Out With The Old.......

2011 is winding down quickly. It's been a pretty good ride this past year. Tons of stuff went down last year, so here's a few from the VOB's list of top news stories. My oldest graduating from college has to be tops on my list. The construction of the new arena started, that's a biggie for these parts. Paul LePage is chopping his way thru the States budget concerns, that's got a few folks riled up. Table games and fireworks will be legal as of midnight, that's left many uneasy. Not the black jack, just the big boomers. And of course, the infamous bath salts epidemic sweeping the Region. Its been a roller coaster ride with highs and lows. The Bangor girls soccer team winning the State Class A title was a big high. The revelations concerning Rev Bob Carlson was probably the lowest of lows. But, in the words of Pumba, you need to put your past behind you. Lets look forward to 2012 as a breath of fresh air, filling our lungs and hearts. Big things are coming for Bangor and I have my eyes wide open with anticipation. Steve Smith is probably taping the Christmas lights on that ol' beach ball and getting the celebration ready. Throw out the old and bring in the new.

The newly elected City Council has been feeling its way around. Mayor Weston has expanded the role into more of a leadership position, rather than an administrative one. Not sure how that will go with the others. It's pretty obvious the Councilor Longo is not a big fan of Weston. Charlie says alot, but doesn't say alot, if you catch my drift. The same goes for newcomer James Gallant. Lots of talk, no real solutions. We'll have to wait and see how this falls into place. I'm sure councilor Gallant realizes that the discussions concerning campaign signs were directed squarely at him. I've got to say, his 4x8 sheets of plywood were waaaay to big to be planted in the median at the intersection of Norway and Hammond St. But, he's a rookie, and rookies are allowed a few mistakes. councilor Joe Baldacci has hit the ground running. He's quick to remind everyone that he was a Councilor and former Mayor in the past. I wouldn't be bragging about that a whole bunch if I was you Joe. Didn't you guys buy a cruise boat? How did that work out? OK, OK, I promised to look forward, so lets do that.

The City Council has determined that Bangor needs to take the lead in the discussion concerning the closure of Dorthea Dix State Hospital. Good luck with that. Just watching the meeting where the "committee" was being kicked around was pretty painful. Sounds like a lot of energy to be spent for nothing. The State will close the facility, mark my words. My real concern is that the Council should focus on the City's role, not the Regions. We have elected leaders to represent us in Augusta, so why the need for a committee? I think Pat Blanchette and Nichi Farnham already have that job. Not to mention the bare facts, but the facility is costing the State a small fortune to operate. There are only a few "patient beds" and the math just doesn't work. Acadia Hospital has already stated that they could absorb these patients. I really don't think that's the place for violent offenders, but its an option for most of the population that resides there. I'm not to sure if the violent folks belong at Dorthea Dix either. They are not really set up for that as we witnessed a few times last year. In the end, this seams to be the biggest sticking point. Are there that many violent offenders sent to the phychiatric ward in Bangor? Short of the bath salts abusers, who are these people? It's a tough one for sure, but the Govenor will have the last word here, and I believe the place will be shuttered.

Glad to see that the PATY idea has been shelved for the time being. Hats off the Charlie Longo for stating the obvious. To bad the Professor Gratwick cant see the forest thru the trees. The Council needs to look at keeping this service as part of the property tax, and not an added burden to the citizens.

I got a kick out of the Council workshop that addressed the working of EMDC and the arena. Mike Aube is a nice guy, a former Mayor, and well liked in City circles. That being said, EMDC was hired by the City to look into possible funding sources for the new arena. They did just that, spent $25k, and told the City that there wasn't any sources. I'm fine with that. The question put to the Council was should the City continue the relationship with EMDC and extend the contract. I offer an emphatic NO! Why would we? Hell, give me $5k and I'll come back in a month and tell you the same thing. We are on our own with the arena, lets face it folks. Stop tossing cash at EMDC and save it for the arena, its a win-win situation.

That's all for now. Enjoy the downtown celebration tonight, I'll see you at Paddy Murphy's, around 11:55 or so. Happy New Year

Say It Aint So

Boy you'd think it was a slow news week the way that the BDN reported the story on the Waterfront Concert Series contract negotiations. This rag is one step away from the National Enquirer in my book. They've always had a slanted spin, but this is a little much. With one headline they pretty much called Alex Grey a crybaby who should "take his ball and go home", and blasted the Council for being dysfunctional. Neither are even close to being accurate. It's no real news that the negotiations with WC have dragged on to long, but the relocation of the stage created an issue that was not really thought about (site grading and particularly the seeding of these disturbed areas). Mr Grey was very sincere in his discussions with the City concerning the need to have the grass established prior to the start of the 2012 season. He would not sign any contracts with performers without a guarantee was given that the "product" (venue) would be ready and acceptable to the booking agents. When promoters pay for a grass lined hill with portable seating and you get a muddy field, that's a breach of contract. The grass in question would need to be well established to handle the foot traffic and demands of several back-to-back bookings for April and May. Not rocket science here kids. The Council intended to have this agreement in place prior to the November vote, but that was not to be. Therefore, the 3 new Councilors were being asked to vote/approve the agreement without being part of the development process. (They could have watched it on TV like me, but that's another story). I see nothing wrong with waiting a week or so to give these new kids a chance to properly review the agreement. Alex has no problems with this, except being quoted totally out of context in the BDN. So before you go off singing "Bye Bye Mr Waterfront Guy...", take a deep breath, there's no story here. The Waterfront concert Series will continue well beyond 2012.

Holiday madness has started up again. It's been picking up steam these past few weeks and now its a runaway freight train. If you see me at the mall, please don't mace me, or hit me with a tazer. I don't need the new flat screen that bad. Honestly, why do folks go nuts for a good deal? My sister-in-law is a classic shopaholic. She headed out at 4am on Black Friday to save $50 on a snowblower. I'm not sure why, she could easily pay full price with the salary she makes. Its the thrill of the hunt I guess. I like the thrill of sleep on my day off.

Bangor PD has put out the word that they will be setting up DUI roadblocks all thru town for the month of December. All you morons driving with a "good buzz on" have been warned. If you must get hammered over the holidays, take a cab or stay the hell home. Nuff said.

The Bob Carlson mess has been pretty awful for a lot of folks. Ms Ordway's column in the BDN was very well done and brought up some good points. The good works vs the evil works debate is a tough one. The fact that this man was a complete psychopath has people looking deep inside at there own judgement. Many people were well aware of what was going on, but most were not. This is very similar to the whole Penn State debacle. The kids of today are watching this unfold. What are we to say to them? Don't trust the clergy? Don't trust your High School coaches? Don't trust anybody? WTF???? I hope parents have used this opportunity to talk frankly to the younger kids about these situations. As the OWS protesters have said over and over, we are the 99%. The creepy twisted sick bastards are the 1%.

Speaking of the OWS folks, the Bangor protest looks more like a homeless camp-out than any political rally or statement. This fire never really took up here in the Big Potato.

That is for now, keep the faith .