March 2025 Meeting

You can also watch the meeting here!

New People! 

• Jay G. from Town Center

• Karin E. from Oakland Mills, Columbia Association

• Ed F. from Our Rev Montgomery County

• Ashwin 

• Roger D., an environmentalist

• Jonathan from Baltimore County

• Eileen S. from Ellicott City

Treasurer's Reports

• We finally have a SECU business acount

• We are able to make and disperse funds as needed

Stop W.R. Grace Plastics Permit

• Zoning Regulation Amendment CB-11 failed in county council 

• Lisa Krauzs, a member of this committe, is running for Columbia Association in April!

• Community members filed a zoning complaint against W.R. Grace; the Dept. of Planning and Zoning ruled against them.

  • Members are appealing-- appeal on 3/18/25 at 5:30PM at George Howard Building!

• HoCo State Delegate Jen Terrasa introduced 2 state bills to stop project:

  • HB 1058, giving local jurisdictions the right to pass stronger Clean Air bills; and

  • HB 1092, outright banning pyrolysis/chemical recycling.

• Potential Next Step: Getting council members to introduce a local clean air bill!

Palestinian and International Solidarity Committee

News Updates

• As of February, the latest numbers indicate Israel has displaced roughly 40,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel is basically attempting to turn the West Bank into another Gaza.

• On Sunday, the US State Dept ordered non-emergency government personnel to leave South Sudan's capital as tension escalates because of fighting in the north.

• Trump indicated he was weighing revoking the legal status of Ukrainian refugees in the U.S.

• Trump will end the temporary protection status (TPS) of 500,000 Haitians in August.

Upcoming Action

• “From Palestine to the World” march, tentatively scheduled for April 7th / 8th, 2025.

Board of Education Tracking Committee

• The committee is organizing for the right to strike for public sector workers and unions.

  • They want to get state law passed on this no later than 2026 (or 2027 as back-up).

• This is in preparation for the May Day 2028 General Strike. 

• Trying to build a coalition, including organizations, unions, and workers

• About to publish a petition in support of this initiative

Rent Stabilization Coalition

• Rent Stabilization bill officially died on Jan. 16, 2024 after bill sponsor Christiana Rigby failed to show up for Jan. 2 Vote, and her and County Executive Calvin Ball allowed it to die.

• Got a tenant– Paulette Pettiford-Thomas– elected to Oakland Mills Village Board. She just was re-elected.

  • Got the first-ever Tenant Committee created in Oakland Mills Village Board, which had Steering Committee elections at their August 20 meeting.

  • Created the Tenant Committee Charter.

• The fight continues– tenant organizations/tenant unions are on the way!

• Formed a historic first tenant union in Howard County history at Columbia Pointe apartments as well an in Oakland Mills.

  • This even got news coverage!

  • Columbia Pointe Tenant Union held official leadership elections on Dec. 17, 2024

  • They also have a Pizza/Game Night this Friday at 6 PM.

• Aim is to create the next tenant union at Fall’s River Terrace in Harper’s Choice, and...

• Have tenants planned to run for CA and Village Board elections in Owen Brown, Harper’s Choice, and Dorsey’s Search.

Columbia Association

• Know how your annual charge is being spent. According to the FY24 Budget 58.6% of CA’s budget is from the annual charge. 

• Only 28.3% of residents have a pool or gym membership. 

• Is a stream restoration coming to your neighborhood? Check out what happened to residents in Longfellow. 

• Follow "Protect Our Streams Columbia" on Facebook.

• Last meeting they tried to cut off resident speak-out. Resident speak-out was not available for the March 13th meeting. One board member cancelled it without even consulting the board. 

• Subscribe to Kat Uy’s substack at katuy.substack.com. Kat is running for Wilde Lake CA Rep.

Supporting Our Trans Community

• Trump’s Executive Orders have been relentlessly targeting transgender community. 

• HoCo’s Moms for Liberty has also been attacking the school system’s efforts to protect LGBTQ students.

• HCPSS’ response to Executive Orders threatening funding, has been timid.

• Ying asked the question: "what can you do to support our trans community?"

Committees / Ways to Get Involved

• Help work on our website

• Columbia Association activities and elections 

• Palestine Solidarity efforts

• Tenant Associations & rent stabilization efforts

• Union Solidarity Efforts

• Anti-Moms for Liberty Efforts

• Stop W.R. Grace Plastic Permit Workgroup

• Google Form to Sign up for Committee Interest (including capacity for 1:1s!):

  • County Legislation Committee

  • Board of Education Tracking  and Public Worker Right to Strike Committee

  • State Legislation/Issues Committee

  • Electoral Committee: Help to Recruit Candidates and Campaign for Endorsed Candidates

  • Community Visibility/Outreach Committee

  • Direct Service Committee

  • Social Event Committee

What We've Been Up To

• Potential response op-ed to Pro-$140 Million Lakefront Library article in the Baltimore Banner in the Works

• Got someone to help manage our chapter account social media! (Iman!)

• New member created a website for us! (Lexie!)

• Signal and Discord Chats for General Members– Still a Work in Progress!

• Bank account created 

  • Have funding for food and social media advertising budget for February meeting, and future meetings!

• More professional microphone and speaker set-up now in use to improve in-person and virtual meeting experience.

• Coming Soon: Official Chapter By-Laws!

Calls for Help

• Helping Iman manage our social media, brainstorm, and execute social media campaigns

• Volunteering and tabling for us at events.

• Volunteering for onboarding.

• Volunteering for planning of monthly social events.

• Joining a committee!

• Annual Chapter Elections are coming up in May– run for a position!

Professor Claire Dunning then delivered a discussion on the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, whereafter the meeting was adjourned. For that, watch the meeting.