Voices On the Wind: 2014

These Maine citizens lost an important right...

No, let me rephrase that.

These Maine citizens are the victims of a flawed law, passed in 2008, that REMOVED -- without warning, without the affected parties' input and without their permission -- a basic right they had previously enjoyed. It is a right still owned by more than 99% of their fellow Mainers.

What so special about these guys? Or more appropriately....what makes them LESS worthy than their counterparts? Is this small fraction of Mainers made up of people who are too short to merit equal rights? Or maybe too tall...or too old? Too bald? Too hairy, too poor, too dumb?

No, what's special about this select group of Mainers has nothing to so with their physical appearance or their mental acuity. These folks had their rights taken from them simply because they made their homes in rural locations that the powerful Wind Industry coveted. And the Industry, smarting from a denial of their permit to build an industrial wind energy facility at Redington/Black Nubble, set out to change the laws that allowed these rural citizens to 'have a say' in any zoning decisions in their communities.

Most of us didn't realize what had happened until months later. Some didn't learn about it for years. And other rural Mainers still do not know that their right to 'due process' disappeared with the Emergency enactment of the Wind Energy Act.

LD 616 is an attempt to right that wrong by giving those impacted by the law a means to remove their communities from the Expedited Permitting Area, which was established as part of the WEA. This is a critical bill...not just for those few thousand Mainers who've been disenfranchised...but for every single Mainer who is wondering..."Who will be next?" It's important for every Mainer who looks at their loved ones and asks themselves... "Would I be okay with this is it were MY family who'd lost their rights?"

LD 616 is important because it is about treating all Mainers fairly. It's about allowing the people who live in a community to have a voice in the future of their home towns. This bill received overwhelming bi-partisan support in the House in 2013 but the Senate held it over for 'further review'. Well, the review has been undertaken. The Committee voted Ought to Pass, once again. Now... LD 616 will be coming up for a second vote in the House any day now.

These people need the help of Mainers all across the state. WE need your help. Please contact your Representative and Senator today and ask them to vote in favor of LD 616. Restoring Citizens' Rights is the right thing to do. Thank you!

126th Senate email addresses:

SenJustin.Alfond@legislature.maine.gov, SenPhilip.Bartlett@Legislature.maine.gov, SenCynthia.Dill@legislature.maine.gov, SenJoe.Brannigan@legislature.maine.gov, SenRonald.Collins@legislature.maine.gov, SenJon.Courtney@legislature.maine.gov, SenMargaret.Craven@legislature.maine.gov, SenBill.Diamond@legislature.maine.gov,

SenThomas.Saviello@legislature.maine.gov,

Schneidersenate@gmail.com, SenRoger.Sherman@legislature.maine.gov, senlois@roadrunner.com, firewood@tds.net, rodwhittemore@gmail.com, Dick.Woodbury@legislature.maine.gov,

126th House email addresses:

Voices On the Wind

Video: Save the Mountains of Highland, Maine

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Inequality in Maine...And an Opportunity to Right a Wrong