Commenters took to the Bangor Daily News this week to weigh in on whether public employees should be allowed to campaign for referendums, a vote by the Bangor City Council supporting a proposed national park in the Katahdin region, and a proposed bill to improve safety for teen drivers that requires them to put a decal on their vehicle.
Here are some highlights from the discussion, edited for length and clarity.
Extending public employee campaign ban to referendums makes sense, March 24
I would rather have state employees advise me how to vote than have out-of-staters corrupt Maine elections with their millions.
—Guest
As long as the activity is reported by a state agency or department and they are not campaigning for candidate elections then what’s the problem? State police, fire marshal, forest rangers, game wardens, biologists … they’re all doing the people’s work every day and ought to have a voice.
—MEGuideGirl
National park concept wins Bangor council endorsement, March 23
[If Roxanne Quimby] wants to give the land to the USA, which we are all part of, [w]e should have a say …
—Herb Score
In case you didn’t get the memo when you moved here, Maine has a ” Great Ponds Act” that, in essence, gives every resident the right to fish and fowl on any great pond.
A great pond is any body of water 10 acres or more in size.
A national park will take that right away from me because it will become federal property subject to federal rules.
This is just a small part of what federal ownership entails.
—Handy Handsom
Love must be blind for you because common sense says we should expand Baxter and create a larger state interest versus a federal interest if a park is so important. Lucas St. Clair and Ms. Quimby are dead set on a national park only. Many people against a national park would strongly consider or support an expansion of Baxter. So who is close-minded on this issue?
—BrocasArea
If Quimby chooses to donate her land, she has that absolute right. She has the same rights we all do if we own real estate. She acquired the land, [so] she can do many things with it: nothing at all, lease it, sell it, give it away, plus many other rights. Why do so many people without an ownership interest in the land have so much to say? It really is simple — she owns it — she has the rights to it.
—bennymodeen
I am a neighbor to Acadia National Park and have never had a park employee or official visit my property or comment on my use of my property.
The park has negotiated with some neighbors regarding use but they can not force one to give up their rights of how they use their property.
When one buys property that borders the park, they must be careful to look at what previous owners may have negotiated with the park or they may end up living with concessions that they may not like.
Like it or not the park brings tourist dollars, which provide Mount Desert Island one of the few stable economies in this state.
Will the same hold true in the Katahdin area? Who knows. But it is currently and in the foreseeable future the only large scale plan to invest in the area’s economy …
—CountryBorn
Bucksport family, lawmakers propose teen driving restrictions, March 24
The feeling of losing a child so young has to be horrible, and I understand them wanting to bring awareness to young drivers, but changing the law isn’t necessarily the answer. Educating the drivers, as well as young passengers getting into the cars with newly licensed drivers, should be the first approach …
My heart goes out to Taylor [Darveau’s] family and bringing awareness to the issue is great, but changing the law just changes who gives the consequences.
—mainerman2012