Reduced state aid to municipalities and schools is what’s putting the pinch on taxpayers. Portland Press Herald editorial For years, Gov. LePage has blamed schools for being unwilling to control costs. Now, he says, it was the land trusts all along. On the radio, in his recent State of the State address and in a Read More
Maine Land Trusts Say Governor Uses Bogus Data in Pitch to Tax Them
Conservation advocates call his claims misleading and say he ignores payments made to host towns in lieu of taxes. by Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is once again accusing conservation groups of “ripping off” taxpayers in Maine by not paying local taxes on vast swaths of Read More
LePage Vows to Push Through $950M Project to Send Quebec Hydropower through Maine
By Christopher Cousins and Michael Shepherd, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Massachusetts chose a $950 million project headed by Maine utility Central Maine Power to be its backup option for a massive clean energy procurement that appeared headed to New Hampshire before regulators there nixed it last week. Maine Gov. Read More
York’s Young Foam Fighters
While alliteration in blog titles is great, there is something even better, and that is when we learn about the next generation of Mainers recognizing a major problem in our environment, foam containers, and stepping up to solve it right in their own community. That principal is certainly on display in York where an intrepid Read More
Portland, Pesticides, and the Power of the People
With all the hoopla surrounding the ringing in of the New Year, you might have missed the news about a pretty big deal in Portland, Maine’s most populace city. On Wednesday, January 3, the City Council voted unanimously to prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides in Portland. This is, as City Councilor Spencer Thibodeau said, Read More
My Maine This Week: Katahdin from White Cap by Wendy Weiger
“This is a view of Katahdin from the summit of White Cap Mountain on March 19, 2016. Getting to the summit involved a very challenging bushwhack, straight up the mountain from First West Branch Pond, until I came to the old fire warden’s trail, which led me to the Appalachian Trail.” Photo by NRCM member Read More
LePage Policies, Not Land Trusts, Have Driven Up Property Taxes
Bangor Daily News editorial In Tuesday’s State of the State speech, Gov. Paul LePage highlighted a serious problem that deserves attention in Augusta and beyond. Maine’s property taxes are too high, and they are rising. LePage, however, identified the wrong source of the problem. The governor, a long-time critic of land conservation, blamed land trusts Read More
Meet Lily Bailey, NRCM’s School Grants Intern
Maine is a state with a little bit of everything. Whether you prefer to spend your time tucked in a cozy cabin, climbing mountains, strolling along the coast, or enjoying lobster and Maine blueberry pie with friends and family, it’s easy to lose yourself in all Maine has to offer. But what might all those Read More
Low Gas Tax, Not EVs, Causing Shortfall in Highway Fund
If today’s drivers contributed as much as their grandparents, there would be no problem. Portland Press Herald editorial Maine has a free-rider problem when it comes to infrastructure, but it’s not the one they are talking about in Augusta. Gov. LePage and his allies in the Legislature want to charge an annual fee to the Read More
