People or Land: Which is more important to Maine’s future?

Since the primary and general election season, we’ve heard and read about “People Before Politics,” one of Governor Paul LePage’s signature mottos.

This thought provides the context for serious reflection on priorities for the citizens and government of this state.  “Land for Maine’s Future” has been a high profile, quasi-religious and fiscal priority for State Government for a number of years, requiring a number of bond issues to fund land purchases.  The Program is managed from a standing organization within the State Planning Office,  and that organization is headed by a resident of Brunswick.

If you check their web site, you’ll find this rationale for their efforts;

The concept behind the Land for Maine's Future (LMF) Program is simple. Lands that have exceptional recreational or ecological value along with working lands for farms, forests, tourism, and working waterfronts all warrant permanent protection. With spreading development and changing land uses, Maine is at risk of losing many of the natural landscapes that residents cherish and that are so important to Maine's natural and cultural heritage as well as to its economic vitality. The LMF Program seeks to conserve these important settings.

Similarly, Brunswick has a program called “Land for Brunswick’s Future,” funded through the town budget.

Both programs are considered so popular as to be beyond challenge, in the same way that our schools and the public library are considered sacred and untouchable.

These programs came about from an abundance of concern about unconstrained growth, or more fashionably, “sprawl.” Conservation and “smart growth” became the watchwords of this wing of the environmental movement. Public ownership of land is supposed to “preserve” it, and thus be the defense against so-called sprawl.

The State of Maine, with its large size and small population, has a plentiful supply of land. We are 38^th in population density - less than half the US average. In the midst of numerous other serious challenges, “preserving” land is hardly an urgent priority for us.

Curiously, have you noticed we don’t hear much about “sprawl” these days? And that GrowSmart Maine, once a very public presence in policy discussions, has faded into the background? Growth in Maine of any sort (other than ‘growing’ old), has ceased to be a marquis issue, as it is virtually non-existent.

Side, as you might expect, has a problem with the orthodoxy of the ‘land for the future’ cult.  As we see it, the supply of land is fixed.  The number of acres that make up Brunswick are not likely to increase or decrease in future centuries, unless our elected leaders should engage in negotiations with surrounding communities to either expand or reduce the land under their control.

Similarly, we do not expect the land area that is Maine to expand or contract, other than through political accords we can not now predict.

Surprisingly, a quick survey of literature on Maine’s forested lands, like this report from UMaine, reveals that the amount of Maine land that is forest has grown by about 70% since the late 1800’s.  The report says:

Since the 1880’s, considerable acreage of pasture and cropland have “gone back” to woodland in Maine.

Post-script on “soft indifference”

After a bit more reflection on the subject of yesterday’s post, we have further observations and a related policy to propose.

Side is flabbergasted, as you well know, by the way teachers are compensated, and in particular that the very worst makes the same as the very best, and has the same job security.  Any time you propose changing the system, the shopworn defenses pop up:

• ‘It’s not “fair'” to judge teachers by how their students do.’
• ‘It’s not “fair” to evaluate them on classroom observation.’
• ‘There’s so much more to being a good teacher.’
• ‘We need to make sure teachers are protected from the pettiness of the general public, and the internal politics of school administration.’
• ‘All our teachers are superb, and we need to pay them all as much as we possibly can.’
• ‘Teachers are underpaid, and do not get the respect they deserve.  The contracts we agree to fight that problem.’

You can refer to this post from last year as preamble and backup to these premises.  That post also contains this quote, which in our view, cannot be repeated too often:

“When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children.”   - Albert Shanker - President of the United Federation of Teachers [1964-1984] & the American Federation of Teachers [1974-1997]

Along these same lines of idealistic thought, we recall the drumbeat for “equity” as an over-arching justification for building the new school; the notion that all children should have the same experience in our school system, no matter where they live or what their family circumstances.

Hmmm; “equity” seems like the perfect word to describe how our teachers are dealt with.  They’re all treated the same, no matter how different their talents are, how effective they are, how hard they work, or what kind of results they get from their students.

If it’s good for the teachers, it surely must be good for the students, so we propose the following.  Each student in a class will receive the same grade for the class.  This is the only “fair and equitable” way to grade the kids for obvious reasons:

• Some kids just aren’t good at taking tests.
• Some kids are disadvantaged compared to others.
• It’s impossible to judge a student’s progress with simplistic and mechanical tests and other assignments.
• Allowing teachers to evaluate students beyond such basics calls into play the idiosyncrasies and biases of individual teachers, and is therefore unreliable.
• Some students take the class in the morning, while others take it in the afternoon, and such differences can yield substantial differences in performance.
• Classroom location in the building and other intangibles can unduly influence student performance.

Accordingly, i propose the following grading system for all high school students in our system, regardless of classroom performance:

• All seniors will receive grades of B in all classes.
• All juniors will receive grades of B- in all classes.
• All sophomores will receive grades of C+ in all classes.
• All freshmen will receive grades of C- in all classes.

You must agree, you simply could not achieve any higher level of equity than this policy yields, right?  And no more worries about grade inflation, or bitching and whining about a student’s grade.  The first day you show up at BHS, you know exactly what grades you’re going to receive for the next four years, just like the teachers know exactly how much they’re going to make in the coming years.  What could possibly be fairer, we ask?

We consider this a real breakthrough in education reform.  And any students, parents, or guardians who don’t like the approach must be elitists who can’t comprehend the social justice inherent in this equity based system.  The School Department will have to create a counseling track to help these mal-contents achieve harmony with the higher ideals implicit in the new grade structure.

As for college planning, just imagine the delight that schools like Bowdoin will feel when they realize that no-one from Brunswick High School will have to be denied access to the Ivory Tower because of grades!

Now that’s what we call justice, and what we call equity!  And what a glorious future lies just ahead!

Technorati Tags: Brunswick,schools,teachers unions,social justice,equity,fairness

The ‘Soft Indifference’ of Low Expectations

Some years ago, President Bush (43) spoke the phrase “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”  As I recall, he was referring to the public education system, and how it’s all too easy to lower our expectations for minorities and/or those in poorer areas.

I thought it was an insightful concept, and I still do, and now I see a broader meaning to the concept in our own circumstances.

As I think back to my days in school, I remember two primary motivations to do well (besides my insatiable thirst for knowledge…ha, ha!)  One was the fear of my parents reaction if I didn’t.  The second, which was even stronger, was the fear of being “left back” as we called it then.  Nobody wanted to stay behind when all your friends moved up, and find yourself a sore thumb in the grade you were repeating.  And in later years, nobody wanted to “flunk out.”

Nowadays, my sense is that such antiquated concerns and realities no longer have any relevance in out government run schools.  When’s the last time you heard of a student being “left back,” or flunking out?  There may be an instance here or there, but I’ve come to believe that ‘seat time’ promotions and ‘social’ promotions have become the preferred way of addressing lack of classroom performance.

The first time I heard the term ‘seat time promotion’ I was taken aback.  It was explained to me that if your attendance was acceptable, you would be promoted, regardless of performance in the coursework.

For years I’ve heard the radio ads seeking literacy volunteers to help adults learn to read (and hopefully, write), and wondered how we could have adults who made it through our school systems without learning to read.  I think the answer lies largely in the promotion policies described above; rather than tackle the problem, the system prefers to look the other way and just keep moving the kids up and eventually out, giving them diplomas that are increasingly meaningless.

I asked myself how we could allow such an irresponsible policy to become the norm; how could we so diminish expectations as to render them irrelevant to moving through the system.

Then it dawned on me; this is exactly the way we deal with our teachers, and if it’s good enough for the teachers, it sure should be good enough for the kids.

What do I mean?  Take a look at the teachers contracts here in town and elsewhere, and you’ll find that they are the very essence of ‘seat time’ or ‘social’ promotion through the salary increase system.  Every teacher can look at the contract and project exactly what they will make in coming years, without regard to merit or performance by any measure.  Do the time, earn the credits, get the salary shown.

The very worst teachers move through the salary steps and lanes just as quickly as the very best teachers do.  Occupy your ‘seat’ for a year, and move up a year on the scale.  In other words, as Woody Allen famously said, 80% of success is simply showing up.  And that’s especially true of our pampering and homogenizing of the teachers corps.

Under the circumstances, is it any wonder the ‘professionals’ in the field would be so willing to promote their students without expecting much from them to earn it?

By the way, if you’d like to get a sense of how the State Teachers Union (MEA) guides the local contract negotiation process, just read what follows.  Note, among other things, that should the School Department expect teachers to pay more of their insurance costs, they want their salary to increase to cover that, after other expected increases.

From where we sit, the soft indifference of low expectations is a tragic and near irreversible trend in our public education system, at least under current circumstances. 

And it doesn’t say much about honoring the notion that ‘the children are our future,’ does it.

==================================================

Maine Education Association
Statewide Bargaining Goals
2010-2011

Wages and Salaries:
1. All bargaining unit members should receive a real increase annually, i.e. a wage or salary increase at least equal to the annual increase in the cost-of-living, after accounting for any increased costs to the employee for maintenance of insurance benefits.
2. Negotiate salary and wage structures that eliminate “dead zones” (multi-year steps without a rate change) and reduce the number of years required to reach the maximum rate on each lane. (Suggested long term goal – no more than 10 steps by 2020.)
2.1 When the State mandates minimum salary or wage levels, associations should negotiate improved scales in which the salary or wage base amount equals or exceeds the mandated minimum amount without extending the length of time required to reach the maximum.

Health Insurance:
3. Maintain or increase the employer-paid share of employee and dependent health insurance premiums, without compromising the health coverage and benefits of the existing plan.
3.1 Associations should reject health insurance plans that reduce premium costs by shifting health care costs to consumers, such as high deductible health care plans, whether or not enticements such as health savings accounts or health reimbursement accounts are offered.
4. Negotiate the same health insurance benefits for all teachers and educational support professionals.

Hours and Working Conditions:
5. Eliminate or reject any provisions that result in two-tiered systems where some employees are limited to lower wages or salaries, benefits or working conditions.
6. Workload – All contracts should address workload.
6.1. Teachers’ unit contracts should deal with workload by language either regulating the amount of work to be performed or requiring additional compensation when the work exceeds specified standards. Aspects of workload that should be addressed in this manner include required duties or meetings outside the work day or work year; planning time; and performance of non-instructional duties.
6.2. Contracts for educational support professionals should deal with workload by specifying work schedules and the length of the work day, work week and work year; and requiring that employees be paid at their regular or overtime rate as appropriate for all hours that they actually work.
7. Eliminate or reject any provisions which result in the Association waiving or giving up its right to bargain about any mandatory subject of bargaining.
8. Negotiate grievance procedures that end in final and binding arbitration.
9. Negotiate just cause protection, to the extent that it is not legally prohibited, for any disciplinary action.
10. Negotiate reduction in force procedures based on objective criteria only, e.g. seniority, certification, authorization, licensure, etc., with no consideration to employee evaluations.
11. Negotiate current and accurate job descriptions that are maintained and reviewed annually and when changes in responsibilities take place.

Recommended by the MEA Statewide Bargaining Committee–March 6, 2010

Technorati Tags: Brunswick,Public Schools,Teachers Unions

Senator Stan, the Minority Man

Even the most partisan and jaded among us have to feel the tiniest smidgeon of empathy for our very own beloved Senator Stan Gerzofsky.

Now entering his 11th consecutive year in the Maine legislature, Stan, who insisted he was not a ‘career politician’ during the campaign, won re-election, but not exactly with the outcome he was expecting.

Having cut his teeth in a political environment that tacitly assumed the existence of only one Maine political party in the last 30+ years, we gotta figure that Stan has been suffering mightily from a loss of prestige and influence.  Never in his wildest dreams (or for that matter, in his tamest dreams) could he have imagined that he would be re-elected, but find himself suddenly demoted to minority stature.

We imagine that Stan went to bed with his nightcap firmly in place on November 1st, visions of the Senate Presidency, or at the very least, the Senate Majority Leader spot, dancing in his head.

He awoke on Wednesday to a starkly different reality.  If you’re familiar with the classic holiday film ‘The Christmas Story,’ we would liken Stan’s circumstances to the scene where little Ralphie Parker, having taken all he could handle from schoolyard bully Scut Farkas, pounced on him and beat him at his own game, much to the surprise of Scut and his toady Grover, and the delight of all those who cheered him on.

Stan, in much the same way, is faced with the reality of being on the losing end of the election overall, even though he won re-election to his seat.

His response to this predicament has been quite impressive.  He’s marshaled his resources and turned on his public relations machine.  His toadies at The Coastal Journal, The Forecaster, and The Ostrich have been all too willing to do his bidding.  And just for good measure, he’s turned up the heat on his hissy-fit with the town council.

We’ll make our point with readily available evidence.  Without attention to chronology, look at the front page of yesterday’s Ostrich.  While the lead article focused on the Governor’s statement at the ceremony marking transfer of Naval Air Station airport facilities to the MRRA, the photo accompanying the article was framed and cropped to show only one dignitary besides the Governor, and if you guessed it was Senator Stan, you guessed right.

Stan has also markedly improved his writing skills, as reflected in his numerous columns in the local media.  So much so that we can scarcely believe that he wrote the items himself.  The Coastal Journal carried his column in their issue of January 13th, in which he reminded us that ‘our region has seen the addition of over 600 jobs.’  And we have him to thank for these, among others, in place of those lost on the base.  Perhaps he’ll have time in the near future to take one of you around the base and show you those 600 new employees at work.  Note that this number has grown considerably since the 200 or so he claimed credit for during the campaign.

He said the same things in his commentary in The Ostrich on December 31st.  And he reminds us that he was the force behind legislation ‘to attract businesses to the air station.’  He doesn’t say what it was, but we probably wouldn’t be able to understand the fine points anyway.

Recently, The Ostrich gave Stan commentary space to ‘set the record straight’ in a particularly well written piece.  The subject is the unseemly little power struggle between Stan and town officials over representation on the MRRA board.  Side addressed the squabble a few months back in this item.  Recently we learned that Stan had kicked things up a couple of notches by submitting legislation to block any possibility of appointing Brunswick Town Manager Gary Brown to the MRRA board.

It’s his shot at bringing down the strong arm of the law to enforce his wishes, a move likely to cause a hiccup or two in the otherwise respectful and cordial relationship between Stan and town officials.  Or so I’ve heard.

Stan’s new circumstances may well have inspired this move, since he’s got some sizable ground to make up on his role in the stage play that is Augusta politics.  His lines have been clipped some, and the lights aren’t shining as brightly on him as they did in prior years.  Somebody’s going to have to pay the price for this, and it might as well be our humble little town council.

But simmer down councilors.  Senator Stan assures us that “Brunswick should see an increase of up to $10 million or more from the growth of property taxes.”  Hey…that’s great!  A one third increase in tax revenue!  And it’s especially interesting since just about every thing announced so far for the base is in the tax exempt category.  Like anything to do with aviation, according to state law.  You can read about it here.

Is there any doubt the budget busters are already dreaming up new ways to spend the extra $10 million?  Thanks for the help, Senator!

On a separate note, this is a great time to drive around the former Navy housing in the McKeen Street area.  Only those units that are actually occupied have their driveways fully cleared of snow, so you very quickly get a sense of just how few folks are living there. 

My guess is that the occupancy level is around 10%  or so, not exactly a stampede to the “low cost housing” so many consultants promised. Including those who said this is where the students to fill the new school would come from.

But not to worry; I don’t see any news here that can’t be rewritten with the help of new consultants that specialize in rebuilding the outlook.

Technorati Tags: MRRA,Gerzofsky,Brunswick

Dirty dishes, milk spills, and other hazards to humanity

Perhaps, like the Poppycocks, you’ve noticed in recent months that your ‘automatic’ dishwasher doesn’t seem to be cutting the mustard, in a manner of speaking.  In particular, we’ve noticed that silverware comes out of the machine, after it runs, looking a bit shabby. 

We rinse everything before it goes in the machine, so asking it to ‘scrub’ things clean isn’t the point.  Simply put, getting silverware that looks this way in a restaurant would result in us asking for clean replacements.

Turns out this is not our imagination.  Thanks to an anti-phosphate movement that began in the state of Washington, dishwasher detergent has been reformulated, and not only does it not clean your dishes like it used to, it leaves the inside of your dishwasher far less sparkling.

As usually happens in such cases, the intentions were good, the politics were high profile, and the consequences were not exactly as predicted.  Here’s a detailed article that explains the entire process.  It contains this rather direct passage right up front:

It so happens that in the last six months, a lot of people have suddenly discovered their dishwashers don’t work as well as they used to. The problem, though, isn’t the dishwashers. It’s the soap. Last July, acceding to pressure from environmentalists, America’s dishwasher detergent manufacturers decided to change their formulas. And the new detergents stink.

We’re reminded of the ginormous international brouhaha over global warming, which has been shown, from time to time, to have underpinnings that are anything but scientific.  Turns out the dishwasher detergent crisis suffers from a bit of the same over-sudsing:

Some of the effluents making their way into the river contained phosphorus in complex molecular forms which are not bioavailable. Algae lack the enzymes necessary to break down this phosphorus, meaning it is essentially harmless. The study was a useful reminder that all science is settled. Until it’s not.

File this next item under “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.”

Many of us grew up hearing such sage advice as ‘don’t cry over spilled (or was it spilt?) milk.’  And here at Side we never thought much about it until recently.

There is no shortage of problems facing our country, and they are real, profound, and daunting.  From where we sit, or walk, we didn’t think spilled milk was one of them.  We should have known better.

It turns out that the EPA, ever vigilant for new causes of disaster they can prevent through ‘appropriate’ regulations, no matter how slight the probability or how trivial the effects, has seized upon spilt milk as just such a cause. 

One wonders whether there is a second deputy assistant undersecretary of enviromental protection whose sole purpose in life is to protect us from the disaster that is spilled milk.  And wiping milk moustaches from the lips of devoted milk drinkers nationwide, lest a drop or two hit the ground and not be remediated before the damage is done.

We’re making light of this, but in the very real sense, the story, which is real, points out just how over-reaching an unfettered administrative state can be.  The old saying goes ‘when you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.’  It certainly applies in this case.

Lest you think we’re pulling your teat on this one, we are not.  This is an udderly true news item.  You can read about it here.

You can whet your whistle with this:

..the EPA has decided that, since milk contains oil, it has the authority to force farmers to comply with new regulations to file "emergency management" plans to show how they will cope with spilled milk, how farmers will train "first responders" and build "containment facilities" if there is a flood of spilled milk.

It is going to cost the taxpayers money as well, since the EPA is going to have to hire people to inspect farms, inspect farmers' reports and prosecute farmers who don't jump through all the right hoops in the right order.

As for us, we don’t want to be seen as milking the news to find the cream that rises to the top, so we’ll simply whip things up right here. 

If you want a cherry on top, you’ll have to provide it yourself.  And good night, Elsie, wherever you are.

 

Technorati Tags: spilled milk,EPA,dishwashers,environment

The “News” in Brunswick is not good….

We’ve read in recent days of the demise of Thibeault Energy, a long established family business that we assumed was a rock solid operation, based on decades of serving the local population.  But poof, just like that, the owner has put on his it’s all overcoat.

And then Finest Hearth, from whom we bought our fireplace insert a few years back, announces they are ceasing operation.  Three stores, up in flames, so to speak.

We were out on the town today, running some errands, and what we saw was not encouraging.  The Bookland end of the Cooks Corner Mall is beginning to look more and more like a wasteland, with numerous units vacant, and the prime corner property, the former video store, wasting away as well.

Ironically, you exit the mall looking directly at a new Credit Union under construction.  Lord knows the town could use another credit union, on top of its surfeit of banks.  Don’t know how this works, but it seems strange that the money business is doing so well, but business can’t seem to make money.

On to Maine Street, the Duncan Donuts shop next to Rite-Aid is now gone, and the Wheelhouse Cafe next to Bamforth’s looks to have turned its coffee makers off for good.  There’s a cultural message in the passing of each, depending on your point of view.

OK, businesses come, and businesses go.  Hopefully, things balance out, and on the whole, more come than go.  We’ll see.

You may recall us reporting on the property tax status of The Ostrich over the past several months.  It turns out that the news on that page is no less depressing.  According to public records, the business entities of record, Alliance Press and Brunswick Publishing, have made no progress in resolving their tax delinquencies.

The latest public information shows they are in arrears by more than $100,000 in total  Given the overall decline in print media circulation, and the advertising shortfalls inevitable when businesses shut down, things can only be getting worse, not better.  And another major payment is due in a matter of weeks.

Funny how those most likely to call local activists “anti-tax zealots” are behind in their taxes.  Which is to say, not paying their “fair share.”

Stay tuned.  For now, Other Side is current in its tax accounts, but we may soon need to run some specials for full page ads if conditions persist.

And for the record, we’d be happy to see our competitor survive, if only for the competition they provide, if you want to call it that.

Technorati Tags: Brunswick,Ostrich,taxes,business

Lake Basebegone, or Lake Taxbegone??

(Revised to correct a major error in MRSA citation)

If you’re in the same age bracket as this reporter, you may well remember when daily Bible reading and/or devotions were a staple of American family life.  I certainly do, and I am convinced we are worse off for the loss of that tradition.

That is not our subject today.  Instead, we observe that in the modern age, where governmentality is the driving force in our daily lives, not spirituality, a different form of daily reading is the norm.

Here on Other Side, we are engaged in a ‘Walk Through Maine Statute’ program, in which we are assigned daily readings and then expected to take the passages studied and discuss how they make human existence more ideal. and how Government plays a primary role in such perfection.

Enough preaching.  Today, we only want to give you the specifics of the passages we just read, since they are spot on to our local circumstances here in Brunswick.

First is this, in which Maine Statute tells us that:

An airport authority is a public municipal corporation within the meaning of Title 36, section 651, and the property of the authority is exempt from taxation to the extent provided in that section.

You can find the citation here.

So now, let’s look at Title 36, Section 651, which reads as follows; in particular, focus on sub-paragraph F. which appears to be especially germane to our base redevelopment.

Title 36: TAXATION

Part 2: PROPERTY TAXES

Chapter 105: CITIES AND TOWNS

Subchapter 4: EXEMPTIONS

§651. Public property

The following public property is exempt from taxation:

1. Public property.

A. The property of the United States so far as the taxation of such property is prohibited under the Constitution and laws of the United States.

B. The property of the State of Maine.

B-1. Real estate owned by the Water Resources Board of the State of New Hampshire and used for the preservation of recreational facilities in this State. [1965, c. 125, (NEW).]

C. All property which by the Articles of Separation is exempt from taxation.

D. The property of any public municipal corporation of this State appropriated to public uses, if located within the corporate limits and confines of such public municipal corporation.

E. The pipes, fixtures, hydrants, conduits, gatehouses, pumping stations, reservoirs and dams, used only for reservoir purposes, of public municipal corporations engaged in supplying water, power or light, if located outside of the limits of such public municipal corporation.

F. All airports and landing fields and the structures erected thereon or contained therein of public municipal corporations whether located within or without the limits of such public municipal corporations. Any structures or land contained within such airport not used for airport or aeronautical purposes shall not be entitled to this exemption. Any public municipal corporation which is required to pay taxes to another such corporation under this paragraph with respect to any airport or landing field shall be reimbursed by the county wherein the airport is situated.

We here on Other Side are not lawyers, by any stretch of the  imagination, but these words would seem to raise some concerns about tax revenues flowing from Kestral occupancy.

Furthermore, we are not the least bit clear on whether the entire MRRA-Kestral relaionship has been ‘sold’ on the premise that as a private sector concern, Kestral would yield property tax revenue to the local community.

Surely we’ll find out in the next day or two.  Here in the offices, we don’t expect the revenue equation to work out in our favor.

And we expect that the language above provides an opening a few miles wide for FLee Bailey to drive his rehabilitation bus through.

Technorati Tags: MRRA,BNAS,Kestral

Heh, heh, heh….could it be the ghosts of classes past?

It’s been many, and I mean many years since your correspondent’s Boy Scout campout days in the wild jungles of Northern New Jersey.

At these events, one of the traditions was for our leaders and their assistants to tell stories around the evening camp fire, and they almost always involved ghosts, and for good measure, the ‘lizzie monster.’

So it is with some nostalgia that we read of goings on at the new elementary school, and our imagination cut itself loose to dream up all sorts of explanations.  The events reported involved driving rains and furious winds, and those always provide the right conditions for mischievous spirits to wreak a little havoc on unsuspecting humans.  

Given Brunswick’s penchant for all sorts of exotic ‘spirituality,’ it’s not much of a stretch to suggest that the new school just may be a haunting ground for the departed spirits of those with close ties to the location and its former glory.

Before the old school was torn down, I remember taking a couple of tours, and hearing about the leaking windows in the old building.  As we walked around, we always had the uneasy feeling that we were being watched and followed, but we never saw anything specific. 

Just the same, you couldn’t avoid thinking of the thousands of prior graduates from the Old  High School, now passed on, who spent some of the best days of their lives in that building.  It’s not much of a stretch to believe their spirits, if there are such things, are not happy with what happened to their old and cherished Alma Mater.

The report we are talking about recently appeared in The Ostrich.  The gist of the item is this:

The manufacturer of 161 windows installed in Brunswick’s new elementary school has proposed a “very expensive” repair after more than a third of the windows leaked during heavy rainstorms last fall.
That fix, should the school department accept the proposal, would come at the expense of the window manufacturer and general contractor Ledgewood Construction after architects and school officials — and the school attorney — met with representatives of Bonneville Windows of Quebec late last month.
Sixty-six of 161 windows installed last summer at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School seemed to weather ordinary rain just fine, architect Lyndon Keck of PDT Architects told the Elementary School Building Committee earlier this month.
But after a number of storms bringing gales of up to 45 miles per hour in October, some of the multi-component windows began to leak.

This is not an appropriate time to revisit the serious ugliness of some of the installed windows; we’ll follow up on that another time.  But it is an appropriate time to suggest that all those professionals in charge of the project, including the architects, construction firm, and assorted sub-contractors and suppliers should be the finest available.  After all, this program is being overseen by State Government, and if we can’t trust them, who can we trust?

So the notion of ghosts of classes past wreaking havoc on the building is appealing, especially since it would link the new building to the old, which was discarded because of numerous such problems that were just too much to take on.

What’s next: saplings and scrub brush growing out of cracks in the masonry near the roof-line?  This could just be a monument to the ‘green’ spirits that undergird the entire project, so we would caution those in charge not to carelessly yank out the offending plant life; they might just be an omen of peace with the departed graduates.

Oh….and we hear reports that the new school’s population at opening will be in the 300’s, rather than the 500-600 range as projected earier.  We’ll have to run down the facts, but if you have any info, please forward it. 

Sounds like the spirits of classes past will have plenty of room to make themselves comfortable.

Technorati Tags: Brunswick,new schools

Lake Basebegone: Be careful what you wish for….

A very busy week has finally come to a close, not to mention dealing with 16” of fluff needing to be cleared from our driveway, including three berms left by the Public Works department on successive trips up our road.

We’re hoping to get back into the publishing groove very quickly, and we are way, way behind on reporting the news from Lake Basebegone.

We’ll quickly offer up this “fast food equivalent” of news on the subject, which should serve as a reminder that the “nutrition level” of the all you can eat buffet served up by the MRRA and friends (FLee, are you there?) may cause severe indigestion.

A recent news report from Massachusetts is a perfect example of the political entrepreneurism syndrome that is quickly becoming the norm in our economy, especially in desperate situations like ours here locally.

Patrick announced the expansion of Evergreen Solar at the former Army base in Devens to great fanfare in 2008 when the company pledged to double the size of the manufacturing plant it was constructing and triple its workforce to 1,000 employees.

The company accepted $58.6 million in grants, loans, land, and tax incentives over the last few years as incentive to expand in Massachusetts and add at least 350 new jobs to the economy.

Patrick, however, was forced to defend his decision to invest public dollars in the company during his re-election campaign last year after Evergreen announced in late 2009 that it intended to move some of its solar panel production to China.

Note that the subject here is green energy jobs, the same grand concept being touted as the answer to Lake Basebegone’s woes.

We particularly resonate to this comment in the article:

House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading), said the loss of jobs at Devens highlights the risk of investing in particular industries instead of working to create general market conditions that would foster growth and job expansion.

We have long felt that if authorities did the right things for our economic and regulatory climate, companies would be tripping all over themselves to come here, rather than needing to be bribed, or if you prefer, tempted with taxpayer funds.

How old school, we suppose, in keeping with Other Side’s normal view of things.

 

Technorati Tags: Lake Basebegone,BNAS,MRRA

Public reading of the US Constitution: Oh the outrage!

“Laws constrain people; Constitutions constrain government.”     -Source unknown.

“The Constitution is a document of negative rights.”    -Barack Obama

I’m sure we’ve discussed this before, but the state of high dudgeon among the chattering class in the last day or so, in both print and electronic domains, over the public reading of the US Constitution in the House of Representatives today, is sufficient cause to revisit the subject.  In fact, it’s more than sufficient; it compels us to do so, because of the complete and utter lack of knowledge many of the comments reveal.

The basic, inarguable facts pursuant to this subject are as follows:

• The very institution in which the Constitution is being read at this moment, and the other branches of the federal government, exist ONLY because “we the people,” through the Constitution, create and ordain them.
• The elected officials involved occupy offices that exist ONLY because “we the people,” through the Constitution, create and ordain them.
• The responsibilities, obligations, and authorities of those elected officials are specifically and ONLY as enumerated by “we the people” in that same Constitution.
• On those occasions where “we the people” determine that the Constitution should be revised or otherwise modified to address modern circumstances, there is an amendment process defined therein by which “we the people” may do so.

In other words, the clear consequence is that if any of the officials who hold power to govern because of the Constitution consider it irrelevant, malleable, or otherwise not germane to government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then they render themselves irrelevant, unauthorized, and without power at the same time.

I don’t know how much more simply you can say this: without primacy of the Constitution, we simply have no federal government, no President, no Congress, no Courts, and we have no ordered liberty.

What would you say if the local “Community Bible Church” dismissed the Bible as an impediment to its purpose and principles?  (OK, don’t answer that; in this age, this is probably a counterproductive analogy!)

If you don’t accept the assertions above, please let me know, and I’ll invite you to Other Side’s first annual organizing convention, in which your correspondent will install himself as Grand High Poobah, Exalted Potentate, Ruler, King, Lord Master, President, Speaker of the People, and Supreme Justice of the People in the Land of Poppycock.

You’ll need to wear your work clothes and bring all your tools, because the first edict will be that you find sufficient marble to erect a majestic statue of yours truly that stands above all the lands and subjects of Poppycock.

And if you’re wondering how we can do this, there’s no really good explanation.  But none is needed; in the absence of a Constitution, we can do it just because we can do pretty much whatever we want to.  (Gee…where have I heard that before??)

Technorati Tags: Constitution,Congress,chattering class

A quote for our times….

I came across this today; I believe it stems from a classic text of many years ago:

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it."

-Frederic Bastiat

As I often do, I suggest you read it slowly, and more than once, to let the words sink in as they relate to present times.

Pogo has this quote filed under '”us.”

A New Year’s ‘Two-fer’

Well good evening, Other Side readers.  We know not about you, but we’ve missed our regular exchanges.  As we sit here on the first Sunday of the new year, we look forward to a 2011 where the pace of sizzling dialogue is……ummm,…..sizzling.  As most of you know, we’ve always been more about the “sizzle than the steak.”

We’re surely glad the hype for the change of years is nowhere near the level we experienced as 2000 approached.  Do you remember the looming sense of disaster associated with that turnover?  And how long ago that was?  Tempus flies, and time fugits, doesn’t it?

Your correspondent is now back in the offices, relaxing after our traditional new year’s feast of baked ham, macaroni and cheese, and succotash.  Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, especially our home-made version of the mac and cheese, which we prepare in huge amounts, so as to enjoy it long after the Rose Parade has ended.

Now to the main subject of this post.  We have regularly chatted on about “putting lipstick on a pig,” but we won’t bore you with links to examples from the past.

Instead, we offer up two current reports exemplifying the art, submitted under the heading of ‘you can’t make this stuff up.’

Porcine Pulchritude, Maine-Style

1) FLee Bailey, lipstick merchant extraordinaire, combines forces with a total make-over expert

Bailey, the noted barrister, has spent the better part of his professional life applying lipstick to a long list of infamous celebrity pigs in the hopes of making them beautiful in the eyes of the public, and more importantly, in the eyes of our legal system.  And he has enjoyed much success in doing so; sufficient to buy himself a variety of aircraft and yachts.

In recent years, he worked very hard right here in the Brunswick area to convince MRRA officials, and others, that Oxford Aviation was an aviation diamond in the rough, worthy of millions in public ‘investment.’  He collaborated with ‘Johnny Protocols,’ otherwise known as John Richardson, former candidate for Governor, to make Oxford’s Photoshop fantasy a reality.  But Oxford would not become Bailey’s latter day O.J. Simpson.

Now we learn that Bailey has relocated to Maine, and we are anxious to learn of his plans for our future.  Including the involvement of Johnny Protocols, oops, I mean John Richardson, his soul-mate.  We simply refuse to accept that we have seen the last of either of them.  And to prove us right, FLee reportedly attended the recent annual dinner of the MRRA board.

Portland’s daily newspaper recently published an article that gives us some insights.