Rain, rain, go away, and please don’t come back for a few months. This weather is driving people nuts, myself included. Hit and runs, stabbings, robberies in broad daylight, whoa Nellie! Maybe the rain will wash some of the riff raff down the drain, but probably not.
Of course, all this rain must mean that surface pollutants are being washed into impaired streams! The HORROR!!! The City took a leap in the wrong direction this week, cowering to the Fed’s on the storm water management issue. Only Ben Sprague had a handle on this. What is the definition of progress? Good question Ben. Sounds simple enough, but apparently it is not. I listened to 3 guys from State and Federal Regulatory Agencies try to answer that one. They couldn’t in the context of the Clean Water Act. These guys aren’t stupid either. They live with this Legislation day in and day out, but couldn’t answer that simple question…what is progress?? I will say that the fee vs tax proposal is a sound one, if you give in to the reasons for needing this utility in the first place. I, for one, do not. What surprises me most is the lack of Councilor support for a referendum on this issue. This is PAYT all over again. Just another attempt by Professor Gratwick to shove his green policies down our collective throats. Enough already!! I’m choking on this crap already. I’ve asked this before, but will do so again today. Why are the residents of Bangor paying to clean up these streams that have been “impacted” by local developers, the Federal Govt, and the City itself? Where is the outrage?? Open your wallets folks…this is gonna get ugly.
There was some testy debate over a zoning change at last week’s Council meeting. Seems like all is not well in Candyland. Charlie Longo does not want a bar located in Govt. Service Districts adjacent to residential neighborhoods, without a Public Hearing at the Planning Board. Maybe he doesn’t understand how the process at the Planning Board works, but Councilor Sprague was a little rude in his comments. Maybe it’s his new glasses, but Ben has been more vocal lately. He looks like the guy from the TV show “Person of Interest” in the new shades. Hopefully he’s just as smart as that guy.
My hats off to the City Council for wrestling with the new budget. I closely monitored the Finance Dept. meetings and no stone was left un-turned. Councilor Durgin and Deb Cyr worked hard on keeping costs, and taxes, down. I’ll even give the nod to Councilor Gallant. He’s not afraid to ask questions and think outside the box to save a buck. The folks over at the School Dept. also put in the hours. Nice work by all in these tough economic times. Nice work indeed.
My kids bought me a nice heavy “hoodie” for Christmas. I also got a puffy down vest from a relative. Neither are things I would normally wear. I am however, fairly cheap, and hate to waste good clothes or return gifts. That said, I wear the hoodie/vest combo occasionally to work outside in winter. My wife typically jokes that I look like I’m going to rob a Rite-Aide when the hood is up. With all the shit going on around Bangor lately, I’ll leave the hoodie at home. I don’t want to get profiled by the BPD. The description of the “at large” Rite Aide robber stated…older male, grey hair, grubby looking. Hell, that could be me after a few hours of yardwork! Honest officer, I’m just grabbing some toilet paper and soda!!
The transient population of Bangor is growing again as the weather turns warm. The lure of Maine and it’s easy handouts are too hard to pass up. Lock up your valuables quick. These dirtbags will be roaming thru your back yard soon enough. They will steal anything of value that’s not nailed down. Trust me, I’ve been “hit” a few times. I’ve chased them out of my fenced in yard twice this year already. It’s no secret where the bulk of these folks live. Just head down Sunset Ave and follow the path. The cops know what’s going on up in the area known as The Pines, yet do little about it. This homeless encampment needs to be cleaned-up and the folks removed, or jailed. This camp will only continue to grow if left unfettered. Only a strong police presence can shut this place down and drive the true transients back to where they came from. That should free up scarce City resources for the real homeless folks. Until the City adopts a residence requirement for services, this will escalate every summer.
Get out and enjoy the summer folks. Kids will be out of school soon and the camp is opened up! Till next time….keep the faith, and watch your back.
