Candidate has ‘business acumen’
To the editor,
I am casting my vote for fellow Rotary club member Sari Greene to represent South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and part of Scarborough in the Maine Senate. In response to the current situation, I have been struck by Sari’s leadership and her commitment to volunteering to help our community. Among other things, she initiated the Facebook group South Portland Community of Kindness, in addition to volunteering at the South Portland Food Cupboard and organizing others to do the same.
The current pandemic has made us all much more aware of how dependent we are on technology. Sari is a nationally recognized cyber-security expert and as someone who has recently had her identity stolen (whoever has my social security number, please return it), I am even more aware of how important her expertise is to our society and especially to our government.
When Sari first told me she was running for senate, she said that it was because she was concerned that Maine needed a climate that was supportive of jobs and small businesses. As a woman who started and led her own very successful business, her business experience and expertise would truly be welcome in our state government, especially in the aftermath of the devastation that the pandemic is wreaking on our economy.
I believe that Sari’s strong leadership skills, dedication and business acumen make her the best choice for Maine.
Nancy Hawes
South Portland
Candidate will ‘hit the ground running’
To the editor,
Neighbors, I’m so pleased that Rep. Anne Carney is running for a seat in the Senate chambers, and I encourage you to support her. Anne is the only candidate in this July primary with the requisite political experience to hit the ground running and represent the interests of our neighbors in Cape Elizabeth, South Portland and Scarborough.
I’ve had the pleasure – and the honor–of working with Anne on several key issues that directly impact our way of life – and reflect the best in our values. Anne is that rare public servant with an innate ability to listen before she acts. Maybe that’s what you get when you combine a successful law practice with a solid heart of gold, years of community service, and a masters degree in theology.
It’s a winning combination for District 29. Anne Carney’s fought hard for us over the last few years. Let’s now fight for her to keep our voices, and our values, well represented in Augusta.
Claude Morgan
South Portland
Candidate brings ‘common sense, leadership’
To the editor,
Today I completed my primary absentee ballots. I have very rarely disclosed how I voted in a primary. However, because of the difficult times we are experiencing, this election is different. At times like this, we need proven leaders to bring both common sense, experienced leadership but also leaders with compassion and concern for their communities. I have cast my vote in the State Senate District 29 contest for Sari Greene of South Portland because she has already displayed these qualities.
This is a time we must come together as a common community and express our values through our vote. Sari shares these values. She volunteers regularly in many ways in our communities. Professionally she developed a cyber security company which, in her leadership style, she displayed her core values. Among other things, she provided meaningful benefits, including health insurance, to her employees as well as fair wages. Her compassionate leadership will carry over to her duties in the State Senate.
The unprecedented dangers we have witnessed in not having adequate planning, in health care and our economy, can be avoided in the future with leaders like Sari to work with our Gov. Mills in rebuilding our state and also, given her background, developing methods to avoid repeating past mistakes.
I urge my fellow Democrats in Senate District 29 to vote, in the current primary, for Sari Greene for State Senate District 29 and to support her in November.
Dan Mooers
South Portland
Candidate has ‘critical experience, skills’
To the editor,
I write to lend my voice in excited support of Sari Greene to be our Democratic nominee for Senate District 29 representing South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and part of Scarborough. It was my honor to hold the very seat that Ms. Greene seeks. I make this heartfelt endorsement with a nod to the past and more importantly – an eye on our shared futures.
Ordinarily, it is not my practice to publicly endorse in a primary as I have tremendous respect for all willing to make the commitment and do the work required for this level of public service; but these are not ordinary times, and Sari Greene has unique, timely, critical experience and skills that will be welcomed by her Senate colleagues.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary leadership. We need those who represent us to know that we are counting on them to work together to take concrete actions on our behalf. Our problems are urgent, and require demonstrated ability to listen, understand, communicate, and execute, while at the same time holding to one’s deeply held democratic values. Sari Greene is that leader.
Sari Greene has demonstrated that she knows the importance of healthy lives and livelihoods that sustain, and she knows that Maine cannot have one without the other. I cannot imagine anyone I would trust more to effectively represent us in these tumultuous and uncertain times.
Please join me in voting for Sari Greene to be our Democratic nominee for Senate District 29.
Lynn Bromley
South Portland
SMCC students share letters
To the editor,
There is a big problem that has arisen over the recent years. Many teens are uneducated about safe sex. Because of the lack of information, they are unaware of the available resources. Teenagers are feeling pressured to have sex and are not thinking about the long lasting affect that could come from just one moment of pleasure.
In high school health classes, they express safer ways to have intercourse. In my belief, parents should always know what their child is doing and have a conversation to prepare them for their adult life. Teenagers can get pregnancy prevention resources and advice from a great organization that helps youth named Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood says,”The birth control pill is 91 percent effective and a condom is 85 percent effective.” This knowledge will help decrease the pregnancy rate. They will guide individuals on the right path and are always available for support. When going into any restroom, I always remember seeing hotlines for support groups. These hotlines will help any individual anonymously.
We need to come together and help our younger generation to become more educated. We need to support them. Let’s find a way for both young men and young women to feel safe to ask for help.
Ariana Marquis
Bath
To the editor,
Millions of bees die every year and this is a disaster for all mankind. Beekeepers report they are losing on average 30 percent of all honeybee colonies each winter- twice as much loss as allowed at normal.
Scientists point to several reasons why bees die: there are diseases and parasites, change in climate, habit loss, and pesticides. Bees are used to pollinate most crops that we eat daily. They collect pollen in fields that are pesticide-treated and this causes great harm to bee families.
We need to take this problem seriously. If farmers cannot do without chemicals for their fields, then we need to create pesticides that won’t harm our bees. This problem must be addressed at least at the state level.
I think that first, we need to write letters to local authorities, publishers and organizations that can influence the solution to this problem. The second way to fix this situation is to plant local flowers, bushes, and trees to provide bees with food and create a habitat for them.If today we make the right decisions, it will provide a healthy and bright future for our children.
Together, we can save the bees and our food supply. Let’s give the bees a chance.
Iryna Ivanova
Ukraine
To the editor,
Portland has many jobs for immigrants. Ninety percent of those job seekers are having a hard time with interviews. The reasons for this are: not having strong language skills, not wearing the appropriate clothing, or not understanding the way an interview works.
When a person has an interview, what should he or she do?
First, the person must come 30 minutes early to the workplace.
Second, the person should have a resume folder and wear professional clothing. The reason for wearing nice clothes is to show respect for the company and for the interviewer. When the job seeker introduces himself he should smile, say his name and shake the interviewer’s hand. Sometimes the interviewer’s questions are hard to understand.
When the job seeker answers the questions, he must speak clearly and show how his skills fit into the company.
If the company offers the job, the person must come early on the first day and be prepared. If you want a good job, you must remember to prepare for your interview. It will decide your success.
Abdilgani Farah
Somalia
To the editor,
One of the leading causes of car accidents today is texting while driving, which is very dangerous and being practiced by all ages. DoSomething.org says, “19 percent of drivers of all ages admit to surfing the web while driving.” This is a scary fact.
People are dying, becoming disabled, and destroying other lives too. A good driver ought to pay attention and stay focused, respecting the road, the road signs, other drivers and pedestrians. This is also important for adults to follow. DoSomething.org also says, “According to 77 percent of teens, adults tell them not to text or email while driving, yet adults do it themselves all the time.’’
A week ago there was a driver stopped and texting while peeping at the lights and he almost ran over a blind man who had not yet reached the pedestrian sidewalk. As this was happening the woman behind me screamed and I was so terrified I didn’t know what to do. I was shaking and my hands were sweaty.
If a person has to receive an important call, he must pull over and take it. Say no to distracted driving to save lives and our community.
Joel Kayumba
Democratic Republic of Congo
To the editor,
Water is most important in life. Tap water in Cumberland County comes from Sebago Lake and is safe, clean and delicious. Humans cannot survive without water. Pure and clean water is very important to our body because it gives us strength and helps us to be healthier.
Sebago Lake is considered to be one of the purest lakes in Maine. It is called the “Queen of inland water.” Also, Sebago means “great water.” This means that Cumberland County has good and delicious water.
Bottled water may be a good short term solution if tap water is contaminated, but in Cumberland County it is not contaminated. Bottled water is also very expensive over time. We don’t have to pay for water bottles because our community has good water. Using water bottles once and throwing them away is wasteful. They become environmental concerns. Some are recycled. Some go to landfills. Others end up as litter. The chemicals in the plastic used in the bottles could also be released into the groundwater. This may cause some long term health problems for both animals and humans.
It is important to wisely use our money and be healthy. We have to stop wasting money. The tap water from Sebago Lake in our community is pure, safe and clean. We have to drink it and not pay for bottled water.
George Kanda
Democratic Republic of Congo
To the editor,
Every second, 160,000 plastic bags are used around the world. The magnitude of waste that will decrease if we all used reusable bags would be profound. Stores in Maine have been using plastic bags for years and it’s extremely bad for the environment.
Why use plastic bags when you can use reusable bags? They are much better for the environment and the amount of good that you can do would be a big positive change. The Maine government has started to ban plastic bags in retail stores, but just think about how long we’ve been using plastic bags before they got banned. Plastic bags are toxic for the environment and we don’t even have a way to recycle them.
We now use paper bags. Paper bags are better because they decompose. Plastic bags can take about 400 to 1,000 years to decompose. Even though using paper bags is good, using reusable bags is so much more effective because you can use them hundreds of times. An example of a negative reason for using paper bags is that we get charged for them. Why pay extra money when you can bring a reusable tote and use it more than once? You can save yourself money by bringing reusable bags.
Use reusable bags. They are good for marine life. Around 100,000 animals lose their life due to the litter of plastic bags. Also, using plastic bags can risk contamination when certain plastics mix together and they are easy to store. The earth will be happy, your bank account will be happy and so will you.
Sasha Savitz
United States
To the editor,
I always thought vaccinations were important because there are a lot of illnesses that can affect our children if they are not vaccinated. Ann Coats, M.D., pediatric pulmonologist at Maine Medical Center, says that a lack of vaccinations may lead to serious health issues and even death. One example of a highly contagious illness is measles. Other illnesses are whooping cough and influenza, which can also be dangerous for children and the elderly.
Congratulations to everyone in Maine for protecting our residents from harmful diseases. I am happy that my vote mattered. Despite different opinions, we can move forward as a state knowing our children are safe. Now it is time for all Maine people to come together.
Megan Pelletier
Portland
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