I wanted to respond to a letter written by Richard Aishton published in your newspaper. Mr. Aishton discusses in great detail the presumed environmental damage the New England Clean Energy Connect will do to Maine’s western mountains. I disagree.

Our town has looked so beautiful this summer with an abundance of flowers on our bridges, in pots in front of businesses and gracing the front of Central Hall. I am grateful for the talented and dedicated effort of local volunteers and especially Karen Maas who has lovingly tended these flowers for all of us to enjoy

I find it rather offending that CMP and Doug Herling constantly try to remind people that Mainers are not paying a penny for the construction. What Herling leaves out is that Maine will pay a serious environmental cost that has never entered the calculus of CMP’s project. A 53.5 mile long, 300 foot wide clear cut crossing hundreds of vernal pools, native trout spawning beds, fragmenting the largest unfragmented forested tract east of the Mississippi River and totaling 1,926 acres of land that will remove a huge CO2 absorption capacity from the land (not to mention an additional 1,600 acres for the remaining 92 miles of corridor).

In Maine, internet access is growing. Service is getting better, speeds are getting faster and more people are getting connected every day. Expanded broadband access is creating new opportunities for Mainers. From new employment opportunities to distance learning to telehealth, and everything in between, growing broadband access is revolutionizing the way we live.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful -- and a change of pace from self-enrichment to focusing on the good of the country -- for the U.S. to host the G-7 (and 7 only)?

I wanted to take a moment to respond to a recently published letter about the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project written by Urgel Pomerleau. As anyone reading the letter can sense, he has true passion for the direction of our state, but I feel it is important to ensure Maine people understand the process that is in place to consider such a major climate change solution.

It’s time for the people of Maine to stand up and be counted. The Legislature and the governor’s office have not been forthcoming about the proposed hydro project bringing electrical power through Maine to Massachusetts and Connecticut. From Fort Kent to Kittery, every resident taxpayer needs to come forward to vote on a referendum about whether we want to allow the power companies to build a power transmission line through our state.

Maine’s North Woods is the largest undeveloped area east of the Mississippi and is the home to Canadian lynx, bear, moose, bobcats and more. This 10 million acres of undeveloped forests, lakes and rivers needs to be protected for future generations. Right now, Mainers use the land for fishing, hiking and hunting but public access to this area is not guaranteed. Acquiring more public lands would ensure public access forever.

Without specifically mentioning Deirdre Fleming (or the Portland Press Herald), John Holyoke basically disses her and her whole very well done article in his recent piece, "Catch and Release not to blame for togue population explosion.”

What a relief it is to hear about campaigns that take aim at price gouging by pharmaceutical companies! It is a long-standing problem that just seems to be getting worse. Many Mainers find it very difficult to afford the medications they need.

In reading John Holyoke’s recent piece, “Catch and release fishing not to blame for togue population explosion,” I was struck by the writer’s claim that catch and release is “under attack.”

On behalf of all the pilots and organizers of Wings for Wishes on the Waterfront, I would like to express my sincere thank you to all who attended and helped our group donate almost $11000 to Make-A-Wish Maine. We collected over $5000 on the waterfront the day of the event. I am humbled by the outpouring of support from our local community.

Millions of people are affected by the rising costs of prescription medication every day. It is wrong that hard working families have to choose between taking medication and being able to eat a meal.

I think the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife canceled a request for proposals to conduct a scheduled study on the impact of human food (including baiting) on Maine’s bear population because they didn’t want to hear the results and make them public. The study RFP was cancelled for a litany of flimsy excuses, even though it has been long overdue.

Did you ever stop and think how much better life would be for everyone if we all followed the Golden Rule “To treat others as you want to be treated.” Instead we have, more than we would like, people that think “life is all about me, myself and I.”

I am asking our legislators to return to Augusta to vote on a Land for Maine’s future bond. It is imperative that our legislators vote before the end of August in order for the bond make the November 2019 ballot.

I have family members who have green cards. They work, pay taxes, are productive members of their communities. Does this mean they don’t get counted, because they are not citizens? There must be millions in this status and in varying stages of becoming legal citizens. It is a slow process. Does this mean they don’t count?

Thirty years ago I was assistant District Attorney responsible for Piscataquis County. At that time, we had a process known as “filing” a case. This meant a case was postponed for a period of time on a promise of good behavior. It worked well with petty crimes, but we never “filed” an operating under the influence (OUI) charge. It would have been wrong then and it is now.