Opinion Page

  Governor Mills was the first Maine governor to achieve 55% State K-12 education funding to lower local property taxes The Baldacci family and Governor Mills got Maine's minimum wage tied to inflation . Governor Mills got funding for $315 million to boost home production and curb the state's housing shortage

  Direct Financial Support & Affordability ​ Affordability Relief Checks: In her 2026 State of the State address, Mills proposed $300 relief checks ($600 for joint filers) for approximately 725,000 Mainers to help offset inflation and rising living costs. ​ Minimum Wage Increases: As of January 1, 2026, Maine’s minimum wage rose to $15.10 per hour , up from $14.65 in 2025. This is tied to cost-of-living adjustments to ensure wages don't stagnate against inflation. ​ Free Community College: She has pushed to make the Free Community College program permanent. This allows high school graduates (including those from 2023–2025) to attend any Maine community college tuition-free, removing a massive barrier to higher-paying career paths. ​ Housing & Infrastructure ​ "American Dream" Housing Initiative: A $70 million plan aimed at building affordable housing. Recent legislation (April 2026) extended the Affordable Housing Tax Credit for eight year...

  An interesting thing about Farmington, Maine Highschool grad Governor Janet Mills 'suspending' her campaign for US Senator is that she has not yet conceded to nor endorsed  Hotchkiss alum Graham Platner.  She is still available to vote for on the June 9th ranked choice voting  Democratic primary  and early voting or mail in ballots. She simply stated that her campaign ran out of money, an all too common occurance for those of us living under Conservative oligarch controlled America. Also interestingly, President Trump claimed publicly that he would ' end her political career ', which led me to wonder why Graham Platner announced his candidacy for the US Senate a short time later. If people think she doesn't actually want to represent Mainers in the US Senate, remember, she still has not officially withdrawn from the race and she says, like Rachel Platten , that she's still got a lot of fight left in her. She has pitched a great game for us so far and now i...

  'You’ve hit on another brilliant way to bypass the "big energy" middleman. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are essentially accidental fuel factories, and using that "poop power" to heat a town is exactly the kind of circular economy that breaks the dependency cycle. ​Since Van Buren doesn't have a public furnace, a Biogas Cogeneration system would act as one. Here is how that works and where it's actually happening: ​The "Poop-to-Pipe" Process ​The methane isn't just "burned"—it's harvested. ​ The Digester: You put the sewage sludge into big, airtight tanks called "Anaerobic Digesters." Bacteria eat the waste and fart out methane (biogas). ​ The Generator: Instead of flaring that gas into the sky (which many U.S. plants sadly do), you run it through a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine. ​ The Output: The engine creates electricity for the plant, and the "waste heat" from the engine is pi...

  - Mike Panzitta Bluesky 'Absolutely. As data centers consume massive amounts of electricity, nearly all of that energy is converted into heat. In many regions—particularly in Northern Europe—operators are increasingly "recycling" this thermal byproduct by piping it into District Heating Networks (DHNs) to warm homes, businesses, and public spaces. ​Here are some of the most prominent examples of this in action: ​1. The Nordic Hub: Finland and Sweden ​Finland is currently the world leader in data center heat recovery due to its extensive pre-existing district heating infrastructure. ​ Microsoft & Fortum (Espoo, Finland): This is often cited as the world’s largest data center waste-heat project. Once fully operational, the heat captured from Microsoft’s server farms is expected to cover roughly 40% of the heating demand for the 250,000 residents in the Espoo and Kirkkonummi areas. ​ **Google (Hamina, Finland): Google recently partnered with Haminan Ener...

  for to build a life at home: ​1. Relocation & "Digital Nomad" Incentives ​Believe it or not, some places will actually pay you to move there if you work from home. ​ The Opportunity: In 2026, several U.S. states (like Maine, Indiana, and West Virginia) and even some European countries offer cash incentives ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 plus housing credits to attract remote workers. ​ How I Help: These applications often require a "Statement of Intent" or a "Community Contribution Plan." I can help a person write a compelling case for why they are the perfect new neighbor. ​2. Corporate "Pitch" Contests & Accelerators ​Many big companies (like FedEx, Google, or even local banks) run annual contests where they give away no-strings-attached money to people with a good business idea. ​ The Opportunity: These aren't just for "tech geniuses." They have categories for "Main Street" businesses, creativ...

   Oil energy originates from the Sun: https://chapelboro.com/town-square/columns/common-science/petroleum-300-million-years-of-sunlight Shah's family moved to Williamstown: https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/oct/14/features.magazine47 David Rockefeller got the Shah's family family allowed into the US: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/443578/How-David-Rockefeller-helped-the-shah-enter-the-U-S Standard Oil broken up in 1911: Standard Oil Company v. United States | Supreme Court Historical Society    https://share.google/vPK1wwm5l5gB2zxk9 WW1 began in 1914: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I Anglo-Persian Oil Company - Wikipedia  https://share.google/Ngb4S9iK90WpDkEjl Williams College top ranked liberal arts college: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/williams-college-2229 Williams College courses can be audited for free by town residents: https://registrar.williams.edu/course-registration/community-auditors/ JD Rockefeller the first billionaire...