Goal Maryland

The Politics of Law…

GOAL!Maryland — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:37:03 +0000

Now that the General Assembly session is officially closed for the summer, the possibility of DC United coming to Maryland is stuck hanging like a wet bathing suit on a clothesline, and instead, sunny skies are opening for a different prospect: a special report on WashingtonPost.com noted that we may end up with a new law school in its place. Recently, a study was inserted into the state’s budget to look into the potentiality of building a new branch of the University of Baltimore’s law school in PG County. The report is to be submitted to the legislature by September 1.
No offense, but there are already a multitude of law schools in the greater D.C. area, not to mention an overflow of unemployed lawyers in this economy. What we need now, at least, is to generate more revenue for the state, not for a private organization that will take its graduates 3 years after the buildings are completed to even start thinking about aiding the community. But that’s just my opinion.

United Rolls

GOAL!Maryland — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:24:49 +0000

United players Ben Olsen and Devon McTavish will be at the White House today for the annual Easter Egg Roll.

They’ll be reading to kids, playing soccer with them and signing autographs. This is the kind of community outreach United players do all the time, and it was the kind of thing they were hoping to do more often in Prince George’s County. But even though they’ll be playing elsewhere, we hope they’ll still be able to reach out to the children of Prince George’s County once and a while, because they do great work in the community.

Horse Racing VS Soccer

GOAL!Maryland — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:26:59 +0000

There’s an interesting take on the whole soccer stadium issue over at The Baltimore Sun.

They make the argument that if Governor O’Malley can seek eminent domain (and in the process spend tens of millions) of to save a dying industry (horse racing), what’s the problem with spending a couple hundred thousand to explore the potential economic benefits of MLS soccer? It’s a great question, but unfortunately we’ll never know, at least not for Prince George’s County.

As we blogged about yesterday, it’s time to move on and focus on another Maryland location for our beloved United.

Still Scratching Our Heads

GOAL!Maryland — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:12:03 +0000

Well, by now you’ve probably heard the news, but in case you haven’t, United’s move to Prince George’s County was effectively killed by the County Council. We think it’s strange that they refused to at least learn the facts before they made up their minds, but that’s life. We need to move on.

The jockeying has already begun among neighboring counties who want United, with Montgomery and Frederick being named and I suspect we’ll hear something soon. Stay tuned….

One More Push

GOAL!Maryland — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:37:25 +0000

As we’ve all heard by now, Monday’s vote on HB 1282 passed 17-7, but was sent back due to a technicality. We need to make one more push, so here’s what to do.

We really need your help!

D.C. United Study Bill Approved by House Committee

GOAL!Maryland — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:33:47 +0000

From the Washington Post Maryland Moment Blog:

By a vote of 17 to 7, the House Appropriations Committee has given a favorable vote to a bill allowing the Maryland Stadium Authority to study the feasibility and economic cost of building a soccer stadium in Prince George’s County for D.C. United. But first committee members further amended the bill to reconfirm–really, truly, they mean it– that nothing in the measure would obligate the state to spend a dime more than the study nor commit the state to ultimately building the stadium.

It is not yet clear if the full House intends to attempt to take the bill up twice before the end of the day, as would be necessary for the body to give approval to the bill before tonight’s crossover deadline. After tonight, bills that pass one chamber are not guaranteed a hearing before the other chamber. D.C. United President Kevin Payne said he believes the study, which Stadium Authority officials estimated would cost $150,000 to $200,000, is a good idea. “We hope everyone will agree it makes sense to spend a little time to find out if it makes sense. That’s all we ask.”

This is great news, but it is only the first step. There’s a lot of work to go still. The next thing we need to focus on is call Prince George’s County Council. Vamos United!

ALERT!

GOAL!Maryland — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:42:58 +0000

House Bill 1282 will be voted on tomorrow, Monday March 30th, at 11am! Start calling the House Appropriations Committee and tell them you support the bill and United in Prince George’s County! Click here for the list of who to call.

The Season Is Upon Us!

GOAL!Maryland — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:40:45 +0000

We were so close to taking the opener in LA, but at least we got outta there with the tie and a point. There’s another chance for a W this Saturday when we take on the Chicago Fire at RFK.

When you go to the game on Saturday, take a look around. As much as we all love RFK, it really is beginning to show it’s age. You all have done an amazing job so far, but we need to continue our efforts to let our elected officials know that we support a new stadium in Prince George’s County.

Video of Rally

GOAL!Maryland — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:20:56 +0000

Thanks!

GOAL!Maryland — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:10:56 +0000

Thank you all very much for coming to the rally yesterday! We had a great time, and the march up the hill was the talk of the town. We’re editing some footage and should have a short video clip up later today. Thanks again!