Ben Groff

Public Affairs, Funk & Bolton | Maryland Policy & Politics | Communications | Media Production | [email protected]

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Having knocked doors here throughout the 2010s this is long overdue and great to see!

[BUILD MORE HOUSING! @Dartagan_Llore]

The Baltimore comeback is real! 🦀🏗️🔥

O'Donnell Heights turned into Key's Pointe.

$29 million+ mixed-income redevelopment called Key's Pointe, 900+ mixed-income townhomes and apartments, bringing new public roads, outdoor fitness circuits, and green spaces to the area.

[Secretary Jake Day @jacobrday]

If you are wondering in a decade what happened to the economies of once prosperous northeast blue states, look back at this post. The more rapidly we transform our process for approving housing, the better chance we have of avoiding this future.

[Justin Fenton @justin_fenton]

And now the state of Maryland discloses how much it settled its case with the now-criminally charged operator of the ship that struck the Key Bridge: $2.25 billion. Story to come

[PJM Interconnection @pjminterconnect]

PJM Interconnection today announced that 811 new generation projects, capable of generating 220 gigawatts of electricity, have applied to connect to the grid through the first Cycle of PJM’s reformed interconnection process. This marks the first major intake under a redesigned approach focused on improving the certainty, speed and discipline of project review. More at https://t.co/vEEVN7gqUg

[Hayden @the_transit_guy]

While we've seen great transformation in Detroit, I'd like to point out that the number of vacant homes in Baltimore has decreased by 25% in the five years of Mayor Scott's tenure. Never bet against America's cities.

[Tuki @TukiFromKL]

the CATO Institute.. a libertarian think tank funded by the Koch brothers.. just published a study showing immigrants paid more in taxes than they received in benefits every single year from 1994 to 2023..

not a left-wing university.. not a Democratic PAC.. the Koch brothers' own research institute..

they reduced the deficit by $14.5 trillion over 30 years.. they earn less per hour but work at higher rates.. which means higher per capita income.. which means higher taxes paid..

the country spent 30 years being told immigrants were draining the system.. turns out they were funding it.. and the people who told you that knew the numbers the whole time

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Good and correct message from the Gov here

[Wes Moore @iamwesmoore]

Democrats don’t have a messaging problem. We have a results problem.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

A lot to be said for this

[Hasan Nazar @hasannazar]

My hot take: Democratic administrations have been too quick to bench practitioners out of a misplaced fear of the optics of regulatory capture. I’m unconvinced voters care — and in exchange, you forgo expertise that would materially improve implementation.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Something that I think is happening, but have no way to prove, is that the proliferation of AI-written text is affecting how people write even if they themselves don't use AI. It's affecting the general voice that people model in professional communications.

[Liam Davis @LiamFD]

I’m actively reviewing Baltimore City’s preliminary FY27 budget and one of the more striking datasets is the City’s income tax revenue grew north of 12% over the past year. That’s massive growth and nearly double the statewide average.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

@eric_hontz Do you think if we had Class A office space downtown we'd get some office tenants back? Or is residential the only way to go for these properties? I like residential just like seeing mixed uses too.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Going to therapy later. Mostly talk about work, the existential strain of my industry dying early in my peak income producing years.

[_s.a.m.e.m.e.m.e_ @st_louis_stan]

"Millennial Tony Soprano isn't real, Millennial Tony Sorprano can't hurt me"

Millennial Tony Soprano:

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

https://t.co/pWKQDRZ6th

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

I had no idea San Diego has a huge desalination plant that makes so much water they are selling it. 50 million gallons a day. Built in the 2010s for $1 billion.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Ashburn, we have a problem

[Steve Morris @stevemorris__]

Wow. Voters in Virginia, which has the highest concentration of data centers on the *planet*, have swung 69 points away from supporting data centers in three years

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Seems fairly significant

[Thomas Hochman @ThomasHochman]

Vibe shift: @NRDC just called for permitting reform

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Not that it means anything in particular, but these numbers keep moving.

Senate control after 2026
- Polymarket - 56% Dem
- Kalshi - 53% Dem
- PredictIt - 53% Dem

Talarico's odds so far aren't moving and/or are going the wrong way.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Democratic Party odds of winning the Senate keep improving. Polymarket now gives Dems a 52% chance, with Kalshi and PredictIt at 48% and 47%. Sabato and Cook both show Dems needing to win all toss ups and two more R-held seats, like Ohio, Alaska, and/or Texas.

[Ben Groff @BenjaminGroff]

Let's find the one old school Baltimore guy or gal who cancels their Baltimore Banner subscription just because its parent company acquired the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[Governor Wes Moore @GovWesMoore]

In January, I led a coalition of Democratic and Republican governors to the White House to call for energy reform. We called on PJM to cap the price of energy, and in February, they extended that cap through the end of the decade.

It’s projected to save 67 million Americans – including millions of Marylanders – an additional $27 billion on their energy bills, over $400 for customers.

But we need to do more.

We’re pushing every lever at our disposal to put more money in people's pockets and holding big companies accountable, and I’m thankful that Democrats and Republicans in Annapolis have come together to deliver this win for Marylanders.

[Michael J. Miraflor @michaelmiraflor]

This was actually a New York Mag article explaining/coining “The Poverty Elite” called Let Them Eat Crab Cakes that imho is the best at explaining what working in Media was like at the height of print empires, before Facebook and digital platform gatekeeping eventually destroyed them in the 2010s. Working in Media was a glamorous hustle.

Top 10 pantheon article of all time for me. For the accuracy of how life once was for ambitious young people surviving but also thriving off of <$30K in NYC because of fringe benefits and entry level infiltration into elite culture circles. It’s not like this anymore.