Portland lawmaker Rep. Mark Dion has made a second request for a  formal opinion from the Attorney General on whether State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin’s business dealings in the Popham Beach Club are in violation of Article V, Pt. 3, § 3 of the Maine Constitution, which prohibits the Treasurer from engaging in commerce while serving in office.

Article V, Pt. 3, § 3 reads as follows: “The Treasurer shall not, during the Treasurer’s continuance in office, engage in any business of trade or commerce, or as a broker, nor as an agent or factor for any merchant or trader.”

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Matt talks about the new coalition that promotes and protects workers and their families courtesy photo

“Today we draw the line,” said Maine Women’s Lobby Director of Public Policy Laura Harper, speaking at a press conference announcing the creation of the Maine Working Families Coalition. “With so many Maine people struggling to make ends meet in the worst recession since the Great Depression, we should be working together to find ways to create jobs – not to punish those who have lost theirs.”

The coalition represents a number of civic, service, religious and business organizations from across the state with the shared goal of a balanced approach to growing Maine’s economy that supports both employers and employees. Coalition members assert that economic security for working families is a necessity for future growth of Maine’s businesses and economy.

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The Maine Downtown Center (MDC) is pleased to announce it has received a $50,000 grant to support its Green Downtowns program, now in its third year. This funding has been made possible through the Environmental Funders Network’s (EFN) Initiative: “From Vision to Action: A Commitment to Maine’s Quality of Place.”

MDC’s Green Downtowns program was created to strengthen the link between the natural and built environments in Maine’s downtowns, making them more environmentally friendly and ecologically conscious and building local leadership and capacity to support sustainable green initiatives.

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Maine health and environment groups are applauding new safeguards that will protect kids and families from dangerous air pollution from mercury and other toxic chemicals that flow here from dirty power plants. Maine’s location downwind from coal-burning power plants to the south and west, has caused the state to be dubbed “the nation’s tailpipe.”

The Environmental Protection Agency today announced new standards for power plant emissions that will significantly cut emissions of mercury, arsenic, acid gases and other toxics from power plants.

“The new safeguards will help protect Maine people, wildlife, waters and our environment from harmful air pollution from power plant emissions of mercury, arsenic, dioxin and other toxics,” saId Lisa Pohlmann, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “President Obama deserves our thanks for standing up to the polluters and standing up for our kids. Less mercury and arsenic in our air is a good thing.”

These health aliments will be adverted because of the EPA action:

Up to 11,000 premature deaths;
2,800 cases of chronic bronchitis;
4,700 heart attacks;
130,000 asthma attacks
5,700 hospital and emergency room visits; and
540,000 days when people miss work or school.

Even small amounts these pollutants are linked to cancer, heart disease, neurological damage, birth defects, asthma attacks and premature death.

“Clean air standards like the mercury rule provide strong health protections that each year could prevent 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks among children – and save 11,000 lives. But, the power plant industry opposes these common sense protections and is spending millions of dollars to block them,” said Karen D’Andrea, executive director of Maine Physicians for Social Responsibility

D’Andrea and Pohlmann urge support from Maine’s Senators Snowe and Collins to support this Mercury and Air Toxics rule.

“Drastically changing the membership of the Commission and allowing planning and permitting to be taken over by other entities could lead to a loss of the character of the North Woods that has been cherished by Mainers and visitors for generations,” said Jenn Gray, of Maine Audubon.

Planners, conservationists, and citizens throughout Maine are concerned about the impact of proposed changes to Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) on Maine’s North Woods, and are urging the Legislature to examine the proposal carefully and think long and hard about the importance of Maine’s signature natural resource.

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Maine's state capitol at night. phoyo by Ramona du Houx

A recent study from Chase Bank shows that during the deepest part of the near depression, Maine’s economic recession and unemployment rates were both far less severe compared to the rest of the country as a whole. This is due in large part because the foundation for Maine’s economy to progress out of the recession was firmly established with the Baldacci administration.

But the Chase Bank study shows that after LePage’s first session with the Legislature, Maine began to lag behind in the economic recovery. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that the state had no bond issues on the ballot this past November, which would have immediately provided thousands of jobs for people in construction, research and development, public safety, and education. LePage and other conservatives flatly refused to discuss a bond package in 2010. According to the most recent Maine Department of Labor data, Maine has lost more than 4,800 jobs since January. And LePage’s proposed cuts would diminish the workforce further.

“The proposed state cuts to Medicaid in fiscal year 2012 will result in the loss of more than 4,400 jobs across all counties statewide,” said MECEP Executive Director Garrett Martin.

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Atticus Biswell enjoys turbines in Deering Oaks Park that represent the estimated 10,000 which could be created by offshore-wind power. Photo by Greta Rybus

“Clean energy is one of the few bright spots in this challenging economy — with strong job and business growth,” said Rob Brown of Opportunity Maine at the announcement last October of a new citizens’ initiative to increase clean-energy use in Maine.

Maine Citizens for Clean Energy, a coalition of organizations, businesses and individuals, aims to help create jobs, control energy costs, cut pollution, and move the state further towards energy independence. They are currently gathering signatures for the November 2012 ballot. So, if the holiday stroll downtown is interrupted for your John Hancock, this most likely is the reason why.

The ballot initiative would require 20 percent of Maine’s electricity to come from new, renewable-energy sources. It also wants electric utilities to invest in energy efficiency whenever this would reduce energy costs for ratepayers.

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I remember going to bowling alleys all over Maine and the country,” said Alfond before he made a strike at Bayside photo by Ramona du Houx

“We provide a ton of fun for people,” said State Senator Justin Alfond looking around at the inside of Bayside Bowl. In front of him were 12 bowling lanes, off to the side a stage, behind him a customized bar with sun streaming in from a skylight, and 4,850 square feet of restaurant space which can serve 50 people comfortably.

People of all ages were bowling, some were enjoying a drink at the bar, others were just listening to the music and having a meal. That “ton of fun” visibly manifests in a number of ways besides bowling, which has made Bayside Bowl a center where the community comes to unwind and enjoy music, food, bowling in a relaxed yet energized atmosphere.

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“If the Occupy movement will survive anywhere, it would be Portland. Cities are closing down all over, since they won’t allow permanent structures, which would mean the death of the library,” said Eric Blumrich, who helps maintain the camp’s library. Photo by Greta Rybus.

Despina stood in a makeshift kitchen in Portland Maine’s downtown Lincoln Park, with a cluster of ripe bananas in her hands. She had brought them for the dozen or so Occupy Maine protestors who have been living here for weeks. “I drive by here twice a day, and I just look and think, ‘Young people need food,’” she said, then added, “This is not the country I grew up in. I support them 100 percent.”

A week later, on October 23rd, an opponent of the movement threw a homemade, chemical bomb into this very kitchen in the early hours of the morning. It didn’t cause any major harm: primarily noise and smoke. But the news spread nationally.

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Former Governor John E. Baldacci talks with Bill Sullivan at the JFK Recognition dinner where they, along with former Bangor Mayor Gerry Palmer received awards for their public service. photo by Ramona du Houx

“John F. Kennedy always gave us hope and opportunities. He made us realize that every one of us can make a difference — we all can. He made us see we can make positive changes and that those changes are greater and last longer when we work together, because no one can do it all by themselves,” said Governor John Elias Baldacci, after he received an award at the Penobscot County Democratic Committee’s first President John F. Kennedy Recognition Dinner last October. “He reminded us of the greatness of America. He inspired us to do more for community and country. For we as a country have no choice but to try and achieve greatness as a county.”

The event commemorated the 48th anniversary of a speech President Kennedy made at the University of Maine on Oct. 19, 1963.

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