I Hate Politics Podcast

No one likes to pay taxes. We do because we must. Governments raise taxes in infinite ways to meet seemingly unending demands from the people. With many states and local governments headed toward a few years of fiscal imbalance, Sunil Dasgupta asks Michael Sanderson, Executive Director of the Maryland Association of Counties, about where local and state taxes come from? Music for this episode come...

The weekly news analysis from   I Hate Politics : Persistent dry spell leads to drought watch in the Washington DMV area. Local governments ask residents to conserve water. Fortune Magazine declares Silver Spring In Montgomery County, MD, to be the best place for families to live in all of the United States. Wallet Hub declares Maryland to have the third best public education system in the country...

In 1988, Benjamine Spencer, a young black man in Dallas, TX, was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Jeffrey young, a young white man, the son of a prominent Ross Perot supporter, by prosecutors trained by Henry Wade, the Wade in Roe v Wade. Washington DC journalist and author Barbara Bradley Hagerty, whose 2018 reporting led to Spencer's release has now written a book, Bringing Ben Home, (https...

Maryland and Washington DC are reporting high levels of Covid in wastewater but not Pennsylvania and New York. Montgomery County expands a subsidy program for companies renting office space in the county. Frederick City to become the second locality in Maryland to adopt ranked choice voting. Quince Orchard High School to ban smartphones, but how will this be enforced? And more. Music from Silver S...

The government from city and county to state and federal is one of the biggest buyers of goods and services in any modern economy, but government procurement is often accused of being corrupt and wasteful. Sunil Dasgupta asks former chief procurement officer of Baltimore City,  Erin Sher Smyth, to unbox the vast, byzantine, and changing world of government buying from police body cameras to cybers...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : Biden withdraws reelection bid; endorses Harris. What does it mean for Blue State Democrats who would win regardless? Montgomery County school board members work full-time but are paid for part-time work. Former MCPS Superintendent Josh Starr weighs in on the role of the board. UMD pays $500K to settle a federal complaint that it did not disclose for...

If zoning laws tell you what to build where, the Adequate Public Facilities Ordnance tells you when you can build. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Montgomery County Planning Department's Lisa Govoni, who is leading the county's 2024 reevaluation of adequacy measures of school and transportation needs and capacity. Lots of impact taxes, exemptions for impact taxes, and the impact on housing affordability...

Washington Metro rationalizes its bus network, but at what tradeoff? MD looks at holding back third graders who don't read at grade level. VA Governor Youngkin orders new rules in place to remove cell phones from classrooms by Jan 2025. NEA, the country's largest union, locks out its own staff union. Music from Silver Spring band The Airport 77s.

After a tumultuous few years, Montgomery County Public Schools is going through big leadership changes and the general elections in November may bring more. Among them is the new president of the teachers' union, MCEA: David Stein, a veteran math and statistics teacher in Montgomery Blair High School's famed STEM program. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Stein about how he sees the challenges ahead for M...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : What do the responses to a new community survey from MCPS tell us? Harford County, MD, withdraws an AP African American studies course. A crowded field of candidates seeks to replace former Prince George's County Councilmember Mel Franklin; illegal fireworks destroys Aspen Hill home; he really short water boil advisory in DC and Arlington; a glut on...

As Washington DC developed and grew, the many streams and water bodies that made up and fed the marshes around the Potomac River, became hidden, buried, and even regraded. Sunil Dasgupta talks with cartographer, historian, and graphic designer David Ramos about his project to identify lost streams and how this information can help daylight streams, direct urban planning, and revive the memories of...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : 18 yo transgender former MCPS student, Alex Ye, charged with threatening mass violence at school, is denied bond. New poll finds Alsobrooks 10 points ahead of Hogan in MD's US Senate race. MD Governor Moore finally ends debate over Baltimore's Red Line: will it be light rail or buses. Minimum wages go up in Maryland and Washington DC. Montgomery Coun...

Term limits are a voter favorite. In 2016, a successful ballot question led by Robin Ficker led to council members and the county executive being limited to three consecutive terms. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Reardon Sullivan, former Republican county executive candidate from 2022, about his signature petition for a ballot question reducing the current term limit period to two terms. Music by Alexa...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : MD Senator Jeff Waldstreicher on his 2023 criminal record expungement bill following the Governor's mass marijuana pardon. Baltimore sues soda and snack giants for plastic pollution. Prince George's County opposes VDOT's  plan to turn unused transit space on Wilson Bridge into express lanes. DC Public Service Commission turns down a new $700 million...

In November 2023 the Montgomery County Board of Education passed a School Safety Resolution sponsored by the Student Member of the Board Sami Saeed. But MCPS had not made any progress by April 2024. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Saeed about his frustrations over getting MCPS to act. Music from Silver Spring musician and writer Jon Brayton who performs as Myster Treefrog.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : MD Governor Wes Moore pardons 175,000 criminal convictions for marijuana possession. MCPS appoints new superintendent. Montgomery County and Washington DC find money in existing education budgets to avoid the worst cuts. New noise pollution signs go up in downtown Silver Spring but enforcement remains unclear. Drought conditions temper the impact of...

This year the Maryland state government waded into housing affordability policy with three bills, one of which controversially sought to preempt local zoning authority. What can and should the state really do on housing? Sunil Dasgupta asked Maryland House Majority Leader David Moon and former Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson. Music from Silver Spring musician and writer Jon B...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : Montgomery County Public Schools may furlough instead of laying off staff; Prince George's County introduces permanent rent control; Baltimore County passes new law to stop developments if schools are overcrowded; commuter reports from the first week of Metro Red Line; and what's it like inside a tornado. Music for this episode comes from Rockville s...

What happens when you don't pay your property taxes? Sunil Dasgupta talks with Montgomery County's Finance Director Micahel Coveyou, the organizer of the upcoming June 10 delinquent tax sale, about the law, the process, and the outcomes of dealing with property tax debt. Music from Silver Spring musician and writer Jon Brayton who performs as Myster Treefrog.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : Montgomery County Public Schools announces school-specific cuts; a new grant seeks to bring back driver's ed to public schools in Maryland after 30 years; a plan to cut 1,200 trees to allow upgrading an old golf course in Rock Creek National Park sparks outrage; and much more. Music for this episode comes from Rockville singer-songwriter Andrew Glor...

Congressman David Trone's campaign for Maryland's US Senate seat was one of the most expensive races in the country and yet his rival Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks won. Sunil Dasgupta talks with the Trone campaign political director Michelle Ngwafon about the twists and turns and the lessons from a lost race. Music from Silver Spring musician and writer Jon Brayton who perform...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : Montgomery County, MD, Board of Education and County Council play hot potato over the 2024-25 school budget as the teacher's union and program beneficiaries mount protests. Federal court in Baltimore allows the estate of Henrietta Lacks to sue a company that used her stem cells without consent. City of Rockville looks at moving its big annual Memoria...

Electronic mapping and the databases that drive it–together known as Geographic Information System or GIS–have revolutionized how local government works from street repair to summer camps. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Yeon Kim, the founding manager of the GIS unit for the City of Gaithersburg, about the impact on municipal services, public information, and decision-making in city hall. Music from Dam...

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics : Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson on criticism of the new 2024-25 budget passed last week. Maryland Public Service Commission Chair Fred Hoover on getting tough with retail energy suppliers. Primary election numbers with Gilberto Zelaya of the County Board of Elections. Canine flu outbreak continues in the local animal shelter. Musi...

Maryland's 2024 primary election featured never before money, some wide open races, political establishment reassertion, and scandals looming over local races. I Hate Politics Assistant Producer Daniel Gelillo talks with UMBC history professor Andrew Nolan and UMBC political science professor and regular host Sunil Dasgupta to draw out lessons from the recent polls. Music by Washington DC post-pun...