WDC was fortuitous in having MSNBC legal analyst Chuck Rosenberg as our luncheon speaker at Normandie Farm on April 18 since the Mueller report had just been released that morning. He began his remarks by emphasizing the importance of the rule of law, both to him personally, and as an overarching principle. Rosenberg spent most of his professional life at the Justice Department. His extensive legal and government experience includes such positions as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and counsel to FBI director Robert Mueller.
Read moreWDC Tours Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve*
Last week WDC members toured the 95,000-acre Agricultural Reserve in upper Montgomery County. Guided by Caroline Taylor, Executive Director of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, the group explored five stops across the Ag Reserve which is a first-in-the-nation visionary plan that set aside a large swath of the up-county decades ago.
The goals of this sweeping zoning change were -and remain- several:
Manage and restrict sprawl, with its prohibitively expensive implications for government services: extending sewer and water, road networks, libraries, fire & rescue, schools and other public amenities.
Preserve the economic viability of both commercial and smaller-scale farming and agricultural activity. The Reserve also includes national, state and local parkland.
Retain dwindling open space through a coherent large-scale plan for environmental and recreational purposes in proximity to a major and increasingly urban region. The plan protects our drinking water supply and air quality, and offers access to hiking, biking, birding, hunting, camping and more.
President's Message
The death of long-time Speaker of the House of Delegates, Mike Busch eclipsed the usual Sine Die* celebrations of bills passed and regrets about good bills for which “time ran out.” WDC joins Marylanders across the state, regardless of party affiliation, in mourning his passing.
In the next few weeks, we will have many opportunities to learn about the 2019 legislative session. Membership and Outreach co-chairs Enid Light and Andrea Grossman arranged for several legislators to provide highlights at last week’s WDC Happy Hour: Senator Susan Lee, and Delegates Al Carr, Lorig Charkoudian, Sara Love, Lesley Lopez, Emily Shetty, and Jared Solomon. Mark your calendar April 27, for a more in-depth analysis of what bills did – and did not – advance this past session at the Democratic Clubs of Color Legislative Wrap-Up, co-sponsored by WDC.