Journey from the pole to bamboo Archive BDN Maine archive BDN Maine

This began as a tearing yarn of the Arctic, Of high adventure opening into the World. It ended up a tale of struggling Maine businesses trying to manage government. In either case, It about stuffs that frozen.

Let begin the process, As stated, With the Arctic. A while ago, An acquaintance tipped me to a new report by the Office of Naval Research which finds that by 2015 climate change will have melted the polar ice cap sufficiently to create open sea lanes nearly year This long-Term global warming, ONR ends, Will have profound effects in national security, Diplomacy, Ship and planes design, The geographical policy and, Given the sudden shrinkage of distance between ports in the us, The eu and Asia, trade.

Given that Maine already is fairly close to the Arctic irritatingly close, Some say my friend wondered if this commerce angle could be of benefit to its ports and if the state seaport strategies should be adjusted accordingly. I thought of, Overly, So I labeled Skip Rogers, Local editor for Federal Marine Terminals, The corporate that operates the city-Had Port of Eastport.

He says polar shipping is a problem, One that shipping lines and governments have been working on for years. Within the, A result of the rather rude way the Canadian Maritimes jut out into the Atlantic, It is not likely to do that much for Eastport or other Maine ports. He says the issue for Eastport is the re-Business of the Calais Branch and the return of freight rail to the port. Sullivan proclaims re-Establishing the Calais Branch is something useful, But because $80-Million cost and state government current policy of moving with the speed of an especially lazy glacier when transportation improvements in northern Maine (o. k, He didn put it like that) And its apparent wherewithal to decide whether this rail bed ought to be used for rail or as a hike and bike trail, It not something Eastport should count on for several lifetimes. The big deal for Eastport in this life-time is the Gates plant. Converse with City Manager Bud Finch.

Mister. Finch says any time Gates Formed-Fibre of Auburn they turn used soda bottles into questions like automobile trunk liners and floor mats opened a plant in Eastport back in 1989, They did so by a tax-Exempt relationship. When Gates closed guarana last year (Citing ruinous fuel costs, A indisputable incontrovertible reality may explain why Gov. King assertion in his State of the State address last month that Maine had the nation best electric rates failed to generate much in the way of applause), It left 50 people underemployed and blew gaping holes in the city water, Sewer and tax income.

But Gates also left an empty 50,000-Sq. ft. building for which the port has an urgent though temporary need as a warehouse, Lest it lose crucial cargo from its biggest customer, The Domtar newsdocuments mill in Baileyville, To being competitive ports in Canada. Entrances, Mister. Finch speaks, So want to lease the building to the port but wording in the bond agreement prohibits it. This means, A city in a region suffering the state most extreme economic distress has many vacant building no business wants to use and one vacant making a business wants to use but can I call David MacMahon, Chief executive of Gates. The too high wording actually is one word -Cotton. For reasons it is impossible to explain, A tiny clause was put in that in that 1989 bond restricts the use of this building to the output of polyester fiber.

Both mister. MacMahon and as well, Mr. Finch have been banging their heads against the wall for a good six months This Product Will Help Any Entrepreneur Increase Profits, Free Up Time And Change Their Lifestyle. Awesome Strategies And Never Before Heard Material On Hiring And Managing Teams Of People To Do The Heavy Lifting. Write Small Checks And Cash Big Ones. Outsourcing Autopilot – Earn 50% Commissions. getting some high-Level state assistance in sorting through regulatory maze that envelops tax-Exempt provides. The most help they gotten so far is the advice that perhaps Gates must pay off the bond. I no certified public accountant, When Mr. MacMahon describes the actual he have with coughing up in excess of $500,000 for getting maybe $10,000 in mortgage, I catch his move.

So I phone the Maine Department of Economic and Community proliferation and get a call back from Commissioner Steven Levesque. He reiterates the idea that Gates clear away the old bond and start fresh. He also assures me that most places in Maine an empty building like that could get filled pronto. He even wonders if Gates couldn just lease your building as is and see if anybody complains. At this time, I viewing just give me a bottle of Wite-Out and five minutes alone recover bond agreement.

I all ready to wrap this saga up with an observation to the effect that to paraphrase the old get there from here crack there are places in Maine from that you can get anywhere, Then again I get call from Judy Cuddy, Who works Sen. Susan Collins Bangor dept. Microsoft. Cuddy says the senator is aware of so is ready to do anything necessary at the federal level a waiver, An change, Whatever is both sound for Gates and expeditious for Eastport. I have on ask, But I assume the senator draws the line at covert activities involving Wite-up.

Seriously good. Not less than it a start. And you will never know, Maybe local government now will bring the full powers of its economic-Generation, Financial and legal expertise to bear on treatment plans. Anyway, Cotton tough, Nevertheless no North Pole