Maryland based WoW Forever guild that values friendship over the meta? Come join Maryland Mayhem! This is a free community/club group.

Our goal is to build an inclusive community where we enjoy Azeroth together without sweaty expectations or treating the game like a second job.

⚔️ What We Offer

• Casual questing, leveling, and dungeon groups
• A welcoming environment for new and returning players
• Teamwork without pressure to chase the meta
• An active Discord community
• Monthly in-person meetups across Maryland!

🤝 More Than Just a Gaming Community

We believe community shouldn't stop when you log off. Maryland Mayhem brings gamers together both online and in real life, with monthly meetups designed to help members make genuine friendships beyond the screen.

📅 Tentative 2027 Meetup Schedule

• January: Frederick
• February: Harford County
• March: Anne Arundel County
• April: Montgomery County (MoCo)
• May: Community-voted beach meetup before summer break
• June: Potential Rehoboth Beach weekend
• July: Baltimore / Baltimore County
• August: Frederick
• September: Harford County
• October: Anne Arundel County
• November: Montgomery County (MoCo)
• December: Baltimore / Baltimore County

Meetup locations and plans are tentative and may change. Expanding this list to further parts of MD as we grow.

Our philosophy: People over performance. Play the class you enjoy, respect everyone's time, and remember that real life comes first.

💬 Interested in finding your people in Azeroth and beyond? Comment below or message me for an invite!

Maryland Mayhem — Less pressure, more adventure. Let's play together, online and IRL!

Title says it all really. Try to make a plan for Wednesday, Thursday, or Tuesday to go vote!

My apologies if this isn't a good place to ask. I don't understand how doctors / insurance / healthcare works (despite currently having insurance), and this has always been a large knowledge gap, for me.

"Why are you considering being uninsured"

Student loans are entering repayment ($350/mo, on an income-based plan) and the math ain't mathin' to make it work. My health insurance is probably the fixed cost that I can most imagine dropping. If I took the amount I spend on the monthly premium ($230), and reduce both my savings (currently $90/mo) and "fun money" buckets (currently 120/mo) a little bit, I can squeeze in the student loan payment.

"So ... just drop it, then"

I take three blood pressure meds, and have for several years. I'm working on lifestyle changes with the eventual goal of no longer needing them, but I'm not there yet, and I know I shouldn't just stop taking them. My prescriptions are written for 90-day supplies, and Kaiser Permanente handles pretty much everything in-house. I doubt my current Kaiser doctor would continue prescribing for me if I were no longer a Kaiser member.

"Okay so go to a clinic or something, they have sliding-scale pay if you're strapped"

That's actually what's prompting me to write this! I make about $50k, so I assume I probably earn too much to qualify for financial assistance. I called a Chase Brexton location near me and was quoted around $450 out of pocket for a doctor's visit. I can't imagine paying that every 90 days just to maintain my prescriptions. That's wild, and I think actually more expensive than just sticking with Kaiser.

Ideally, I'd like to continue my current medications at their current dosages and reassess my insurance options during the next open enrollment period. But I need a doctor to prescribe them, and I'm not sure how to manage that without insurance.

"Have you considered making more money"

I have, and I feel fortunate to have picked up a part-time (seasonal) job that started a couple weeks ago. However, it's fairly physical work and I'm not sure how physically sustainable it is for me. The window for sleep is ... narrow. I've done periods balancing multiple jobs, in the past, but I'm much older now (38), and I've come to enjoy having, like, a social life.

"I ain't reading all that"

Fair. For those more familiar with Maryland's healthcare system: are there budget-friendly options for maintaining prescriptions without insurance, given my income (a little over 50k)? I'm not really concerned with the cost of the drugs, but rather the cost / method of getting the prescription written in the first place. Any advice appreciated.

Western shore

We are #1 in highest share of individual income tax toward the total state budget (36%)

Ok...just very simply

Is there anyway that Republicans in the future will be able to use this to their advantage if the measure is approved?

I will now sit back and listen to your answer. I am predicting the answer is going to be yes?

Ghosts, goblins, and pumpkins

title, on college campus in a different county and wondering if i can take my absentee ballot to a dropbox near me instead of a one in my county, or should i just mail it?

Hagerstown’s Mayor, City Council, and city administrator are asking residents to comment on an annexation tied to data center development while operating under the City’s nondisclosure agreement with Diversified Capital, the company behind the project. As we previously reported, the City has refused to provide that agreement to us, despite our Maryland Public Information Act request.

Both Washington County and Hagerstown officials met privately with Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin on December 9, 2025, in separate closed-door meetings. As we documented in our reporting, Hagerstown’s minutes place Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin with the Mayor, City Council, and senior City staff. The County’s minutes identify Rubin and other project representatives at its confidential presentation, which officials said was covered by an NDA.

Now, at the Tuesday, October 27 hearing, residents are being asked to weigh in while the City continues withholding its agreement with the developer, and officials cannot get their story straight about who is responsible for keeping it from the public. That meeting also includes approximately $30.6 million in proposed wastewater contracts that sewer customers would help fund. Residents should be able to examine the City’s commitments and understand the potential costs before officials make further decisions. We reviewed the 567-page agenda packet and identified ten things residents should know. Page numbers below refer to that packet.

1. The agenda leaves the final annexation vote date undetermined

The proposal would bring 171.88 acres at 12440 Burkholder Lane and 12660 McDade Road into Hagerstown with Industrial Mixed-Use zoning. The annexation plan anticipates extending City water to the Burkholder parcel. Staff scheduled a November 10 follow-up discussion, but the proposed resolution leaves its passage and effective dates “To be determined.”

Why it matters: Annexation would put the properties under City land-use rules and advance plans to provide City water. Residents need a clear voting schedule and answers about the data center’s demands before that decision is made. November 10 is listed as a discussion, not a confirmed final vote.

2. Data center development drives this annexation, but only one of 567 pages mentions data centers

On page 97, the packet reproduces the hearing ad placed through a local news outlet with a paywalled website. It describes the acreage and proposed zoning without mentioning the data center development or its anticipated use of City water. The only page we found mentioning data centers is page 247, a Fidelity Power Systems sales sheet advertising “Data Center Cleaning.” Someone searching for an explanation of the development would find a contractor’s marketing material.

Why it matters: Residents should not have to follow our reporting to understand why these properties are being brought into Hagerstown. Leaving the development out of the notice and annexation explanation makes it harder for people to recognize what is at stake and prepare informed comments.

3. The sewer spending could matter as much as the annexation

The hearing shares an agenda with major wastewater spending. A five-year, $52.9 million improvement program lists $49.5 million in planned borrowing and $3.4 million from the wastewater fund. Sewer customers’ payments would help repay the borrowing. The plan also notes $3 million in loan forgiveness within the state financing, so that portion would not need to be repaid.

Why it matters: Borrowing lets the City pay for work now and repay it over time through the sewer system’s revenues, including customers’ bills. Residents need to know what these upgrades would cost them and whether any work would accommodate data center development. The funding page provides no household bill estimate.

4. The wastewater funding plan lists no developer contribution

The five-year wastewater program lists $0 under “Grant or Devel”, the category for grant or developer funding. Its listed sources are borrowing and the wastewater fund, with $3 million in loan forgiveness noted separately within the state financing. No direct developer contribution is budgeted in that table.

Why it matters: If any upgrades are needed to serve data centers, existing sewer customers need protection from paying costs those developments create. Officials should identify the projects these investments would serve and explain what developers would contribute. Any developer payments through connection fees or separate agreements should also be disclosed.

5. Major wastewater contracts could pass together without separate discussion

The Council could authorize approximately $30.6 million through one consent agenda vote, which groups purchases together unless a councilmember requests separate discussion. Page 101.

The proposed authorizations include Carl Belt: $27.73 million, including a $3 million reserve for unexpected costs, and Black & Veatch: $2.84 million for construction engineering and oversight through an amendment to its existing treatment plant contract. The City proposes adding that work without a new competition, citing the firm’s knowledge of the plant. Pages 311–315 and 351.

As we previously reported, Black & Veatch’s January 22, 2026 master-plan proposal included additional “Data Center Owner’s Advisor” services for Hagerstown and Washington County, addressing water demand, cooling wastewater, electricity and siting. The March 24 agenda presented the $2,790,365 master-plan project with that proposal attached. By July, City paperwork said the project had begun.

Our reporting also documented Washington County consultant Greg Murray billing for a meeting with a Hagerstown representative and reviews of Black & Veatch materials. His invoice does not identify the documents or discussions. Black & Veatch also advertises private data center work, including two 300-megawatt substations, and campus services covering water and power.

Why it matters: The City moved forward with a master-plan project whose proposal explicitly included data center advice. It should identify which services it purchased, release the approved scope and explain whether the October plant work reflects data center demand. Those answers deserve public discussion before another multimillion-dollar commitment passes with a list of purchases.

6. The City claims enough water is available without showing the development’s demand

The proposed annexation covers 171.88 acres overall, but the annexation plan identifies the Burkholder parcel at issue for water service as 148.77 acres. For the 148.77 acre Burkholder parcel, the annexation plan states: “Sufficient capacity exists to serve the property.” But the annexation materials do not provide a project-specific estimate of water use, cooling assumptions, or calculations showing how the anticipated development fits within available capacity.

Why it matters: That assurance is hard to evaluate without knowing how many gallons per day the City assumed or how much water is already committed elsewhere. The City should publish the study behind its conclusion and explain whether it accounts for the scale and cooling design of the proposed data center.

Read the other six reasons to demand answers at tonight's Hagerstown’s data center annexation hearing here: https://blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com/p/12-reasons-to-demand-answers-at-hagerstowns-data-center-annexation-hearing-on-tuesday-october-27