Revolution3 Maine — the best thing to hit Old Orchard Beach since Peter, Paul and Mary played the Palace in 1963!

Eleven hundred remarkable athletes set their alarms for 3 a.m. or so last Sunday (Aug. 26) while their families and support teams slept in till 4 a.m.

The athletes were heading out toward the inaugural Rev3 Maine Half Ironman and Olympic Sprint being held in Old Orchard Beach.

This is a “big league” event, and many of the top triathletes in the United States, the world and Maine would be competing — along with hundreds and hundreds of remarkable men and women who spend hours every week stretching, swimming, biking, running and aching. Each of them enjoyed the spectacular sunrise standing at the edge of the beach.

Eleven hundred svelte people in wetsuits at 6 a.m. brought a whole new look and feel to OOB.

The Rev3 organizers, Will Thomas’ Tri-Maine Productions and the town of Old Orchard Beach did an outstanding job of planning and executing this family-friendly all-day event.

Advertisement

The Portland Press Herald did a story in the Local & State section (“Triathlon takes over Old Orchard Beach,” Aug. 27), but missed the point and the opportunity to focus on the athleticism demonstrated, the emerging popularity of triathlon and, thus, potential new print customers by leaving this sporting event off the sports page entirely.

Bob and Sherron Small

Freeport

The easier way to calculate whether taxes are equitable

This is in reply to the letter on Aug. 20 in the Portland Press Herald headlined “Tax assessment system perpetuates major inequity.”

George Koutalakis is blaming the property tax system in Maine for the 18 percent tax increase in his property tax bill in Saco. Is it possible that the increase may be due to the rising cost of education, not only in Saco, but also in many other communities in Maine?

Advertisement

We all know that real estate values have been negatively affected by economic conditions since 2008, and everyone involved in real estate, including George, understands there isn’t much anyone can do about it.

The ability to produce equitable assessments in Maine, though, is another matter altogether.

Many municipalities in Maine now have computerized assisted mass appraisal systems, along with geographic information/mapping data, capable of maintaining property assessments annually.

State statutes dictate that cities and towns adhere to the assessing standards established by the Legislature. Maine Revenue Services monitors all cities and towns each and every year to ensure that assessors assess all properties in accordance with “just value” (fair value).

It would be more beneficial for a homeowner to compare his/her property valuation with that of similar properties with which the owner is familiar. The valuation book is a public record, and every municipal office and city hall has one available for inspection.

This method is less confusing than dividing assessed values by sale prices to find out if you are being overassessed or if you are being underassessed.

Advertisement

Besides, I know George, and what does he know about assessing anyway?

Gerald “Jerry” Daigle

Portland

Liberal journalists pander to Democratic viewpoint

A brief variation of an old saying goes something like this: “If you don’t have the facts or the law on your side of an argument, change the subject or call the other side names.”

These tactics comprise the slash-and-burn campaign strategy of the Obama administration to recapture the White House.

Advertisement

In this endeavor, they are aided and abetted by their most ardent and loyal base: liberal journalists.

Scanning the pages of The Portland Press Herald and reading the fawning accounts of President Obama’s problematic accomplishments, I search in vain for a favorable piece about any conservative or Republican, whether national or state.

Paul Ryan, the vice-presidential nominee, was falsely described as a “radical” in a July 14 editorial (Our View, “Ryan budget fills gaps in Romney’s agenda”), while the Saul Alinsky-schooled authentic radical in the White House gets rave reviews.

Surely, there is at least one Republican pony somewhere in that pile of manure.

Here’s a trio of dirty little secrets that the transparent media won’t dare let you in on.

Two separate bills to save Medicare and balance the budget, introduced by Paul Ryan, chair of the Budget Committee, have been passed by the House and sent to the Senate, where they languish on Sen. Harry Reid’s desk, along with 28 other bills passed by the House. Yet Republicans are blamed for gridlock.

Advertisement

The Democratic-controlled Senate has not passed an annual budget in more than three years, although budgets submitted by the president have been rejected unanimously by both parties. Neither the president nor the Senate has any plan, nada, to ameliorate our economic problems, preserve social programs or create jobs.

When his surrogates aren’t denouncing Mitt Romney as a tax cheat, felon or killer, the president says that this election is all about two distinct visions of what this country ought to be, not about political games as usual or kicking the fiscal can down the road.

If so, the public should demand that he show us his plan to save Medicare and defuse the 16 trillion dollar debt bomb hanging over our heads by a thread.

Walter J. Eno

Scarborough

As a visitor to Maine “from away” for the last 52 years and a daily reader of the Press Herald, I am dismayed at the continued negative daily articles about your governor since arriving in this great state.

As a realist, I understand that those who write in the media are sometimes anti-conservative and Democratic Party supporters, but surely from time to time this paper could be supportive of the highest officer of the state, elected by a plurality of the voters in this state. Let’s try! Thank you.

Gordon B. Richardson

Caldwell, Texas


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.