The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Wrongly-imprisoned Baltimore man James Langhorne speaks to the difficulties of returning to society after 27 years in prison even as he is awarded $2.9 million. Maryland’s new 3 percent tech services tax started July 1 Montgomery county, Maryland, gas leaf blower ban went into effect July 1, but Gabe Albornoz, wants a 3-year fall season exemption for commercial landscapers. Councilmember Dawn Luedtke explains her “house party” bill. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

Three stories about introspection, learning, change, and hope from the destruction of federal worker layoffs and budget cuts. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Kevin Gash of Rockville who went from a 14-year career as a USAID contractor to starting a food truck called PLAN B Sausages. Liza Achilles, also of Rockville, was a technical writing contractor for USDA hoping for a new career in creative writing. And Robbyn Lewis, a Maryland state delegate from Baltimore, who for most of her professional life worked on USAID global health contracts and is struggling with finding the right new direction. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Breaking down two of the most consequential Supreme Court rulings that came down last week: the ban on universal injunction and the expansion of religious rights of parents in public schools. The Trump Administration’s case against all 16 judges in the federal District of Maryland. The second Trump Administration has built a sophisticated legal team that seemed impossible in the first term. How? Lessons for Ranked Choice Voting from Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York Democratic primary. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Cato legal scholar and RCV advocate Walter Olson. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

How broken is the criminal-justice system? If you are charged, you might have to pay for your own pre-trial supervision, that is, if you can make bail. The cost may be high enough that you take a plea deal even if you are innocent. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Natasha Dartigue, Maryland Public Defender and the new president-elect of the Maryland Bar Association, about pre-trial detention, bail reform, and disproportionate outcomes in state courts. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: A new report offers the first real breakdown of the impact of federal cuts and layoffs in Maryland. The neighborhood next to the RFK Stadium wants a community benefits agreement guaranteeing developer commitments. WMATA launches new bus routes next week. Adjunct faculty at Stevenson University, outside Baltimore, unionize. West Virginia University strips voting powers from faculty, students, and staff representatives on its Board of governors. Tips for hunting and fishing based on Maryland’s Natural Resource police blotter. And more. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

Frederick County, MD, school board saw escalating tensions between conservative activists and liberal school board leadership over LGBTQ rights in county schools. A newly elected board member attacked trans rights from the board table, a conservative activist tried to forcibly seat herself on at the board, and a man fake-mooned a board meeting. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Frederick Board of Education President Rae Gallagher, and Vice-President Dean Rose about the fight over LGBRTQ rights and its impact on school governance. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

Maryland’s first bond issue following Moody’s downgrade of state debt has surprising results. Former Washington DC councilmember and director of the DC Department of Energy and Environment, gets into the fight to claw back the environmental spending cuts proposed by Mayor Bowser. MCPS has new grading regulations and the Student member of the Board of Education is not happy. And more. Music by Washington Dc art-pop rock band, Catscan!

After weeks of protests over firings, grant freezes, and budget cuts, more than 300 scientists and staff from Maryland-based National Institutes of Health issue a public letter of protest called the Bethesda Declaration fashioned after the Great Barrington Declaration, which was co-authored in 2020 as an act of dissent from the scientific orthodoxy on Covid by their current Trump-appointed director Jay Bhattacharya. Sunil Dasgupta talks with three signatories to the letter, NIH staffers Mollie Manier and Ian Morgan, and former staffer Anna Culbertson about the public statement and the relationship between science and politics. Bethesda Declaration: https://www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-declaration The Great Barrington Declaration: https://gbdeclaration.org/ Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.