The Kent County Voter

Transcription

1 The Kent County Voter P.O. Box 374 Chestertown, MD March-April, 2015 Vol. 39, No. 4 MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH!

2 League of Women Voters of Kent County, Maryland, Inc Officers Co-Presidents Jane Hardy 6023 Lawton Ave., Rock Hall ; Nancy Smith P.O. Box 715, Rock Hall st Vice President Frances Miller 221 Birch Run Rd., Chestertown ; 2 nd Vice President Betty Barbe P.O. Box 83, Massey , Secretary George Shivers 116 School Rd., Chestertown ; Treasurer, Webmaster Lillian Zelinski 5960 Lawton Ave., Rock Hall Cell: ; Directors Margie Baker 220 Calvert St., Chestertown Sandra Bjork 110 Birch Run Rd., Chestertown ; Lani Seikaly 7740 Country Club Dr., Chestertown, , Jeanette Sherbondy 116 School Rd., Chestertown ; Bobby Sutton P. O..Box 475, Chestertown ; Cell: Dianne Turpin 615 Cannon St., Chestertown ; Linda Weimer, Public Relations 407 Central Dr., Chestertown

3 Events Calendar Tuesday, March 10, 9:30 AM, LWVKC Board Meeting, Yellow Bldg., Kent County Public Library, Chestertown Wednesday, March 11, Legislative Day in Annapolis Saturday, March 14, 10:00 AM, Rescheduled Education Forum with Superintendent Karen Couch in the meeting room of the Kent County Public Library, Chestertown, Saturday, March 28, 11:00 AM, "Chestertown Traffic: the Road Ahead," Ted Byrne, presenter. Meeting room of the Kent County Public Library, Chestertown Monday, April 13, General Assembly adjourns Tuesday, April 14, 12:00 Noon, Annual Luncheon and Meeting at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Parish Hall. Our speaker will be Ms. Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, Executive Director, Common Cause of Maryland. Her topic is: "Reclaiming Democracy: What Citizens Can Do." Thursday, April 23, LWVMD Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, 10:00 AM -3:30 PM. Lobbying the Maryland delegation on Capitol Hill. Gathering at Union Station Metro in Washington, DC. RSVP requested by April 17 to allow time to schedule appointments. Telephone: or LWVMD Sponsors Rising Seas Forum at Chesapeake College on Saturday, February 28 The League of Women Voters of Kent County was well represented at the forum, titled "The Future Is Now: Dealing with Rising Seas on Maryland's Shores." The Keynote Speaker was Dr. Donald Boesch, Professor of Marine Science and President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. His talk, accompanied by Power Point slides, gave in depth coverage of the scientific studies that have confirm an increasing sea level rise around the world, especially since the mid-20th century. Map illustrations of the Chesapeake Bay area between now and 2050 showed us how that increase will continue. He noted that prior to the melting of the last glaciers in the last Ice Age the shoreline was 67 miles beyond present day Ocean City. As the glaciers melted the sea level rose, then the rise leveled off for centuries, increasing gradually with the arrival of the industrial age. Breakout sections in the afternoon were led by Drew Koslow, recent Midshore Riverkeeper and founder of the South River Federation; Mark Konapelsky, Critical Areas Commissioner for Somerset County; and Zoe Johnson, Director of the CoastSmart Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Konapelsky spoke on 3

4 the devastating results of Hurricane Sandy in Crisfield, Somerset County. He emphasized the importance of increased preparation for such events. They thought they were prepared in Crisfield, but the impact of the storm proved otherwise. Ms. Johnson spoke about the Coast Smart Program and how it can help communities plan for the future. Chestertown Traffic - The Road Ahead On Saturday, March 28 at 11:00 AM, the League of Women Voters of Kent County will sponsor a talk about the overall traffic situation in Chestertown and Kent County. The program will be given in the meeting room of the Kent County Public Library in Chestertown. Ted Byrne, a town resident and LWVKC member, will be the presenter. Ted has been following the local traffic issues for almost ten years. He is a retired Computer Science manager with a Ph.D. in applied mathematics. There appear to be three general options for action: 1) Do nothing. This really means to let the state determine the solution for the whole Eastern Shore as it sees fit, and this may well not be to Chestertown's advantage. 2) Let Chestertown solve its own problems. This means to act without state input and may be more do-able, but less desirable. 3) Build the "Bypass" around downtown Chestertown. This, you may know, has been a "priority" state item for the past 27 years and has made no progress in that time, thereby showing the political complexity of this approach. The purposes of this program are to understand but not try to solve the issues, to help the LWV decide if we want to take this on as a project and to determine if other citizens wish to ally themselves with the task. LWVKC Annual Luncheon and Meeting Our annual luncheon and meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 14 at 12:00 noon at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church Parish Hall, at the corner of Cross and High Sts., Chestertown. The luncheon will be catered by Fishwhistle Restaurant. The cost is $25 per person. Our guest speaker for the occasion will be Ms. Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, the Executive Director of Common Cause of Maryland. She joined the organization in January As Executive Director she is responsible for implementing the organization's policy campaigns and building its capacity. Ms. Bevan- Dangel has a strong background in advocacy at the state and local levels, having worked previously for 1000 Friends of Maryland, Patuxent Riverkeeper, and Environment Maryland on a variety of land use and clean water reforms. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law. 4

5 Information and photo were taken from the Common Cause website. Please join us for this most important yearly meeting, where we conduct our annual business, approving a budget, adopting a program, and electing new officers and directors. Be on the lookout for a separate mailing that will include an invitation as well as a dues renewal notice. Also expect to receive your Annual Meeting Workbook before March 14. We look forward to seeing you on April 14! Opening Day in Annapolis The Maryland Legislature opened the 2015 Legislative Session on Jan. 14 and Howard County and other League members were there to advocate for increasing the state's renewable portfolio standard to 40 percent by 2025, a doubling of the current requirement of 20 percent by Double Wind and Solar Now! was the call at the 11 a.m. rally on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis to show our delegates and senators walking through on their way to the State House that we are going to be pushing for the Maryland Clean Energy Advancement Act during the session. Enthusiasm was high, despite the frigid temperatures. We joined about 30 other organizations under the auspices of the Maryland Climate Coalition to visit the office of every delegate and senator to talk to them and to leave a packet of information about clean. Betsy Singer, LWVHC Environment Committee From the State Board Letter, February, 2015 Legislative Day in Annapolis The LWVMD's Legislative Day will take place in Annapolis on Wednesday, March 11, from 8:00 AM until 2:00 PM. The site is the Miller Senate Building, West II Room, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis. The registration fee is $37, which includes a buffet lunch. Parking is not included. Registration is in the Miller Bldg. from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM with morning coffee available. From 8:30 until 9:45 guests may visit their delegation to the Maryland General Assembly. Local Leagues are responsible for making those appointments in advance. A Photo ID is required for admission to all Maryland government buildings. At 10:00 AM there will be a State budget 5

6 presentation by Warren Deschenaux, Director of the Office of Policy Analysis, Department of Legislative Services, followed by feedback on legislative visits and an update by reporters from the LWVMD. Lunch is at noon with a speaker, Lillian M. Lowry, Ed. D., Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. The deadline for registration was March 3, but it may still be possible to reserve a place. Call or lwvmd@verizon.net. New Voting System For Maryland The Maryland State Board of Elections is in the process of acquiring a new voting system for use beginning in It will require the use of paper ballots scanned by machines. Since this will be a major transition for voters, the Board is seeking assistance to inform the public about the new process through demonstrations of the machines and scannable ballots. If local Leagues are interested in organizing a public education event, they should provide the Board of Elections with the name, address and phone number of a contact person. Positions Taken By the LWVMD on Pending Legislation (Information from Report from State Circle Published by the LWVMD, February 26, 2015) What follows is only a small part of the legislation summarized by our State League in the February edition of the Report from State Circle. For more details see LWVMD website at lwvmd.org or the website of the Maryland General Assembly at To subscribe to the Report from State Circle visit the State League website or call The State League supports House Bill 850/SB 448 on Congressional Districts. It would amend the Maryland Constitution to require that congressional districts "consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form, and of substantially equal population." It would also require that "Due regard be given to natural boundaries and the boundaries of political subdivisions." The amendment would require the Governor to prepare a plan consistent with these standards and present it to the General Assembly. The Governor's plan would become law if the legislature did not adopt a different plan within 45 days. The Court of Appeals would have jurisdiction to review a claim by any registered voter who argued that the plan was not consistent with the U.S. constitution or that of Maryland. Senate Bill 5 on Election Law is also supported by the State League. It clarifies that all parts of a canvas of votes after an election are open to public observation, including the vote tabulation of voters from early voting. The bill passed out of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, and then passed out of the Senate by a vote of It's on its way to the House Ways and Means Committee. The State League opposes HB 253 Election Law - Interstate Crosscheck Program and provided testimony against it before the Ways and Means Committee. It would require the State Board of Elections to enter into an agreement to become part of a consortium of states, now 28 in number, that provide voter registration to each other (through the Kansas Secretary of State's office) for the purpose of identifying duplicate registration and duplicate voting by registered voters. The reason for the League's opposition is that a recent study of the program showed that it identifies 6

7 many duplicate registrations and voters that aren't really duplicates, the reason being that it uses only name and date of birth information to crosscheck. Maryland already participates in a similar, but more accurate program, the Electronic Registration Information Consortium (ERIC) with 11 states. That system uses DMV and Social Security data in addition to name and date of birth. HB 997/SB 680 Blue Ribbon Commission on Voting, Openness, Transparency and Equality, which the State League supports, would create a commission to examine ways to encourage broader voter participation, including studying open and closed primary elections, top two and top four primary elections, a system of public campaign financing for executive, legislative and judicial offices, and proportional representation voting systems. The bipartisan commission would include members of the Senate and House of Delegates and representatives of bipartisan civic organizations, one representative from each of the League of Women Voters, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the NAACP, the ACLU, the University of Maryland, the State Board of Elections, as well as representatives of civil rights organizations that represent Asian/Pacific Islanders, African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos. The League supports three bills on campaign finance, HB 294, HB 485/SB593 and HB 573/SB 518. The first bill clarifies and tightens the reporting rules for raising funds for a campaign via games of chance. The second would reinstate a check-off on income tax forms that would allow joint and individual filers to donate the portion of their refund that they designate, or increase their tax liability by an amount they designate for the purpose of creating a fund for gubernatorial candidates to use for their campaigns. It stipulates a $500 maximum donation to the fund. The third bill seeks to expand public campaign financing to include not only candidates for governor, but also legislative candidates as well as those running for Comptroller and Attorney General. HB 449/SB 409 prohibits the Department of the Environment from issuing permits for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) until April 30, It calls for a ten-member expert panel to examine the peer-reviewed scientific literature related to public health and environmental impacts, and assess whether fracking can be done without detrimental impact on either. The State League supports this legislation to give sufficient time to complete assessment studies. If the studies show that fracking can be done with minimum or no adverse impact on the health and safety of the public, the information acquired with inform adequate regulations and enforcement. There are many other bills on the docket on environmental matters, some of which the State League supports and others that the League opposes. We encourage all members of the LWV of Kent County to consult either the League report used here or the House of Delegates website referred to above. Other bills deal with issues such as transportation, administration of justice and gun control. On the latter subject the LWVMD opposes SB407 which requires the State Police to issue handgun permits within 120 days of application (changed from "within a reasonable time"" and to notify each applicant in writing of the decision to approve or deny a permit within 120 days after receipt of the application. The State League also opposes HB 306, the Firearm Decriminalization Act of This bill is a major attempt to weaken the most far-reaching of any Maryland gun legislation. It would repeal or reduce the requirements for obtaining a license to own or sell a regulated firearm, including repealing the authorization of the State Police to suspend a dealer's license if the licensee is not in compliance with record keeping and reporting requirements. There is also legislation relating to children and families and to meeting basic human needs, such as housing, economic justice, education, health and death with dignity. SB676 identifies conditions and requirements that would allow a doctor to prescribe medications that a terminal 7

8 patient may self-administer to aid in dying. The LWVMD has not stated a position on this legislation in the Report from State Circle. Josephine Carr, Kent County Civil Rights Activist Ms. Josephine Carr, an African American school teacher from Kent County, boarded the steamer Chester in Baltimore on May 14, Her destination was Crumpton. She took a seat in the main cabin and after the ship left port she was asked to move. She refused and was dragged to the forward cabin by the captain, Edward Young, and one of the passengers, John Nicholson. She refused to stay there and moved to the bow, where she stood until the ship reached Chestertown. She got off there and two weeks later she filed a libel suit against the ship in admiralty, recounting the assault she had suffered. The judge awarded her $25 dollars in damages and noted that common carriers cannot make distinctions as to color in transporting passengers. * Source: David S. Hogan, "Precursors of Rosa Parks: Maryland Transportation Cases between the Civil War and the Beginning of World War I," Maryland Law Review, vol. 63(4), pp *Editor's Note: Unfortunately, the Jim Crow laws passed in Maryland in 1904 made such practices "legal." 8

9 Saturday March 14 th 10:00 am SUPERINTENDENT K.Couch UPDATE KENT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Superintendent Dr. Karen Couch, speaker. The presentation is free and open to all. Questions will follow. Kent County Public Library Meeting Room, 408 High Street Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Kent County 9