When Wes Moore, the first black governor of the state, vetoed the reparations bill in Spring 2025, it sent a shock of disappointment and betrayal especially among black leaders inside and outside Maryland. Delegate Aletheia McCaskill from Baltimore was the lead sponsor of the bill in the House of Delegates and tells her side of the story in this episode. Music By Drew Pictures and the Lead Extras.

The US DOJ and Maryland Elections Board tussle over access to the state’s voter list. Montgomery County Council is looking at changing a provision in the new gas leaf-blower ban requiring picture-taking with complaints. MoCo County Council faces a First Amendment challenge from a local satire blogger. And more. Music by The Longtimers.

With increasing inland flash flooding in the region, a new study from Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board finds FEMA flood maps cover only 15 percent of flooding-related road closures in the Washington DC region. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Katherine Rainone, a transportation resilience planner at MWCOG, about the regional vulnerability study and projects to come out it. Flood analysis interactive tool: https://t.ly/kkchF Full flood analysis report: https://t.ly/f-DRF Music by A Shrewdness of Apes.

Fighting off attacks from his own political base over the non-release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Trump uses the pretext of a crime emergency to orchestrate a federal takeover of Washington DC’s police Department and removal of homeless people from the district. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich invites two Vanderbilt University law professors to strengthen his hands against the County Council’s new law to ease zoning restrictions. Penn State entomologist Julie Urban on what to do when you see a lanternfly and what experts are doing. And more. Music by Anna Rubin.

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who is beginning his second year at the helm of the nation’s 15th largest and Maryland’s largest school district, has said that MCPS was one of the nation’s best school districts in 2011-12 and, by implication, not since. Taylor joined Sunil Dasgupta to talk about his vision and the challenges ahead as he tries to return the district to its old glory. Music by Damascus-based rapper Cataclizm.

New study finds FEMA flood maps account for only 15 percent of flooding-related road closures in the region over the last 20 years. MCEA files grievance action against MCPS for delays and inaccuracies in payroll. Superintendent Thomas Taylor offers a fix by date. Rockville City Council nixed rent stabilization the second year. Councilmember Izola Shaw who championed the cause analyzes. Washington Post travails continue, says former Metro editor Bob McCartney. TAME Coalition kills the M-83 highway plan after decades of effort. And more. Stay with us. Music by the DC area roots band The Longtimers.

Washington DC Council has been getting ready to vote on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to redevelop the RFK Stadium and its adjacent land as the new home for the Washington Commanders football team, which will cost the city $1 billion. Sunil Dasgupta talked to the DC Policy Center Executive Director and longtime DC public finance economist Yasim Say if this was a fair deal? Music by Washington DC prog rock band, A Shrewdness of Apes.

Montgomery County, MD, upzones around transit corridors, but opposition remains. Finally, a new Impact tax agreement between Gaitersburg and MoCo. Court awards an MCPS teacher half a million dollars for false accusation of racism by the school district. At least 3 teachers are involved in another lawsuit for wrongful punishment for “antisemitic” speech. New economic analysis of the RFK Stadium says long-term revenue projections are higher without the stadium, but it’s never that simple is it? MD House Majority Leader David Moon proposes trigger legislation to open mid-decade redistricting in the state if another state breaks the 10-year-rule. Music by the DC area roots band The Longtimers.