by Mal Leary MPBN news story Gov. Paul LePage is proposing that the State Planning Office be abolished, and its functions assumed by other state agencies. He wants some of the department’s resources to go to a new Office of Policy and Management but the initiative is drawing concerns from both parties. The first red Read More
Governor Paul LePage
NRCM Testimony on State Planning Office Dismantlement
Senator Rosen, Representative Flood, Sen. Thomas, Representative Collins and distinguished members of the Joint Select Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs and the Joint Committee on State and Local Government. My name is Pete Didisheim. I am the Advocacy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I appreciate this opportunity to provide testimony on Read More
The Worst Duck-hunting Season Ever
On January 31, 2012, I finally got around to my first blog entry since hunting season started in October. I’ve been delinquent again and I’m sorry about it. But there is something fitting in writing my blog on the last possible day to duck hunt in Maine. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it out hunting that Read More
Weathering the Storm and a Dip in the Icy Atlantic
Having survived (can I say “enjoyed?”) NRCM’s New Year’s Eve day Polar Bear Dip & Dash and welcoming in the New Year with a sunrise walk with the dog through the Spurwink Marsh, I feel like I am entering 2012 with a good reserve of energy and optimism. Looks like we will all need lots of both. Before Read More
LePage Pushes to Eliminate Maine’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
by Susan Sharon MPBN radio news story Gov. Paul LePage says it’s time to wean Maine off its dependence on oil, and turn instead to natural gas. And in remarks to a group of business people at the Cumberland Club in Portland last night, the governor said Maine should stop using oil to heat homes—period. Read More
Study Commission for Maine’s North Woods Criticized as “Rigged from the Start”
NRCM news release The Natural Resources Council of Maine and Environment Maine today expressed deep concern that a study commission on the future of Maine’s North Woods will not provide an objective assessment, but instead has been stacked with people who are determined to abolish Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC). The 13 members of Read More
Seeking to Cut Vernal Pool Buffer, LePage Spurns Warning of Federal Scrutiny, Lawmaker Compromise
By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story AUGUSTA — The LePage administration is continuing its push to reduce the state’s buffer zone for vernal pools, despite warnings that the temporary wetlands could suffer irreparable harm. The Maine House of Representatives on Friday unanimously killed a bill that would slice the current 250-foot buffer Read More
New Poll Shows Mainers Support Environment
Statement by NRCM Executive Director Lisa Pohlmann The message from the poll that we are releasing today is absolutely clear: Maine’s clean air, clean water, and natural heritage is a high priority. The poll also demonstrates that Mainers decisively reject the notion that our environmental laws are causing a significant drag on our economy. They Read More
Record Number of Rollback Bills Proposed to Weaken Environmental Safeguards
Statement by Pete Didisheim, NRCM Senior Director, Advocacy We are here today to bring attention to the most serious and sweeping set of proposed rollbacks of Maine’s environmental laws that we have ever seen. We’re no longer talking just about the governor’s proposed rollbacks of the safeguards that provide us with clean air, clean water, Read More
