Bangor Daily News

Economist Calculates Slots Revenue Study: Racino Would Boost Calais Economy

A study released Tuesday by a University of Maine economist estimates that the Calais racino proposed by the Passamaquoddy Tribe could generate between $11.9 million and $13 million in slot machine revenue annually. "The projected impact in slot machine revenue is actually larger than the total sales generated by restaurants and hotels in the Calais area," said Todd Gabe, author of the study and an associate professor in the UMaine School of Economics. Gabe is also a fellow in the UMaine Cent...

Fishing Gear Rule Irks Lobstermen in Maine

The rule about lobster fishing gear that many people have expected the federal government to issue has now become officially confirmed, but many people aren't happy about it. Environmental organizations sued the National Marine Fisheries Service earlier this year, claiming the federal agency was taking too long to come up with new rules to protect the endangered right whale. The Humane Society of the United States and the Ocean Conservancy argued that lobstermen should be required to use a ty...

Downeast Lng to Refile Application Firm Cites Federal Denial of Bid to Run Pipeline Through Wildlife Refuge

Federal authorities have denied Downeast LNG's request to build a gas pipeline through part of Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, thereby forcing the company to withdraw its application with state environmental regulators. Downeast LNG has proposed building a 31-mile pipeline between Robbinston, where the company hopes to locate a large liquefied natural gas terminal, and existing gas facilities in Baileyville. Roughly 4 miles of the proposed pipeline would pass through Moosehorn National Wi...

Nurses Drop Strike Threat, but Talks Produce No Accord

BANGOR - Negotiators for the nurses union at Eastern Maine Medical Center on Tuesday withdrew the formal 10-day notice of their intention to strike that was issued Monday. But as the day closed on an emergency bargaining session and last-ditch effort to avert the nursing strike, negotiators from both sides announced they had come up empty-handed. Union representatives said Tuesday that a one-day strike remains a clear possibility, but hospital officials urged the union to let nurses vote on i...

Union Poll: Some Wary of Verizon-Fairpoint Deal

Unions opposed to FairPoint Communications Inc.'s plan to buy Verizon land lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont released a poll Tuesday that says most northern New England residents who have heard about the acquisition and have an opinion on it stand in opposition. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America commissioned Fingerhut Granados Opinion Research to survey 1,500 northern New England residents, or 500 in each state. The survey to...

If the Shot Fits

With flu season approaching, is there a better time to add a dose of confusion to the annual public-health plea for the elderly to get vaccinated? A report in the latest issue of Lancet Infectious Diseases is just what the doctor ordered to raise more questions than there are answers. Every year, about 300,000 Americans are hospitalized with the flu; about 36,000 of those, nearly all elderly, will die of it. And for decades public health officials and doctors have urged older Americans to get...

The Jail Escape

John Baldacci has been trying to consolidate government for as long as he has been governor. But over the years he has changed tactics substantially, going from a very public and deliberative merging of human services in 2004 to the surprise declaration on county jails this year. The minimal support he has received with his jail plan should encourage his administration to emphasize the slower, more public process of examining this idea. The governor began his "I'm the decider" approach to con...

Emhs Announces Several Promotions

BREWER - Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems has announced new appointments to its corporate offices. Andrea Littlefield has been appointed coordinator for the Institute for Medical Improvement. As a program of EMHS, the institute works with physicians' practices to support improved care for patients with chronic illnesses. The institute is working on several grant-funded programs, including projects focused on chronic lung disease, cancer survivorship and patient self-management.

Small-Business Session Set for Dover-Foxcroft

DOVER-FOXCROFT - Small-business owners with questions on Maine's labor laws and workplace safety are encouraged to get answers at the second annual Rural Maine Small Business Conference and Business to Business Show. It is planned from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the Penquis Higher Education Center.

Some Dig Safe Queries Not Received, Cmp Says

AUGUSTA - Central Maine Power is warning of potential problems with hundreds of Dig Safe requests in five counties. CMP spokesman John Carroll said the problem is with requests made in Franklin, Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Waldo counties.

Why Sunday Mornings?

As a Christian educator in Holden, I feel compelled to share my concerns. These center around Sunday mornings and the conceived need of scheduling events before noon. While I am very supportive of the need of groups such as the Walk for the Cure, March of Dimes, softball, football, soccer games, scouts, etc., to hold walks and other events, why do they have to be on Sunday mornings? What is wrong with Saturday or Sunday afternoon or Friday for that matter?

Terrorism Trap

The ads supporting the Iraq catastrophe that imply we are fighting terrorism are particularly offensive since Congress tumbled into another swift-boat trap by sanctioning MoveOn.org. The Republicans gave us the new verb "swift-boat," which means unscrupulous, false and immoral attacks, such as those on veterans, such as John Kerry, who actually faced enemy fire. MoveOn posed an in-your-face question about Gen. David Petraeus' motives to provoke us to be skeptical listeners. The White House ga...

Equal Respect

The current wildlife management being done by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife works very well just the way it is. This "non-consumptive v. consumptive" issue is ridiculous. My hunting is not interfering with anyone's "non-consumptive" wildlife enjoyment in any way. I have spent my whole lifetime watching, hunting and enjoying wildlife. I must not frequent the same areas as "non-consumptive" wildlife users as I have yet to encounter one.

Dismissing Disabilities

In her letter "Maine's free money" (BDN, Sept. 25), Alison Link has a complaint about "the amount of money going to people who seem to be unable to work at all at such a young age," implying that disabled people are just slacking. She adds that she believes that Social Security Disability (a federal program) was meant to be "help in times of need, to get back on your feet." Which is perhaps a telling slip of the keyboard as many disabled people are paraplegic. They won't be getting back on th...

Right to Earn a Living

I am not a lobsterman, but I sympathize with them. The Maine lobstermen have to earn a living; they need to support their families. Right whales do not have to earn a living.