CMP Parent Company Says Maine Supreme Court Should Bar November Vote On Powerline Project

MAINE PUBLIC • August 5, 2020

Maine’s highest court heard oral arguments Wednesday on whether voters should get a chance to force state regulators to revoke their approval of Central Maine Power's controversial powerline project. Project opponents successfully petitioned earlier this year to get the question on November's ballot. But now CMP's parent company, Avangrid, says the court should bar the vote, arguing that it would be unconstitutional for voters to override the Public Utilities Commission's decision. 

Industry Heavyweights To Invest In UMaine Offshore Wind Project Near Monhegan Island

MAINE PUBLIC • August 5, 2020

The University of Maine's effort to pioneer floating offshore wind technology took a $100 million leap forward Wednesday with the announcement that two industry heavyweights are going to invest in development of the project near Monhegan Island. A subsidiary of the Mitsubishi company, called Diamond Offshore Wind, is joining with RWE Renewables to invest the $100 million to build and deploy a full-scale, floating wind farm at the site, about 14 miles off Maine's coast. The new company, called New England Aqua-Ventus, will collaborate with the University of Maine composites program that was the incubator for the project's unique floating-platform technology.

Warming oceans, acidification hurt lobsters’ ability to cope with stress, disease

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2020

Lobsters living in ocean water as warm and acidic as the Gulf of Maine is expected to be by the end of this century will be less able to cope with stress or fight off disease, according to University of Maine researchers studying the impacts of the gulf’s changing environment. The Gulf of Maine has been warming rapidly as the deep-water currents that feed it have shifted. It has warmed faster than anyplace else on the planet since 2004, except for an area northeast of Japan.

Column: Witnessing the wonders of wildlife

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 5, 2020

My husband and I are experiencing a baby boomlet of sparrows. At times, they rule the yard. It is part of a wider phenomenon I’m calling “the summer of wildlife.” This is the first time in my life that I’ve kept a list of wildlife sightings. Maybe I have too much time on my hands? Though we always hike in natural places in the summer, it’s all we’ve been doing this year. There have been none of our usual trips to art museums, movie matinees or quaint villages, for lunch and shopping. So it’s probably not surprising that I’m seeing more wildlife. ~ Liz Soares

Letter: Replenishing land program should be Augusta priority

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 4, 2020

On Aug. 4, the Great American Outdoors Act became law, guaranteeing $900 million annually for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and sorely needed funding for national parks. This huge bipartisan victory for public lands will result in more public outdoor spaces that benefit all walks of life and support a vibrant economy. Maine should follow suit by replenishing the Land for Maine’s Future program. If state legislators reconvene for a special session, I urge them to pass L.D. 911  to put LMF on the November ballot. ~ Melanie Sturm, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Brunswick

UMaine enlists 2 companies to provide $100 million for offshore wind project

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2020

The University of Maine has enlisted two prominent renewable energy companies to provide $100 million in funding for the school’s offshore wind demonstration project about two miles south of Monhegan Island. The project, which is expected to be completed in 2023, will be 14 miles offshore and consist of a single concrete floating platform that supports a 10–12 megawatt wind turbine. The two companies that are providing funding for the project are Diamond Offshore Wind, a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corp., and RWE Renewables, the second largest company in offshore wind globally. Under a joint venture called New England Aqua Ventus LLC, they will also lead the construction, deployment and operations of the turbine.

Maine’s high court wrestles with lawsuit holding major implications for CMP corridor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2020

Maine’s high court wrestled on Wednesday with arguments in a lawsuit aiming to stop a November vote on a question aiming to kill Central Maine Power’s controversial hydropower corridor proposal that could have major implications for the project’s path. At stake is more than the $1 billion project and a high-dollar campaign being waged against the possibly unconstitutional referendum by CMP and Hydro-Quebec, the province-owned utility. The case tests the power of Mainers to overrule state regulators and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s typical unwillingness to wade into political disputes during an election.

New regulations could protect Moosehead Lake’s shore-spawning brookies

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2020

We spend a lot of time on Moosehead Lake each year collecting data and talking to anglers. We don’t take management decisions lightly, nor do we make them in a vacuum. The lake is important to a lot of people, including recreational anglers, those who ice fish, those who open- water fish and those who value and appreciate nature. The river fisheries are also affected by management decisions for the lake. I believe we are bringing forward a great regulation package proposal that will find the right balance of adding necessary protections for these big fish without stifling the trout fishing or creating confusing and convoluted regulations. ~ Tim Obrey, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

UMaine Extension invites gardeners to contribute best practices photos

TURNER PUBLISHING • August 5, 2020

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is inviting Maine gardeners to contribute personal photos demonstrating best horticultural practices — from creative trellising to ingenious ways of deterring hungry wildlife — as a resource in a new virtual demonstration garden. Photos should be high-quality image files that focus on subjects that can educate and inspire viewers. Categories include fruit trees and small fruits, garden design and maintenance, school and community gardens, seed starting and propagation, and conservation practices. Submissions will be reviewed and selections will be shared on the UMaine Extension My Maine Garden webpage and social media.

Outsiders Club resumes activities according to CDC guidelines

TURNER PUBLISHING • August 5, 2020

The snowshoeing and cross country skiing activities of the Outsiders Club of USM Lewiston-Auburn Campus’ Senior College came to an abrupt halt in mid-March due to the pandemic. Following Gov. Janet Mills’ and CDC mandates, the group began hiking and kayaking again, gathering May 18 at Pineland Farms for its first spring hike. Members agree that the fresh spring weather, leafing trees, blooming flowers, exercise and camaraderie were just the prescription for these difficult times.

Dick and Jo Thibodeau honored for Little Wilson Pond environmental efforts

TURNER PUBLISHING • August 5, 2020

Dick and Jo Thibodeau were honored during the Little Wilson Pond Improvement Association annual meeting as the environmental heroes of Little Wilson Pond. The couple has been testing the water quality in the pond for more than 20 years. The pond, which encompasses 110 acres, flows directly into Lake Auburn, which Is the source of drinking water for the cities of Lewiston and Auburn. Unlike Lake Auburn, Little Wilson Pond is open to swimming, although there is no public access.

How to attract dragonflies to your yard

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2020

The first step to attracting dragonflies to your land is to make your yard more hospitable to insects in general by planting a diversity of flowers in your garden that will attract the bugs that dragonflies like to eat. Also, stop using pesticides — even those used to keep mosquitoes at bay. If you are a true dragonfly aficionado, you can consider adding a water feature to your yard as well. It should be large enough for dragonflies to breed.

Acadia National Park plans to test new reservation system this fall

MOUNT DESERT ISLANDER • August 5, 2020

The park will conduct a trial run of the vehicle reservation system Oct. 1-18 in preparation for implementing it next summer. Reservations, which may be purchased online only at Recreation.gov, will be required for vehicles to enter the Ocean Drive section of the Park Loop Road at the Sand Beach entrance station from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and to enter the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road between 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Concord Coach to restart Maine-Boston service in mid-August

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2020

Concord Coach Lines will resume passenger bus service between Maine and Boston in less than two weeks, after suspending service for months in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The bus company will restart a reduced daily service between Maine and Boston South Station and Logan Airport on Aug. 16. The company has enacted safety measures including Plexiglas shields at ticketing counters and bus gates, contactless ticketing, a mask requirement on buses and in terminals, regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces and electrostatic foggers to spray buses daily. Only 34 passengers will be allowed on each bus, down from the normal 51. Passengers will not be allowed to sit close to the driver or directly next to other passengers who are not in their group.

On this date in Maine history: Aug. 5

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2020

Aug. 5, 1948: World War II Army veteran Earl Schaffer, who later says he was trying to “walk the war out of my system,” climbs to the peak of Maine’s Mount Katahdin, which is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. He becomes the first person to lay claim to having hiked the entire 2,200 miles of the trail from Georgia, and he supplies a diary – now in the Smithsonian Institution archives – and photographs as proof. The diary page that wraps up the hike says, “In morn climbed Katahdin in leisurely fashion, reached summit of Baxter peak about 1:30. Had pic taken by sign. Talked a while with several fellas come on down to campground. finis.”

Irish solar developer’s projects in Maine attract $100 million investment

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2020

A global solar-electric development company from Ireland is partnering with a Maine firm to develop large-scale projects in eight communities over the next year, an enterprise that has attracted roughly $100 million in private capital investment. And the projects now under construction by Dublin-based BNRG Renewables and Dirigo Solar LLC in Portland are only the first phase of a trio of large solar endeavors planned to come online by 2024. Taken together, they could bring $500 million in capital spending to Maine over the next few years, along with thousands of jobs during the construction period.

UMaine enters into public-private offshore wind venture worth $147 million

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2020

An experimental offshore wind power project conceived a dozen years ago took a major step forward Wednesday. The University of Maine will collaborate with New England Aqua Ventus LLC, which includes two global energy companies that are investing $100 million in the project. That investment comes on top of $47 million in grants already awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Letter: Natives asking for fairness

SUN JOURNAL • August 5, 2020

New England has the highest projected increase of 3.6 degrees by 2035 and our urban resource center is at risk. We have manifested illness as we have lost our connection with our environment. Due to environmental factors, i.e., climate change factors like the acceleration of CO2 and inaccessible food, there are health issues, including asthma, impedance of immunity and an increase in mental health issues. We need to go back to the beginning and support indigenous sovereignty and native autonomy and agency. Make it right. Land back. ~ Heather Berube, Lewiston

Regulator fines CMP $500K for improper winter disconnect notices

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2020

Maine’s utilities regulator agreed to fine Central Maine Power Co. $500,000, the top amount allowable, for issuing winter disconnection notices to customers without its prior approval. The two commissioners present at Thursday’s Maine Public Utilities Commission deliberation agreed on the fine, which was recommended by its staff in July. Commissioner R. Bruce Williamson and Chairman Phil Bartlett also agreed that the money would be distributed to customers of CMP’s electricity lifeline program in 2019-2020 as a bill credit. 

Meet the Maine man who has caught 5,000 togue from the same pond

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2020

To call Steve Greenleaf an avid lake trout fisherman is, to put it simply, an understatement. In fact, according to his exacting records, since he began keeping track in 1984, he has spent 10,370 hours fishing his home water, Cold Stream Pond, in search of the fish many Mainers call “togue.” On July 21, the 73-year-old Greenleaf reached a significant milestone, as he hauled in his 5,000th Cold Stream Pond togue.