Speaking out in Augusta
On Tuesdays for the past two months, I put on my red AARP Maine shirt and drive to the State House. On my way, I pick up friends who I have met through AARP, and we join dozens of other members to learn more about how we can make a difference. We meet with legislators, learn from experts on issues, practice testifying and attend committee hearings, work sessions and Caucus on Aging meetings. Everyone at the State House knows it’s Tuesday because of our red shirts. Legislators remark on our consistent presence, and we are excited to keep building the momentum.
I recently wrote to my state senator about considering my opinion on a legislative issue. He found where I was sitting in the Senate, and personally welcomed me and thanked me for being there. I recognized him from knocking on my door when he was running for office, and he recognized me from working together at Hannaford. It was great to meet with him and express my opinion in person about an issue I find important, and to watch him in action as he represents me in the Senate.
I am one of 230,000 AARP members in Maine. We are dedicated to showing up and speaking on behalf of Mainers everywhere, especially those who can’t make the drive to Augusta. The issues we’re focusing on include prescription drug prices, affordable housing, supporting family caregivers, fair utilities rates, and age-friendly community initiatives. I know I represent more than just myself at the State House.
Louise Theberge
Lewiston
Tillerson’s shameful firing
It is time to speak up and defend our democratic system. It has just broken that Rex Tillerson was fired as secretary of state for reportedly disagreeing with the president. Then Tillerson’s undersecretary of public affairs was fired for disagreeing on how the firing happened? We did not elect a dictator who fires everyone in sight who disagrees with him. Should I now be afraid to express my opinions in this paper or online in fear that someone will be at my door?
This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is wrong.
Robert Bahr
Bar Harbor
Install monument signs
When my husband and I moved to Medway in 2016 to become the owners of a small business in the tourism sector (Pinegrove Campground and Cottages), the timing was right: Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument had recently been established.
Since the monument’s designation, many of our customers have asked me about it and have been interested in exploring it themselves. What can we do to ensure these visitors have a positive experience?
Let’s start with getting signs to the monument installed on Interstate 95 and on routes 11, 157 and 159. It’s so unfortunate to hear from customers who couldn’t find the monument and had to turn around when they didn’t know where to go. This doesn’t need to happen.
Installing directional signs to Katahdin Woods and Waters will help bring more people to the region. I hope that the governor will allow them to be installed before the summer tourist season picks up. Signs are a simple way to support small businesses like ours and the visitors who come here.
Kate Deshler
Medway
Gibson unfit for Legislature
Shame on both the Republicans and Democrats of Maine.
Shame on the Democrats for allowing a person with such hate toward people he doesn’t even know to run unopposed until the last minute.
Shame on the Republican Party for allowing someone with such hate be put forward as one of their own.
I speak of Leslie Gibson, candidate for House District 57, who, on his own, has taken it upon himself to denigrate a high school student from Florida, accusing her of being a “skinhead lesbian.”
What possible motivation and relevance would a high school student from Florida have to the good people of House District 57? Is this the kind of person we want voting on issues and bills that will affect the people of this state?
Why did it take so long for people of conscience in the district to be willing to put themselves forward to thwart someone this small from walking into the seat of our state government unopposed?
Thomas Bonner
Holden
Local farmers care about neighbors
When I buy food products from local farmers, I know how it is grown, raised and handled. I know the famers. We talk, and I learn. The product is consumed by the growers and their families and friends.
Our local farmers don’t poison their families and neighbors. When I read the March 10 BDN article on food sovereignty, what I was reminded of was all the industrial meat and poultry recalls from supermarkets and food poisonings at fast food restaurants. Supermarket food comes from all over the world, processed by strangers who have no interest in our community.
I don’t need government bureaucrats to tell me where to obtain my food, or how it ought to be produced.
Peter Nelson
Brooksville
Reform Dodd-Frank
Recently, I joined thousands of credit union representatives in Washington to advocate for S 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, & Consumer Protection Act. I am a young credit union advocate, and I talk with members every day. I recognize the importance of this bill, which passed the Senate on March 14 and now heads to the House, and the benefits it would have to our members.
If S 2155 is enacted, it would mean the process for getting mortgage loans from credit unions will be easier and more straightforward for consumers. It would adjust thresholds that ensure lending regulations intended to reign in Wall Street banks do the job without overburdening Main Street credit unions.
It would change how credit unions designate certain apartment loans, freeing up capital for additional small-business lending, and it would provide important safeguards against elder abuse, giving greater protections to some of the most vulnerable consumers of financial services.
Credit unions need to be the voice of their members and to also help them get a step ahead in life. The passage of this bill would be a win for credit union members.
Christine Black
Member service representative
Infinity FCU
Bangor