“Hinckley wants to move away from social services and back to where they were originally— as much more of an educational institution,” said Glenn Cummings. photo by Ramona du Houx

“Hinckley wants to move away from social services and back to where they were originally— as much more of an educational institution,” said Glenn Cummings, the new president of Good Will-Hinckley, who started last fall.

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Weatherizing a home in Bangor with foam. photo by Ramona du Houx

How have weatherization efforts been progressing?

It was a fantastic year for Maine state efficiency efforts to lower customers’ heating oil through energy efficiency and weatherization. We were really fortunate to receive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that allowed us to build a market-based program that provides technical assistance and access to certified energy advisers. And the icing on the cake is the financial rebates.

How much savings can an average homeowner expect if they weatherize?

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More than 500 people attended the Maine Wind Energy Conference last January at the Augusta Civic Center. Engineers, municipal and school officials, students and business people went to workshops, heard speeches, and eagerly discussed wind-energy options.

“Not only do we have a tremendous onshore resource, we also have unlimited offshore potential,” said Sue Jones of the Maine Wind Working Group, the organization that put on the conference. “With a $1.4 billion investment already, Maine is poised for $4.5 billion to be spent in the next few years. Maine is on track to become a national wind-power leader. No other industry in Maine can compare to the wind industry, as far economic development. This is about businesses, jobs, and the environment.”

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The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) held its 10th auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances last December. Maine’s portion of the auction receipts will be $1,331,726. One hundred percent of the earnings will be used to benefit electricity consumers statewide through energy efficiency programs.

In all, Maine has earned a total of $23,544,204 since the first auction over two years ago in September 2008.

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Important Maine business and state government spending facts

Governor John Baldacci, and his team, deliver a recession budget. As governor he streamlined services, consolidated agencies and put tax caps in place while never increasing taxes. Bonds and tax incentives helped to grow Maine’s innovative economy. photo by Ramona du Houx

Maine has bond ratings of AA2, AA+, and AA2 from the three leading bond-rating agencies, Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard and Poor’s. That would not be the case if LePage had a grain of truth in his assertions.

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Gov. Paul LePage has proposed a biennial budget of $6.1 billion — an increase of $400 million from the last biennial budget of $5.7 billion.LePage wants to balance the budget to a large degree on the backs of Maine state retirees, which includes about 28,000 retired teachers and state workers. Or in more direct terms — he’s planning to cut their social security.

“The key component to put into this is that state workers never paid into Social Security. So they don’t receive a Social Security benefit. This is their Social Security. This is their only retirement,” said Maine State Employees Association Executive Director Chris Quint.

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Maine's Northern Woods are at risk becasue of Gov. La Page photo by Ramona du Houx

Gov. Paul LePage has made proposals that could irreversibly damage Maine’s quality of life, if enacted.

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The Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority (MHHEFA) is Maine’s agency that educational and health-care nonprofit groups must go through under federal law to sell tax-exempt bonds, borrowing money for capital expenditures at low interest rates.

Maine Housing, the Maine Educational Loan Administration, Inland, York and Franklin Memorial Hospitals, Husson University, Fryeburg Academy, Colby College, had sought to issue bonds through the authority, borrowing $31 million for a variety of projects, but ran into an unexpected road block — the LePage administration. Bonds of this nature must first get the approval of the Governor’s office before the bonding process can start, but when presented with the bond package he rejected them all. He staunchly refuses to consider any bonds that are not approved by voters.

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Over 300 acres of fields and forests located in Penobscot will forever be available for farming. Owner Paul Birdsall placed Horsepower Farm under an agricultural easement in 1997. Photo credit Bridget Besaw

In the next ten years, the ownership of as much as 400,000 acres of Maine’s best farmland will be in transition, as aging farmers sell or die. This demographic challenge is coming just as farming here is poised to thrive.

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Benjamin and Alexander help their father Philip Retberg haul logs out of a forested section of the property in preparation to transition the area into grazing lands. Quill’s End Farm is an example of the kind of farming that is seeing a rebirth, through the hard work of committed new owners. photo by Bridget Besaw

The Belfast based Maine Farmland Trust made news last summer, when it released a series of eight short films about farming in Maine. The Meet Your Farmer films have since been shown at dozens of venues statewide, calling attention to both the struggles and opportunities facing Maine’s farmers. The films will be aired on public television in May.

“We made the films because we see a disconnect between what’s happening in Maine farming and what most people think is happening,” explained John Piotti, Maine Farmland Trust’s executive director. “Some people feel that farming in Maine is dying, which is clearly not the case. But other people see the emergence of new farms and think a bright future is inevitable, which isn’t the case either,” said Piotti.

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