☀️ This bill united solar critics, environmentalists and the Mills administration.
◉ Add this to your pile of interesting measures coming down to the wire in the Legislature: The Sportsman's Alliance of Maine is leading a bill from Rep. Scott Landry, D-Farmington, that would force developers to pay fees to support land conservation projects if they locate solar projects on "high-value" farmland.
◉ This is an issue that has gotten lots of attention during the solar boom resulting from landmark policy changes in 2019. Only 13 percent of Maine is suitable for farming, and that same land is also often perfect for solar farms. Some agricultural farms have embraced solar power as another revenue stream, but many groups have recommended dual use to balance interests.
◉ Landry's bill comes with some uncertainty because the exact fees and key definitions would be set by the Mills administration in rulemaking. But the governor's wildlife and environmental protection department backed the idea alongside environmental groups. A key solar industry group opposed it.
◉ I've been seeing conservatives in my social media feeds sharing a May piece in the Sun Journal from legendary Maine outdoors writer V. Paul Reynolds in favor of the bill. A deal seems to be brewing here.
👀 Read this rhetorical victory lap from a Maine anti-marijuana campaign.
◉ "For anyone who wondered if there is a place left in America where people can leave their doors unlocked and their bikes unchained; where the air is clean, the land is green, and the water is as blue as the sky; where people smile and wave to their neighbors, and where kids can play in the streets until being summoned home for supper — [last Tuesday] was our answer," opened a letter to the editor published by the Penobscot Bay Pilot.
◉ This is not from 1955. It came last week from the board of Camden Cares, a group that worked against two articles on the local ballot there that would have allowed marijuana shops in the coastal tourist town. They went down in flames, with residents rejecting the first 1,470 to 680 and the second 1,337 to 786.
◉ It shows the lingering resistance to recreational marijuana after it was narrowly legalized here in 2016. Less than two years ago, we found 90 percent of Maine cities and towns did not allow sales. They have to opt in, leading to situations where local officials simply maintain the status quo by not picking up the issue. The Camden situation is a rarer kind. Here's your soundtrack. |
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