We're back with another special edition of the Conduit Street Podcast, with the MACo team taking up several issues from this month's headlines, and trying to sort out which are the real stories (news) and which are more smoke than fire (noise).

Hosts Kevin Kinnally, Michael Sanderson, and Dominic Butchko talk through data centers, special session rumors, property taxes, bond rating agencies, and more... and pin down what you need to know about all these topics in a fast-moving chat through multiple hot topics.

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In Episode 3 of The Briefing Room, Maryland’s energy picture comes into sharper focus. Host Dom Butchko is joined by Public Service Commission Chair Kumar Barve to unpack one of the biggest questions facing the state: where does our power actually come from?

From fossil fuels and renewables to nuclear power and imported electricity, the conversation cuts through the complexity of Maryland’s energy portfolio and gets into the real-world tradeoffs behind each source. Power plants, transmission lines, solar fields, data centers, and rising demand all land somewhere, and each shapes communities, budgets, land use, and local politics for years.

This episode explores the pressures driving Maryland’s energy debate and the practical takeaways county leaders need to understand as the state plans for what comes next.

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This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson break down the recent vendor issue involving Maryland's mail-in ballots for the June 23 gubernatorial primary and walk through what county officials and voters need to know moving forward.

The conversation explains how Maryland's election system is structured, why the State Board of Elections decided to send replacement ballots, what safeguards exist to prevent duplicate voting, and why counties are not expected to absorb the costs tied to replacement efforts.

Our dynamic duo also shed light on the role county governments actually play in election administration, the importance of maintaining public confidence in elections, and how misinformation and social media reactions can quickly complicate public understanding of election issues.

Plus, hear takeaways from MACo's recent membership conversation with State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis and where voters should go for trusted updates.

Tune in for a practical conversation focused on process, transparency, and separating fact from fiction during a rapidly developing election story.

Show Notes:

Mail-In Ballot Questions: What Is the County Government's Role? – Conduit Street

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In Episode 2 of The Briefing Room’s energy series, Dom Butchko sits down with Jason Stanek, Executive Director of Governmental Services at PJM Interconnection, to unpack the role of energy regions in Maryland’s power future.

The conversation breaks down what PJM is, how it works with states and local governments, why the interconnection queue has drawn so much attention, and what improvements are underway.

The episode also looks ahead to the future of the regional grid, including where new generation, transmission, reliability, and demand pressures may shape the next phase of the energy conversation.

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In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, host Dom Butchko sits down with Senator Sara Love for a wide-ranging conversation on public service, legislative strategy, and the issues shaping Maryland policy. Senator Love discusses her path to elected office, her approach to preparation and legislating, and the priorities that guide her work in Annapolis. The conversation also explores her leadership on environmental issues, including forest conservation, lithium-ion battery safety, stream restoration, and PFAS, with a closer look at what PFAS are and how her recent legislation seeks to address them.

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This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Dominic Butchko sit down with Dr. Mileah Kromer, director of the Institute of Politics at UMBC, to break down the latest UMBC Poll releases and what they reveal about Maryland voters heading into the 2026 election cycle.

The conversation covers affordability pressures, trust in government, public safety, confidence in institutions, and how Marylanders view the direction of both the state and the Baltimore region. They also dig into how much attention residents pay to state and local government, what polling can — and cannot — tell us, and how opinions shifted between statewide polling in March and Baltimore-focused polling in April.

And yes, they also make time for Orioles baseball, regional identity, and whether Marylanders agree more on sports than politics right now.

Tune in for a wide-ranging conversation on polling, public opinion, government trust, and the issues shaping Maryland politics and county government in 2026

UMBC Poll: https://politics.umbc.edu/umbcpoll/

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The Conduit Street Podcast is launching something new.

Introducing The Briefing Room, a new limited series designed to take a deeper dive into the complex policy issues shaping Maryland’s counties. In this first episode, host Dominic Butchko kicks off a multi-part series on energy policy, starting with the fundamentals: how the system works, who the key players are, and why it matters for local governments.

Joined by Maryland Energy Administration Director Kelly Speakes-Backman and Section Chief for Climate Programs and State Policy in Montgomery County, Garrett Fitzgerald, the conversation breaks down the often-overlooked structure of energy generation, transmission, and regulation, and unpacks the growing tension among affordability, reliability, and local priorities.

From rising energy costs to land use conflicts and the expanding role of data centers, this episode sets the stage for a deeper look at one of the most pressing policy areas facing counties today.

New episodes of our limited series, The Briefing Room, drop on Tuesdays.

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This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, longtime hosts Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson are "back in the saddle" with a post-session "news or noise" breakdown of what really mattered, and what didn't, from Maryland's 2026 legislative session.

From a quieter-than-usual budget process to major issues left unresolved, the duo sorts through big-picture takeaways and what counties should be watching next. Does late-session floor drama actually matter? And why are data centers, energy costs, and disaster response quickly rising to the top of the policy agenda?

They also dig into a critical question for counties: how prepared is Maryland to respond to major emergencies as federal support becomes less certain, and why building a reliable, state-backed system is becoming a front-burner issue.

Listen in for a fast-paced, practical conversation on what's next for Maryland policy, and what it means for counties heading into 2027.

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