Gouldsboro, Hancock, Sorrento, Sullivan, Maine
Candidates and Issues
State Power as a Counterweight
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[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP Code]
[Email Address]
[Date]
The Honorable [Governor’s Name]
Office of the Governor
[Governor’s Office Address]
[City, State, ZIP Code]
Dear Governor [Governor’s Name],
I am writing as a concerned resident who values our state’s commitment to protecting civil rights, public health, and the environment. With Trump reentering the White House in January, I am deeply concerned about the federal policies that could threaten the progress we’ve made in our state. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent decision to call a special legislative session to pass protections is a model of the proactive approach needed to shield our residents from Trump’s dangerous agenda.
As you know, Trump's policies will likely bring aggressive rollbacks on reproductive rights, climate regulations, healthcare, and LGBTQ+ protections. These attacks will disproportionately impact blue states like ours, where residents rely on progressive policies to ensure their safety and well-being. I urge you to act now to protect our state’s values and shield us from Trump’s harmful policies.
Please consider these actions to safeguard our state:
- Call a Special Legislative Session: Convene a session to address the critical threat posed by Trump’s policies. This session should prioritize measures to protect our residents’ rights, health, and safety from federal overreach.
- Create a State-Funded Legal Defense Fund: Establish a legal fund to defend our state’s progressive policies against Trump’s administration. This fund could support legal battles on issues like reproductive healthcare, environmental protection, and civil rights.
- Form Regional Compacts with Like-Minded States: Partner with other blue states to create a united front on climate policy, civil rights, and labor standards, showing that our values cannot be undermined by Trump’s administration.
- Adopt “Race-to-the-Top” Standards: Lead the way with high standards in areas like labor rights, renewable energy, and environmental protections. These policies not only benefit our residents but also set a national example, demonstrating that our state will stand firm against Trump’s regressive policies.
- Enact Protections for Out-of-State Visitors Seeking Essential Services: Pass laws that extend protections to individuals traveling to [State] from states where services, such as reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming care, may be restricted under Trump’s policies. This step would reinforce our commitment to civil rights and bodily autonomy, creating a safe haven for those affected by oppressive federal policies.
- Utilize State Contracts and Investments to Support Our Values: Use our state’s economic influence to promote civil rights, environmental responsibility, and fair labor practices. By prioritizing companies that align with progressive values and refusing contracts with those that support Trump’s harmful policies, our state can send a powerful message of resistance.
Governor [Governor’s Name], with your leadership, our state can be a powerful counterforce against a federal government that threatens our most fundamental rights and protections. I am hopeful that you will take these actions to protect [State] and ensure that we remain a stronghold for justice, equality, and environmental stewardship.
Thank you for your dedication to safeguarding our values and for taking steps to protect our community in the face of a second Trump administration. I look forward to seeing our state take bold, protective actions to uphold the rights and freedoms that are essential to our future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Committee Members on the Ballot---Regional Issues
Equity in School
Zoning Challeges in Hancock
Zoning Challeges in Hancock
From school board and committee member Crystal Burke:
"There is a federal mandate; there needs to be access to free education for children who are unable to attend school for health safety reasons, but Hancock Grammar School is in violation of that mandate. Their environment is still unsafe for students with compromised immune systems.
Now that Covid has been declared no longer a health crisis, remote learning is not being provided and home schooling is very expensive for children below seventh grade. Something needs to happen as there are currently no options for high risk children (emergency legislation to lower the remote ed service age)."
Zoning Challeges in Hancock
Zoning Challeges in Hancock
Zoning Challeges in Hancock
LD 2003: Like It or Lump It
Hancock Planning Board member Ant Blasi raised the following regarding adopting the proposed amendments to the Environmental Control Ordinance that are based on the increased housing density law, LD 2003, at its August 28 Public Hearing:
Why we were putting the cart before the horse by adopting and amending
ordinances before we have a new Comprehensive Plan. Resident Chris Blodgett said it was important for Town residents to understand where the
designated growth areas are, and how it affects them. Several members of the Planning
Board and the audience stressed the importance of circulating maps that outline the
Designated Growth Areas, although what these areas were, are or will be is uncertain.
The Planning Board faces a request from the Selectboard to draft zoning amendments to add outdoor recreational facilities like miniature golf courses, tennis courts, amusement and theme parks, water slides, zoos/animal parks, race tracks, speedways, motorcycle tracks, and riding stables to the commercial zone on Route 1 from Viking to the Ellsworth City Line. These uses were voted down at the September 15, 2021 Special Town Meeting.
Zoning Questions in Sorrento
Industrial Aquaculture in our coastal waters
Industrial Aquaculture in our coastal waters
Why is "Paper Roads" controversial? Regardless of the reason, Grundel was not hired to do the survey and final street grid layout. This work was done by a local surveyor named Gilbert E Simpson. Later sections of the development, including Doane’s Pt., are better quality surveys and are referenced on deeds as “The Simpson Plan.” While the first Simpson Plan and the Grundel Plan for Bean Point are similar, Simpson's was the one used for most real estate transfers and is more detailed, although perhaps less artistic.
Grundel's plan shows his ideas for creating sweeping non-linear avenues. His design concept for several streets radiating like spokes from the top of the hill -- above where the pool is today -- and down to the back bay, are particularly striking. Perhaps like the Boston commissioners, Grundel's plan was found to be impractical, especially since he seems to have created a plan for pieces of land that Lewis had not yet purchased.
A discussion of paper 'streets,' appears as of 9/25/24 on Friends of Sorrento Facebook Page:
Industrial Aquaculture in our coastal waters
Industrial Aquaculture in our coastal waters
Industrial Aquaculture in our coastal waters
The Quietside Journal (published in Mount Desert) posted a warning article
listing these towns as desired fish farm locations by the state Economic Development department (due to deep water availability):
Gouldsboro
Hancock
Sorrento