Recent Prince George's County News (17 Oct 2011, Redistrcting only)

• Bmorenews.com: Carletta Fellows: Ensuring African American Representation in Maryland is.gd/GwwMtT
• WTOPinMD Redistricting special session begins bit.ly/niIu6m
• Bmorenews: Closed door meeting amongst African American legislators gets heated and exposes divisiveness over ... is.gd/aFBZz5
• postlocal: Redistricting special session begins today in Maryland wapo.st/mTwfYj
• AFPMD: Special Session starts today. Share your thoughts here or on Twitter twitter.com/afpmd fb.me/19CT06pXc
  
• mdreporter: Brief, intense special session kicks off with target on Bartlett's back  bit.ly/mTY5aK
• mdreporter: Today's state roundup has lots on all sides of redistricting  bit.ly/rnWHnp
• WTOPinMD Rep. Edwards submits alternative redistricting map bit.ly/qpRaY1 
• postlocal It’s shaping up to be a marathon day of debate over Maryland’s redistricting plan wapo.st/qgoKo9
• AnnieLinskey: Miller predicts that he will be able to get 29 votes in Senate needed to pass O'Ms redistricting map
• AnnieLinskey: Miller says he wants to get initial vote on the redistricting map as early as today in his chamber 
  
• mdreporter: At news conference, O'Malley repeatedly insists his map "is as fair and balanced as we could make it." 
• mdreporter House Spkr Busch says they will start w/h school dist bills while the Sen starts w/Congressional #redistricting. 
• mdreporter: Carletta Fellow of Fannie Lou Hamer PAC says Black Caucus legislators were cajoled into backing gov’s plan. 
  
• mdreporter: Hamer PAC will look to GOP for help funding lawsuit if Gov’s plan passes without 3 minority districts. 
  
• mdreporter: Jeanne Hitchcock: Assures legislators each that their constituents showed up, spoke out, were heard
  
• GreenbeltPatch Asked if he supported raising revenues, possibly in form of increased gas tax, O'Malley says-yes patch.com/A-mVHj
• mdreporter Hitchcock: O'Malley's map reflects changing demographics. 70 of people keep same district, all 8 reps stay in their dist... 
  
• marylandmoment: Marathon debate begins on Md. redistricting: It’s shaping up to be a marathon day of debate in... wapo.st/p8nqDS
• mdreporter Hitchcock: There is no easy way to draw maps, but this is balanced, fair, violates no laws, encompasses spirit of what we want.
  
• mdreporter: Hitchcock: O'Malley's map "meets not only the letter, but the spirit of the voting rights law." 
  
• WTOPinMD: O'Malley calls for state regulatory review bit.ly/nrapPd
  
• mdreporter: O'Malley's chief legislative officer Joe Bryce shares boundaries and areas of the eight districts 
• GazPolitics: Special session kicks off with focus on redistricting: tinyurl.com/62lmca6
• PKBNews: County Exec. Baker is testifying now. Reading statement from iPad.
• mdreporter Rushern Baker: Feel O'Malley's map is very strong for Prince George's County; allows more great representation Capitol Hill. #m…
• mdreporter Leggett: Rep. Edwards is here to testify against map. Baker: one representative favors, one doesn't. Rawlings-Blake: Satisfied.
• mdreporter O'Donnell: AG's office said gov's map in full compliance with Voting Rights Act? Hitchcock: Had an expert consulting with.
• mdreporter Hitchcock: Never been specifically accused of drawing a map in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
  
• mdreporter Hitchcock: Large number of people with no political persuasion came to #redistricting hearings to talk about their communities. 
• mdreporter Nancy Soreng, LWV: Have been trying to change #redistricting process, no success; just a "bizarrely drawn" map. 
• mdreporter McIntosh: Gov's map creates more competitive districts, takes away partisan leanings of districts. 
• mdreporter Howard Gorrell: Base #redistricting lines on geographic and natural boundaries. If that doesn't work, use school districts. 
• mdreporter Anne Rutherford: Ask for the gerrymandering to be taken out. The point was to make the districts cohesive.
  
• mdreporter Rutherford: We should have the proposed #redistricting map first, then months of hearings on that.
• mdreporter Soreng: The way the districts are currently drawn, it may have impacted the ability to have majority minority districts.
  
• PKBNews Rep. Donna Edwards is testifying before the committee.
• UMarlboroPatch A nasty fight is brewing in Annapolis over O'Malley's redistricting plan: patch.com/A-mVQq
• PKBNews Edwards says that no one with certainty can say that the map proposed by O'Malley does not violate the Voting Rights Act.
• mdreporter King: If we go with @repdonnaedwards map, Montgomery County has four districts, Prince George's has three. Does it dilute representatio…
• mdreporter Ramirez: Looking at O'Malley's minority percentages in districts vs. Edwards' minority percentages; where's the big differe…
• MDPolicy Despite vehement minority opposition, seems like #redistricting plan is going through. su.pr/6t5ECq  #MDtweets
  
• mdreporter Barve: In favor of O'Malley's plan. Very much opposed to any proposal split Montgomery County between 4 or more districts #mdpoliti…
• mdreporter: Barve: There may be some in the Indian community that don't like gov's plan, but none of them told him. 
• mdreporter: Barve: If the objective is to empower people from nontraditional backgrounds to seek office, gov's plan meets it very well.
• mdreporter: James Clany: It's time for Anne Arundel County to get what it deserves. It needs to be in its own district. 
  
• mdreporter: Michelle Wichman, Common Cause: Process is flawed. It should involve multiple versions of maps, and more comment periods.
• mdreporter: Wichman: Gov's plan moves more than 30 of people to new districts when population only grew 9, which is confusing.
• mdreporter: Richard Ladd: Map proposed really acts against forming of communities. Here because saying "Ouch."
  
• mdreporter: Ladd: Scale: 1 is everyone's dream, 2 is a fair representation, 3 is not everyone's happy about it. 4 is ouch.
  
• mdreporter: Del. George: Governor's proposed map makes gerrymandered previous maps look good. 
• mdreporter: George: Most constituents see Gov's map for what it is: an embarrassment to good government. 
• mdreporter: Carletta Fellows, Fannie Lou Hamer PAC: State of Maryland is negligent in Voting Rights Act.
  
• mdreporter: Fellows: "This gross miscarriage of justice is something we believe to be institutional racism."
  
• mdreporter: Fellows: Will file a grievance with court if there are not ultimately three majority minority districts.
• mdreporter: Joseph Corbett: Outrageous plan, especially the 3rd district. "What is the rationale?"
  
• mdreporter: Discussion is finished on O'Malley's plan. Now, O'Donnell and Jacobs are presenting the minority plan
• mdreporter: O'Donnell: This map, as compared to the ink-splotted map, looks very very different. 
• mdreporter: Jacobs: You can tell from looking at all three maps we are presenting today, it can be done. We keep communities together.
•  mdreporter: Jacobs: Gov's map is "misguided and rather myopic," designed for a "party headcount" in DC. 
• mdreporter: Jacobs: These bills we are presenting to you today are about fairness across the board. 
• mdreporter: His proposed map meets Voting Rights requirements better than gov's.
• mdreporter: Pipkin is now presenting his map proposal. 
• mdreporter: Pipkin: This map represents community interests instead of a wish list of incumbents.
  
• mdreporter: Sen. Getty: His plan is "10 years ahead of its time." Priority is Western Maryland. 
• mdreporter: Getty: Census numbers are approaching 50 minorities, but gov's plan only has two minority districts. 
• mdreporter: Getty: Why are we meeting the minimum of the Voting Rights Act when we can have a third minority district?
  
• mdreporter: Congressional #redistricting bills are all finished; the committee is now hearing bills on school district redistricting. . 
• mdreporter As the #redistricting hearing wraps up, the Senate committee will caucus, while the House will vote on the school district bills.
• mdreporter: #Redistricting hearing is over.
• AnnieLinskey: Senate Rules Committee meeting to vote on redistricting plan. lockerz.com/s/148018613
• AnnieLinskey: Blurg -- not not the rules committee --the Senate redistricting committee voting now 
• AnnieLinskey: Senate committee votes along party lines to approve govs map. Goes to senate floor. 
• mdreporter: The Senate committee approved O'Malley's plan with a party line vote. Goes to the floor at 6 p.m.
• GreenbeltPatch A coalition declares they will fight O'Malley's plan to redraw #districts, they may even take it to court. patch.com/A-mVQq 
• AnnieLinskey: In what is likely to be a controversial idea, OM considering higher taxes to fund jobs creation. 
• UMarlboroPatch: Senate Committee Approves O'Malley Congressional Map: patch.com/A-mWvm
• AnnieLinskey Senate votes 33-12 to suspend rules so OMs redistricting plan can be voted on this evening ... It could be a late night in the Senate.
• mdchamber: Today's special session update is.gd/o4wmmi
• AnnieLinskey: Senate passes the map on to Second Reader.
• PKBNews: An amendment offered by Senator Pipkin fails 13 to 33.