MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 17, 2023
Suddenly, Maine’s population growth is booming, outpacing the national average for the first time in decades. The reversal is the result of a once-in-a-century pandemic that led a lot of people to reconsider what they want out of life. It’s time for us to take advantage. Most of the growth has come from people searching for a safer, quieter, more community-centered place to live. No one moved to Maine in the last few years because taxes or welfare were cut, or because businesses were allowed to pollute or mistreat workers. As the climate crisis brings high heat and more frequent storms to other parts of the country, people may continue to look to Maine for respite. We need housing so that more people can live affordably. We need to improve and expand our public parks, trails and downtowns. We need to manage growth so that we’re not overwhelmed by traffic, or see our towns pulled apart by sprawl.