February 18, 2016
Bangor Daily News
By Christopher Cousins
Good morning from Augusta, where Mother Nature, for once, has been the spectacle. On Wednesday, I was diverted from politics for a couple of hours when my editors tasked me with gathering photos, videos and interviews at the city’s Waterfront Park, where an unseasonably warm rainstorm early this week broke up the ice on the Kennebec River and was causing some flooding.
The locals say it happens every year — though usually not this early — but I have never seen, in person, so much ice moving all at once. From a distance the craggy expanse of flowing ice looked lazy and slow. Up close, I could see chunks the size of pool tables shattering at the boundary between the lumbering current of the river and the tangled and jammed shoreline. There were some breathtaking natural forces at work, not to mention inspiration for today’s soundtrack.
The National Weather Service sent out an alert this morning that the ice continues to flow and the flood warning remains in place until about 3:30 p.m.
Back to politics.
The Maine State Housing Authority Board of Directors voted Wednesday to draft a letter to Gov. Paul LePage inquiring whether he will allow the sale of bonds for senior citizen housing projects that were approved by statewide voters three months ago by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The $15 million bond, which is expected to leverage some $22 million in other funds, was sponsored by Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves of North Berwick, who has made increasing support for Maine’s senior citizens a years-long project.
“Before we encourage developers to invest their time and money and before we obligate staff resources to this project, it would be helpful to know if and when you plan to approve the bonds,” wrote MSHA Chairman Peter Anastos, who is well known for his support of LePage “We know that you publicly opposed the bond issue prior to the election and we take no position on whether you should approve it. However, some board members feel that it would be useful to have some guidance from you.”
LePage, who has been fickle about bonds throughout his tenure, said a day after the November 2015 election that voters’ approval of the $15 million housing bond would hurt the state’s credit rating. He has not said definitively whether he will sign off on the bonds. I asked his office about that Wednesday afternoon but have not received a response.
