THE LEADING EDGE
Vol 1, No 10 October 12, 1999
Tue, 12 Oct 1999
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The Leading Edge is published by Citizens' Agenda for Maryland, a nonprofit
grass roots organization working to advance progressive policies that promote
real democracy, a fair economy, and livable communities at the state and local
levels.
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[Friends, we are in the process of moving The Leading
Edge to a different listserv provider. We apologize for any transitional problems
that may occur.]
In This Issue
1) NEXT STEPS FOR THE LIVING WAGE
2) BEYOND THE INTER-COUNTY CONNECTOR
3) TRANSPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE
4) SUBSCRIBING TO THE 'LEADING EDGE'
5) QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR SUGGESTIONS? ______________________________________________
1) NEXT STEPS FOR THE LIVING WAGE
The living wage movement - to many people, the most vital progressive initiative now underway in the nation - was born right here in Maryland, when Baltimore became the first jurisdiction to enact a requirement that contractors pay an above-minimum wage decent enough to live on.
Now the national living wage spotlight is swinging back to our state. Activists in Montgomery County fell short this summer in their effort to pass what would have been the highest living wage in the country. But those activists have regrouped and laid out an impressive action plan for the year ahead.
Among the efforts in the works:
> A mass action next January, at a date to be set on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, that will bring together living wage activists across the state to support living wage proposals at both the county and state level. Watch the Leading Edge for more details.
> A special forum for nonprofits. Most Montgomery County nonprofits supported the living wage proposal introduced by Councilman Phil Andrews this past summer, but a dozen high-profile nonprofits came out against the measure, arguing they couldn't afford to pay higher wages. The forum will seek to raise the debate in the nonprofit community to a higher, more productive level.
> A drive to enact a "disclosure bill." In the mid-1990s, Minnesota activists tried and failed to pass a living wage bill. But they were able to get lawmakers to pass legislation that requires corporations getting state subsidies to disclose the wages they were paying. The data generated by that disclosure law helped Minnesota progressives score several legislative victories this past year.
The Montgomery County living wage forces are going to try to go down that same road, with a disclosure bill proposal that would require all county contractors and corporate subsidy recipients to make public all the wages they pay below the living wage level. The living wage coalition appears to have a Council majority behind the disclosure notion, and passage could come this fall.
Interested in getting involved in any of these living wage coalition efforts? Call the Montgomery County Living Wage Coalition at (301) 495-7004.
2) BEYOND THE INTER-COUNTY CONNECTOR
More and more Marylanders are understanding the futility of simply building more highways to solve congestion problems. This growing opposition to knee-jerk road building helps explain Governor Glendening's recent decision to pull the plug on the proposed Inter-County Connector north of the Washington Beltway.
But what's still lacking in Maryland is any serious movement to explore creative alternatives to congestion. Elsewhere in the nation, citizens groups are actually turning creative ideas into solutions.
Seattle, for instance, now has a free bus zone downtown. If you get on and off in the zone (five by twenty blocks), you pay nothing. The zone encourages tourists and people on short downtown errands to leave their cars parked.
What might work in Maryland? How about encouraging - or requiring - more large employers situated near Metro stations to provide free, regular van transport between the worksite and Metro stop?
Or how about trying free bike programs? Having brightly painted bikes available at street corners and bus stops works elsewhere, most notably in several European cities. Why not here?
Other ideas? Let's start sharing them with each other and elected officials. Send your idea into the Leading Edge, and we'll start the sharing process.
3) TRANSPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE
The Department of Energy is holding hearings October 26 on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for its proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada high-level atomic waste dump. What's a waste dump in Nevada have to do with Maryland?
Included in these hearings is the issue of transporting lethal high-level nuclear waste through Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. by rail and truck (around the Beltway ?)
If you're concerned about high-level nuclear waste moving through our communities, check out the hearing at 10 a.m. in the Hall of Nations, 444 N. Capitol Street NW, Washington D.C. For more info, contact the Nuclear Information and Resource Service at: 202 328-0002, www.nirs.org; nirsnet@nirs.org.
4) SUBSCRIBING TO THE 'LEADING EDGE'
If you aren't already subscribed to this electronic newsletter, here's all you need to do: To subscribe (it's free!), send a message to mdca@igc.org requesting to be subscribed to mdca-news. We'll add you to the list.
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5) QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR SUGGESTIONS?
Citizens' Agenda for Maryland E-mail: mdca@igc.org. Also, visit our web site at www.mdcitizensagenda.org. We welcome submissions to the Leading Edge. Send submissions via email to: CitizensAgendaMD@aol.com. Or mail to: Citizens' Agenda for Maryland, 509 Riderwood-Lutherville Drive, Lutherville, MD 21093.
For questions on content call: 410.560.7450. Please share this newsletter with others you think may be interested.