ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 21, 2021
Opponents of a $1 billion electric transmission corridor that would travel through a lengthy stretch of wilderness submitted 100,000 signatures on Thursday for a referendum drive to defeat it. It’s a second try at a referendum blocking the project after opponents’ first attempt was rejected by the state supreme court. Jon Breed, who heads up the Clean Energy Matters campaign, said the referendum would harm future economic development in the state. “It’s bad public policy and sets a bad precedent for our state if we take a project that has cleared every major regulatory milestone at the state and federal level, and then turn around and pull permits,” he said.