Essential to maintain daily health
To the editor,
At a time when we are all so profoundly aware of our health, it is extremely important to remember that even in our South Portland yards and homes, we are at risk every day. The air we breathe constantly in our neighborhoods has chemicals that can be damaging to the health of our community. Our homes are among oil storage tanks that are actively putting our health at risk.
We don’t know how long this pandemic will last, or what our future will look like: however, it is essential that we are able to maintain our daily health as we combat this virus. It has certainly become clear how much a health threat can impact our lives.
What is easy to forget now is that long before COVID-19, our community was still at risk. Children in daycare should not be playing outside and commenting on a horrible smell. We should not have to roll up our windows as we drive down local roads.
It is easy to be lost in our own personal bubble of COVID-19, for it has impacted each of us. However, the ongoing threats still remain and they need to be addressed. We need to be able to understand the risk of the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) being released by the oil storage tanks and be able to understand the permitted limits and the formulas that are currently being used and what changes are needed for Global to clean up its emissions.
Having Global install a monitoring system to alert the public of what is being released 24/7 would be an important step to keeping the public informed of what needs to be done to improve our air quality.
Please make your voice heard at the Maine DEP and send your concerns to air-global.DEP@maine.gov to request 24/7 fence-line monitoring to inform and protect our community from the chemicals that are currently impacting our lives every day.
Eva Platt
South Portland
Candidate’s ‘approach’ would serve well
To the editor,
As the executive director of a statewide labor union organization and a proud union member myself, I know a champion of working class people when I see one. I have worked with Anne Carney throughout her term as state representative, and I feel strongly that she’s far and away the clear choice for state senator.
Whether it was raising wages and advocating for the safety of construction workers, supporting green jobs through registered apprenticeships or fighting for teachers’ rights, Rep. Carney has been a strong and, most importantly, effective, voice for us in Augusta. Because as someone who sees how policy is actually made, I also know the difference between a simple yes vote and someone who can actually hold a room and sway opinions.
When she speaks, her colleagues listen. I’ve seen her in action and I’m sure glad she’s on our side. Her smart, studied, yet doggedly relentless approach would serve us well in the Senate, where hard workers and strategic thinkers are quickly sought out to solve big problems.
We know that the COVID-19 pandemic’s shock waves will be felt across Maine for years to come. Rep. Carney’s experience in Augusta is precisely what we need in the Senate chamber to address these issues head-on.
The State Senate is no place to learn on the job during normal circumstances, let alone during and immediately following a pandemic. No other candidate in this race possesses the relevant experience in policy-making that Rep. Carney has. We have the opportunity to elect someone who can lead in the Senate from day one on issues that we care about most. The first step is voting for my friend Anne Carney for state senator in the July 14 primary. I hope you’ll join me and working families across the district in doing so.
Jason J. Shedlock
South Portland
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