Letters: Bath area businesses and BIW work together to stay viable, operational and safe; Mills, Gideon squander budget; Air show ought not to go on

Bath area businesses and BIW work together to stay viable, operational and safe

As local restaurant owners, we want to express our appreciation to Bath Iron Works for enabling the creation of a win-win partnership that has provided meals for its employees while keeping local business and our employees working during this difficult time.

When the world became aware of coronavirus, few if any of us could imagine weeks turning to months with our lives turned upside-down.

March 2020 began as most months in the restaurant business: we paid our taxes and our employees, and we ordered products to feed our guests. As the days moved forward and COVID-19 began to dominate the news, our business declined, and by St Patrick’s Day our sales had plummeted to levels that were not sustainable.

BIW was faced with a challenge: how, as a critical infrastructure business, to remain open and to keep employees safe. The Company reached out to businesses in our area to find a solution to enable social distancing during lunch breaks, eliminate meals brought into the Yard from unknown sources, and support local businesses. BIW’s plan was simple: keep people safe; keep workers fed; keep people working; and sustain local business. As a result of this partnership, over the last several weeks we have prepared more than 100,000 meals that BIW has provided at no cost to its employees. BIW has done everything in its power to prevent the spread of this virus while doing our best to keeping the local economy going. No one seems to know exactly what the future will bring; however, if companies can build their businesses on cooperation, help employees stay safe, and support the local economy then our outlook is hopeful in this new reality.

This letter was written and distributed to the numerous local restaurants that have participated in the BIW lunch/meals program. All have agreed that we owe a debt of gratitude to the powers that be for there generous support. We collectively have worked diligently to produce meals to satisfy the workers of BIW. They have kindly offered us a lifeboat of sorts and the following restaurants wish to say thank you.

John Brigance, on behalf of: Fionas catering, Maes Café, The Cabin, Beale St. BBQ, Mateos Hacienda, Bruno’s, JR Maxwells, Fire House Subs, Byrnes Irish Pub, Portland Pie Co., Little Dog Coffee Shop, Casco Bay Food and Beverage, Sam’s Italian, Midcoast Pizza and More, Centre Street Bakery, and others in the greater Bath/ Brunswick/Topsham area that contributed

Mills, Gideon squander budget

When Gov. Mills is finished making Maine the most business-unfriendly state in the nation she can turn her and Speaker Gideon’s attention to the budget deficit caused by their excess spending. Gov. Mills first proposed and Speaker Gideon had the legislature pass a budget that used up all of the surplus Gov. LePage had built up during his eight years in office. That he could build up a surplus is remarkable, considering the big spending and welfare financial train wreck left by the Democrat governor, Baldacci, who preceded him. If spending the surplus wasn’t enough for Gov. Mills and speaker Gideon, they then passed a two-year supplemental budget that spent every last cent of projected revenue for that period.

When they were spending the surplus Gov. LePage left the state — that was real money and it covered the spending. But when they spent the projected revenue that wasn’t real money, just some figures on an accountant’s spreadsheet of what they thought the incoming income would be. When Maine’s economy went south due to the pandemic there wasn’t the money to cover their spending and it left a large hole in the state budget. Why all the spending on their part? To expand welfare. There is nothing the Democrats won’t do to keep this bloc happy, no matter the consequences the rest of the state has to suffer.

Raymond T. West,
Topsham

Air show ought not to go on

This is a response to the recent headline, “For now, great State of Maine Air show still in the works for August” (The Times Record, May 6). We know the COVID-19 virus affects our respiratory systems and immune systems in general. Brunswick at any given time has poor air quality due to large amounts of automotive exhaust and tire dust pollution as well as diesel fuel pollution from trucks and trains.

Now, there’s the possibility of an air show with aviation gas pollution, jet fuel pollution, extreme noise and vibration pollution. Apparently this air show is not an absolute yet. I will bet a nickel this show will go on.

Older people feel threatened by severe noise, young children breathing toxic air; and this is happening the year of the coronavirus, which can severely affect our respiratory systems!

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