Progressive Maryland in the News
Ehrlich: Wal-Mart bill is anti-business
"Political theater played out Thursday in Somerset County, as Gov. Robert Ehrlich arrived to veto a bill that would have forced Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to spend 8 percent of its payroll in the state on health care...
Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, praised two Lower Shore Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill..."
By James Fisher, Delmarvanow.com
Wal-Mart to delay Somerset center
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said yesterday that it would delay for three to four years the construction of an 800-job distribution center planned for Somerset County...
Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit that worked on the bill, stood on the street corner opposite the governor and said that his group spends close to 20 percent of its payroll on health-care costs. "If we can afford it, Wal-Mart sure can," he said.
By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun
Ehrlich vetoes so-called 'Wal-Mart' health bill
"Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. today vetoed a bill he says is anti-business -- the so-called 'Wal-Mart bill' -- in a splashy news conference in this lower Eastern Shore town, where the retail giant plans to build a distribution center...
Lobbyists with Progressive Maryland say there is enough support in the legislature to override Ehrlich's veto. But the liberal lobbying group will campaign this summer for residents to contact their legislators in support of the bill..."
By Gretchen Parker, Associated Press
Governor Vetoes Health Care Bill
"Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich vetoed a bill on health care in Princess Anne Thursday. More than 100 people turned out to see the Governor sign the veto, about 30 of them were protestors...
...Protester Tom Hucker disagrees with Ehrlich's stance.
'Wal-Mart's doing fine. I run a small business. If I can provide health care for my employees, Wal-Mart can,' says Hucker..."
By Josh Davidsburg, WMDT-TV
Medical rights bill for gays is vetoed
"Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed yesterday a measure allowing same-sex couples to make medical decisions for each other, overturning legislation passed earlier this year to the cheers of gay activists and over opposition from religious conservatives...
...The governor also vetoed a $1-an-hour increase in the minimum wage, attempts to reform the state's troubled juvenile justice system and bills backers said would make voting more convenient...
...Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a liberal-leaning group, said Ehrlich's veto of the minimum wage and Wal-Mart bills shows he sides with big business instead of working Marylanders."
By Andrew A. Green, The Baltimore Sun
Ehrlich Vetoes Bill Extending Rights to Gay Couples: Increase in Minimum Wage Among 24 Measures Rejected
"Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed a bill yesterday that would have granted rights to gay partners who register with the state, concluding after weeks of intense deliberations that the legislation threatened "the sanctity of traditional marriage."
The emotionally charged bill was among 24 that Ehrlich (R) rejected yesterday afternoon, including legislation to raise the state's minimum wage by $1, allow early voting in elections and heighten oversight of the state's troubled juvenile justice system...
...'I think it's just breathtaking that he's casting his lot with the right wing of his party,' said Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, an advocacy group that pushed for the minimum wage bill as well as legislation Ehrlich vetoed Thursday that would have effectively required Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health benefits. "He ran for governor as the moderate, affable son of an automobile dealer who would stick up for working-class families.'..."
By John Wagner, The Washington Post
Progressives to come 'out of the woodwork': Group seeks to counter conservatism in county
"...Together, the rural Baltimore County neighbors are forming the first gathering of the Progressives of Northern Maryland, a coalition being formed to cut across the political grain of the largely conservative bastion north of Hunt Valley...
...Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a liberal advocacy group not affiliated with the event, says of the Sparks festival, 'This is how things change.'..."
By Laura Barnhardt, The Baltimore Sun
Governor Releases 25 Bill Vetoes: Vetoes Anger Bill Proponents, Surprise Observers
"Gov. Bob Ehrlich's vetoes of proposed new laws announced Friday drew harsh criticism from bill proponents...
...'He has really cast his lot with the far right wing of American politics,' Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, said when told that Ehrlich had vetoed the bill that would increase the minimum wage by $1 to $6.15 an hour..."
WBAL-TV
Local, state governments turn to cell phones for tax revenue
"Last year, the city council in Baltimore faced a budget shortfall so bad that it considered laying off 186 city police officers, reducing some fire-department operations and scaling back trash collection. Then it found an untapped honey pot: cell phones...
Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit group that promotes 'pro-working-family legislation,' said Maryland lawmakers should raise their corporate tax and scale back taxes on consumers..."
By Ken Belson, The New York Times
Left and right raising same points about health care
"A conservative think tank's new book on health care in Maryland is drawing fire from liberal activists. But with health care costs putting the pressure on the state's budget, some Democratic leaders are voicing some of the same concerns as the book's authors...
Sean Dobson, deputy director of the social advocacy group Progressive Maryland, praised Firey's tort reform chapter for looking at the role the insurance industry plays in raising doctors' malpractice insurance premiums, as well as for raising concerns about legitimately injured patients who fail to receive compensation..."
By Catherine Dolinski, The Gazette
