The chamber owes its soul (what little it has) to the company store. Its time Ocean Properties came out of hiding behind APPLL and took full responsibility for funding their trained toadies. Mark Walsh gave a few bucks shy of a million dollars to DeSantis and three separate Key West votes to limit cruise ship activity were legislated out of existence when damage to their precious coral reefs is palpable. Regardless of the election results, we're in the midst of an active lawsuit and it's beyond impossible to imagine, the financially strapped defendants handing over taxpayer dollars to the plaintiffs that have a billion dollar corporation backing it. Is it even possible for the chamber representative to ask for funding with a straight face?
To give the MDIslander some credit, they do publish both sides opinions in the back of the paper. I personally find it all to be incredible that the folks wanting to see 5000 cruise ship people daily don't seem to understand the labor shortage and the ramifications of poor service. Personally I avoid long lines, poor service/overwhelmed establishments, usually to the point of never going back. Maybe I'm alone in that thought?
"Apart from my friend Dick Broom, the Islander has been a complicit witness to the destruction of the Village of Bar Harbor."
If the destruction of Bar Harbor includes outsized influence of in-groups, then Dick Broom is more than one of The Islander's complicit witnesses, he is a player. A sad twist to a respectable career. Witness Broom's reporting on the 'google Leonard Leo = Corrupt Courts' chalk messaging project. Broom's first article relied on accurate information from the Bar Harbor Police leadership. Broom's later articles serve only to amplify the lies of now disgraced former Town Manager Kevin Sutherland - in service of taking the spotlight off Leonard Leo by lying about the project. A project which is protected by the First Amendment and compliant with the Maine Criminal Code (as decided by those with jurisdiction - the police leadership and the District Attorney.) But a spotlight which Leo resented and which Islander founder/editor and Town Council candidate Earl Brechlin disparaged. While Islander columnist Jill Goldthwaite, wearing her Town Councilor hat, joined her colleagues in refusing to take official action or to account for Sutherland using public authority and resources to serve private interests. To this day the Council refuses to account for Sutherland's actions and the Islander refuses to correct reporting amplifying statement made with actual malice and in disregard of their falsity. Small town government and small town journalists face challenging conflict of interest issues - that does not excuse ethical violations.
An excellent spotlight on Leo includes investigative reporting by ProPublica:
"Leonard Leo, a key architect of the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, is now the chairman of Teneo Network, a group that aims to influence all aspects of American politics and culture."
The chamber owes its soul (what little it has) to the company store. Its time Ocean Properties came out of hiding behind APPLL and took full responsibility for funding their trained toadies. Mark Walsh gave a few bucks shy of a million dollars to DeSantis and three separate Key West votes to limit cruise ship activity were legislated out of existence when damage to their precious coral reefs is palpable. Regardless of the election results, we're in the midst of an active lawsuit and it's beyond impossible to imagine, the financially strapped defendants handing over taxpayer dollars to the plaintiffs that have a billion dollar corporation backing it. Is it even possible for the chamber representative to ask for funding with a straight face?
Lincoln, Very well written article on Bar Harbor, all the voters have to do is read it and connect the dots !
To give the MDIslander some credit, they do publish both sides opinions in the back of the paper. I personally find it all to be incredible that the folks wanting to see 5000 cruise ship people daily don't seem to understand the labor shortage and the ramifications of poor service. Personally I avoid long lines, poor service/overwhelmed establishments, usually to the point of never going back. Maybe I'm alone in that thought?
"Apart from my friend Dick Broom, the Islander has been a complicit witness to the destruction of the Village of Bar Harbor."
If the destruction of Bar Harbor includes outsized influence of in-groups, then Dick Broom is more than one of The Islander's complicit witnesses, he is a player. A sad twist to a respectable career. Witness Broom's reporting on the 'google Leonard Leo = Corrupt Courts' chalk messaging project. Broom's first article relied on accurate information from the Bar Harbor Police leadership. Broom's later articles serve only to amplify the lies of now disgraced former Town Manager Kevin Sutherland - in service of taking the spotlight off Leonard Leo by lying about the project. A project which is protected by the First Amendment and compliant with the Maine Criminal Code (as decided by those with jurisdiction - the police leadership and the District Attorney.) But a spotlight which Leo resented and which Islander founder/editor and Town Council candidate Earl Brechlin disparaged. While Islander columnist Jill Goldthwaite, wearing her Town Councilor hat, joined her colleagues in refusing to take official action or to account for Sutherland using public authority and resources to serve private interests. To this day the Council refuses to account for Sutherland's actions and the Islander refuses to correct reporting amplifying statement made with actual malice and in disregard of their falsity. Small town government and small town journalists face challenging conflict of interest issues - that does not excuse ethical violations.
An excellent spotlight on Leo includes investigative reporting by ProPublica:
"Leonard Leo, a key architect of the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, is now the chairman of Teneo Network, a group that aims to influence all aspects of American politics and culture."
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents