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October 9, 2020
2020 Election In Focus
The General Election is nearly upon us, and Maryland's voters will have their say on candidates and issues. Conduit Street has your coverage of ballot questions up for approval across many jurisdictions, continuing issues with election administration, as well as where to drop off your own ballot in your county.

Conduit Street Podcast Corner:
On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson break down the latest state revenue projections, examine the role of federal stimulus funds in avoiding a catastrophic economic collapse, and explain why Maryland's better-than-expected fiscal picture may ultimately be at the mercy of federal politics.
Listen to any Conduit Street Podcast Episode: www.mdcounties.org/Podcast
Counties In Action
Council President Brandon Scott and Delegate Robbyn Lewis Work With Volunteers on Clean Up Initiative and Census Count
St. Mary's
St. Mary's Proclaims Oct. 11-17 Case Management Awareness Week, Recognizing Their Role in Care Coordination and Advocacy
Council and Worcester Chapter of the National Federation for the Blind Proclaim Oct. 15 White Cane Awareness Day

Corporate Partner Corner

Planning on planting a tree this fall? Potomac Edison, a MACo Bronze Corporate Partner, offers planting tips that will improve energy efficiency in your home and help you save money!


Smart landscaping can go a long way toward increasing the comfort of your home. Just a few simple considerations when landscaping your home and property can make a big difference in your comfort and the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems:

  • Carefully positioned trees can reduce a household's energy consumption for heating and cooling by up to 25 percent. Computer models devised by the U.S. Department of Energy predict that the proper placement of only three trees can save an average household between $100 and $250 in energy costs annually.
  • On average, a well designed landscape provides enough energy savings to return your initial investment in less than 8 years.
  • Shading of an air conditioner can increase its efficiency by as much as 10 percent.
  • A well-planned landscape can reduce an unshaded home's summer air-conditioning costs by 15 to 50 percent.
  • In open areas, windbreaks to the north, west and east of houses cut fuel consumption by an average of 40 percent. Houses with windbreaks placed only on the windward side (the side from which the wind is coming) averaged 25 percent less fuel consumption than similar, unprotected homes.

Shading

  • Give highest priority to planting shade trees due west of west windows. Planting shade trees due east of east windows should be your second priority. Select a tree that can be planted within twenty feet of the window and that will grow at least ten feet taller than the window. When space permits, use as many trees as needed to create a continuous planting along all major west- and east-facing windows.
  • Contrary to intuition, the least energy efficient place for a tree is to the south of a house. In summer when the sun is high at midday, the shadow of a tree falls directly under the tree and entirely misses a home to its north. In winter, however, the shadow of the same tree will fall on the house throughout most of the day. To avoid shading south windows, any trees south of the home should be located at least twice their mature height away from the house.
  • Any trees on the southwest or southeast sides of the home should be pruned as they grow to remove their lower branches to allow more winter sun through; however, lower branches on trees northwest of the home are desirable to create the most shade in late afternoon. Large deciduous trees very close to the south side of the building can have their lower branches removed to allow more sun to reach the building in winter.

For more tips on energy efficiency, visit Potomac Edison's website.

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