Stuff about me
My name is Keith Michaud and this is “Letters From Away,” a blog written by a Mainer living outside the comfortable and sane confines of New England. The blog is intended for Mainers, whether they live in the Pine Tree State or beyond, and for anyone who has loved ’em, been baffled by ’em or both. Ayuh, I am “from away.” Worse still, I live on the Left Coast – in California. Enjoy! Or not. Your choice.
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Category Archives: Politics and government
Mainers protest Anthem rate hike| Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — From Presque Isle, Deer Isle, Camden and Mapleton, Mainers traveled to Bangor Wednesday afternoon to protest the latest health insurance cost increase requested by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine.
“The hogs have come to the trough to feed again at the expense of those who use the coverage the least,” said lobsterman Leroy Bridges of Deer Isle, who purchases individual coverage for himself and his wife, with a $15,000 annual deductible each. “If they’re allowed a rate increase even close to what they’re asking, we’ll have to let it go; we got no choice.”
Bridges did not say how much his high-deductible coverage costs, but others at the meeting said similar policies cost close to $500 a month.
Anthem says the 23 percent average increase in the cost of its HealthChoice and Lumenos plans — for people who purchase health coverage individually instead of through an employer or other group — is needed to offset the growing cost and use of health care services and the unique challenges of the insurance market in Maine.
About 11,000 Anthem policyholders would be affected by the increase, which would take effect July 1 if approved.
Click on the link for the rest of today’s story by Meg Haskell in the Bangor Daily News.
Presque Isle, Houlton benefit from energy conversion grant – Bangor Daily News
Posted in Economy, Energy, Environment, Maine, Politics and government
Tagged American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Aroostook County, conservation, Energy, federal grant, Gov. John Baldacci, Houlton, Maine Department of Conservation, Maine Economic Improvement Fund, Maine Forest Service, oil boiler, pellet boiler, Presque Isle, University of Maine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, wood chip boiler
Salting roads before snow may save lives – Bangor Daily News
Salting roads before snow may save lives – Bangor Daily News.
To read the report, go to www.umaine.edu/files/2010/02/Winter-Road-Maint-Final.pdf
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors, Politics and government
Tagged AAA Northern New England, accident rates, accidents, anti-icing, “Maine Winter Roads”, crashes, de-icing, drivers, Environment, fatal crashes, fatalities, highways, ice, icing, lower corrosion rates, Maine Department of Transportation, Maine DOT, Maine Turnpike Authority, road conditions, road maintenance, roads, rock salt, safety, salting, salting roads, School of Economics, Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, slush, snow, snowing, turnpike, University of Maine, University of Maine professor Jonathan Rubin, University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, winter, winter weather, wrecks
Gun OK may not last long in Acadia | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors, Politics and government
Tagged Acadia National Park, Appalachian Trail, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, federal law, firearms, freedom to bear arms, Grand Canyon, gun, gun control, gun owners, gun rights, gun-control advocates, handgun, handgun ban, Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, National Park Service, National Rifle Association, NRA, Rep. Anne Haskell, Rep. David Burns, Rep. Gary Plummer, Second Amendment, Sen. Stanley Gerzofsky, Sen. Tom Coburn, St. Croix Island International Historic Site, Supreme Court, Washington D.C., Yellowstone
Amend constitution to fund Maine’s DIF&W?
Below I’ve linked to an interesting DownEast.com blog by George Smith of Mount Vernon on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and its funding.
Currently, fees from fishermen and hunters alone fund the department that takes on a very broad set of responsibilities. The agency also provides services to Mainers who do not fish or hunt.
A coalition including the Nature Conservancy, Maine Audubon, and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine is suggesting that the Maine Constitution be amended “by dedicating 1/8th percent of the sales tax receipts to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.”
Frankly, I’m unclear if that means an increase in the sales tax or merely a realignment of how the sales tax revenue is spent. I’m guessing it probably means an increase. But it might be worth it given the broad responsibilities the agency takes on and the fact that some Mainers receiving a benefit are not paying for DIF&W services.
By the way, according to DownEast.com, Smith is “a columnist, TV show host, executive director of the state’s largest sportsmen’s organization, political and public policy consultant, hunter, angler, and avid birder and most proud of his three children and grandson.” He also works for one of the three groups offering the idea to change the constitution, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine.
Here’s a link to George’s Outdoor News blog.
Posted in Economy, Maine, Outdoors, Politics and government
Tagged DIF&W, DownEast Magazine, DownEast.com, George's Outdoor News, Geroge Smith, Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, League of Conservation Voters, Maine Audubon, Maine Constitution, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Nature Conservancy, Sportsman’s Alliance
Code lays out ethics for Maine’s lawmakers | Portland Press Herald
Posted in Politics and government
Tagged Aroostook County, Aroostook County Conservation Association, Business, car dealers, car sales, Chinook dogs, code, Code Pink, coyotes, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wild, ethical conflict, ethics, governor's medical marijuana task force, Legislative Statement of Ethics, Maine Legislature, Maine State Museum, medical marijuana, misconduct, petition, Research and Economic Development Committee, Sunday care sales, University of Southern Maine, white-tailed deer
Acadia gun bill prompts lawmaker to vent – Bangor Daily News
Posted in Maine, Outdoors, Politics and government
Tagged Acadia National Park, Appalachian Trail, challenger, Congress, crime, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, Democrate, gun ban, guns, Maine Ethics Commission, Rep. Mike Michaud, Republican, rider amendment, Sen. Olympia Snowe, St. Croix Island International Historic Site, weapons
Maine governor sees improving economy
Maine governor sees improving economy
The MP3 and text versions of the address are not on the Maine.gov website, but here’s a link to that landing page. Give it a try later if you want to listen to the address or read the text.
Posted in Economy, Politics and government
Tagged Economy, Gov. John Baldacci, joblessness, jobs, recovery, unemployment, weekly radio address
Offshore wind farm could save $4.6 billion over 25 years
Below are several links, including one to a press release found on Sustainablebusiness.com about a report published by economic consulting firm Charles River Associates. That report apparently suggests that the Cape Wind offshore wind farm alone could save $4.6 billion – that’s with a B – over the next quarter century.
The proposed project would be off the coast of Massachusetts in Nantucket Sound. It is not stretch that proportionally similar savings could be realized from the eventual construction of a proposed project off Maine’s coast.
Of course, such reports usually are funded by the agency that would benefit. Cape Wind Associates LLC funded the report, according to a news story about the report.
Here’s a link to Friday’s press release: “Cape Wind Report: Offshore wind will cut electric prices by $4.6B”
Here’s a link to a previous press release about delays: “Cape Wind faces new obstacle”
Here’s a link to Thursday’s story in the Cape Cod Times about the report: “Cape Wind savings pegged at billions”
Here’s a link to Cape Wind’s website: http://www.capewind.org/.
Letters From Away 