Janet Mills’ top lawyer steps down, will be replaced by environmental protection chief

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 14, 2020

Gov. Janet Mills’ top lawyer will leave the administration at the end of the month and will be replaced by Maine’s environmental protection commissioner, her office announced Friday. Derek Langhauser will be leaving his post to spend more time with family, according to a press release. He has worked for the Democratic governor since she assumed office in early 2019 and is the first high-profile aide to leave the administration during her young tenure. Langhauser will be replaced by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Jerry Reid, who previously led the natural resources division in the attorney general’s office under Mills. Deputy Commissioner Melanie Loyzim will be elevated to acting commissioner.

Letter: Dams and climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 15, 2020

The argument that hydropower produces less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel is lame because it has failed to recognize that dams on both sides of the North Atlantic, especially in Canada and Russia, have starved the ocean of nutrients in spring when the phytoplankton blooms kick off their seasonal proliferation. Science is pointing out that the plankton sequester more CO2 than all the trees on the planet! Diatoms in particular. ~ Jim O’Connell, Bar Harbor

Mills announces changes to top legal position

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 14, 2020

Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that her chief legal adviser is stepping down and her administration’s top environmental regulator will take over the position later this month. Derek Langhauser has served as Mills’ chief legal counsel since the Democrat took office in January 2019. Langhauser will be replaced by Jerry Reid, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, who previously worked for 24 years in the Maine Attorney General’s Office. Deputy DEP Commissioner Melanie Loyzim will fill Reid’s position on an interim basis until a new commissioner is nominated.

Faulty turbine cost Maine energy company millions, lawsuit claims

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2020

A Searsmont-based energy company is suing a bankrupt Canadian firm, KMW Energy, Inc., based in Ontario, after alleging that a piece of faulty machinery it provided has cost the Maine company more than $10 million so far. Georges River Energy, an offshoot of the family-owned Robbins Lumber Inc., was founded to oversee a new co-generation plant that would produce electricity and steam for the lumber mill to operate its lumber drying kilns and heat its buildings. The plant would use sawdust, bark and chips from the lumber mill as fuel for the 8.5 megawatt steam turbine. KMW Energy is insolvent.

Maine public bus services get $10.2 million federal grant

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 14, 2020

Three public transit projects in Maine will receive about $10.2 million in federal grant money to replace buses and improve service. Most of the funding, about $9 million, will be provided to build a welcome center at the Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton. The center will be the headquarters for the Island Explorer bus system that serves Acadia National Park and nearby communities. The Greater Portland Transit District, which runs the Metro bus service, will get $821,000 to replace aging buses, and Bangor will receive about $397,000 to build passenger shelters and bus boarding areas for its Community Connector hail service.

The answers to your questions about sea level rise in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 14, 2020

Sea level rise is one of the many effects of climate change that is already visible in Maine, a state with 120 coastal communities. By 2050, the state will likely see between 1.1 to 1.8 feet of sea level rise, en route to 3 to 4.6 feet of sea level rise by year 2100, according to the most recent projections by Maine climatologists. To unpack what the rising sea level means for Maine communities and ecosystems, the Bangor Daily News hosted a virtual event on Aug. 13, bringing together five experts to share their work on the topic. Here are some of their biggest questions raised.

Fire damages crane, logs at Mount Vernon wood lot

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 14, 2020

Shortly before 9 a.m., fire crews from Mount Vernon and surrounding towns were called to a wood lot off Hovey Luce Road for a fire. At the site, a log crane was on fire. While initially reported as a crane explosion, there was none, Mount Vernon Fire Chief Dana Dunn said. However, the tires on the crane did explode. Logs within a 50-foot diameter around the crane had burned. There were no injuries.

Maine high court’s CMP corridor decision will change referendum politics for good

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 14, 2020

The seismic decision by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday to effectively prevent a question that would kill Central Maine Power’s $1 billion corridor proposal from going on the November ballot will have repercussions for years. The court made a rare intervention into referendum politics when it rejected an argument from Secretary of State Matt Dunlap that voters should be allowed to express opinions even if the law could not stand. That has happened on other referendums with constitutional issues, notably the ranked-choice voting law in 2016 later was brought into compliance by the Legislature. Judges distinguished this by noting difference in voter and legislative authority, but it dooms.

Rabid fox attacked Brunswick man 3 times

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 14, 2020

A Brunswick man was in the backyard of his Oak Street home Thursday morning when a rabid fox “aggressively” attacked him. He successfully fended off the fox, but it returned and attacked him two more times. A Brunswick police officer and animal control officer arrived and found the fox still in the man’s backyard. The fox tried to attack the animal control officer and was euthanized, according to Stewart. This rabid fox attack comes after at least two others earlier this summer.

Solar energy farm subscribers in Maine can get a break on electric bills

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 14, 2020

A Boston-based solar energy developer that’s planning to build three solar farms in Maine has begun a marketing campaign offering residents and small businesses a 15 percent credit on their electric bills if they subscribe to the projects, the first example in Maine of a new way to invest in clean energy that is expected to grow over the next few years. Nexamp has launched digital ads and is sending direct mail to customers in Central Maine Power’s service area, seeking to sign up subscribers for energy that will be generated by solar farms planned for Gorham, Auburn and Rumford. Nexamp’s solar farms are benefiting from recently passed laws in Maine meant to encourage the growth of renewable energy projects.

Paddlers enjoy stunning views of Katahdin, abundant wildlife on Millinocket Lake

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2020

Dotted with boulders and small islands, Millinocket Lake is a large body of water that lies just south of Baxter State Park, providing stunning views of Katahdin and other mountains within the park. While navigating can be difficult in some areas due to an abundance of large submerged rocks, the lake is a popular place for paddling, fishing, swimming and wildlife watching. Millinocket Lake shares its name with the nearby town of Millinocket, which lies just south of it. The word “Millinocket,” in the language of Maine’s Abenaki people, roughly translates to “land with many islands.”

Maine Landowner Appreciation Day is Sept. 13

TURNER PUBLISHING • August 13, 2020

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Forest Service are hosting a Landowner Appreciation and Clean Up Day on Sunday, Sept. 13. Waste Management and BDS Waste Disposal are sponsoring the event, and prizes will be awarded to volunteers who pick up the most truckloads of litter.

Great white shark sighting confirmed after several people see fins off Wells Beach

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2020

The Maine Marine Patrol has confirmed that a great white shark was sighted Thursday swimming off Wells Beach, just outside the jetties at the mouth of Wells Harbor. Several people at Wells Beach informed lifeguards that they saw fins in the ocean at around noon. The lifeguards were preparing to use jet skis to investigate, but the Wells harbormaster told them the Maine Marine Patrol had confirmed that a great white had been seen in that area. Lifeguards immediately cleared swimmers from the ocean at Wells Beach and nearby Drakes Island Beach.

Unity College supporters to gather Saturday in support of school

MORNING SENTINEL • August 13, 2020

Community members and Unity College alumni plan to gather Saturday to show affection and support for the school following the recent announcement its main campus might be sold. The gathering — a “walk on, sit in, show love” — is planned for the Field of Dreams, which is owned by the college. The campus at 90 Quaker Hill Road is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unity College officials said sale of the campus, while not certain, is possible as the school transitions to a hybrid learning model that emphasizes remote, decentralized learning.

Historic Lombard log hauler moved to more visible spot at Waterville museum

MORNING SENTINEL • August 13, 2020

The historic Lombard log hauler is in a new home on the grounds of the Waterville Historical Society’s Redington Museum on Silver Street after spending decades in a low visibility spot off Front Street downtown. The log hauler, invented by Alvin O. Lombard of Waterville, was patented in 1901 and revolutionized the way the lumbering industry operated in Maine. Its concept of using a caterpillar tread, or continuous track for vehicle propulsion, was later used on army tanks in World War I, as well as for agricultural tractors and construction equipment after the war.

Rhode Island woman, 25, rescued after falling on Appalachian Trail in Redington Township

SUN JOURNAL • August 13, 2020

A Rhode Island woman was injured Wednesday afternoon when she fell about 40 feet while on a steep, remote section of the Appalachian Trail, near Sugarloaf in northern Franklin County. Emma Sonberg, 25, of Smithfield, Rhode Island, fell on the area of the trail that crosses Orbeton Stream. She sustained a serious injury to her right arm along with scrapes and bruising. She was able to notify authorities by activating an emergency locator beacon she carried with her.

Supreme court rules CMP corridor referendum unconstitutional

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2020

In a ruling issued Thursday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court decided the state’s Constitution does not give voters the power to reverse a decision by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, as the referendum is designed to do, so the question cannot be included on the November ballot as planned. The decision is a significant blow to environmentalists and others who oppose the $1 billion project being developed by Central Maine Power parent company Avangrid, which is owned by Iberdrola, a multinational electric utility conglomerate based in Spain. “It’s a very sad day when Maine’s highest court sides with foreign corporations over the people of Maine,” said Sandi Howard, executive director of No CMP Corridor. “The fact that CMP’s parent company sued the state of Maine to silence their customers, and it worked, is astounding.”

Take A Tour – Lookout Rock Preserve in Brooksville, Maine

MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST • August 13, 2020

This 17-acre preserve showcases a 244-foot highpoint with panoramic views of Eggemoggin Reach, Penobscot Bay, and beyond. Join MCHT land steward Caleb Jackson on a tour of this small but special preserve, and learn a little bit about the history of the land.

Trump's Methane Rollback That Big Oil Doesn't Want

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • August 13, 2020

Despite opposition from the oil and gas industry it aims to help, the Trump administration Thursday is expected to roll back an Obama-era rule designed to reduce climate-warming methane emissions. Large oil companies want the Obama rules left in place. Shell, BP and the Exxon Mobil Corp. have big natural gas portfolios. They worry that if methane emissions aren't controlled that could undermine arguments that natural gas is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel than coal. The oil industry is split on this though, as smaller companies say the requirements are too expensive for them.

Letter: NECEC an incredible opportunity for Maine

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 13, 2020

The New England Clean Energy Connect, which will bring hydropower from Quebec to Maine and the New England grid, is a dream come true. This project will provide incredible economic stimulus to parts of western Maine, where it is desperately needed. It will create thousands of good-paying jobs over the next several years. The NECEC will not cost Mainers a penny. It will provide us with sustainable clean energy for decades to come. If we are to reduce the carbon footprint in our state, we need to stop relying on fossil fuels. It is an economic opportunity too good to pass up. ~ Cal Brown, Litchfield