Congressman Andy Harris Refuses To Debate A Challenger, Results Of An Opinion Poll On "Question 4" and "Question 6," and A Report On Redistricting

A new opinon poll has been released in advance of the November elections; this one conducted by the Washington Post. It asked likely voters their opinions on two of the referendums they'll face: "Question 6," which deals with Maryland's law legalizing same-sex marriage, and "Question 4," which deals with the Maryland DREAM Act, a law that would let some undocumented immigrants pay in-state college tuition rates. The poll found support for both measures. 52 percent of those surveyed were in favor of upholding the same-sex marriage law, with 43 percent opposed. The split was even wider for the DREAM Act, with 59 percent in favor of upholding it, and 39 percent opposed. The poll surveyed 843 likely voters; it comes with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. There's more here.

First District Republican Congressman Andy Harris held a town hall meeting in Chester yesterday, and at it, he was challenged to a debate by one of his opponents. Democrat Dr. John LaFerla is running as a write-in candidate in the first; he entered the fray after Democratic Nominee Wendy Rosen dropped out; the state Democratic Party has endorsed LaFerla's candidacy. At yesterday's event meeting, Congressman Harris said he did not feel obligated to debate LaFerla, because the Democrat's name is not technically on the ballot (via our wire service and the Easton Star-Democrat).

Yesterday's release of sex abuse files by the Boy Scouts includes records on 90 cases in Maryland, including 16 in Baltimore. The information contains few details, revealing only the the year the file was created, the location and troop number. The files were released after a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts in 2010, and do not contain any names of victims or the reporters of the abuse (via our wire service, the Baltimore Sun, and the Frederick News Post).  

Maryland voters have an opportunity in this election to get their hands on a widely criticized piece of the political puzzle -- the one called redistricting. On "Question 5" on the ballot, voters can accept or reject the congressional district map drawn largely for incumbents. Critics say its a process in which the politicians choose the voters -- and not the other way around. WYPR Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith reports.

The foreclosure crisis has taken its toll on renters in Baltimore. According to The Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition, from 2009-2011, about 50% of all foreclosures filings were on rental properties. WYPR’s Mary Rose Madden has this report about the realities many face when their landlord is foreclosed upon.

Baltimore public works officials are amending water bills for city schools after some of them were severely overbilled (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Frederick's Board of Aldermen has approved a contract to design improvements for the city's wastewater treatment plant (via the Frederick News Post).

Baltimore is putting in its bid to host the Gold Cup soccer matches next year at M&T Bank Stadium (via our wire service and the Baltimore Business Journal).

Parts of Frederick County's Catoctin Mountain Park will be closed from 11 this morning to about noon on Monday... these are areas near Camp David. An increased security around the presidential retreat is the reason (via the Frederick News Post).

And in sports: the Ravens have an away game on Sunday... in it, they're set to take on the Houston Texans.