I Hate Politics Podcast Sunil Dasgupta

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 singer-songwriter Andrew Glor and his band Drew Pictures.

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 and his band Drew Pictures.

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 performs as Myster Treefrog.

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 Memorial Day music festival back to its downtown. And shutting down a high school greenhouse for the summer. Music from SoulTet and Capital Effect playing at Rockville’s Home Town Holidays.

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 Damascus, MD,-based rapper and music producer Cataclizm: youtube.com/@thereckoning301.