I was honored to be able - with my photographer wife - to take the portraits of almost 300 young campers last Saturday. We do this twice a summer when the new campers arrive and the photos are then sent home to let the family know that their young one has arrived safe and sound at camp and to show just a bit of the great outdoors that the campers will be spending the next month enjoying.

There are 2 summer camps on Washington Pond where we live and 2 more summer camps on Damariscotta Lake where we are building a retirement home. There are probably well over 1000 campers in just these 4 camps and this is repeated many times over throughout Maine. The 4 camps near us draw campers from all over the world. We photographed children from Korea and Brazil. Several come from France and many more from other parts of Europe. Most of the American states are represented.

These campers come to Maine when they could just as easily go to any part of the world. Their families often deliver them personally and spend a few days or weeks touring around locally. These young people will grow into adults that love our state and return to visit it many times throughout their lives. They will buy first or second homes throughout Maine and many will move here with their families, investing their time and money in their community and creating local businesses that help employ others.

These young people are a great part of the future economy of our state.

I often talk briefly with the kids I photograph. A young man from Brazil says that their football team (soccer to us) isn't doing so well. A young lady from Florida thinks that our beautiful, sunny 80 degree day was just a bit chilly but she really looks forward to swimming in a real lake and not the pool. A young man from Japan doesn't know a word of English but we sort of point and smile and there is no problem taking his portrait and then I see him later in the day running and laughing with his cabin mates and I know he'll be just fine.

We now have to sort the 300 photos and deliver them ready to mail out. I reminisce on my summer camp days as I look at the photos. There is nothing finer than enjoying some time in Maine at camp.

Dan Gwadosky, Maine Lottery Director, says that "people are still dreaming about that big jackpot win".

For a state government that says that it opposes gambling, it is wonderful for them to allow the average citizen to spend their last few dollars for a MegaBucks ticket to hopefully fund their retirement or even just a full tank of fuel.

Instant sales tickets have dropped, perhaps because people simply can't chance their last dollar in hopes of winning just a few more, but Lottery sales overall are about $600,000 over budget. Megabucks and Powerball have made up the difference and more. Lottery directors across the country have been worried about losing revenue because of the recession but desperate times call for desperate measures and when the poor of Maine and the nation can't pay their bills then they are all too happy to chance their last few bucks on a big win. This state is not above taking these last few dollars to help increase the revenue of the Lottery Commission.

Let's see if I can remember why the Governor opposes gambling. Gambling is an addiction. Gambling hits the poor the hardest. Gambling promotes crime. I'm sure I've missed a few. Oh sorry, I forgot that this only applies to private gambling concerns and State sponsored gambling is healthy for the Government and it's citizens. Where is my mind lately anyway?

Not long ago my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful meal at a restaurant located on Lisbon Street in Lewiston.

Following dinner we walked leisurely back to our car and I was struck by the pleasant surroundings of that section of Lisbon Street where it joins Main Street. A lot of work has been done to renovate the area.

This observation started me thinking about how the Lewiston/Auburn area has changed over the last few years. The Bates Mill complex is also the result of extensive planning and renovation and there is the major addition of the huge Wal Mart distribution center that has provided new jobs for citizens and tax revenue for the municipality.

There is new construction in the area of the Auburn Mall and a variety eating places and shopping opportunities are available. I am slightly surprised at the popularity of the Margaritas' addition, since spicy food has taken some time to gain a foothold here in Maine. Auburn residents have also benefited from the hard work done by Mayor John Jenkins and the City Council who were determined to avoid any tax increases for the current year and have met that goal (any chance of moving that whole crew up to Augusta?). An interesting side note; John Jenkins has previously successfully served as Mayor of Lewiston. He would appear to be a guy who knows how to get things done.

There is currently construction going on in the heart of Freeport that will result in a large new parking garage and additional businesses in the same complex.

Scarborough now has an enormous draw for sportsmen with the opening of the big Cabelas' retail complex. The wildlife exhibits alone are a good reason for a trip to that store.

Bangor has the new casino that is reportedly bringing significant revenue and jobs to the area.

All of these things got me thinking about a recent article in the Portland Press Herald online highlighting a Critical Insights survey claiming that 91% of Mainers feel that the economy has become worse than this time last year and that only 15% look forward to any improvement during the next year.

The examples that I have listed have brought new significant jobs in construction and then other opportunities after the construction/renovations have been completed. And yet, after telephone interviews with "602 Mainers" and having a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, we are presented with a dismal view of the economy?

I was told once that polls and surveys should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism since their purpose was not to inform, but to influence.

Companies and pollsters who are paid to conduct surveys will insist that their findings are based on the latest scientific methods, but I personally find it difficult to have confidence in conclusions drawn after interviewing 602 people out of our population of approximately 1.3 million residents.

Also, I can't help but wonder who paid for this survey. After all, this is an election year. According to Mark Brewer, an associate professor of political science at the University of Maine, "the average American voter sees the President as overwhelmingly responsible for the economy, for good or ill".

Perhaps, but I would be more inclined to look at the Governor and the Legislature as having more significant responsibility for our local economy.

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Today is the last Friday of the month, which means it's also "Green Streets Day." The kids and I have participated in this initiative for the past several months. We've enjoyed finding our way to work and school/camp using 'people power.'

Green Streets Day (http://portlandgreenstreets.org/) is my favorite type of public/environmental health initiative: it is fun, it is fairly easy, and it costs nothing (or very little). It gets people out and about, exercising their bodies and minimizing their impact on the world. Portland Green Streets does an admirable job getting the word out...

"On Green Streets Day, we encourage people throughout Greater Portland to:

* Wear Something Green (shirt, pants, socks, whatever!)
* Get Around Green (walk, bike, bus, carpool, telecommute, etc.!)
* And then to Celebrate (by signing in for freebies, discounts, & raffle items from local businesses)!

We hold a region-wide party on that day, with each individual and institution - celebrating and encouraging in its own way.

So throw on something green for the last Friday of the month - and share a car ride, hop the bus, drive your bike, or put one foot in front of the other. And watch out - because you will not only do good, but feel good, too!"

I like this approach. The Portland Green Streets group wants us to enjoy our monthly person-powered commute. They aren't trying to make us feel guilty about the days on which we must use fossil fuels to get around. They simply want to help us experience an alternative.

My family and I experience this alternative regularly--especially the kids. We live close to our schools, the library, the town-sponsored summer camps and many of the playing fields. So my older kids (in seventh and tenth grade) walk and bike more often than not. Whenever possible, I accompany my second grader to school or camp along our neighborhood's wooded paths (we think she's still too small to go by herself). We chat, and occasionally take advantage of the free flowers that our friend sets out on her stone wall. Once we've gotten my daughter to her destination, I return home for my bike, and ride the two miles to my office.

There is nothing better than a bike ride on a beautiful day.

Unless it is a walk with one's second-grader on a beautiful day.

I know I'm lucky to be able to commute this way. Many people have odd schedules, or live too far away from their jobs or schools for this to be a viable option. My husband's job is forty minutes away in Lewiston, and though he has considered biking there, this simply hasn't been practical yet.

So the kids and I will carry the Green Streets torch for now, and we're happy to do it. Thanks to the Portland Green Streets group for making this monthly event something to look forward to. Our bodies and our world appreciate your efforts.

I'm not going to mention where I work, but suffice to say that it is a large building with an associated retail outlet that is prominently situated on Route 1.

During the tourist season, there are hordes of visitors wandering about our lobby, taking photos and doing other touristy things. Inevitably, a lot of these folks consist of young families with small children. As I enter and exit the building, I can't help but overhear these parents addressing their children by their given names, and I've noticed that there is a preponderance of little boys between the ages of 5 and 12 named Damien.

Ummm … Is it just me, or didn't any of these parents see the movie "The Omen"? For me, the name Damien is always going to be associated with this film. For those of you who missed it, the theme of this movie could be summed up by the phrase "Spawn of Satan". Whenever I encounter a kid named Damien, I experience an involuntary moment of shock. To me, these people might as well have named their little bundle of joy "Dracula" or "Beelzebub".

I'm not suggesting that these children will carry this burden around for the rest of their lives. What makes the movie so creepy is the fact that the devil isn't a big, powerful, ugly, lecherous, dissolute adult; instead, HE'S AN ANGELIC LOOKING LITTLE TOT WHO BREAKS HIS MOTHER'S NECK JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT! Once these kids reach adulthood, the stigma of the "D-name" will be dissipated (mostly).

I'm curious whether there are other people with this peculiar cultural reaction to the name Damien?

I'm very pleased to finally learn why we are all paying high prices for our gas. The McCain campaign has done an extensive investigation and can tell the American voters that it is in fact Barak Obama's fault.

I know, I know, McCain has recently been quoted as saying that the nations dependence on foreign oil has been building for 30 years and was caused by "the failure of politicians in Washington", but with his campaign going no where it is time for the truth to come out and for Obama to stand up and take the blame like a real man.

This all proves that McCain is ready to be President. You don't need to tell the truth, you just need to say whatever will raise you numbers in the polls. We have witnessed 8 years of lies and misleading statements from our current President and know as a country that this is the proper way to lead America.

Really now, I don't question that John McCain is a true patriot. I don't question that he is basically a decent man. I don't question that he will stand behind the Republican party in times of good or bad. If we want a President who believes that the end justifies the means and no lie is too big or small to achieve his goal, then John McCain is your candidate of choice. After all, as good Republicans we don't need to actually think when we vote, we just need to check that one box at the top that gives us a straight Republican ticket.

I think I'm going to jump the fence. I don't know about you, but I think it's time for a change.

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I have just received though the mail (at taxpayer expense, of course) a "report" from my local Maine Senator, a Democrat, lauding the accomplishments of the most recent Legislative session.

The apparent centerpiece of this ode to Legislative prowess and largesse was a statement to the effect that the Legislature had borne down and through dint of excessive hard work and making very difficult choices had created a balanced budget for the upcoming two years.

The details may indicate an entirely different picture, depending upon how much of this glowing rhetoric one is willing to accept at face value.

For instance, the good Senator proudly explains that roads and bridges will receive special attention through approved bonds totaling over fifty million dollars over the next three years. She appears to be overjoyed at the prospect of burdening the already stressed Maine taxpayer with this large sum, plus accumulating interest. No mention of why borrowing more money was the only option, ignoring the fact that all of the money from the gas taxes, turnpike fares, registrations, etc. never seems to make it to the projects for which they are specifically designated but instead vanishes into the gaping maw of the General Fund.

Bonds are nothing more than borrowing money that the state government does not have, incurring more debt at a time when from the Governor on down our leaders deluge the public with tales of impending doom unless vital needs are addressed. Why has no effort been made to prioritize funding requirements such as maintenance for transportation infrastructure?

And no mention of the already infamous new beverage tax, passed very late in the Legislative session without any public input whatsoever with the resulting funds being targeted to prop up Dirigo Health which continues to be unable to support itself and has become a drain on the State Treasury.

As has happened so often in the past, the leaders of the Maine Legislature have "balanced the budget" by increasing the oppressive tax burden shouldered by the working people of Maine while the Department of Health and Human Services cannot account for over one hundred million missing dollars and expensive new computer programs eat up more millions and still do not work correctly.

And they expect the public to be grateful for this blatant mismanagement of funds taken from the citizen's pockets.

Can we afford this kind of runaway spending or is it time to install in Augusta politicians who are willing to exercise fiscal restraint and work within available revenues?

I am curious as to how many others have received this kind of "good news" from their legislators.

Friends have told me they wished for more good news in the paper. Well, here's a column of only good news. I've chosen to put the spotlight on a few vendors that I've found to be excellent. For sure, there are more than one excellent car dealer, auto mechanic, fish market. I've chosen just one of each, and named a few other places that I frequent regularly.

What's the test? Simply that I'm glad to give them my money, feeling that they've really taken care of me in a wonderful way. Yes, money is tight, but they've given me so much value, and so much good will, that the exchange feels especially fair. Problems? When I'm back for service, support, assistance, or whatever they're right there with me. I could tell whole stories, but have chosen to just name names.

For those of you who want to comment, add your own choices. Put the spotlight on other vendors who've earned our respect, and our patronage. Here goes:

Portland Motor Sales -- for used car sales, and excellent foreign car service

Harbor Fish -- if it lives in the water

Micucci's -- Not just Italian groceries, but cheeses of all nations and many other items. Also Steve's excellent breads and pizza.

Maine Professional Opticians -- As a photographer, my eyes are important!

Downeast Appliance -- Actually two businesses, one for sales and another for service.

O'Naturals -- They've said it themselves: they put food in their food.

Who have I left out?

Maine has an abundance of wood and we could and should use this resource to help power our state. I read a piece in the Portland Press about the Governor's Wood-to-energy task force and initially thought that this is a great idea. Then I read that the task force is chaired by Les Otten. For those who don't know Les, I will explain that he recently started a business called Maine Energy Systems to import and sell wood pellet burning furnaces in Maine. He also plans to sell pellets in quantity throughout his sales area. I think that Les is importing a high quality furnace and providing a needed service.

Using wood in Maine is too important to screw it up. Governor Baldacci has just made the final report of his committee totally irrelevant by stacking it with interested parties.

I think Les should be involved in this task force. He could provide information as a non-member to an independent group about the equipment that is available and it's capabilities. He can also provide info on the availability of pellets and delivery systems in Maine. There are a lot of other people who can also provide info on the forests and harvesting requirements that will be call upon.

It is a shame for this task force to be undermined by blatant conflict of interest. I could tell you the outcome without spending a dime of the taxpayers money simply by reading a list of the names and business of the task force members. The task force should be manned and chaired by people without a vested interest in the outcome. This is too important to ruin by stupid and shoddy politics.

Quite some time ago I had conversation with a member of the Maine PUC about phone and internet service in Maine. This was after the Fairpoint takeover of Verizon had been proposed but not yet approved. I expressed my opinion that I had very mixed emotions about Fairpoint. On the one hand, I has DSL courtesy of Fairpoint , but on the other hand the service and reliability was lousy. Last night they struck again.

I had intentions of making a post last night about wood heat in Maine. When I got home from work about midnight my DSL was down and my wife told me that it had been down since about 9:00 PM. I called Fairpoint and got through to a tech person who told me that she would put in a repair ticket.

I have to digress briefly and explain that DSL is not a toy in our house. My wife runs a busy and successful photography studio called Fenn Fotographics where she does portraits, weddings and commercial photography. I spend my days helping her and my weekends photographing weddings with her. This is our busy season and DSL is our lifeline. We order photos from the lab over the DSL. We communicate with customers through email. We maintain our own web site with frequent updates using the DSL. When the DSL goes down, we are unable to conduct business in a normal manner.

About 9:00 this morning, still with no DSL, I again called Fairpoint about our lack of DSL. The service people were always polite but couldn't or wouldn't give me any indication of when the DSL might be working again. I once experienced about a week of being unable to upload files to the lab due to a Fairpoint DSL issue and had to get the labs tech guy in Missouri to conference call with Fairpoint to diagnose the Fairpoint problem, so I am not too confident in the ability of Fairpoint to solve a problem or in their concern that the problem get solved in the first place. I started to get slightly rude and informed the Fairpoint tech guy that without DSL I was unable to service my customers and earn money to support my family and pay the mortgage. I needed to know when the DSL would be working again. All he would do is keep telling me that a repair ticket had been put in and they "tried" to get to them the same day. Frustrated, I thanked him and hung up. Within 10 minutes the DSL was back on.

I am glad that I wasn't without DSL for a week this time. One of our big customers this time of year needs over 300 individual portraits delivered the next day after taking the photos. We couldn't do this without DSL service. I am grateful to Fairpoint that DSL is available at all because we live pretty much in the boonies and I'm quite sure that Verizon would not have offered us any DSL at all. My father lived in a suburb of Brunswick with a fairly large population and Verizon didn't offer them DSL. Before DSL was run to our house I used satellite internet which worked quite well but was expensive. DSL is slightly faster and cheaper.

I believe that Fairpoint will bring DSL to a large part of Maine that currently doesn't have it. They know that this is the future of their business. I am concerned that the service is not as reliable as it could be. I can't wait multiple days for service to be restored. I would like to see Fairpoint get their act together on customer service. In the meantime I just have to think that bad service is better than no service at all.

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Have you ever attended a planning board meeting?

There has been considerable discussion of "urban sprawl" in southern Maine. Town planning departments and planning boards are where citizens confront these questions of sprawl and manage the effects of development.

But imagine, for a moment, a planning board where all the members happened to be builders and real estate developers. Imagine a housing development up for review by this body -- what sort of standards would they apply.

Sidewalks? -- Too expensive. No one walks any more. Waiver granted.
Extend a water main? -- Home owners can drill wells. Waiver granted.
Wetlands? -- Breed mosquitoes. Drain them -- waiver granted.

You get the idea. Fortunately we don't do municipal planning this way (though some would like to). Land use is strongly tied to community values and the people who make those decisions have to represent the whole community.

"Marine habitat destruction" is the ocean equivalent of "urban sprawl".

A few summers ago I attended a two-day workshop at the UME Darling Marine Center campus in Walpole. Meeting there were US and Canadian planners and scientists looking at human-caused stressors to marine habitats in the Gulf of Maine. They determined that, in every kind of marine habitat, from open-ocean to estuary, the greatest impacts by far come from commercial fishing.

Then they asked the question, "If fishing is altering marine ecology, who manages the impacts of fishing?"

Answer: in US waters the responsibility falls to the New England Fishery Management Council. Hmmm -- not what people expected.

Therefore, today I am attending the New England Fishery Management Council's Habitat Committee meeting. It's not an easy assignment to sit through. The day's discussion is focused on a federal proposal -- guidelines for protecting corals from damage by fishing operations. The chairman, an intelligent, well meaning man, is running the meeting -- he is a charter boat captain. The vice-chairman owns a groundfish trawler. Three members are employees of marine resource agencies in NH, RI and CT.

The final member is an industry trade representative with a large trawler background -- he has been speaking at length against the federal proposal -- specifically, recommendations to close areas where corals are found to many forms of commercial fishing. Listening to him you would understand that bottom trawlers, clearly, are no threat to coral and should not be included on a list of destructive gear-types. "Really. Trawler captains avoid coral areas. They don't want to get into the stuff. Damage to coral comes from lobster traps and gillnets, not trawlers. No need to close them out of these areas."

Okay. Yup. We know how he's going to vote.

Few people realize that there are beds of hard coral in areas of the Gulf of Maine. Cold-water corals that grow in deep basins and canyons along the continental shelf edge. Species which live for 500 years. One pass of a trawl-door or a carelessly retrieved net can wipe out a long biological history in an instant. Scientists estimate that 80% of coral biomass in New England has been lost to interaction with commercial fishing over two centuries, in little bits and pieces over time.

So how long shall we leave a piece of sea-bed undisturbed in order to regenerate coral communities? No one in the fishing industry is going to ask that question. Instead, the debate may be whether to protect some of what is left. And coral is just one of many issues of this sort.

Comprehensive planning for marine environmental quality? No one has invented that yet.

Download more on Cold-water Coral

My job provides constant interaction with restaurants, hotels, and other tourist-oriented businesses that form a significant section of Maine's economy.

Given the cost of travel and transportation these days, it should come as no surprise that many of my clients are unhappy and anxious over a drop in customers. They tell me that their revenues are not currently at the same levels produced by past summer seasons and they blame this decrease not only on fewer tourists, but also fewer Maine people patronizing their establishments.

No doubt some of these businesses will no longer be solvent by next tourist season. The better-managed, more popular establishments will stand the best chance of survival.

The ever-rising cost of petroleum products is causing more and more ripples in the pool of our national and local economies. On a recent news broadcast I heard one economic "expert" speculate that something other than "market variations" might be influencing these huge increases in the cost of gasoline and heating oil, since there is no evident decline in prices despite an increasing drop in their consumption. Gee, you suppose …….?

A growing and vibrant economy is vital to our national and local interests and, yes, our stabilizing contributions to a world economy.

Locally we should be planning right now to make sure that those who legitimately will not be able to afford to heat their homes this coming winter will not be freezing. Nationally, we should be taking immediate steps to decrease our dependence upon foreign oil and that means opening drilling in new areas and doing whatever it takes to finance and encourage the exploration of alternative energy sources.

We can no longer afford national or local politicians who refuse to prioritize spending in order to address our most pressing needs, whose proposed solutions are focused on "tax the rich" (or the general population, in the case of Augusta), or who still block the expansion of our national resources of coal and oil, or who still pander to special interests whose livelihoods depend upon the status quo.

We, as individuals, can make conservation efforts that will help our personal finances. But we surely need to elect local and national politicians with the vision, determination, ethics and moral strength to consider the welfare of the public as a whole; to reject those who will assure us that they have our best interests at heart and then ignore campaign pledges and promises so that they can conduct "politics as usual".

As important as the tourist industry is to Maine, our state government needs to adjust their prevailing attitude that recreational visitors (cash cows) will sustain their ever-increasing "tax and spend" policies.

Then again, we can allow the current power structures in Augusta and Washington to continue unchecked until we are all "equal" - equally penniless, that is.

November and opportunity inches closer. Are you ready for a change in Augusta?

That's right. Went to get on the 8:15 ferry Sunday night, and was hit by a dangerous burst of noise. A call to the Portland Police revealed that the city had actually given permission for a so-called concert to take place on public property, producing noise far in excess of the noise ordinance in effect in Portland. The ferry terminal is our front door. We couldn't comfortably walk onto the boat with this assault.

Who is giving permission for this, and why?

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The Bates Dance Festival is a largely unknown gem. As a center for advanced dance study with master teachers enrollment has been full for months. Serious dancers should consider going next year.

But tickets for most of the series of dance concerts -- some free, and the rest very moderately priced -- are generally available. Look at their web site, and plan a wonderful evening (or afternoon):
    BatesDanceFestival.org

Disclosure: I've been the photographer in residence for the past three summers, and will be there again. I've also a show of my work at Chase Hall Gallery (56 Campus Ave -- NOT the Bates art museum). Note that the gallery closes at 6 pm each day. But you could see that show, eat at the wonderful new Bates cafeteria, and see a great concert -- all in one evening.

A few days ago I challenged Dodge and Lee Auto to support the "up to" mileage figures in their advertising. I received an email from Jeff Cote who is the sales manager at Lee Auto explaining where these figures come from. When the EPA does mileage tests, they run the tests several times and then average them for their official mileage figure. The window sticker which Jeff forwarded to me in his email listed an EPA highway mileage of 29 but also says that "Results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between 19 and 29 mpg in the city, and between 24 and 34 mpg on the highway." This is where the claimed "up to" 34 MPG comes from.

I would like to thank Jeff for the info. I am glad that Dodge has vehicles that can top 30MPG. I am hopeful that the domestic 3 auto makers can survive and prosper in these turbulent times.

As the EPA also says "actual mileage will vary" so step easy on the pedal and see if you can get the higher numbers.

On July 8, the Portland Press Herald ran a story about a tragic 4th of July weekend motorcycle accident. A group of six motorcycle riders swerved to avoid a turning car, which they came upon suddenly after rounding a curve. Forty-three-year old Rochelle Plummer was thrown from her bike and killed. She was not wearing a helmet. Nor were four of the other five riders.

As a doctor, you might expect that I would have something to say about the lack of helmet wearing.

I do: it is stupid. People who ride motorcycles should wear helmets. I've seen too many people with head injuries not to believe this is important.

That being said, it legal in this state to ride without a helmet. Which is also stupid. But whether or not helmet wearing should be a law, right now it simply isn't. So people can chose to wear helmets or not. And many in Rochelle's group worked in public safety. They knew the risks.

So I was dismayed to read in the Press Herald sidebar:

INVOLVED IN ACCIDENT

ROCHELLE PLUMMER, 43, of Gray. Died in crash. No helmet.

Is it not enough that she died? Do we have to publicly pour salt in her family's wound?

It seemed a classic case of blaming the victim. Yet, when newspapers run stories about people who died for other reasons, they do not always feel the need to try and assign blame. Maybe we should. How about:

JOE SMITH, 56, of East Gish. Died of heart attack. Ate fatty foods. Never exercised.

Or perhaps we should start doing this for victims of crimes:

MELANIE PARKER, 23, of Way Up Yonder. Raped. Wore revealing clothing.

These could be taken to ridiculous extremes.

Obviously, there is a place for trying to understand why people die, or have their lives seriously impacted in some way. When we do this, we can potentially prevent harm from coming to others in the future. So the Press Herald is not remiss in commenting on a lack of helmet wearing. Perhaps their attention to the problem will someday lead to a change in Maine laws.

In the meantime, I wish they had not listed "No helmet" in their sidebar. We should let her family mourn her death without feeling the weight of public judgment.

She died doing something perfectly legal.

Unfortunately, the Press Herald editors got it all wrong when they wrote (in this morning's editorial): "Portland cannot thrive in this economy by being unwelcoming to passenger automobiles."

Just how many cars are we supposed to welcome? Parking is already scarce, traffic on such routes at Forest Ave (302) is heavy, and huge streets like Franklin just chop up our city. There are better alternatives.

The Press Herald goes further: "In fact, one of Portland's big advantages as a place to live and visit is the relative ease in getting around the city by car." Wrong again. Leave out the "by car" and the sentence is still true. But keep it in and it won't be true for long.

Continuing: "Put another way, incentives to get people out of their cars make sense, but penalties for using them do not." But the report doesn't impose penalties -- it assesses real costs. As a Peaks Islander, I have to pay to park my car in town. Why shouldn't we all -- except for those who are smart enough to live and work in town, or near good transit hubs. Uups. I mis-speak. There are few good transit hubs here, because so much money has been spent on car facilities instead.

Arriving by boat from Peaks Island, it would take me more than an hour to get to Whole Foods. There's no bus to the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook. The airport is now a taxi -- not a bus -- ride away. There are no buses to the bus stations. And we've a huge new garage a few blocks away, with cinder block walls.

Regarding the Letter to the Editor from Katy Perry of Hallowell in Thursday's Portland Press Herald: Ms. Perry complains about the Plum Creek Timber plan to build vacation homes on its property near Moosehead Lake.

Click here to read the letter ...

In one section of her letter, she makes the following statement,

"If there is any way to say "no" to all proposals and never allow a bit of change in that area, I would be the first to sign a petition or vote for such a well-aimed plan."

I've got great news for Katy and all the folks who share her views. There's already a legal way to accomplish her goals. It's a firmly established precedent called "private property". All the Plum Creek Timber opponents need to do is raise an appropriate amount of cash and buy the land from Plum Creek at its current market value.

Too many opponents of the Plum Creek project seem to feel that they have stewardship rights to the company's property by simple virtue of the fact that they reside in Maine. If you want to build an addition on your house, should your neighbor have the right to prevent you from doing so, just because he objects to the altered view? Of course not!

Let's be honest: There are very few Mainers outside the immediate Greenville area - myself included - that want to see this project come to fruition. But that doesn't change the fact that the property belongs to Plum Creek, and they have the right to use it as they please within certain limitations.

If Plum Creek opponents want to preserve this land in its current condition, they should do what Percival Baxter did: Buy the land at market value and donate it to the state of Maine. Quit expecting private property owners to forfeit the value of their land out of the goodness of their corporate hearts.

You have to love those clear hot July days on the water. The boat leaves harbor at sun-up and runs straight out to sea for two hours to a favorite offshore fishing ground. As the morning wears on the sun beats down, the air becomes still and the surface of the water as smooth as glass.

Then you see them. Little dots of color on the horizon. Balloons. Party balloons. Helium balloons that have lost their lift. They float on top of the water barely touching the surface, trailing streamers of colored ribbon like a kite with a tail.

I hate balloons. I especially hate mylar balloons - they don't seem to break down in the environment. I've found mylar balloons floating at sea that had obviously been around for years. The foil and pigment had flaked off, the balloon just clear plastic with algae growing on it.

The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary program does research on whales. Last summer, during tagging research, we counted 42 animals one day feeding in an area of two-mile radius. You could stand on top of the boat and see whales everywhere you looked, mouths wide open coming up out of the water.

I picked up half-a-dozen balloons that day from my boat, plus all sorts of other plastic detritus. I'm sure a balloon wouldn't kill a whale if it accidentally shallowed one. It's just the idea of it - plastic litter at sea. It's not right.

People don't hold onto their balloons! That's why I don't like balloons - they have to end up somewhere after they fly away. I suspect that after a good summer's weekend, with kids' parties, weddings, county fairs and sporting events, all the helium balloons in New England end up in the North Atlantic (if the wind's right).

Of course, I don't like parties either. Especially birthday parties. Especially mine.

I see the latest polling on the 2008 U.S. Senate race gives incumbent Susan Collins a 25 point lead over Tom Allen.

(Paste the following URL in your browser for full poll results. The PHPost utility is refusing to let me hyperlink this story)

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=1&8481&ac=PHnws

I'm not sure whether we can draw any conclusions from that result, given that a similar poll conducted in the same time period only gave Collins a nine point lead. It seems to me that results like these make the polling itself suspect.

For those who haven't been following the race closely, the Democrats' strategy has been to criticize Susan Collins for her lack of "bipartisanship" - whatever that means. Ironically, only the most partisan Democratic Activist could possibly view the situation in that light. Susan Collins breaks GOP political ranks more often than just about any Republican in Washington, especially on key platform issues like abortion rights or domestic oil e%ploration. As a matter of fact, there's a lot of hostility toward Ms. Collins from members of her own party, who widely regard her as that most abhorrent of creatures - a RINO (Republican In Name Only).

There's no doubt that Susan Collins is solidly middle-of-the-road. Truth be told, a lot of moderate Democrats are going to vote for her over the spendthrift Tom Allen, even if they won't own up to it around the water cooler. At the same time, conservative Republicans will hold their noses and pull the lever for Collins. As a result, she's going to win another Senate term with relative ease, IMO. In the meantime, the Democratic Party will have wasted millions of dollars in Maine that could have been spent more effectively elsewhere.

I have recently received my family's allowance of "Bush Bucks", the governments effort to stimulate our economy. Even though I disagree with the politics of spending my children's money in this way, I have taken the money and spent it.

I often write about energy issues and frequently say that we must "do something" to reduce our use of oil - for our own economic savings as well as environmental reasons. I have described my family's efforts to construct an energy room to reduce our own use of heating oil and explained that we will be spending much more to build this room than we expect to save in the next few years. I have received the occasional comment that doing something takes money and that many cannot afford this. Here is where Bush Bucks come in.

Most families have by now received their own Bush Bucks. How did you spend your share? If you paid off debt then I can't fault your decision. If you ran out to buy that big screen TV then you have no complaint when you have to dig deep this winter for heat.

A few hundred dollars can go a long way towards reducing your use of oil. Window quilts are a good start and a few windows worth can be purchased for a few hundred or the materials can be bought to do most of a house for those who are handy with tools and a sewing machine. Even a good window has an R value of only about 2 or 3 and each window is like having an uninsulated section of wall in your house. Cover them up with some good quilts and immediately feel the difference. Caulking around doors and windows makes a huge difference and putting those little foam gaskets behind electrical plates can stop quite a bit of breeze. Infiltration - leaking air - is one of the greatest losses of heat in most homes and not much money is needed to reduce your leakage. Adding insulation to your attic costs a bit more but can pay huge rewards. You get the idea. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Every bit helps and collectively, if every home was made just a bit tighter then the savings for our state and country would be huge.

You have no excuses. Anyone can do nothing and we all love to complain but the middle of this winter will weed those who did something from those who just complained. Make the effort to make a difference.

T. Boone Pickens, oilman, businessman, billionaire, has announced a plan and started a campaign to reduce our dependence on imported oil by one third and to do it in ten years. Pickens is putting his money where his mouth is and investing in wind energy as well as starting a campaign that he says will put his face and his plan on TV as much as the presidential candidates this fall.

There is a lot to like about his plan. Pickens believes that this type of development is crucial to the future of our country. He believes that it must be bipartisan and that it has to be addressed by the presidential candidates.

Pickens believes that wind power will provide the energy needed to run a great part of our country and he is investing in a huge wind energy plant to prove it. There has been a great deal of discussion and investment in wind power in Maine with support from former governor Angus King and current Governor Baldacci. Although Pickens is spending his money in Texas, Maine is positioned to generate a substantial amount of wind energy.

Visit Pickens web site at PickensPlan.com for more information.

As we continue to move into the deepest parts of a historic presidential campaign, the issue of how Barack Obama's race will affect the outcome continues to be a key point of the political discourse. With Obama being the first black nominee of a major political party, the significance is obvious. But, it would be a mistake to conclude that this is the first presidential election where race (or, sex, as Hilary Clinton was concerned) has been a major factor.

It's been pointed out in the past several months by other progressive political and cultural commentators, race and sex have always been THE most significant characteristics a president can have - heretofore, to even become a nominee you must be both white and male make the grade.

A key element in the dysfunctional way in which we too often discuss race and gender in American politics is the invisibility of a candidate's sex and race when that person is a white male. It's another way we pretend to address these issues without ever really bringing the subject home....never really coming to terms about where we've been as a culture or where we are. How to have real, honest and transformative conversations about race and gender when we so often fail to even see where these lightning rods of our civic and social lives touch down? We can't truly change how a dominant dynamic of our culture does damage unless we can see where it exists. We can't if we keep our eyes closed.

Fact is, it can be argued that this has been our most substantial opportunity to diminish the role a candidate's race or sex has on presidential politics. Perhaps, if we can be honest with ourselves. Eyes, hearts and minds open. Perhaps here and now we can begin to figure out how what has mattered so much before can matter less going forward. Perhaps a chance to make what has hurt so many people before hurt less in the future...and maybe we come out the other side a wiser and better nation.

The International Coastal Cleanup has become a big event worldwide (to learn more about the ICC, click here). Volunteers not only collect tons and tons and tons of trash from beaches and shore lands; they actually inventory the items they pick up. Understanding where the trash comes from is the first step to stopping it at its source.

The single largest category of item collected every year: cigarette butts. Millions and millions of cigarette butts.

It's a big ocean. Cigarette buts are small things. You wouldn't think there would be a significant impact from something so innocuous.

But, catch this news from Down Under. A report from the Townsville Aquarium in Australia of "a green sea turtle that had died of nicotine poisoning after consuming 300 cigarette butts (presumably washed into the sea from storm water drains)."

Storm drains. Someone walking down the street finishing a smoke, crushes the cigarette under his shoe and kicks it to the curb. You've seen it. Just a thoughtless habit. But the next rain - into the storm drain and out to sea.

All pollution makes its way to the sea.

Poor turtle. I tried Skoal chewing tobacco once - it made me green too.

In past posts I have slammed the auto industry pretty hard and Dodge in particular for their poor management and fuel mileage. I have a Dodge truck and really like it but at 13 MPG it has no future in a $4.50 per gallon of gas world and I believe that the future of Dodge is limited if they don't get their act together and do something to improve the mileage of their entire line of vehicles. I have also praised Ford briefly for a 34MPG Escape hybrid and expressed my opinion that 30MPG was the minimum acceptable in todays world.

Imagine my surprise to read an ad from Lee Auto Mall listing several Dodge cars that got "Up to 34 MPG". This is in and ad that lists Nissans and Toyotas with 34MPG shown and no carefully worded "Up To" before it. I read the ad a couple of times and almost felt guilty. I say almost because I'm not too sure how the "Up to" plays out.

Part of writing on this blog is that I must agree to correct incorrect comments in a timely manner. I am always ready to admit an error and in fact am frequently happy to admit that I have been wrong. If I have wronged Dodge then I want to know it and set the record straight. I would be pleased as punch for Dodge to have a line up of vehicles that get decent mileage. It would give a boost to their chances of survival in these turbulent times and that is great news for the thousands of Americans who work for Dodge and buy their products.

In a spirit of fairness, tonight I emailed Lee Auto to offer to test a Dodge car of their choice. I will be willing to drive it in the same manner that I drive my own vehicles. Since I always get better than EPA suggested mileage for my own vehicles, Dodge would get a real world best case type of test. I will then be glad to report the truth on this blog. I'm not sure what Lee and Dodge will have to say but I'll keep you posted.

In the July 3 editon of the Forecaster, Edgar Allen Beem derides class action lawsuits, specifically as they relate to the recent Hannaford security breach.

Click here for story ...

Although it pains me to admit it, I have to agree with Edgar regarding this issue. There's practically universal agreement outside the legal profession that class action suits are nothing more than a protection money shakedown of major corporations. There's virtually no benefit to the wronged consumers that these lawsuits ostensibly protect. It's just one more indication that Washington D.C. is a Country Club, and average Americans are the groundskeepers and chambermaids that work there. However, that's not what I wanted to talk about today ...

There was one passage in Mr. Beem's essay that really got my attention.

"Permitting class-action litigation every time someone feels aggrieved in this country drives the price of everything, from health care and auto insurance to youth sports and college education, increasingly out of reach."

Let me get this straight: Edgar is complaining that class action lawsuits increase the cost of affected goods for every consumer? Considering his record of public discourse, this viewpoint is completely out of character! In the typical Beem worldview, increased costs are nearly always a POSITIVE development. Unless I'm mistaken, this is the same Edgar Allen Beem who describes himself as an unapologetic, fiscal liberal, and who has seemingly never encountered a government program that he didn't embrace wholeheartedly. For example, Mr. Beem is an enthusiastic supporter of the disastrous Dirigo Health Plan, which effectively taxes every Maine health insurance consumer in order to provide coverage to approximately 9,000 Maine citizens at a cost (to date) of around 100 million dollars.

It's also worth noting that Mr. Beem was vehemently opposed to the 2006 Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), and was utterly contemptuous of the major Maine newspapers that recognized the need for change and urged a "yes" vote on their editorial pages.

Similarly, Mr. Beem was virtually the lone public voice last year in defending Mary Jo O'Connor in her well-intentioned - but nonetheless incompetent - management of the Portland School Budget, which resulted in a 2.1 million dollar budget deficit that still dogs city officials and taxpayers alike.

Edgar - say it ain't so!

Over the past several years, I have experienced the passing of several family members. That is to be expected, I suppose, as one grows older.

All of the elderly people involved were "Old-Time Mainers" and like so many of the breed they were stubborn, independent and used to making do with a combination of hard work and resourcefulness.

In each instance, advanced age and illness both played a prominent role. Inpatient and outpatient treatment was required as well as nursing care either in a facility or by home visitation services. Fortunately Medicare, Basic and Supplemental, covered nearly all expenses since no one involved had much in the way of financial resources.

But there are riches and wealth far from the material plane.

What was also provided was extensive loving care by family members and friends. There was never a question of someone facing these trials on their own. These elderly folks had provided for others for most of their lives and leave a legacy of capable, independent children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews who will carry on a tradition of family strength and unity.

I wish that I could say that every passing is marked by grace and dignity. Unfortunately, a failing body so often traps the spirit until it is freed to soar as it is meant to do from the very beginning.

I am filled with admiration and respect for those who have given so much to make the transition of these loved ones an easier time.

To paraphrase a thought that I have heard in many variations, "It is not what you take with you when you leave this life that are the most important things; it is what you leave behind".

Click here to view a larger image ...

There was an engaging debate when Tim Burton was selected as police chief for Portland. Nobody questioned his integrity, ability, or performance during his successful career in Portland. He had been an enlightened officer and manager.

The other key contender for the position had similar credentials, but was black. Would a person of color be better able to understand the needs and concerns of our "minority" communities? Would such a person have been a better leader at that time? We'll never know, and I've no criticism of chief Burton.

I hope the question stays alive as we prepare to choose another chief, now that Burton is moving to Texas. We need to not be color-BLIND but color-AWARE as we select a security chief for our multi-ethnic community.

I also hope we'll find another term than "minority" -- because there's nothing "minor" about the many people of color who are becoming more and more visible in our community. What do they need, and what do we all need, for a sense of security right now?

Please don't just read this! Think about it, answer my question, and ask your own. Post here, and speak up.

Jeannine Guttman's column today announces news that all of us must have expected, and nobody wants to hear. As our society shifts its attention towards on-line media, and away from print, print circulation goes down, ad rates drop, and, eventually "adjustments" need to come. That's sad for the wonderful staff who've been let go or enticed to leave, but also for the rest of us ... left with something less of a newspaper. Jeannine Guttman promises a re-invention of the paper, produced with fewer staff and fewer news bureaus. I hope her vision is realistic, and that this moment will appear later to have been a time of change rather than the beginning of the end.

Of course, I could see it coming. The paper has been getting thinner. When we had an apartment for rent last year, almost all of our responses came from free ads on CraigsList, rather than the paid ads in the Press Herald.

I mourn this change -- as I want both new media, and the kind of thoughtful reporting and reflection that can only be shared in print. My media diet includes "All Things Considered" on NPR, and the New Yorker magazine, as well as the New York Times, Press Herald, Boston Globe, and CNN on-line.

Of course, if you're reading this, you MUST be on-line. But, please, don't be just on-line. Continue to subscribe to newspapers, buy newspapers, write letters to the editor, and help keep a print culture alive!

And, whatefver you read, don't believe it at first. Find a second source, and see what they have to say. Read about or hear the same story reported in different ways, by people who come with different points of view, different experiences.

Buy local! We don't have to support those large out of state corporations that colonize our business.

Micucci's has the best quality and prices on everything from olive oil to Greek coffee, and an excellent in-house bakery. It's a family owned business that is a gift to the community.

What go to Starbucks when there are at least half a dozen excellent small local coffee houses near by -- such as Coffee by Design and Portland Coffee Roasters.

You could buy fish at Hannafords or Whole Foods ... or you can go right to the source and buy at Harbor Fish or Browne Trading.

The choice to buy local is a vote for self-reliance, supporting small business that is part of our community and gives to the community in so many ways.

It's true -- When flying, I do patronize Starbucks counters at airports. Often there's no choice. But in POrtland there is a choice. Use it!

In the days around the July 4 holiday, investigators with the state Fire Marshal's Office are staking out fireworks stores in New Hampshire, where fireworks are legal, Dean said ... Mainers suspected of buying fireworks may be stopped and arrested as they cross the border. Penalties range from a $50 fine for having less than $100 worth of fireworks to 10 years in prison for having more than $5,000 worth of fireworks.

Full Story ...

Click here to view a larger image ...

With another gambling referendum coming this fall you will soon be seeing all the hype about the pros and cons of gambling in Maine. I noticed that Hollywood Slots has recently completed their facility in Bangor and the local government seems to feel it is the best thing since sliced bread.

I followed a little old lady yesterday at the checkout at my local Cumberland Farms and had to wait a couple of minutes while she spent her money. $30.00 went to Megabucks and another $10.00 to scratch tickets. No other purchases were made and then she made her way to an old primer covered pickup truck in the parking lot and drove away. I'm sure that money is tight for her but she was all too glad to spend $40.00 to play at the governments gambling trough. Every time I hear Governor Baldacci or some other government so called leader tell how horrible gambling is I think of people like this old lady parting with their money.

I am not so concerned with the way a grown adult spends their money as I am with the lies of the politicians.

Going back for at least several administrations, all of our governors and a majority of our legislators have supported gambling in Maine - and then turned around and lied to the state (and the voters) by saying that they don't. Our government sits up front of the room and tells us how horrible gambling is then votes to continue and promote gambling operations by the state.

The simple fact of the matter is that the state wants all the money and doesn't want to share with any private operators. Approval of another gambling venture by some private company might reduce the sales of scratch tickets and we couldn't have that now could we?

If Baldacci or the legislature thinks that gambling is so bad then I would expect Megabuck, Powerball, and scratch tickets to disappear tomorow. I know this won't happen because - like the TV ads keep telling us all - gambling is an addiction and this state is addicted.

Now if we could only get our politicians to become addicted to honesty.

As I sat in the stands with my 11 year old son on Sunday watching the big Nascar race in Loudon NH I briefly pondered the effect that oil and energy will have on our overall way of life. Sure the price is higher but what else will happen?

I am a believer that we must use less oil and energy yet I seem to keep making exceptions to accommodate my "way of life". A very rough calculation comes up with the figure of about 500,000 gallons of fuel consumed just by this race and the people who watched it. This is about 10,000 barrels of oil in one event. I sat in the stands and I loved every drop of it.

I'm sure that each of you have some reason not to conserve. Maybe you will burn a few gallons of gas to go to a hockey game that your son or daughter plays in. Perhaps you will go to a quilting show. Maybe it will just be to run the AC on a hot summer night. There are exceptions for each and every one of us not to conserve.

I like to think that we will be able to keep making these exceptions. What is life if you are unable to enjoy it? We must do what we can to save energy but we must still find the way to live a full life with our families and friends.