In miniature, September 24

• State’s high court declined last year to address the legislature’s self-gerrymander: “A new analysis from the University of Virginia Center for Politics found that Democrats were overrepresented in the General Assembly by about 5 percentage points.” [Pamela Wood, Baltimore Banner]
• Washington College in Chestertown allows a heckler’s veto, as organized by flyers and social media, to silence Princeton Prof. Robert George. [Will Bontrager, Easton Star-Democrat]
• You mean we were supposed to have a policy against that? “Until earlier this month, the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development had no policy in place for when building inspectors were offered bribes on the job, an investigation by Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming found.” [Lia Russell, Baltimore Sun] “Baltimore IG Says Housing Manager Said Bribes OK if “Under Allowable Dollar Limit” [Mark Uncapher, The Duckpin]
• Arrests are way down in Montgomery County. How much if any of this represents “de-policing”? [Adam Pagnucco series]
• In Frederick County, council rumblings of a development moratorium [Ceoli Jacoby and Ryan Marshall, FNP; more]. County has also opened comment on proposed ordinance that would drastically expand powers of its historic preservation commission, which has heretofore generally lacked compulsory powers to stop development. Included would be a broad expansion of the types of properties covered (e.g. of “cultural” and not just architectural or historic importance), and new penalties for neglect of covered properties. On the brighter side, the county has settled its long-running legal dispute with the Town of New Market over a proposed development; due credit to County Executive Jessica Fitzwater and Mayor Winslow Burhans for finding common ground and a way to move forward [Jacobi, FNP]
• Maryland high court decision in Attorney Grievance Commission v. Pierre, in which a lawyer was accused inter alia of making false statements about sitting judges in her campaign, gets national attention [Eugene Volokh]

In miniature, August 26

• A Rockville volunteer meeting shows grass-roots enthusiasm for ranked-choice voting [Mark Lautman, Clean Slate MoCo] I’m organizing a social event in Frederick County next month for persons interested in learning more about RCV, be in touch if you’re interested;
• “Just as the state has ramped up spending to implement the ‘Kirwan Blueprint,’ many Maryland public schools are experiencing dramatic student absenteeism increases.” [Mark Uncapher, The Duckpin] “58% of Baltimore City Students considered chronically absent” [Chris Papst, WBFF]
• Antitrust complaints as a cat’s-paw for the benefit of moneyed interests behind the scenes? Why, sir, I am scandalized to hear of such a thing [Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun on John Angelos’s string-pulling with Maryland officials] “Baltimore Orioles Owners Demand Even More Unnecessary Taxpayer Money” [Jason Russell, Reason]
• Meet the woman who’s photographed more than 200 “ghost signs” evoking the city’s commercial past [Ron Cassie, Baltimore Magazine]
• Newly appointed Baltimore County economic strategist and political donor has had the odd spot of bother with the law [Taylor DeVille, Baltimore Banner]
• The rules are, CASA de Maryland gets to break the law in ways like blocking the State House entrance and no legal consequences will ensue. We all understand the rules, right? [Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun]

In miniature, July 22

• Maryland states’ attorneys surveyed say two measures recently passed into law by the General Assembly, the Juvenile Justice Reform Act and Child Interrogation Protection Act, deserve some of the blame for the state’s current wave of juvenile crime [Gary Collins and Maxine Streicher, WBFF]
• Montgomery County’s grave mistake in enacting rent control will damage its tax base [Adam Pagnucco] Apartment development plans already being cut back [same]
• No prizes for guessing which attorney and failed gubernatorial candidate just got his head handed to him yet again by another federal judge (“grandstanding,” “baseless suggestion,” insinuation “with absolutely no basis”) [Frederick News-Post]
• Gov. Wes Moore endorses boycotting state of Florida [Twitter] Bad move: state governors should not be promoting boycotts of other states. And even San Francisco has had reason to think better of these boycotts;
• Flashback: teaming up with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Waterkeeper Alliance to allege violations by a family of chicken farmers on the Eastern Shore led to political black eye for U. of Maryland law clinic [me in Baltimore Sun 2012]
• I’m helping sponsor a social event this fall for Marylanders interested in ranked-choice voting. Interested? Contact me at whatmarylandneeds at gmail dot com. Meanwhile, across the Potomac, Arlington used RCV in its June primary but is now retreating for the moment at least; I wrote about that in The Dispatch.

In miniature, July 6

• Thanks Jack Hogan for quoting me on prospects in the coming race to replace Ben Cardin in the U.S. Senate [Daily Record] 
• I actually like the new design for a Frederick County flag pretty well. It’s crisp and distinctive, and conveys “crossroads” through its design and “Maryland” through its colors. If you disagree, take comfort that county flags really don’t get seen or used much [Marwa Barakat, Frederick News-Post]
• “If you are required to attach a Corporate Diversity Addendum to your Annual Report, completing the Affidavit on Page 2 is mandatory.”  From the state of Maryland’s Department of Assessments & Taxation;
• Carjackings in D.C. and environs nearly quintupled between 2018 and 2022, to more than 1,000. “Officials and community leaders” have identified as one culprit “gaps in the social safety net,” the Washington Post explains, while the chief of the District’s public defender service suggests those who favor a crackdown are calling for “mass incarceration of an entire generation.” Not explored as a possible cause is the easing of juvenile justice laws. “Auto thefts surge in Baltimore, with nearly 1,000 in May” [Ryan Little and Cadence Quaranta, Baltimore Banner]
• In March I wrote about a Montgomery County bill that would regulate after-midnight businesses in the name of fighting crime, Adam Pagnucco calls the bill that resulted a “nothingburger;”
• Honored to have been confirmed last month to a three-year term on the Frederick County Ethics Commission. I appreciate the opportunity and the confidence shown me by the nominating committee, County Executive Jessica Fitzwater, and the County Council in a unanimous vote.

In miniature, May 29

• As state agencies cut in-person services, Maryland building contractors “report months-long delays in renewing licenses, putting them at risk of liability for working without a valid license.” [ProPublica]
• If you think this year’s moves by Montgomery County to hike property and recordation taxes are bad, wait till you see the increases coming down the road [Adam Pagnucco]
• The proposed plastic bag ban in Frederick, like many elsewhere, may wind up driving consumers toward alternatives that are worse for the environment [Ryan Marshall, Frederick News-Post; NPR “Planet Money” 2019 and John Tierney on the unintended consequences of bag bans]
• Plans for a spiffy new Columbia library sounded too good to be true, and maybe they were [Len Lazarick, Maryland Reporter]
• Bad lawsuits part one: “The city of Baltimore has filed a federal lawsuit against car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, joining a number of cities who say the companies created a public nuisance by making cars that can be easily stolen.” [Justin Fenton, Baltimore Banner]
• Bad lawsuits part two: Cecil, Carroll, and Prince George’s are among Maryland school districts that have signed up as clients to sue social media companies [Mike Hellgren/WJZ; my take at Ricochet and Cato]

Flying Dog flies away, bad policy to blame

The FNP’s UnCapped podcast reports:

“FX Matt Brewing Company and Flying Dog Brewery today announced that FX Matt Brewing Company is acquiring Flying Dog and is in the process of looking for a location for a Flying Dog taproom, to include an innovation brewery, in Frederick, MD.

FX Matt Brewing Company, founded in 1888 and the 4th longest-running family-owned brewery in the United States, has been brewing many of Flying Dog’s beers over the last ten years due to limitations at Flying Dog’s Frederick brewery. Flying Dog will shift all production to FX Matt over the course of the summer and is expected to cease operations sometime in August. This will be a seamless transition with all Flying Dog beers being brewed at FX Matt Brewing in New York until a taproom and innovation brewery opens in Frederick.”

A few years ago I followed the struggles in Annapolis over whether the General Assembly would relax and modernize antiquated Maryland laws that insulate beer wholesalers and other established businesses from competition so as to give independent brewers a fair chance. The wrong side (i. e. the incumbents seeking to protect their “three-tier” market position) won. And now arrives the predicted and foreseen consequence: Frederick is losing perhaps its premier business, Flying Dog Brewery, which will be brewed and managed from New York. (We’ll get some sort of “innovation brewery” as a consolation prize.)

More from the Baltimore Sun:

Flying Dog, the state’s largest producer of craft beer, had put major expansion plans on hold in 2017 because of legislation regarding state brewery regulations, Caruso said at the time. The brewing company had bought nearly 32 acres of farmland near Frederick Municipal Airport for $2.55 million to create a brewery five times the size of its current 50,000-square-foot facility.”

From the press release: “Frederick is a great place to live and do business. Unfortunately, even though we have invested millions of dollars in the [old] brewery, it has too many limitations and puts Flying Dog at too great a competitive disadvantage.”

Politics shouldn’t matter so much in our lives, but it does.

In miniature, May 8

• Gov. Moore signs bill to impose licensing on sign language interpreters, wish someone in Government House had spoken to economists about the downsides in that for both consumers and producers [Kate Ryan, WTOP]
• MoCo: “The current charter limit, approved in November 2020, requires a unanimous vote of the county council to raise the real property tax rate.  And yet, County Executive Marc Elrich’s new proposal for a 10 percent property tax hike is not subject to the charter limit, thereby evading the wishes of voters.  How is he able to do that?” [Adam Pagnucco]
• “It’s interesting that business leaders will admit crime is increasing, and is a major problem, before our elected officials will.” [Robert Dyer on Giant Food’s move to limit self-checkout to 20 items across much of local area]
• Don’t say the state department of education is concealing bad test scores in Baltimore, call it “enhanced deidentification.” [Chris Papst, Fox Baltimore]
• Badly clobbered candidate Dan Cox said what about Roy McGrath’s death? [Brian Griffiths, The Duckpin]
• The Baltimore tea scene [Krishna Sharma, Baltimore Banner]

City of Frederick should consider ranked choice voting

I enjoyed presenting to the City of Frederick charter review committee on the case for ranked choice voting, alongside Jeremy Rose of FairVote. From Ryan Marshall’s coverage in the FNP:

Ranked choice voting provides more information about voters’ real preferences, said Walter Olson, a New Market resident who served as co-chair of former Gov. Larry Hogan’s Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission.

It also helps prevent third-party candidates from intentionally or accidentally siphoning off support from other candidates, he said.

A former Republican who is now unaffiliated, Olson said some in his former party have spread misinformation about how ranked choice voting works. But Republicans could expect to do just as well under a new system in areas where they are popular, he said.

Ranked choice voting has sometimes drawn suspicion from the left because it’s a way to nominate more centrist Democrats, he said.

So far in Maryland, Takoma Park is the only municipality that uses ranked choice voting, Olson said.

But there has been interest from communities around the state, including in Prince George’s and Howard counties, he said.

He warned the committee against trying to put too many restrictions on ranked choice voting into the charter, recommending that details be left to the city clerk, who administers the city’s elections.

Keeping them out of the charter would make it easier to make a change if it’s clear that something isn’t working properly, he said.

“In Maryland, Do You Need To Sign A Written Contract To Order A Pizza?”

“If you live in Maryland, unless the [state’s high court] steps in, you might need to sign a contract the next time you buy something over the phone from some place you’ve never shopped before. That would definitely change how you order pizzas.” — Brian Greene of law firm Greene Hurlocker. More here.  

In miniature, April 16

• Montgomery County’s analytic staff “has released economic impact statements on the council’s two rent control bills and they conclude what the overwhelming majority of economists already know: rent control damages the economy.” [Adam Pagnucco]
• Another bad idea: “Maryland Bans Gas-Powered Car Sales in 2035” [Mark Uncapher, The Duckpin]
• Glad this stalled in the Senate, after passing the House of Delegates 110-26: HB 901 would have regulated the design of Internet services in the name of protecting the children [background from WaPo; similar federal-level stirrings]
• State police ticket and arrest quotas were “‘”inappropriate and blatantly wrong,” says new superintendent [Pamela Wood, Baltimore Banner]
• “Because of fair housing laws, Davis and other realtors are not allowed to share opinions about specific schools with clients” — even though her aim would sometimes be to reassure them about Baltimore options. [Liz Bowie and Sophie Kasakove, Baltimore Banner]
• Was Edgar Allan Poe’s early death related to an election fraud scheme in Baltimore? So speculates an author [Randy Dotinga, Washington Post]