Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com.
Thankful for Question 1 support
As a retired small business owner who once navigated an operation with 45 employees, I want to thank Maine voters for voting yes on Question 1 in the Maine state primary and investing in statewide affordable and accessible high-speed internet.
Question 1 will be crucial to strengthening Maine’s economy and expanding opportunities for business owners. Maine business owners who lack high-speed internet connections struggle to compete in an economy that values connectivity. Unreliable internet can make it impossible to promote their business, process online sales, update store websites, interact with customers, and create jobs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted gaps in our state’s internet connectivity as well as how unprepared underserved communities were for a transition to virtual interaction. As the number of people remote working has increased, passing Question 1 means Maine businesses, particularly those in rural areas, will be given the internet infrastructure needed to remain available and flexible.
Leading up to the primary, many Maine businesses and organizations expanded efforts to bring affordable high-speed internet to every part of the state. I am comforted to know that organizations like AARP Maine, The Island Institute, and Maine Farmland Trust, working as part of the Maine Broadband Coalition, are acting to represent diverse Maine interests, including those of business owners from rural areas. Question 1’s high-speed internet bond will help to ensure that Maine business owners can compete, grow, and thrive, no matter where they live and work.
Thank you to everyone who voted for equitable broadband access on July 14.
Pamela Corcoran
Thomaston
Can’t have it both ways
Reference is made to the BDN’s July 14 BDN OpEd by Richard Little, which is well written and brings up several good points. From outward appearances, the University of Maine is jumping on the bandwagon and playing the woke appeasement game by renaming Little Hall.
Every politician worth his or her salt knows rule number one: Don’t take money from a group or individual you do not want to be associated with or whom you want to disavow. Rule number two: When the media catches you taking from an undesirable, simply yell, “I didn’t know about it” and send those donations back.
Clearly, the University of Maine has the right to re-name that building; however, they should do it with honor and follow “politically correct” guidelines. If they are going to disavow Dr. Little or his legacy by removing his name, they must give any money he donated to the school back to the Little family. They cannot have it both ways.
Fred Newman
Dedham
No time to waste
As we start to rebuild our economy and address the climate crisis, we need to invest in a clean energy economy that advances justice and creates equitable economic growth and jobs for all. Additionally, we should make significant investments in clean energy as part of our efforts to rebuild the economy. That is why the new report from the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis to develop a Climate Crisis Action Plan is so important for Maine.
This new plan gives Congress a roadmap for how to build a clean energy economy that values workers, advances economic and environmental justice, and is prepared to meet the challenges of the climate crisis. If there’s anything we’ve learned from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that we need to heed the warnings from scientists and public health experts, especially when they urgently call for action to address public health threats like the coronavirus and climate change.
I urge Mainers to join me in calling on Rep. Jared Golden to support this important plan to act on climate and boost our clean energy economy in a just and equitable way. Every member of Congress should carefully consider this plan and support policies to fight climate change, which is already harming communities in every corner of Maine. We have no time to waste.
Cason Snow
Bangor