On Tuesday, June 8, voters will consider five candidates vying for two open seats on the Gouldsboro Board of Selectmen. Selectman Cheri Robinson is not seeking re-election while incumbent Chris Urquhart is running for another three-year term.
When one is better than two
By Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham and Roger Bowen
“Local control” (or “home rule”) is a term used widely to refer to each Maine town’s preference for self-government on issues of immediate importance to town residents. The town meeting form of government in New England gives citizens the power to legislate, albeit circumscribed by the recommendations made by town boards of selectmen, which serve in executive capacity.
The system works but not always well. The absence of term limits on selectmen too often results in the same old faces spouting the same old bromides. As former members of our respective town boards of selectmen, we both can cite instances when invocations of some long-forgotten tradition, whether accurately rendered or not, urged deference to past practice. “We tried that x years ago and it didn’t work.” Perhaps, but this is a new era of rising property taxes and increasing traffic on Peninsula roads, especially in the summer
Winter Harbor Lobster Festival on âin fullâ
WINTER HARBOR â The 2021 Winter Harbor Lobster Festival will happen on Aug. 14 after all, following discussion and a unanimous decision at the Board of Selectmenâs May 24 meeting.
With safety guidelines from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now lifted, and members of the public voicing support for holding the event, the board and those in attendance discussed going forward with all the town-sanctioned festivities.
At the boardâs May 10 meeting, the board decided not to hold a town-sanctioned festival but supported the independently run lobster boat races and fireworks and craft fair, hosted by the Schoodic Area Chamber of Commerce, with vendors along private property.
“We are hoping people come and see what’s going on,” Pinkham said late last week, noting that clams are Maine’s second most lucrative seafood after lobster and accounted for $15.671 million in revenue in 2020. The state is the top producer of soft-shell clams in the United States.
Student Spotlight: Melina Giakoumis Studies Some ‘Cool Critters’ in National Parks to Understand the Effects of Climate Change
By Lida Tunesi
Melina Giakoumis (Biology) the opportunity to fuse two interests: marine conservation and science communication. Plus, she gets to spend the summer at three seashore parks in Massachusetts and Maine.
Giakoumis will devote the next year to studying sea stars in intertidal ecosystems throughout the northeastern U.S. to understand and share with the public how these ecologically important species are responding to climate change. She is one of three students chosen for the fellowship, a partnership led by Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, the National Park Service, and the National Park Foundation with support from the David Evans Shaw Family Foundation, that seeks to advance conservation and ecosystem science and enhance the stewardship of park resources.