Daily Archives: October 28, 2017

Downeaster plans extension of passenger rail service to Rockland | MaineBiz.biz

Posted on October 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, the public transportation authority created in 1995 to oversee the Downeaster passenger rail service between Maine and Boston and points within Maine, is exploring a seasonal and weekend-only extension of service up to Rockland.

NNEPRA announced the initiative at its annual meeting Monday night as one of its goals for 2018.

The “Downeaster Coastal Connection” pilot program would utilize the Rockland Branch rail line previously used by Maine Eastern Raiload’s excursion trains between Brunswick and Rockland — a service that ended in 2015 — and would be an extension of existing schedules, using existing equipment.

The seasonal and weekend-only service would provide Downeaster transportation to Bath, Wiscasset, Newcastle and Rockland, according to NNEPRA’s news release.

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Posted in Economy, Maine

30 years ago, many doubted Maine Island Trail would work. Today, it’s ‘a treasure’ Bangor Daily News

Posted on October 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

It was a novel idea — a water trail along the Maine coast, with campsites scattered on the state’s many uninhabited islands. In the fall of 1987, Camden native Dave Getchell, Sr., presented this vision, “a waterway foMITA_logo_NoWebsite-300x151r small boats,” in a single-page editorial in the magazine Small Boat Journal, and readers throughout Maine wrote to Getchell, stating their interest in the idea and offering to become involved.

Now 30 years later, the Maine Island Trail weaves through islands and along the rocky coast for 375 miles and features 218 sites, some for day use and some for camping.

“We are very proud to say the mission has not changed by one word since the beginning,” said Doug Welch, executive director of the Maine Island Trail Association for the past 10 years.

In recognition of the trail’s 30-year milestone, longtime members of MITA, including Getchell and Welch, gathered on Thursday, Oct. 26, at the MITA office in Portland. At the event, members reminisced about the trail’s humble beginnings and celebrated of the realization of a unique vision.

In a phone interview just prior to the party, Getchell, now 88 years old and living in Appleton, explained how the Maine Island Trail got started.

“Being an outdoors person and very fond of the water, and having done quite a lot of coastal cruising myself, it occurred to me that it would be great to have something like a water trail,” Getchell said.

At the time, the concept of creating a trail for paddlers, sailboats and small motorized boats, complete with boat launches and individual campsites, was new and controversial. In fact, the Maine Island Trail may very well be the first official “water trail” in America.

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Posted in Environment, Maine, Maine outdoors, Outdoors

COP students dig into research on George Moscone ’53 — College of the Pacific

Posted on October 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

This is one of the wonderful projects students at University of the Pacific are working on right now. Please follow the link below for the full story. (By the way, College of the Pacific is the largest school within University of the Pacific. It’s confusing, I know.)

Using a collection of George Moscone ’53 papers and other materials, four University of the Pacific history and communication students are creating a mosaic of his career as one of California’s most important progressive leaders. That research will be the basis for a new film on his life and legacy. “It’s an honor to work […]

via COP students dig into research on George Moscone ’53 — College of the Pacific

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Posted in Law and Order, Politics and government, University of the Pacific

Maine at the cutting edge of compost technology | Bangor Daily News

Posted on October 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what happens to waste once it’s been thrown out or flushed away.

But Mark King and the other members of the Maine Compost Team are not like most people. King, an environmental specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, has spent many years learning and teaching the finer points of composting food scraps, dead animals, human waste and other types of waste products. And he is very proud of the Maine Compost School, an award-winning, internationally-acclaimed program that is the longest-running such school in the country. Students from all over have come here for the last 20 years to learn cutting-edge compost technology.

“In 2014 there was an outbreak of avian influenza in the midwest that was getting worse and worse and worse. They didn’t have any experts to help with composting [the dead birds], and three of us from Maine were asked to help,” he said. “I think we’re leading the way. We have a huge abundance of composting expertise in the state of Maine.”

More than 1,000 students have graduated from the Maine Compost School, which is taught twice a year at Highmoor Farm in Monmouth, the University of Maine’s apple, small fruit and vegetable research facility. The farm has a state-of-the-art composting facility where students receive classroom instruction, laboratory experience and hands-on project exercises at the school that has received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence and a special national award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among other recognitions. Students spend a week digging into the art and science of composting, King said a few days after the fall class had finished, learning everything from how to correctly manage a small backyard bin to a large community compost facility.

“We teach the skill. We talk about the systems. We talk about how to build a pile and how to manage a pile,” King said. “It’s a program that fills up every class. It’s citizens, municipal officials, regulators. We accept anyone. Our philosophy is we’ll train anybody that wants to learn about compost.”

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Posted in Education and Schools, Environment, Maine, Maine outdoors, Outdoors

Maine congressional delegation unites in opposing potential tripling of Acadia entry fee | Portland Press Herald

Posted on October 28, 2017 | Leave a comment

All four members of Maine’s congressional delegation have come out in opposition to a proposal by the Department of the Interior that would raise the entrance fee at 17 popular national parks, including Acadia.

Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent, sent a joint letter Thursday asking the Department of the Interior to reconsider the idea because of its potential economic impact.

They wrote that “365 days a year, Acadia National Park – one of the crown jewels of the National Park System – serves as a tremendous resource for the people of Maine and the visitors who come here.

“From May through October, it sustains a vibrant economy in the region, bringing millions of visitors across the country and the world to the coast of Maine.”

The fee increase proposal, announced this week, is meant to help address a maintenance backlogin the park system. As drafted, it would nearly triple the cost of vehicle passes at Acadia, from $25 to $70. In addition to per-vehicle costs, entrance fees for individuals would rise from $12 to $30, while the fee for motorcyclists would jump from $20 to $50 during the peak season.

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Posted in Dumb stuff Trump does, Environment, Maine, Maine outdoors, Maine politics, Outdoors, Politics and government