WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP: MDI, you're not alone in reacting to overwrought tourism
MOUNT DESERT, April 25, 2024 - In case you missed it …
From Euronews.com, “As Europe nears peak summer season, tourist hotspots are increasingly feeling the strain.
“In some places, like Spain, locals have long been growing weary of the ‘sun, sex and sangria’ tourism certain destinations attract.
“But now the issue is more than just nuisance behavior. Rising visitor numbers are putting pressure on health services, waste management, water supplies and housing at the expense of residents.
“The Canary Islands are experiencing a similarly drastic situation.
“Activists say the over 10 million foreign visitors that holiday on the archipelago each year are ruining life there. Locals are reportedly sleeping in cars and caves due to soaring house prices.
“One local organisation said the islands are ‘collapsing socially and environmentally’ under the pressure from mass tourism.
“A report from Ecologists in Action warned that almost 34 per cent of the local population - nearly 800,000 people - is at risk of poverty or social exclusion.”
Amsterdam blocks construction of new hotels to fight overtourism
By Colleen Grablick, Washington Post
April 19, 2024 at 11:46 a.m. EDT
“In another attempt to crack down on overtourism, officials in Amsterdam are banning the construction of new hotels in the Dutch capital.
“The policy, announced Wednesday, only permits new hotels in a one-in, one-out system; a new hotel can be built only if another closes. New hotels may not exceed the bed count of the previous hotels and must be “better,” per the city’s release, with more modern and sustainable features.
“Amsterdam says ‘no’ to new hotels,” reads a translated statement from city officials. “We want to make and keep the city livable for residents and visitors.”
“The effort follows initiatives in Amsterdam to limit the influx of tourists into the city, a destination known for its tolerant drug policies, sex industry and liberated party scene.
“In Amsterdam, people are not prosecuted for buying up to 5 grams of cannabis, which can be purchased in coffee shops. For years, city officials have been trying to rein in hordes of “nuisance” tourists, or those who are attracted to the city by the promise of a night of debauchery.”
Venice launches world’s first tourist entrance fee in bid to fight overcrowding
April 25, 2024, 6:48 AM EDT
By Claudio Lavanga, NBC News
VENICE - “Ancient and beautiful, this city is sometimes referred to as an open air museum — and now visitors to Venice will have to pay an entry fee after the tourist hub on Thursday became the first in the world to introduce a charging system for day-trippers.
“In a bid to thin out the crowds that throng to see the canals, bridges and striking architecture during vacation season, day-trippers will have to pay 5-euro ($5.35) to enter the lagoon city on 29 peak days, mostly weekends, as part of a trial phase until July 14.
“Tourists who have booked at least one night at a hotel in the city will be exempt from the charge, as will residents, workers and students in the city. Visitors under the age of 14 will also be exempt. But like the day-trippers they will also have to ensure they have registered online and received a QR code.
“Those without smartphones will have to go to the city’s Santa Lucia train station to buy a ticket.
Meanwhile, Leonard Leo busy at work …
NORTHEAST HARBOR - The pasha of 46 South Shore Road has been busy this winter.
Along with his major fundraising for Project 2025, which has targeted the federal government’s climate initiatives among others, Leonard Leo, the dark money operative said he would not comply with a subpoena issued by the US Senate judiciary committee, as it investigates undisclosed gifts to conservative supreme court justices that have stoked an ethics crisis at a court already held in historically low public esteem.
In a statement to the Washington Post, Dick Durbin, democratic chair of the Judiciary Committee, said: “Since July 2023, Leonard Leo has responded to the legitimate oversight requests of the Senate judiciary committee with a blanket refusal to cooperate. His outright defiance left the committee with no other choice but to move forward with compulsory process. For that reason, I have issued a subpoena to Mr Leo.
“Mr Leo has played a central role in the ethics crisis plaguing the supreme court … This subpoena is a direct result of Mr Leo’s own actions and choices.
Leo is not only in noncompliance with a Senate subpoena. Leo refuses to cooperate with the DC Attorney General in an investigation of Leo's circular payment scheme between his nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Leo and his machine
have mounted attacks on the DC AG on many fronts - including GOP Reps. James Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and James Comer, who heads the House Oversight Committee, working to obstruct the DC investigation.
[DC STATEHOOD NOW!]
A local twist. Leo's purchase of two NE estates, purchase of a NE church from the Catholic diocese, and the extensive renovations of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Bar Harbor - may all involve funds which rightly ought to have been paid in taxes.
"Today [2023] Accountable.US released a new report highlighting right-wing judicial activist Leonard Leo’s efforts to force an extreme agenda on Americans and influence-peddle at the highest levels of government. The report highlights the circular payment scheme between Leo’s nonprofit and for-profit organizations, which sparked the DC Attorney General’s investigation into Leo’s activities and his cozy financial ties to Supreme Court justices. Leo’s central role in the corruption crisis at the high court spurred Senate Judiciary subpoenas of Supreme Court “billionaire matchmaker” Leo and billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow."
https://accountable.us/report-leonard-leos-no-good-very-bad-2023/
Accountable report with timeline of Leo activities.
https://accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Leos-No-Good-Very-Bad-2023.pdf
"David Rivkin, Leo’s attorney, said in a statement to POLITICO that Schwalb has “no legal authority to conduct any investigatory steps or take any enforcement measures” because Leo’s multi-billion-dollar aligned nonprofits — which poured millions into campaigning for the nominations of conservative Supreme Court justices and advocating before them — were organized outside of D.C. . . . Leo’s consulting firm, CRC Advisors is registered in D.C. and his main aligned nonprofit, The 85 Fund, used a D.C. mailing address for at least a decade."
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/03/brian-schwalb-arabella-investors-00119751
"Since news of the probe broke last August, the GOP chairs of powerful congressional committees launched their own investigation of Schwalb’s investigation; conservative media wrote articles criticizing Schwalb on unrelated crime issues — based on a social media post from a top Leo lieutenant; and a group of his Republican law enforcement peers sent letters warning Schwalb to stand down. . . Meanwhile, GOP Reps. James Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and James Comer, who heads the House Oversight Committee, on Oct. 30 announced a probe of Schwalb’s Leo investigation, saying it was politically motivated. According to a federal disclosure form dated Oct. 20, the Concord Fund had hired a Virginia lobbying firm to handle issues related to “oversight” and “law enforcement,” matters over which Jordan and Comer have jurisdiction."
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/23/brian-schwalb-leonard-leo-investigation-00148385
"Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb demanding information on his politically motivated investigation of Leonard Leo and certain nonprofit groups he is affiliated with.
Leonard Leo was baselessly accused of receiving "excessive payments for consulting and other services from the several conservative nonprofit groups" by the Campaign for Accountability with no evidence to substantiate the complaint. Now, he is being investigated by Attorney General Brian Schwalb even though he and the organizations with which he is affiliated are based outside of Washington, D.C. "
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairmen-jordan-and-comer-launch-inquiry-dc-attorney-generals-politically
"CREW [Citizens for Ethical Responsibility in Washington] sent a letter to Comer and Jordan urging them not to interfere in the investigation, and laying out the precedent for investigators not cooperating with such congressional efforts. As the letter says, “Congressional interference in an ongoing investigation is not legitimate oversight; it is itself a weaponization of Congress’s oversight power that threatens to undermine our justice system and the American people’s faith in it.”"
https://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-action/letters/congress-should-not-interfere-with-investigation-into-leonard-leo/
Appreciate the references of other countries and places struggling with overtourism. Overtourism is a symptom of overpopulation. We add 80 million more people to the planet every year, many of who will join the growing throngs of travelers to iconic places. Until the world grasps this fact, Mainer's freedoms will continue to erode. Freedom to commute without long creeping lines of traffic to and from the mainland, freedom to live on the island at affordable prices, freedom of the pollution from too many visitors, freedom of the accessibility of using the park without timed permits and fees.