Saturday, September 29, 2012

Tale of Two Cities




There are 2 very distinct sides to Bangor. No, not the infamous East and West sides, but the family-smooth vs the shady-rough side. Each side lives its own life, for the most part. These worlds run parallel to each other.  Occasionally, these worlds collide. Sure, I'll run into a pan-handler out in front of LL Bean, or see a few drunken transients outside of Fairmount Market, but for the most part, we don't travel in the same circles. I have noticed that Can Man hasn't been walking thru our neighborhood on trash day lately. The islands on the I-95 clover leaf are no longer party zones either. That's all good. But my knowledge of the local underbelly is fairly limited. I'm no Bill Rae, that's the truth. I'm no Dennis Marble. These guys are on the front lines every day. They live in both worlds. I'm on the fringe, looking down the rabbit hole. An observer if you will. That said, the expansion plans for Hope House got the neighbor's panties in a bunch, and rightfully so. That's the reason we have the Planning Board and zoning regulations isn't it?. Glad to see the City Council do what's right and protect the citizens for once. It's time this facility was relocated to a more suitable spot, that's properly zoned. Councilor Gallant made a passionate closing statement prior to the voting, speaking directly to the neighborhood folks in the chambers. Well done indeed. But this thing doesn't end there. It's just the tip of a pretty big iceberg. What HAS happened is an eye opening for the City. Let's be clear, PCHS is providing a needed service. But the need to provide "care" to those "clients" does not, and should not, out weigh the rights of the abutting landowners and any taxpayers. And this time, the system worked.

Halloween is coming up and I received my costume in the mail this week. A political flyer from Geoff Gratwick. I've cut out his face and fashioned it into a nice mask. Voting this pretentious douche into the State Senate is just about the scariest thing I can think of.

Looks like the cops have finally released the name of the triple murder suspect. Sad thing is, it's been posted on the BDN message boards for a month. And to think this fellow got away, cant imagine how....

Chief Gastia hung up the old shield this week. Thank the lord. The angry midget is gone. I have noticed stepped up BPD patrols in my hood. I was working in the yard last week and had on some pretty grubby gardening clothes. A patrol car went by slow and the cop gave me the eyeball. My first thought of course was "what the hell are you looking at flatfoot", but that gave away quickly. Just doing his job. Interim Chief Arno seems to be doing a fine job, and works well with the Council. Good luck Chief.

The Waterfront Concert Series is winding down today. It's been a pretty good year financially for all involved. The shows have been well attended that's for sure. Bringing in 12,000 folks to see Def Leopard on a Wednesday night is huge for the promoters, and in the end, good for Bangor. As I was getting into bed last night I could hear Journey belting out "Don't Stop Believing", and I thought to myself....I wont. The music scene in Bangor has a bright future ahead. A nice 2000 seat venue would pretty much ice that cake.

Till next time, keep on keepin on


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