Invest in Land for Maine’s Future
I am asking our legislators to return to Augusta to vote on a Land for Maine’s Future bond. We need them to vote before the end of August in order for the bond to get on the November 2019 ballot.
Land for Maine’s Future is Maine’s most successful land conservation program, responsible for protecting over 600,000 acres, including over 300,000 acres of working farms, forests, waterfronts, many miles of recreational trails and critical wildlife habitat. The program is running out of funding.
It is essential that the Legislature act as soon as possible. I urge them to return to Augusta soon — as in the next week or two — to get this job done. It is important and should not be ignored.
Richard Spinney
Brewer
Impeachment resolution
Representative Al Green of Texas was on the right track when he offered a motion to impeach the President, citing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution itself, and the Gettysburg Address. This motion offers the most profound definition of high crimes and misdemeanors requiring removal of the president from office, namely actions flagrantly violating the core ideals on which this nation was founded.
Herbert Greenberg
Jonesport
Power line concerns overblown
Janet Mills has the correct position on the CMP line. The pluses far outweigh the negatives of the project. Fifty-three miles of new powerlines and their right of ways placed in predominantly cutover forest is not going to cause significant damage to wildlife or tourism.
Many of the tourists visiting Maine live in southern New England and New York. If our state tourism department uses any complaints as teachable moments to explain that the power lines are helping to move clean energy to the region, I am sure most will accept it.
Some of our wildlife has been increasing — to the point that some animals are becoming a nuisance. I have worked in the forests of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York all my life and I have seen more wildlife on the roads and under power lines than I ever have in the woods. During the spring and summer, in my experience, there is more forage for them along power lines than there is in under the forest canopy.
The opponents of the powerline say that the clean hydro power being transmitted will not reduce climate-changing pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. And it won’t by itself, but we need to start somewhere.
What kind of legacy are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? Are they going to say, “Way back in 2020 our grands had a chance to slow climate change, and did nothing because CMP wouldn’t pay enough”? Are we that self-centered and greedy?
Do the right thing. Take down those No CMP Corridor signs.
Art Young
Fayette
The danger of not vaccinating kids
I am very concerned about the risks to school children if other students in their class have not been immunized for communicable diseases. I am all for parental prerogatives and freedom of religion. I draw the line when those choices endanger my grandchildren, ages 11 and 10, who attend Mount View Elementary School.
Communicable diseases pose a very real threat. As of June, Waldo County has an alarmingly high incidence of whooping cough this year. This disease is highly contagious, potentially deadly, and entirely preventable through vaccination.
There is so much disinformation on the internet about immunizations. Some parents believe that immunization could harm their child. As a retired research scientist, I know that the science does not support those horror stories and scare tactics.
Sending an unvaccinated child to school is like a time bomb. Once a communicable disease starts, you can’t turn back the clock!
I am grateful that our legislature and governor have done the right thing to protect our kids by enacting LD 798. Any attempts to undo this act and turn back the clock would expose our school children to risk they do not deserve.
Allison Morrill
Belfast