Editorial: Challenges facing lobster industry should stay in the spotlight

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 30, 2020

In June, President Trump announced that he was reversing a conservation initiative that banned fishing in an area off the East Coast, and that the lobster industry would be eligible for bailout funds related to his trade war with China. But the move to reintroduce fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument was largely symbolic, as no Mainer fishes there. And more than two months later, not one cent in aid has reached the industry, though it has been available to similar industries since 2018. The industry is also fighting proposals aimed at protecting endangered right whales they said would make their business more difficult, and dangerous. Climate change is both making lobsters more vulnerable to disease and moving them north. Maine’s lobster industry is going to need national attention.

Opinion: Opponents haven’t given up on stopping CMP corridor

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 30, 2020

The referendum on the Central Maine Power corridor was always viewed as one of many possible avenues to stop the CMP corridor. While that door may be closed for now, many options remain open to defeat the corridor through legal, political and legislative pathways. The majority of Mainers agree that the CMP corridor is a horrible deal for Maine. Now, more than ever before, Mainers need to vote for leaders who represent citizens’ interests rather than siding with two foreign corporations. ~ Sandi Howard, Caratunk, Say NO to NECEC and NO CMP Corridor PAC

UMaine Receives $3M For Arctic Research

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 29, 2020

The National Science Foundation is providing University of Maine with almost $3 million for graduate research about the Arctic. The money will help the university "better train graduate students in the interdisciplinary field of Arctic systems science." The project expects to train 57 graduate students, whose work will include research of environmental changes in the Arctic as well as in Maine.

Be cautious around late-summer bats, Maine CDC warns

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 29, 2020

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is asking residents to be cautious about bats, which can carry rabies and are at their most active during this part of the year. Bats are most active from August to early September. Maine CDC said the flying mammals are important to ecosystems, but can also spread rabies to humans, pets and livestock. Maine last reported a case of rabies in a human in 1938, but nine bats tested positive for the virus last year.

On this date in Maine history: Aug. 28

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2020

Aug. 28, 2006: The Chewonki Foundation, a Wiscasset organization, unveils what it bills as the first hydrogen fuel cell of its kind in Maine. The new system is installed to provide backup power and heat in the foundation’s education center building. Chewonki, founded in 1915, teaches about the development of sustainable communities and stewardship of nature.

Everything Is Unprecedented. Welcome To Your Hotter Earth

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • August 28, 2020

The upshot of climate change is that everyone alive is destined to experience unprecedented disasters. The most powerful hurricanes, the most intense wildfires, the most prolonged heat waves and the most frequent outbreaks of new diseases are all in our future. Records will be broken, again and again.

Lawsuit challenges access to prized piece of Portland’s working waterfront

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2020

A lawsuit could limit historical access to the working waterfront by commercial fishermen in Portland. The suit, filed by Soley Wharf LLC, seeks to clarify ownership of a waterfront alleyway that connects Custom House Wharf to Portland Pier. That alleyway has been used for decades by commercial fisherman to service their gear and boats and is a popular place for tourists to take pictures of the city’s working waterfront. An attorney who represents Soley Wharf said the suit does not aim to eliminate public access or prevent commercial fishermen from loading and offloading gear or accessing their boats. But it would allow the owners to enforce rules against fishermen parking their vehicles or storing their traps in the alley for long periods of time – a long-standing problem.

Opinion: ‘What’s in it for all of us?’ is the right metric to live by

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2020

What’s happened to caring about the community, about strangers who have to pick up discarded face masks or beer cans, or about those who may be stricken with COVID spread by a person who didn’t know they were a carrier but failed to take precautions with a mask and distancing? Have we stopped caring for each other, or is it just the “other” who we don’t know or can’t identify? To use more precise language, what’s happened to our commons? We all need to take care that our actions harm no one, and we need to actively protect the commons that gives us all safety, enjoyment, beauty and a good life. ~ Arthur Fink, Peaks Island

Owner rebuffs call to change name of ski area near Greenville

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2020

The owner of a ski area near Moosehead Lake is dismissing an effort to change the name of the resort to remove a derogatory reference to Native American women. Three Maine women started circulating a petition Thursday afternoon. The women said they asked the nonprofit that runs the Big Squaw Mountain ski resort for help getting the name changed, but got no results, and the ski area’s owner, James Confalone, says he has no plans to do so. The name of the mountain where the Maine resort is located was changed to Big Moose Mountain following passage of a law signed in 2000 by then-Gov. Angus King.

Column: Late summer is the best time to spot these chaotic feathered foragers

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 27, 2020

This is the nature of songbird-watching in August. Things are quiet for a long time. Then suddenly, bam! — dozens of birds in one spot. The first step in enjoying this phenomenon is simply to notice when it’s happening, when something weird is going on. Pay attention to the chickadees when they get noisy. ~ Bob Duchesne

As enrollment at Unity College grows, so do calls for president to resign

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 27, 2020

Dozens of Unity College alumni and students this week called for President Melik Peter Khoury to resign — even as the school touted unprecedented growth and record enrollment. A letter, signed by 61 people, was a response to the private liberal arts school’s major directional shift, announced earlier this month when the president said Unity would permanently move from its traditional campus learning model toward a hybrid and distance learning one. The school was reeling from a 33-percent decline in its four-year residential program this fall and an ensuing $12 to $14 million shortfall, officials said. They explained that was why the college also abruptly laid off or furloughed more than 50 faculty and staff members — nearly 30 percent of its workforce — and why the board of trustees authorized school officials to explore selling its 240-acre main campus in Unity.

SoPo, Westbrook program examines recycle bins, contamination

FORECASTER • August 26, 2020

A local recycling awareness campaign by ecomaine is having interns examine residents’ recycle bins. The nonprofit waste management organization hired two interns for the summer and fall to work in areas in South Portland and Westbrook, where the organization has found more people disposing of non-recyclable items in their bins, according to an Aug. 8 statement describing the program. In South Portland, the organization has recorded “between 85-90% contamination” at least since April in the areas in question. The organization found contamination rates as high as 40% in July in Westbrook.

Out of Order

THE HILL • August 26, 2020

The White House earlier this month pledged to withdraw Bureau of Land Management acting Director William Perry Pendley’s nomination amid a flood of opposition from Democrats and conservation groups citing his history fighting federal ownership of public lands. Pendley, who has been in the job over a year, remains the de facto head of BLM pursuant to succession orders that he himself signed. Legal experts have said he lacks the authority to take that action. Critics say the move is all about preserving Pendley’s role at a time when he likely could not get the 51 votes needed to be confirmed in the Senate — even with the GOP holding a majority.

Everyone loves puffins. So how are these adorable seabirds faring?

WCSH-TV5 • August 26, 2020

Little over a century ago the puffin population in Maine was in dire shape. The odd-looking but endearing seabird, prized for its colorful feathers used to decorate women’s hats and other clothing, had been hunted nearly to extinction in the state. In 1902 Matinicus Rock--one of the islands where puffins traditionally nested—was home, according to the Audubon Society, to just one pair of nesting puffins. The restoration of these birds to offshore islands in recent decades is one of Maine’s stirring environmental success stories.

Maine maple syrup producers will hold open weekend after all

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 26, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic canceled Maine’s annual spring celebration of maple syrup, but the event will finally take place Oct. 9 to 11. The Maine Maple Producers Association said Wednesday the event will include virtual elements as well as traditional in-person visits to the state’s sugar houses.

Investment firm proposes $100 million trio of solar projects for Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 26, 2020

A global clean-energy investment company is teaming up with a Falmouth-based solar development firm on plans to build a $100 million trio of utility-scale solar electric projects in Maine. The projects are part of a suite of seven large solar farms being developed in New England by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and North Light Energy. The three Maine projects: Garfield Plantation would be rated at 30 megawatts, Lewiston at 20 megawatts and Livermore Falls at 40 megawatts. Construction could begin as early as 2021.

Column: A book that’s for the birds

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 26, 2020

My wife Linda and I have several bird books by David Sibley, which we used a lot over the years, so I was excited to receive his new book, “What It’s Like To Be A Bird.” It’s an amazing book of details about lots of birds. From the colors and feathers of birds to their sight, smell and hearing, you will be amazed at what you learn. ~ George Smith

How this photographer saw 100 moose in one weekend in northern Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 26, 2020

Crammed in the back of a two-seater plane, Roger Stevens Jr. of Lincoln spotted more than 100 moose while soaring over the woods of northern Maine last weekend. A wildlife photographer and lover of flying, he couldn’t have been more excited. “Instead of hanging a head on the wall, [in photography] you place a giant, beautiful picture on the wall,” he said. “I call it catch and release hunting.”

Letter: Had enough of CMP

SUN JOURNAL • August 26, 2020

Recently, the town of Wilton passed a new ordinance to protect the area’s natural resources from major transmission line projects such as Central Maine Power’s NECEC corridor. At the meeting, CMP’s lawyer requested to speak and my fellow citizens joined together to block her. We have heard more than enough from this foreign corporation. I am sick and tired of CMP and its non-stop propaganda. I don’t trust it. Frankly, its representatives aren’t welcome here anymore. ~ Nancy Prince, Wilton