Marc's Music Beat

Musicians Rock for Hurricane Sandy Relief

Headcount’s Participation Tour, which features Dumpstaphunk and Anders Osborne, aims to increase voter registration and benefits Hurricane Sandy relief. The tour rolls through Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York City this week.

  Musicians will rock out and get their funk on for Hurricane Sandy aid and voter registration for the next four nights. HeadCount and Magic Hat Brewing Company have teamed up for this year’s Participation Tour, which is anchored by funk outfit Dumpstaphunk and folk rocker Anders Osborne, both from New Orleans. While the tour’s original aim was to register more voters for the upcoming election, HeadCount announced Thursday that all proceeds from the four-day tour will be donated to the Red Cross and other relief efforts. “In an election year we get very focused on voter registration, but something we like to say is ‘make your voice heard every day, not just on election day,’” HeadCount Executive Director Andy Bernstein said via email. “You…

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LAST CHANCE: You Can Still Register to Vote in Maryland

You've got until end of business today, Tuesday, Oct. 16, to register to vote in the general election Nov. 6.

By Carl Straumsheim, Capital News Service WASHINGTON — When President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney meet at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, for their second debate in Hempstead, NY, the battle lines in Maryland will already have been drawn—eligible voters must have registered to vote before then. Donna Duncan, a spokeswoman for the Maryland State Board of Elections, said the agency is experiencing a rush of people registering to vote before Tuesday’s deadline—a common event in presidential election years. Online traffic peaked on Oct. 4, the day after the first presidential debate in Denver, when more than 6,000 Marylanders accessed the online registration system. On an average day, the system logs about 2,500 visits, which can be simple …

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SPEAK OUT: What Shade of Blue is Maryland?

And, where does Montgomery County fit in?

  The campaign season brings out the best, the worst, the most passionate and sometimes the most vitriolic political debate. It also brings out candidates making stump speeches. In Maryland, those candidates are seldom running for president. A Republican presidential candidate hasn’t claimed Maryland since George H.W. Bush in 1988. It’s been a decade since Robert L. Ehrlich became the first Republican governor elected in Maryland since Spiro Agnew was elected 35 years earlier. The numbers tell a familiar tale: The roughly two-to-one voter registration advantage that Democrats hold over Republicans. The six-to-two Democrat-to-Republican advantage in congressional seats. And yet, when you read the comments on Patch sites, you hear them: …

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Bob

6:11 am on Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Funny, we're listed anywhere from 6 to 9th in the nation for schools, while test scores have dropped 3 out of the last 5 years. We are listed as 39th as a business friendly state, so I really don't know where you pulled your number from. 5 of the top cities? where was that pulled, please tell me, was it for scenery or crabs? We certainly can throw money at the education problem with falling test …   more ›

Mailing Causes Consternation for Some Voters

State Board of Elections mails 1.1 million Maryland Voters in an effort to increase voter registration across the state.

UPDATED (2:48 p.m.)—A postcard mailed by the Maryland State Board of Elections has caused concern for some Maryland voters and increased work for local boards of elections. The post card, mailed last week, was part of an effort by the Maryland State Board of Elections to verify voter registration records and register eligible voters, according to Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator for the state board of elections. The agency attempted to match data between the voter registration rolls and state drivers license records. "As with any data match, there were a number of false positives," said Goldstein. About 1.1 million post cards were mailed. The state board of elections estimates the mailing was 98 percent accurate—meaning it reached …

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Kathy

5:05 am on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

It is easier just to spread misinformation without checking for accuracy, but your grades will reflect that when you get into high school. (I assume from the tenor of your remarks that you are currently in 7th or 8th grade? It was the "get a life" comment that gave it away.) But as I used to tell my children, it is not nice to call people "stupid."   more ›