Category Archives: Economy

US energy secretary to visit UMaine wind program | Bangor Daily News

US energy secretary to visit UMaine wind program – Bangor Daily News.

Rockland won’t use taxpayer money to fund Lobster Festival | Bangor Daily News

Rockland won’t use taxpayer money to fund Lobster Festival – Bangor Daily News.

Maine gasoline prices fall avg. 5.4 cents | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Maine gasoline prices fall avg. 5.4 cents | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Tuition going up at Maine universities | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Tuition going up at Maine universities | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Aroostook farmers welcoming the weather | Bangor Daily News

Aroostook farmers welcoming the weather – Bangor Daily News

[Potato farming is big in Aroostook County, the county where I grew up. I even picked potatoes one fall break from school — it was cold, wet, muddy, back-breaking work. The local school district generally let kids out for a week or so at harvest time so farmers could have enough hands to pick their crop. Mechanical harvesters pretty much take care of that now, I suspect. — KM]

Maine gets $7.3 million to expand school data system | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME

Maine gets $7.3 million to expand school data system | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME.

Maine recession ‘over’ but damage will linger | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Maine recession ‘over’ but damage will linger | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Maine unemployment rate drops in April | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Maine unemployment rate drops in April | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Maine, Northeast states seek massive rail upgrade | Bangor Daily News

Northeast states seek massive rail upgrade – Bangor Daily News.

Forest cover declining across New England | Bangor Daily News

Forest cover declining across New England – Bangor Daily News

A copy of the report can be found online at www.wildlandsandwoodlands.org.

Maine monitoring gulf oil spill | Bangor Daily News

Maine monitoring gulf oil spill – Bangor Daily News.

UMPI windmill ‘a great decision’ | Bangor Daily News

UMPI windmill ‘a great decision’ | Bangor Daily News

[In high school I played in a baseball playoff game hosted at the university baseball field near where this turbine was built. If that day was any indication of what the wind is like there normally, the windmill was put in just the right place. It was so windy that day that we could barely hit the ball out of the infield. More universities – more communities, more hospitals, more government buildings should consider wind power, solar power, and other alternative energy sources. – KM]

Live data on the turbine can be found at www.umpi.edu/wind; click on “Live Turbine Data.”

State revenues exceeded estimates again | Maine Public Broadcasting Network

State revenues exceeded estimates again | Maine Public Broadcasting Network

Energy week’s second wind | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Energy week’s second wind | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Frost hits Maine’s berry and apple crops | Bangor Daily News

Frost hits Maine’s berry and apple crops | Bangor Daily News

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Mainers call for an end to offshore drilling | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Mainers call for an end to offshore drilling | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

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Unveiling of climate bill will include offshore drilling clauses | SustainableBusiness.com News

The long-awaited climate change bill is due to be unveiled in the U.S. Senate today. But a summary of the bill circulated in the media yesterday.

The Associated Press reported that under the new bill, coastal states could veto offshore drilling plans of nearby states, if they can prove negative impacts from an accident. 

This clause is undoubtedly part of last-minute changes made in response to the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf. 

Click on the lick for the rest of this story on SustainableBusiness.com.

Poll: Gulf spill influences public’s desire for clean energy legislation | SustainableBusiness.com News

Seven in ten Americans say clean energy legislation must be fast-tracked in the wake of the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, according to a new Natural Resources Defense Council poll.

In addition, two-thirds want all new offshore drilling delayed pending the outcome of a full and independent investigation into the disaster and the implementation of new safeguards to protect against such debacles in the future.

The survey queried 803 registered voters nationwide May 4-6, and suggests that the public – if not Congress–is ready to support reasonable climate change and energy legislation.

“It’s no surprise to me that Americans watching this ghastly disaster unfold are seeing it as a wake-up call for action we urgently need to take,” NRDC Director of Programs Wesley Warren said. “Now is the time for Washington to give America the change in direction it deserves.”

Click on the lick for the rest of this story on SustainableBusiness.com.

Picture is worth a 1,000 words – or just under $200

I finally dove into digital photography.

Sort of.

I’ve been without a camera for a quite a while. Well, that’s not exactly true. I still have two 35-mm film cameras – a Canon single-lens reflex camera and a Pentax.

But who shots film anymore? Not many people.

And ever since I started the Letters From Away blog, I’ve wanted to include photos to illustrate some of the things I’ve written about.

I’ve been thinking about getting a camera for a while, but I’m still unemployed and funds being what they are, I have been putting it off.

Finally, I gave in and picked up a Canon PowerShot A1300 IS at Best Buy. I know, I know, it is a very basic camera. But it will do what I need it to do until I can get a job and can pad my bank accounts and buy a better camera.

The package I purchased for a bit under than $200 included the camera, wrist strap, battery, charger, cables to connect the camera to the computer and another to connect it to a TV, software, a 4G memory card, carrying bag, and Flexpod gripper tripod. I figured it was worth putting on a credit card in order to put more photos on Letters From Away.

So, expect more photos. Some will be good. Some will be, well, not so good.

Also, if any reader has a photo of Maine or Mainers or taken by Mainers and you’d like it to have a little play, please forward it to me and I’ll put it up on this blog. Don’t forget to give me your full name, your connection to Maine, and a bit of information so that I can write a cutline to go with it.

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Maine jobs news good, but still leaves cause for concern | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Our View: Job news good, but still leaves cause for concern | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.