I am writing to voice my concern for plans to reduce and limit beachfront parking at Scarborough’s Higgins Beach during the off-season.

I frequently visit Higgins Beach due to its accessibility and beauty. It is unique in that it offers easy public access.

During my visits, I frequently support local businesses such as buying sandwiches for a picnic at the beach. Reducing parking at the beach will discourage people from using and enjoying it and will have a negative impact on the local businesses.

The plan to direct off-season beach visitors to park in the lot and to reduce and limit the number of street parking spots is problematic for several reasons.

In the winter, the lot will not likely be cleared of snow, which will eliminate public access altogether during snowstorms.

The amount of parking spaces the lot provides will further be reduced with the buildup of snow banks. I am concerned for the safety of people walking down the narrow streets, which lack sidewalks and are frequently icy in the winter.

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Parking in the lot will surely discourage people with limited mobility and with small children from using the beach. The 30-minute parking limit on the six spots is an insufficient amount of time for visitors to truly enjoy and utilize the beach for recreation.

Over the years, the number of public parking spaces at Higgins Beach has decreased significantly. This is an upsetting trend. Will Higgins Beach end up with the exclusivity and lack of public access of other coastal areas in Maine?

I hope not. In fact, I would like to see public access to Higgins Beach expanded so that more Maine residents can enjoy what makes our state such a wonderful place to live.

Andrew Gelman

Westbrook

 

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CMP’s corporate owners use tax money to fire workers

 

So how can a foreign company use our federal tax dollars to upgrade its subsidiary’s technology? And at the same time get rid of American workers with their own tax dollars?

And on top of that, the outfit that owns Central Maine Power is the second-largest wind-power producer in the United States.

This Spanish company is peppered throughout New England, and here in Maine we’ve been hearing nothing but wind wind wind for at least the last year.

And last (but not least), natural gas from Canada is this company’s second-biggest endeavor on the North American continent. Now, I heard Gov.-elect Paul LePage speak of natural gas as an answer to oil usage. And I also know that some outfit is paying big bucks to bring transmission lines from Canada down through New Hampshire to Connecticut.

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Where is the reporting on all this spending? Do I think something bad is happening? Not necessarily, but still, Maine workers have been ousted by a company using their own tax money to eliminate their jobs.

Roland R. Marquis

Portland

 

In reading about the controversy over CMP’s installation of smart meters, it occurs to me that there was not this hoopla when the Portland Water District did the same thing.

In fact, that hasn’t even been mentioned or compared to in articles. Solution: Why not let all individual homeowners make a decision as to whether or not they want to have one? Don’t make it mandatory. Just a thought.

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James Konkel

Cape Elizabeth

 

Funeral home for sale is hardly a vital issue

 

It was with great interest and even greater incredulity that I read the Nov. 16 letter from Martin B. Dassa regarding a piece of property for sale on Congress Street in Portland.

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The letter made reference to, and echoed, an earlier letter on the same topic — the lack of buyers for an old funeral home.

The property in question is of no interest to the average reader of your paper. But on your editorial page, the letter writers had ample opportunity to extol the features of what, frankly, appears to me to be a commercial white elephant.

Why should anyone with a building to sell buy classified advertising in your paper when you can give them four or five column inches on the editorial page for free?

Thanks for the lesson in marketing.

M.A. Baldenweck

South Portland

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Don’t use e-mail when data absolutely has to get there

 

In a front-page article on Nov. 17, I was shocked to read that the state had missed out on an application for federal transportation funds due to an incomplete submission sent by e-mail.

The article stated that the Maine Department of Transportation was unsure if the e-mail was sent without the attachment or the attachment got lost during the transmission.

Hello, MDOT. When you send a grant request in the future, please try using the old-fashioned method of a certified letter with return receipt requested through the U.S. Postal Service.

It’s called submitting a hard copy, a method that has been used by many businesses (including my own) for years. Sadly, MDOT has learned a $20 million lesson.

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Jerry Angier

Portland

 

President Obama deserves much more respect from us

 

Whatever happened to the concept of respecting the presidency as we do the flag?

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It sickens me to read and listen to the pundits rip and tear at President Obama as he struggles to save our country from falling into the chasm created by his detractors.

No president in my lifetime ever had to face the monumental challenges President Obama was handed.

No president has ever had to deal with the opinions spewed by people like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, neither of whom ever served a day in the service of their country.

And what about the infantile antics of the Republicans in Congress, who, like 2-year-olds, say “no” to any effort to appease them?

Wake up, America! Taking political potshots at your president is taking aim at yourself. Isn’t it about time to start showing some class?

Patrick Eisenhart

Augusta

 


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