Commentary: ‘No’ to Pine Tree Power will not leave Maine with the status quo

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2023

The ads flooding the airwaves about the November referendum question on Pine Tree Power make it sound like there are two choices: Vote “yes” to take over Central Maine Power and Versant and form Pine Tree Power, or vote “no” and keep the status quo. Proponents claim that replacing CMP and Versant with Pine Tree Power will result in lower rates and higher reliability. Opponents of the referendum say that maintaining the status quo is the low-cost option for ratepayers of the future. Neither argument squares with reality. Many of our climate action goals involve our electric utilities. If the referendum passes, Maine faces years of uncertainty, which would delay grid modernization. If Pine Tree Power becomes operational, we would be worse off than we are now. I urge voters to reject the referendum, give regulation time to work and let your legislators know you are counting on them to continue to modernize our grid and better regulate our utilities. ~ Rep. Gerry Runte, D-York, member of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee and the Maine Climate Council; he worked in the electric utility and clean energy sectors for 45 years

Letter: Portland cruise visitor plan beggars belief

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2023

The newly formed Cruise Portland organization, which has budgeted $170,000 to mitigate the negative effects of cruise passengers, is going to create more pollution in our city by supplying free buses to take them around. Limiting the ships does not limit the number of passengers. Cruise ships are a massive source of air, water, noise and solid waste pollution, as well as marine animal deaths. Who bears the negative costs of these cruise ships? ~ JoAnn Locktov, Portland

Letter: ‘Green’ projects wasting taxpayer money

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 25, 2023

There is no small irony in the federal government spending $1.13 billion to plant trees in an effort to mitigate extreme heat (as recently reported in the Bangor Daily News) while simultaneously subsidizing “green energy” projects such as wind and solar farms that could result in the destruction of thousands of acres of forest and wildlife habitat. It would appear the only thing “green” here is the money flowing out of the taxpayer’s pockets. ~ Larry Balchen, Jonesport

Fort Fairfield may be home to a new potato chip plant

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2023

Fort Fairfield could see a new potato chip processing company set up shop. Interim Town Manager Dan Foster and newly hired Town Manager Tim Goff have been working with Bruce Sargent of Presque Isle, who wants to build the plant, Foster told town councilors Wednesday. A new industry would be good for the town’s morale and bottom line, Foster said.

Hiker rescued from Katahdin’s Knife Edge trail

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2023

A hiker was airlifted off Katahdin on Wednesday afternoon after she broke her ankle on the Knife Edge trail, according to the Maine Army National Guard. The 43-year-old woman was able to move, with help, to an area below the cloud cover, near the intersection of the Helon Taylor and Knife Edge trails.

Why Maine pears are so ugly this year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2023

There is nothing pretty about what’s going on with some fruit trees in Maine right now. Pears are cracking and drying out to the point that they are looking more like an alligator than a tasty fruit. The cracking skin is a symptom of russeting, a condition common to pears and apples. Fruit experts say it’s perfectly natural and is the latest growers’ headache that can be traced directly to the frost that hit the state in May.

Welcome to deer tick season in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2023

Summer may be coming to a close, but it’s not the end of tick season. In fact, things are starting to ramp up as the summer’s deer tick nymphs are turning into this fall’s adults. Numbers of the Lyme disease-carrying deer ticks will continue to rise, peaking in October.

Brunswick public bus system will be free starting Oct. 2

TIMES RECORD • September 21, 2023

The Brunswick Link, the town’s public bus system, will be free to all riders for six months starting Oct. 2. Mid Coast Hospital and the Immigrant Resource Center of Maine contributed $17,500 to make the Brunswick Link free for six months. Town Councilor Abby King said, “It will be a little bit of an experiment to see how it goes and how it works but I think it will really benefit people in town and also help with connecting the two sides of our town.”

A Maine tourism mecca considers banning new hotels

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2023

Having taken steps to reduce cruise ship traffic and limit weekly vacation rentals, Bar Harbor now has another part of the tourism sector in its sights. Town councilors are considering whether to temporarily ban lodging development while it gets a handle on how tourism is affecting the town. As Bar Harbor’s tourism industry has grown over the past few decades, other nearby towns such as Tremont and Lamoine have adopted similar temporary development bans in recent years to keep increased tourist traffic at bay. They are not tourism centers like Bar Harbor. Such a ban would target a legacy industry in a way that no other major Maine town has tried.

Phippsburg supports new grant proposal for Center Pond River fishway

TIMES RECORD • September 21, 2023

The Phippsburg Select Board signed a letter of support Wednesday night for a federal grant that would go toward the construction of a fishway leading from the lower Kennebec River into Center Pond. The current fishway — which allows alewives, a species of herring, to pass through a shallow tidal stream into the pond to spawn in freshwater — is only effective for about 47% of the tidal cycle. The other 53% of the time, fish are either unable to enter the pond to spawn or are stranded on shallow rocks to die. With the extension of the tidal stream, proposed by the Center Pond River Herring Committee, alewives will be able to pass through during 85% of the tidal cycle.

Maine’s PFAS reporting law needs to take a risk-based approach

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2023

The state has delayed implementation of the first-in-the nation PFAS reporting law. More conversations are needed for the program to be successful. As lawmakers move forward with implementation, a discussion around a practical risk-based policy is sorely needed to sustain Maine’s economic progress and effectively address environmental contamination issues that create public health concerns. Maine’s current approach treats thousands of different PFAS compounds the same. If everything is a priority, then nothing is prioritized. Equally important, a blanket ban on all PFAS fails to recognize the role some PFAS compounds play in essential industries such as clean energy production, life-saving medical technologies, or aerospace manufacturing. Allowing for risk-based reporting would most effectively target reporting to the most harmful compounds. ~ Rep. Jim Dill, D-Old Town

Mills among governors joining national push for more heat pumps by 2030

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2023

Maine’s Janet Mills was among a group of governors and national climate leaders in New York Thursday to announce a goal of installing 20 million heat pumps in U.S. homes by 2030. Mills is co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of almost exclusively Democrat-led states that formed in 2017 after then-President Donald Trump pulled the country out of the Paris Agreement, a global accord to combat climate change. Over the last six years, the alliance has encouraged policies that reduce carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, but Thursday’s announcement was the group’s most ambitious yet.

Letter: Threat of Lee hammers home need for price on carbon

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2023

While the state of Maine and many individuals are stepping up to tackle climate change, it is disheartening to read about countries like India and China that are not; or about individuals who recklessly contribute to climate change with extravagant lifestyles. There is something the U.S. could do. Called a carbon fee and dividend, it would put a “fee” on fossil fuels at their source, to reflect their damage to our climate. People whose lifestyles have less impact on the environment – that is, almost all middle- and lower-income families who consume less – would get more money back than they expended on higher prices.As for India and China (and similar countries), they would be penalized with a border carbon tax. Faced with such fees, they would be incentivized to adopt their own effective carbon fees. Let’s take action that ensures that everyone is doing their part before the next “Lee” comes through. ~ Marcia Harrington, Brunswick

Bethel ‘trail angels’ earn their wings giving rides to AT hikers

BETHEL CITIZEN • September 20, 2023

“Well, y’all are trail angels now,” Appalachian Trail hiker Griffin Nakovich said when my husband, Michael, and I pulled over at the Rusty Lantern Market on Mayville Road to take him and his friends to Grafton Notch. Lately, AT hikers are all around Bethel it seems. On the trails there is ‘a bubble,’ the hikers explained. The slow walkers who started early and the fast walkers who started later are all in Maine at the same time. When I handed three whoopie pies through the window, Corndog responded, “Oh my god, you guys really are angels.”

Aroostook County could be sitting on a tourism treasure

THE COUNTY • September 20, 2023

A St. John Valley roadway and a bike route connecting Bangor to Allagash could bring tourism gold to Aroostook County if more people knew about them. The St. John Valley/Fish River National Scenic Byway and the U.S. Bike Route 501 were federally designated about two years ago. The byway pays tribute to northern Maine’s Acadian and Native American culture, while the bicycle route aims to give cyclists a safe and pleasant trip north. Winter recreation activities, like snowmobiling and skiing, bring abundant visitors and a huge economic boon to The County. The roadways were touted as a way to boost tourism in other seasons. But the Aroostook community needs to get the word out to make that work.

Stolen fuel truck driver eludes spike mats in Oxford while leading officers on multicounty chase

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • September 20, 2023

Paul Hatch, 37, of Waterville, was arrested Tuesday after he stole a truck from a Winthrop fuel company and hours later led police on a multicounty chase that ended when the vehicle flipped onto its side while making an abrupt turn, according to officials. At the time of the crash, the stolen vehicle was carrying about 1,100 gallons of kerosene and No. 2 fuel oil, posing a significant hazard.

The Maine news media landscape is changing

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • September 20, 2023

The news media landscape in Maine is changing. The Maine Trust for Local News is the state’s largest network of independent news and media outlets. It recently bought up the Portland Press Herald, Sun Journal in Lewiston, Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Morning Sentinel in Waterville, and Times Record in Brunswick, plus 17 weekly news papers in southern and western Maine. The Maine Monitor, a project of The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, “delivers independent, citizen-supported, nonpartisan journalism that informs Mainers about the issues impacting our state and inspires them to take action through investigative and in-depth stories.” The Maine Morning Star, “an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news site covering state policy and politics,” went live online today. The Beacon, "a website and podcast created by the Maine People’s Alliance to highlight the experiences of everyday Mainers,” delivers left-leaning news and opinion. The Maine Wire, a project of the Maine Policy Institute “dedicated to holding power people and institutions accountable,” delivers right-leaning news and opinion. The Portland Phoenix, an independent weekly news and arts publication covering Greater Portland, took wing in 1999, crashed in 2019, rose from the ashes later that year, but finally folded in July 2023. The for-profit Bangor Daily News, which is now the only independent, family-owned daily paper in Maine, takes donations but still relies on traditional revenue streams. In addition to the legacy newspaper founded in 1889, it encompasses Fiddlehead Focus, The County, St. John Valley Times, Aroostook Republican, Houlton Pioneer Times and Star Herald (in Aroostook County), Penobscot Times (in Penobscot County), Piscataquis Observer in (Piscataquis County), and Bangor Metro magazine. Maine Environmental News, a project of RESTORE: The North Woods, has provided "the most comprehensive source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond” since 2009.

Maine mosquitoes test positive for another disease that causes brain swelling

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 20, 2023

Mosquitoes in a York County town have tested positive for a disease that can cause brain swelling. Eastern equine encephalitis virus was found among a population of mosquitoes in Lebanon recently, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness hasn’t been confirmed in any Mainers so far this year. Not all people infected with the virus will show symptoms of the virus. Common symptoms include fever and a flu-like illness, while in severe cases the virus can cause brain swelling and meningitis.

A hike on the Ice Caves Trail triggers unexpected panic

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 20, 2023

The Ice Caves Trail is nestled in the Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area, which contains the highest concentration of pristine, remote ponds in New England. The abundance of glacial erratics along the trail is truly impressive. Numerous large boulders are scattered along the trail, forcing you to walk around them and marvel at their size. Depending on summer temperatures, ice can be present well into the summer, usually melting entirely sometime in August.

Gov. Mills urges Mainers to vote against Pine Tree Power, declaring formal stance ahead of election

MAINE MORNING STAR • September 20, 2023

Gov. Janet Mills urged Mainers on Wednesday to vote against a proposal to create a statewide consumer-owned utility, the Pine Tree Power Company, announcing her formal stance on the question that will be one of several on November’s ballot. Question 3 asks Mainers whether to initiate a public takeover of the state’s two investor-owned utilities, Central Maine Power and Versant, which together service more than 96% of Maine’s electric demand. Mills questioned whether the change would lead to lower electricity costs and said the switch could cost Maine people as much as $13.5 billion in borrowed money, raised concern about the proposed governing board, and warned court battles could stall progress on modernizing Maine’s electric grid.