Gretzky and climate change
Sometimes a sporting adage seems to fit broader life situations. That is just one of the reasons that sporting events are more than just an athletic contest to us. They teach us about courage, perseverance and sometimes closely model the drama of world events.
As President Donald Trump chopped the legs out from under U.S. participation in the Paris climate accord, I couldn’t help but think of the great Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky. When asked what was the secret to his outstanding offensive and defensive play, he replied, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” In other words, see the future based upon experience and vision.
It is so obvious from scientific research that climate change threats are real and need to be dealt with universally and collectively, and the sooner the better. We know where we need to point the needle on our energy future mix; we know where that puck has just got to be going next. The only things we “gain” from delaying that move to a low-carbon energy future involve loss of millions of new U.S. technology jobs to China and other willing countries, and a certainty of more accentuated climate change with accompanying human and natural disasters.
Let’s hope we have enough visionaries in the business, educational and political world both here and abroad to get us back in the game, because the clock is running down fast.
Robert Birk
Washington
Keep Downeast Correctional open
I lived in Washington County for more than 30 years, 18 of those years married to a correctional officer at the Downeast Correctional Facility. I know first hand how important it is for that prison to stay open. If it had not been for the prison our family would have suffered financially.
It was a sacrifice because our five children had to go without having dad around because he would take every opportunity to work. He is a very hard worker. We raised our children there, paid taxes, bought groceries, went to school at the University of Maine at Machias, patronized local physicians, ate at local food places. He volunteered for the Special Olympics. That was all possible because of working at the Downeast Correctional Facility.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the others do the same. Since the prison came to Bucks Harbor, many of the communities have saved a lot of money because of the inmates’ ability to work and build, which they may have learned through many of the programs offered for rehabilitation.
What happens with these inmates whose sentences the governor commuted after their time in tourism is over? Will they be going on the unemployment line? Join the chain of MaineCare. I personally believe that the inmates would not be in jail if it wasn’t for crimes they committed. They committed the crime, and they must do and finish their time. There is much more I could say, but we need the Downeast Correctional Facility.
Bunnie Daniels
Ellsworth
King wrong on wildlife management
I like Sen. Angus King on many issues, but I think he is wrong on wildlife in Alaska. I recently received a response from King to my letter urging him to support protections for bears, wolves and coyotes in national wildlife refuges in Alaska. King wrote that “there appears to be a great deal of misinformation on what is actually involved in Alaska’s wildlife management.” The senator’s response is no exception.
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopted regulations to end certain unethical hunting practices on refuges in Alaska, including shooting denning wolves, killing hibernating mother bears and cubs, and hunting grizzly bears from planes. King voted to overturn these protections, and the Trump administration rescinded them in April.
King’s response has too many inaccuracies to address them all here, but one stands out — King’s concern about “intervention from the federal government into state wildlife issues.” This is backward. These are federal lands, not Alaska lands. The Fish and Wildlife Service enacted these regulations because of Alaska’s ongoing refusal to uphold an official agreement “to manage fish and resident wildlife populations in their natural species diversity on Service lands.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service got it right with these regulations, and King got it terribly wrong. Our national wildlife refuges in Alaska don’t exist to serve the interests of a bunch of unethical Alaskan hunters, but to serve the interests of all Americans and the wildlife that live there.
Kristin Ede
Gouldsboro
Bucksport gate dispute
The Fort Knox Park Inn has always supported the town of Bucksport, and it has been a booster for civic improvement. Many years ago, the town created the waterfront walkway to enhance the waterfront area. The waterfront walkway runs directly behind the Fort Knox Park Inn, and it passes just a few feet from the first floor river view guest rooms.
Because of this, when the waterfront walkway was created, the town entered into an agreement with the hotel that the path behind the hotel would be closed during the nighttime hours to provide privacy for guests and avoid mischief from late-night loiterers. This arrangement worked well for years. Then there was a time when the gates were removed.
Now we wish to reinstall the gates. But the town no longer wants to honor its agreement for that short path to be closed during the night. It is insisting, contrary to its contractual obligations, that the path be left open around the clock.
When asked to honor the agreement, the town instead indicated that it may simply take the path by eminent domain in order to avoid its obligations. Is this what we want from our town, to use eminent domain and spend taxpayer money so that it can avoid its obligations? Eminent domain is not intended to break contracts. We cannot have the town running roughshod over businesses and wasting taxpayer money simply because it no longer likes the terms of its agreements.
Lawrence Green
Owner
Fort Knox Park Inn
Bucksport