KENNEBEC JOURNAL • March 21, 2024
Since late January, we’ve had nothing but rain and lots of coastal flooding. It’s hard not to think the Maine long-range climate forecast of “warmer and wetter” has arrived. The mean temperature for the entire state is nearly 8 degrees above normal, with ice-out a month early. Starting with the dawn of modern state government — the Curtis administration, from 1967-75 — Maine’s been using general fund bond issues to invest in its future. Gov. Paul LePage shut it down. Bond issues are an important way to involve voters directly in making choices about the state’s future. Looking at the magnitude of climate change, it’s dismaying we’re not already addressing the enormous capital commitments it will require. ~ Douglas Rooks