Tag: politics

Political gamesmanship threatens vulnerable Mainers

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

By HENRY INGWERSEN, State senator

The last time I wrote to you, I spoke about the importance of MaineCare, our state’s version of the Medicaid program. MaineCare provides health care to low-income families and children, people with disabilities and pregnant women, and is overwhelmingly supported by Maine people.

I also wrote about how Maine faces the same challenge as many red and blue states – the cost of health care is rising and state budgets are having a hard time keeping up.

This fiscal year, which runs until the end of June 2025, we face a $117 million gap in MaineCare. If unaddressed, providers already facing financial challenges would be put in an even more difficult situation. In some dire cases, providers could be forced to shut their doors – and when those doors shut, they shut for all of us.

State Sen. Henry Ingwersen (D-York)

In the last month, members of the Legislature’s budget committee worked hard to reach a bipartisan agreement on a supplemental budget that would fix this gap and get funding out the door quickly.

 I was very pleased when, in early February, they reached a deal and voted unanimously to recommend passage of the supplemental budget to the full legislature. However, my Republican colleagues suddenly walked back on the deal and began insisting that to earn their support, we would need to make cuts to MaineCare and housing assistance.

While I disagree with these cuts, these are large policy conversations that can certainly be had as the Legislature moves to construct a biennial budget – which covers the next two fiscal years – in the coming weeks. Right now, Maine people are counting on us to keep MaineCare afloat and to do it quickly.

A unique aspect of Maine law requires a two-thirds vote in the Maine House and Senate to approve emergency funding, which means strong, bipartisan support. Without this two-thirds vote needed to get this funding out the door, the Department of Health and Human Services will begin cutting back funds owed to hospitals, nursing homes, and home and community-based services as early as March.

We have continued to hold votes, and Republicans continue to oppose the plan they had previously agreed to. The more votes we take, the less I understand why there is opposition.

–State Sen. Henry Ingwersen

We have continued to hold votes, and Republicans continue to oppose the plan they had previously agreed to. The more votes we take, the less I understand why there is opposition. Our most rural communities rely heavily on keeping MaineCare functional – 45 percent of folks in Washington County; 40 percent in Aroostook County and an average of 37 percent across Oxford, Franklin, Somerset and Piscataquis counties are enrolled in MaineCare.

Many of us in the Legislature are here to make sure that our rural areas are not left behind.

In addition to the people covered by MaineCare in these areas, the small health care providers that strengthen our small towns are at most risk of harm. The Maine Primary Care Association recently told the Press Herald, “Health centers operate in small, rural towns in each county, and are also present and essential in Maine’s bigger cities; like many other health care providers, they are not designed to weather endless instability in payments.”

As I’ve learned in my time on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, Maine already has many “care deserts” across our state, forcing folks to travel long distances to get the services they need. I am deeply worried that not approving this funding means the problem would only get worse.

Every day in Augusta, as I chair the Health and Human Services Committee, I hear more stories of folks struggling with access to health care. Folks like Vickie, from Norway, who shared how her insurance did not cover services she felt would have made a real difference in her mental health care.

We need to be moving forward on health care access, not backward. I stand ready to support critical funding for MaineCare, and I hope my colleagues will join me to find a path forward for Maine people.

The people of my district and the rest of Maine are not the least bit interested in the political games taking place here in Augusta. They want to make sure that they continue to get the quality health care they deserve for their families. They deserve no less from us.

As always, if you have any questions about the information here or if you would like to reach out with a comment, question or concern, you can reach out to me any time. If you want to stay up-to-date on what we’re working on in Augusta, please sign up for my email newsletter at mainesenate.org or visit my Facebook page at facebook.com/IngwersenForMaine.

Henry Ingwersen represents District 32 in the Maine Senate, which includes Biddeford and the surrounding communities of Arundel, Dayton, Hollis and Lyman. He can be reached at Henry.Ingwersen@legislature.maine.gov or 207-287-1515

Editor’s note: The views expressed here are those of the author. If you would like to contribute an opinion column, please contact us at biddefordgazette@gmail.com This column was also published in the Biddeford-Saco Courier

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AUGUSTA RECAP: State Rep. Marc Malon

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

By Rep. MARC MALON

This week at the Statehouse was front-loaded and compact. Many of my colleagues traveled on the biannual Maine Development Foundation tour across the state, learning about economic development particularly in Penobscot and Aroostook Counties from Wednesday through Friday. I’ve always wanted to attend, but it’s difficult to manage with family obligations. One of these days I will.

On Monday, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee met, adopted committee rules, held one public hearing and voted on two lines relevant to our work in the Governor’s supplemental budget. One of those lines appropriated money to the Secretary of State’s office to offset costs associated with the 2024 election which were higher than anticipated.

State Rep. Marc Malon

Funding our election systems is critical, and I voted to support this one-time appropriation. The other line was requested by the Secretary of State to cover their Maine IT costs, which were billed to them at a higher amount than expected. I was in the minority in voting Yes on this, but agreed with my colleagues that the Appropriations Committee should ask tough questions of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services for why they hiked their IT bill (to the tune of $19k).

Tuesday, we had a relatively uneventful session where we referred many bills to committees. I also announced to colleagues that the Franco American Caucus was going to begin its work and that folks should think of individuals in their communities who might deserve nominations for the Franco American Hall of Fame.

After Session, the Housing and Economic Development Committee met and listened to the report from HR&A Advisors on how to address the state’s 84,000-unit shortfall. The report was comprehensive and gave us significant food for thought. NewsCenter produced an excellent story on their presentation and published the full report here: https://www.newscentermaine.com/…/97-847e89d5-dd04-4678…

The speech, like any of these addresses, contained plenty to like and dislike.
That’s normal. It’s a tough budget this year,

After committee, I attended a lecture at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine commemorating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau. The lecture, partly organized by my colleague Rep. Sam Zager, offered us a sobering look at how Hitler was able to quickly consolidate power and destroy German democracy, a necessary condition for him to further pursue his plans, including the planned extermination of Jews. There are serious lessons to learn from this history which I hope we will take to heart.

Following this presentation, we returned to the State House for Governor Mills’s State of the State Address. The speech, like any of these addresses, contained plenty to like and dislike. That’s normal. It’s a tough budget this year, and the Appropriations Committee will carefully review her budget proposals to see how they can be improved.

I liked that she stood strong in her commitment to funding MaineCare, which covers a significant percentage of Mainers, as well as 55% of the costs of public education, revenue sharing, and free school lunches. I did not like the stance she took against adopting red flag gun laws which would strengthen public safety. No one agrees 100 percent of the time. When I liked what she said, I stood and clapped. When I didn’t, I politely remained in my seat.

What was not helpful, however, is that one of my legislative colleagues recruited protesters to the State House to shout at and heckle the Governor, her family, and legislators from both parties. One of the hecklers I recognized as a former political candidate who believes the horrific Sandy Hook shootings were a hoax. People have the right to protest, and the right to be as rude to us as they want. That’s fine! But we have the right to not be persuaded by such antics, and I wasn’t.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not note the impact that certain federal actions have on Maine. I would love for my posts to stay focused on state policy, but some actions are so impactful that I can’t avoid mentioning them.

The chaos and confusion caused by the federal OMB memo on Tuesday blocking the funding of all grants and federal funding to programs that Mainers rely on was unacceptable. Though the memo was rescinded after significant outcry, it put people’s livelihoods in question. These programs included LIHEAP, Meals on Wheels, and numerous initiatives at the University of Maine. That is no way to govern.

Just yesterday the Trump administration announced significant tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. I am not a free trade fundamentalist, but these tariffs are ill-conceived and very harmful to Maine consumers. Canada is our largest trading partner and a trade war with them hurts Maine workers too.

Overall, these tariffs will raise prices on energy, heating, food, housing, and cars. This is not what we need, and I will add my voice to the chorus demanding that Trump walk this back.

State Rep. Marc Malon is a Democrat representing a portion of Biddeford in the Maine Legislature. He may be contacted at: Marc.Malon@legislature.maine.gov 

The views and opinions presented here are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Biddeford Gazette or its publisher.

The Gazette is always happy to consider reader-submitted commentary for the Community Voices section of the Biddeford Gazette. For more information, please email: biddefordgazette@gmail.com.

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OPINION: Some notable changes in local media outlets

~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

(Originally published on the Lessons In Mediocrity site)

There’s no denying it. This is not your father’s news industry anymore. That’s good news, but it’s also very bad news.

I’m writing this because there were three significant local changes in the news industry that happened in just the last two weeks.

More about that in just a moment.

Traditional, legacy media outlets are no longer the sole guardians of truth and justice, and that fact — like it or not – will impact you — and it might even hurt you.

For centuries, newspapers, (and then later) radio and television news operations kept an immeasurable amount of gravitas in their pants’ pocket, like so many nickels and dimes. The publishers, editors (and oftentimes the reporters) took your trust in them for granted.

Nearly 300 years ago, Edmund Burke, a member of British Parliament, reportedly coined the term “Fourth Estate” to describe the press, pointing out its obligations as a check in government oversight and its responsibility to frame political issues as well as to be an advocate for the general public.

Pretty big responsibility, eh?

The industry that was once the trusted and almost sole gatekeeper of vital public news and information is now scrambling, desperately trying to find a way to remain relevant or at least financially solvent.

So, what are the threats and challenges facing both you as a news consumer and traditional media outlets?

First and foremost, social media platforms are taking over the distribution of news and information. There are no more paperboys and even newsrooms are shifting away from brick-and-mortar structures.

In survey after survey; in poll after poll, one fact becomes abundantly clear. Consumers want their news on their schedule (on demand). Readers also try to skirt paywalls, no longer seeing the value of paid news subscriptions.

Readers today gravitate toward click-bait headlines and “news” websites that match their own political ideology.

Photo: The Death of the Newspaper Industry | John W. Hayes)

Never-ending competition, a 24-7 news cycle and the disturbing rise of AI (artificial intelligence) all remain as threats to established and not-so-established news outlets.

And to top it off, reader trust in traditional news outlets is plummeting faster than shares of K-Mart stock.

In his Nov. 29, 2022 opinion column, Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby pointed to a recent Gallup report, which revealed that just one out of three Americans claimed to have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in the media.

We could talk all day about the national news scene and the spiraling demise of legacy media, but let’s take a deeper look at the news on a local level, right here where it hurts the most.

Today, almost everyone is a journalist – or so they believe. All you need is a keyboard and an internet connection and its off to the races.

While I love certain aspects of “citizen journalism” it does sort of invite a Wild, Wild West approach in reporting news.

These citizens journalists typically do not have editors or the resources of an editorial board. They have no professional training. Ethics and objectivity are now electives, no longer requirements.

In other ways, however, these pesky citizen journalists and their social media followers do keep some much needed pressure on those Fourth Estate guys, the traditional legacy media outlets.

We’re not in Kansas anymore

Speaking of legacy, traditional media, the Bangor Daily News (BDN) – Maine’s preeminent source of political news – decided last week to shut down its editorial board. The paper will no longer have an Op-Ed (Opinion-Editorial) section.

I found that news strange. It struck me as counter-intuitive, especially since so many people are saying that readers are flocking toward opinion and away from objective news reporting.

While I love certain aspects of “citizen journalism” it does sort of invite
a Wild, Wild West approach in reporting news.

In a Jan. 24 column, the BDN described the move as “the end of an era.”

Susan Young, the paper’s opinion editor, said the news was “bittersweet.”

“Far too few people read opinion content, so we have to try different things,” Young told me during an online conversation, saying the decision was influenced by the paper’s digital analytics.

The BDN’s decision will also mean the end of rigorous and highly regarded opinion columns from people like Amy Fried on the political left to Matt Gagnon on the political right.

Still closer to home, the publishers of the Biddeford-Saco Courier announced on Wednesday that they will now offer their subscribers a digital weekly update via email.

That “announcement” dropped exactly two weeks after I formally launched the Biddeford Gazette, a free digital newspaper dedicated to covering Biddeford news, opinion and events.

For more than 30 years, the Courier has relied upon free delivery of its print publication at newsstands or tossed into the driveways of private homes.

The Courier was founded and locally owned by David and Carolyn Flood. A few years ago, the paper was then sold to the owner of the now defunct Journal Tribune, a daily newspaper that was later acquired by the daily Portland Press Herald. Today, the Press Herald owners also contributor several weekly and daily publications throughout central and southern Maine.

Courier reporter Sydney Richelieu announced the “inaugural edition” of “Biddeford-Saco | Now” in an email sent to subscribers. The move, she said, is designed to offer readers another option in finding out what is happening in their community.

I have some unsolicited advice for Sydney and the Courier’s editors, please stop printing press releases and then labeling them with a byline of “Staff Reports.”

Otherwise, I am quite pleased that you guys finally want to step up your game in covering local news.

To be honest, I have a bit of an advantage over the other guys. I’m a Biddeford native and resident, and I have been covering Biddeford for nearly three decades. I have a stockpile of sources and lots of time on my hands.

Just a few days ago, a close friend of mine remarked that other local publications are now starting to pay more attention (deservedly so) to the city of Biddeford, since I launched the Gazette.

That’s actually really good news, especially for the people of Biddeford.

The other guys may not like the fact that I am now in the mix, but they should remember the folks at the Journal Tribune were none too happy when the Courier was launched in 1989; and the folks at the Courier were none too happy that Saco Bay News came along in 2019 and showed off the nimble advantages of being a digital publication.

Increased competition does not help the Courier, Saco Bay News or the Biddeford Gazette, but it does keep a fire lit under our asses; and that is good news for readers.

The people of Biddeford should not have to rely upon just one reporter for the news that matters to them.

Competition keeps reporters motivated, but more importantly – it keeps them in check.

The Biddeford Gazette is not trying to put anyone else out of business. In fact, the opposite is true.

The Biddeford Gazette uses its own social media pages on Facebook, BlueSky and X to round up and share local news stories from other media companies. No one else does that.

You read that right. We take the time to share news from the other guys on our social media pages. And when you click to read those stories, you are not directed to our website, instead all the postings will link automatically to whatever source produced the news, whether it’s Saco Bay News, the Courier or WGME-TV.

Please visit our new Facebook page and follow us to experience a new level of local news coverage.

Whenever or wherever news about Biddeford is published, we will be there to make sure you know about it.

That’s my mission. That’s my passion.

I value your trust.

I will not stop.

Editor’s Note: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. The Biddeford-Saco Courier was originally acquired by the publisher of the Journal Tribune, not the Portland Press Herald. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion it may have caused.