ugly suburban institution for decades , a real shame. It could have been more….. and still could actually. It’s not built yet.

Jay Corvan is a local architect and preservationist from Trappe, Maryland.

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What Ever Happened to Understated Elegance, Simplicity, and Class? By Maria Grant

January 19, 2024 by Maria Grant Leave a Comment

Over the past few weeks, I watched the Golden Globes and Emmy Award shows. In both programs, I was struck by the excess and extravagance of the stars’ attire. Necklines plunged lower. Slits were slit higher. False eyelashes were longer. Heels were stiltier. Sequins, ruffles, puffy sleeves, and glitter ruled the evenings. Some gowns were so wide that awardees had difficulty navigating their way to the stage. People literally had to get up off their chairs and find a place to move aside to enable awardees to pass. One dress was so wide that it pretty much matched the circumference of the table.

Revealing apparel is not limited to awards shows. Increasingly, you see movie stars on beaches in bathing suits which are almost nonexistent. In current movies and non-cable TV series, stars are often nude. Even professional broadcast journalists sometimes adopt the plunging neckline look, or the cut-out sleeve that leaves little to the imagination.

Such excess makes me long for the days of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Ingrid Bergman. These stars exuded class and sophistication. Yet they also managed to convey strong sensuality and appeal.

Dressing “appropriately” for various venues is complicated. The attempt to look as good as possible for as long as possible is admirable. People are exercising more, taking care of their hair and skin, eating healthier, joining fitness clubs, etc. These are all exemplary actions. But so is discretion and good taste. Many movie stars opt to forgo “good taste” and instead seek to use dress as a means to gain attention and press. Just check out social media and People magazine days after these award shows air.

The New York Times recently published an article entitled, “What Does It Mean to Dress your Age?” Its chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, opined that, “Being more covered feels more practical and more elegant to me, and both these words (along with the corollary “pulled together”) suggest values I have come to appreciate.”

I just finished reading the novel Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. (The audiobook is read by Meryl Streep.) The plot of this novel revolves around a woman who was an actress for a brief time more than 20 years ago. During that time, she fell in love with an unknown star who later became a Hollywood sensation. The young actress realizes her talent is limited and opts to marry a man who owns a cherry orchard in Traverse City, Michigan. She raises three daughters there and lives a healthy life filled with simple pleasures and wonderful memories.

The novel, which I highly recommend, does an excellent job of depicting the shallowness of Hollywood life. The never-ending efforts to look younger, be more provocative, etc., and the inevitable sadness and emptiness that often results from being consumed with those values.

I must admit that when I watched those two award shows, I felt sad. I watch these programs because I often learn of a program that I was not aware of or a movie that I should put on my must-watch list. (I highly recommend Past Lives, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers, Netflix’s The Bear, and Apple TV’s Slow Horses.) This year I kept thinking about how much effort it takes to stay matchstick thin; affix those eyelashes that have become longer and longer over the years; decide how much lower that neckline should plunge; figure out how to hold up that backless gown, and so much more. And then I thought about how little time is left for more substantive, more meaningful endeavors.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” Thank you, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Sophia Loren, and Meryl Streep. Your examples of ageless beauty are truly inspiring.

Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, gardening, piano, kayaking and nature.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

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