OTHER NEWS: SWH chief wants statewide arrest power, which Bar Harbor/Mount Desert chief says is unnecessary; BH survey unveils residents' hope for less lodging in downtown
Regarding Chief Hall's desire for statewide arrest authority: I think you've been too harsh here. Everyone was deeply affected by the Lewiston shooting, and first responders often feel an inability to help under any circumstances quite keenly. He seems to have seen a roadblock to offering assistance and wanted to remove it. Now, I agree his first responsibility is to the local area, but a charitable and compassionate reading of motivations might be more in order here.
Thank you for your comment. If he didn't have a history of very bad personnel decisions, I would have cut him some slack. Many chiefs would not have survived the hiring of Richard Strout.
I found his choice to publicly apologize and walk back the hiring decision had integrity - anyone under pressure can make a poor choice, and personnel hiring has pressures here that don't exist elsewhere. Once someone publicly apologizes and makes the decision right, holding onto public animosity continues to punish them for doing the right thing and can create hostility. It's every individual's right to respond as they see fit, of course, but in a small community, all our actions matter.
It looks like the residents and voters are being heard and the rules are changing in favor of more sustainable solutions to overcrowding and the pollution that comes with it. Thank you Lincoln for keeping these important issues in the light of day and the pressure on our elected officials and judges to do the right thing.
There are all these pro-cruise ship businesses in town - why don’t they just rent a small, old cruise ship and have docked in Bar Harbor for the season? It is an easy solution - and I have no doubt the folks involved have great connections to the cruise industry. Could be an easy solution to a seasonal issue that would save land for year round residents.
I've thought about this too. Problem is the ship needs to be docked and have access to town water and sewer for it to work. And the wind pounding the dock probably won't allow it.
Maybe it could be something where a redesigned dock by the Cat terminal would work. This isn’t some unsolvable problem - just talk to the US Navy - they do it every single day with hundreds of ships in ports.
There would need to be a pumping station of some size built and a sewer line run to the location, but it isn’t something that would be a new design. I’m sure we have this expertise on the island.
It could also be something where we could work with a town in the south that has the same issue in the winter, when they need more seasonal employees. The businesses here could share the expenses on the ship and even share the employees - since they would be likely be visa workers - though having this type of available housing and the opportunity to go south in the winter to work as well could be desirable for many young people in Maine.
Regarding Chief Hall's desire for statewide arrest authority: I think you've been too harsh here. Everyone was deeply affected by the Lewiston shooting, and first responders often feel an inability to help under any circumstances quite keenly. He seems to have seen a roadblock to offering assistance and wanted to remove it. Now, I agree his first responsibility is to the local area, but a charitable and compassionate reading of motivations might be more in order here.
Thank you for your comment. If he didn't have a history of very bad personnel decisions, I would have cut him some slack. Many chiefs would not have survived the hiring of Richard Strout.
I found his choice to publicly apologize and walk back the hiring decision had integrity - anyone under pressure can make a poor choice, and personnel hiring has pressures here that don't exist elsewhere. Once someone publicly apologizes and makes the decision right, holding onto public animosity continues to punish them for doing the right thing and can create hostility. It's every individual's right to respond as they see fit, of course, but in a small community, all our actions matter.
It looks like the residents and voters are being heard and the rules are changing in favor of more sustainable solutions to overcrowding and the pollution that comes with it. Thank you Lincoln for keeping these important issues in the light of day and the pressure on our elected officials and judges to do the right thing.
There are all these pro-cruise ship businesses in town - why don’t they just rent a small, old cruise ship and have docked in Bar Harbor for the season? It is an easy solution - and I have no doubt the folks involved have great connections to the cruise industry. Could be an easy solution to a seasonal issue that would save land for year round residents.
I've thought about this too. Problem is the ship needs to be docked and have access to town water and sewer for it to work. And the wind pounding the dock probably won't allow it.
Maybe it could be something where a redesigned dock by the Cat terminal would work. This isn’t some unsolvable problem - just talk to the US Navy - they do it every single day with hundreds of ships in ports.
There would need to be a pumping station of some size built and a sewer line run to the location, but it isn’t something that would be a new design. I’m sure we have this expertise on the island.
It could also be something where we could work with a town in the south that has the same issue in the winter, when they need more seasonal employees. The businesses here could share the expenses on the ship and even share the employees - since they would be likely be visa workers - though having this type of available housing and the opportunity to go south in the winter to work as well could be desirable for many young people in Maine.