Defending data centers, Hogan goes to college, the Black Caucus wants your input

At least one Maryland union is taking a hard line against political candidates that oppose data center development.

In an open letter issued last week, Sidney Bonilla, business manager for the Steamfitters UA Local 602 wrote that his union, which represents 6,100 steamfitters throughout the Washington D.C. area, won’t be providing any political — or financial — support to anti-data center candidates and elected officials.

It comes as many of Maryland’s largest counties have adopted temporary data center moratoriums of varying lengths, many over one year. In Harford County, the ban has no expiration date.

In his letter, Bonilla called it an “existential moment for Local 602 and the broader building trades,” who have worked on cooling systems for data centers since the 1990s, “long before ‘the cloud’ or ‘artificial intelligence’ became household terms,” Bonilla wrote.

“If data center development across our region comes to a halt, several thousand Local 602 members will be out of work. That is not a minor policy disagreement. That is a catastrophic economic blow to thousands of working-class households across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia,” Bonilla wrote.

We don’t have to start calling him professor, do we?

Just because he’s not running for office again doesn’t mean he’s going away. Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) will be one of the featured speakers, with former Delaware Gov. John Carney (D), at the first public event hosted by the Hogan Institute at Washington College.

The event is scheduled at 5 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Decker Theatre on the Chestertown campus, and will be moderated by Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, a former aide to Hogan who served as his secretary of Natural Resources in his second term. The event is free and open to the public.

The two former governors are slated to talk about “bipartisan efforts to manage the environment,” in keeping with the institute’s stated goal of nonpartisanship and promoting “leadership rooted in character, respect for our institutions, and the discipline to work with people who see things differently in pursuit of the common good.”

The eponymous institute was announced by Hogan at the college’s 2026 spring commencement, and already had staff and an advisory board by July.

Other institute events this fall, perhaps not surprisingly, are laced with former Hogan associates and subordinates. A Sept. 17 event on “Crisis Communications in a Divided America,” will feature Len Foxwell and former Hogan communications director Mike Ricci, while an Oct. 13 session on communications inside a governor’s office and across state governments will feature former Hogan chief of staff Amelia Alcivar and Clark Mercer, a chief of staff to former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

Besides speaking at the Sept. 10 event, Hogan and Carney will visit classes, meet with faculty and students, and visit the Washington College Center for the Environment and Society, joined by former Hogan Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles.

Hollywood in D.C.

Actresses Holly Robinson Peete and Tiffany Haddish and Washington Wizards basketball player Bub Carrington will be part of a panel discussion on the first day of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C.

Joining them as part of the event called “Hollywood & Mind On Location” will be Vincent Harrington, director of Young Men and Boys, Partnerships and Engagement in the Maryland Governor’s Office for Children. Harrington previously served as a political director for Gov. Wes Moore (D) and executive director of the state’s Democratic Party.

The discussion will focus on improving mental health in the Black community by collaborating with those in the entertainment industry, healthcare professionals and advocates. Some of the topics will include media narratives, cultural healing and redefining resilience among Black men and boys.

However, if you want to attend, tickets are $65.

The foundation, a nonprofit organization that conducts policy research and implements programs advocated by the Black Caucus, will host its 55th annual legislative conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center under the theme “Rooted, Ready and Rising.” The conference typiically attracts tens of thousands of people to Washington, D.C., including elected officials, community leaders and experts in education, health and voting rights.

Community input

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland is already working on a list of priorities for the 2027 legislative session, but it’s not working in a vaccuum: The caucus wants some community input.

The four-question online survey include identifying the most pressing issues affecting a community that should be addressed on the state level, and any specific issues, ideas, or legislative proposals to be included in the caucus’ priority agenda.

The deadline for submission is Sept. 17.

During this year’s 90-day session, the caucus helped lead passage on major pieces of legislation signed into law such as youth auto charging, the state’s Voting Rights Act and the creation of a commission to study the history of Black youth at a former reform school in Prince George’s County.