Talk

Earth Day 2021

Chellie Pingree: ‘Voters gave us a mandate to fight for our planet’s future using data and science’

In the early 1970s, as a student at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, I celebrated one of the first Earth Days. Along with my classmates, we were passionate about the world around us and...
Letter to the editor: Marsha Steinglass

Select Board, Town Manager, and Rockport Town Charter — a Bermuda Triangle in Maine

Well, here it is the tail end of April, with a town vote slated for June. Still absolutely no response from the Town Manager regarding my pleas to keep the information on the Town website on Short...
opinion: targets for protected lands could help slow climate and extinction crises, support local food production

Conserving land to save our future: A goal to protect 30 percent of lands from development by 2030

The ethereal refrain of the white-throated sparrow runs through memories of childhood. My own children have rarely heard its call. Bird populations in the U.S. have plummeted since 1970, with 1 in 4...
Letter to the editor: Haunani Wallace

Shame on the government for allowing the dole to continue when jobs are plentiful

With reference to the article about state and federal unemployment and pandemic relief funds, isn’t it a shame that there are hundreds of thousands receiving unemployment and pandemic relief when...
Governor Mills in radio address: Stay safe during this spring break

Spring has come to Maine, believe it or not, and so is April snow and wind. Skiers are hitting the slopes in Western Maine as we speak and more people are outside regardless of the weather.While...
All he wanted was a tree, and now there is one dedicated to him

When former Town Manager Richard C. Bates retired in June 30, 2019, he told me all he wanted for a retirement gift was a tree. Well, at the time, all we could give him was this plaque, but I...
Letter to the editor: Peter Hall

Rockport town officials: Do the hard work, show voters a funding plan for village parking lot

The recent article in the PenBay Pilot on a prospective parking lot in Rockport Village has some misleading information for the Rockport voters. A TIF (tax increment financing) is used to finance...
opinion

The Year of the Pandemic: Silver Linings for Public Education

What a grueling time it has been for all of us as a result of the pandemic. However, in public education, there have been some curious upsides -- many silver linings. Here are a few: Parent...
Rep. Pluecker’s legislative update: mitigating chemical pollutants, helping medical marijuana caregivers

The work of a Representative is always predicated on representing the people and the towns that they live in. That’s why I wanted to write to you to share an update about some of the last couple of...
Letter to the editor: Nancy and Billy Ottaviano

Why are short term rental regulations targeted at only certain areas of Rockport?

We are writing as the owners of a non-owner occupied short term rental in Rockport. Our first visit to Rockport was in 2016 as short term renters. We instantly fell in love with Rockport and became...
Letter to the editor: Marsha Steinglass

Rockport theft alert: Knowledge and Power are missing

On February 7, 2021, I alerted the Town Office staff that the search engine on the Town website for the search “short term rentals” was nonfunctional. The Town Manager’s response was that, since the...
opinion: Adopting clean energy requires turning away from fossil fuels

Maine needs strategic plan, policy changes to get households, businesses off fossil fuels

In the energy transition underway, Maine has strong assets and lingering liabilities. The Legislature and the Mills administration have set ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse emissions and...
Response from Marina Schauffler to David Flanagan’s opinion piece

The Sea Change column that I wrote about Central Maine Power was carefully researched and involved interviews with nearly a dozen experts. Upon reading the response from CMP President David Flanagan...
Gov. Mills: Summer is fast approaching and the finish line is on the horizon

We are working around the clock to get as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible. Right now, more than 387,000 people in Maine have gotten their first dose of the vaccine –...