Conduit Street Podcast: Digging Into Tax Caps in Maryland
Job openings across the country declined in June, according to newly released data. Some experts believe it's a sign that the economy is slowing. New data released on August 2 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that job openings are slowing while people leaving the workforce remains elevated.. American employers announced 10.7 millionjob openings in June, down from previous months. At the same time, the number of people who quit their jobs was…
MACo is proud to announce our Summer Conference Keynote Speaker: Jason Broadwater! The 2022 MACo Summer Conference will take place at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, MD, from August 17-20. This year’s theme is “Taking Care of Business.” With counties keeping health and safety a top priority, local government leaders are also exploring avenues to boost and support local businesses. From exploring available resources, finding creative ways to achieve common goals, and…
Newly-redesigned and updated geographic profiles have been released by the US Census - a powerful tool to evaluate data at the county level, or multiple other tiers. Available for over 100,000 geographies at the state, county, place, tribal area, zip code and congressional district level, the Census's redesigned Geographic Profiles make it easy to navigate and visualize data on one screen. If you haven’t checked out the Geographic Profiles, they offer data on some of…
Findings from the "The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Civic Life and Public Health Survey" suggest faith in public health officials and institutions is eroding, undermining ongoing COVID-19 response efforts. The survey results, released on July 29, noted a significant percentage of 1,086 adult respondents, 21%, believed that threatening public health officials for business closures to slow COVID-19 transmission was justified. Said responses were taken in July and August of 2021. They represent a significant spike…
MACo’s newest hire will step up the Association’s research efforts, supporting county services and MACo's advocacy with information and context for policy and local programs. Sarah Sample has joined MACo's Annapolis team, as its new Research Coordinator. She joined the staff this week, and will be quickly up to speed with the upcoming summer conference, legislative initiative process, and annual survey-based projects. “I am excited to add resources to MACo's research capacity,” said Executive Director…
The Maryland Department of Labor has been awarded nearly $23 million to aid in growing offshore wind-related jobs. Earlier this week federal and state officials gathered at Tradepoint Atlantic to announce the awarding of a $22.9 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant for the Maryland Department of Labor (Labor) to implement a new apprenticeship model to support the region’s growing offshore wind industry. Maryland’s project is one of 32 chosen nationwide out of more…
Maryland stands alone among states in how much power it gives the governor in its budget process. Only a handful of states limit the ability of the legislature to increase spending. And Maryland is the only state in which only the governor can directly add items or amounts to the budget. Section 52 of Article III of the Maryland Constitution prohibits the General Assembly from increasing any budget item, adding any new appropriations to the…
New research from the National Association of School Boards of Education shows that federal COVID relief aid is being spent on compensation, mental health supports, and professional development for early childhood educators. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges in early childhood education -- namely a shortage of quality, safe institutions and industry professionals. In fact, according to ChildCare Aware of America, 9% of licensed child care centers closed between December 2019 and March 2021. States around the county…
Governor Larry Hogan's Administration and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) have updated the state's operational response to the monkeypox outbreak to make testing, vaccination, and public health resources more widely available for high-risk populations. As of Wednesday, August 3rd, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Maryland has 149 lab-confirmed monkeypox cases, representing 2.4% of cases nationwide. Conduit Street previously provided a Monkeypox Primer detailing the disease's history, transmission, and symptoms. Under…