Category: Nicolas Parasie
One Million Only for Maine Dredging Project
WASHINGTON – The 2004 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill that the Senate passed last week includes $1 million to dredge the Narraguagus River in Millbridge.
But Millbridge’s town manager, Fred Ventresco, said that might not be enough to begin work this year. Ventresco said he was “very disappointed” with the amount of money allocated to the water project, which is estimated to cost $3.8 million.
The Narraguagus needs immediate dredging, said John Chipman, the town’s harbormaster. During low tide, some boats hit the ground and navigation is “inconvenient,” he said.
The situation is most precarious at the Millbridge marina, Chipman and Ventresco said. Chipman, a fisherman since he was 14, said the channel has been shallow for 15 years.
The river last was dredged in 1968, said Marc Habel, project manager for New England marine projects at the Army Corps of Engineers.
“We will now examine our options,” he said, when asked if the Senate bill provided enough money to start the dredging project. He acknowledged that Congress may be asked for more money for the project next year.
“We are concerned that the dredging will not take place this year due to the much lower than expected sum,” Ventresco added.
The Senate appropriations bill contains $3.2 million for water maintenance projects in Saco, Scarborough, Searsport and Wells Harbor, including the $1 million for the Narraguagus dredging. The sum for those projects is significantly lower in the House appropriations bill, which does not include the Narraguagus project. House and Senate negotiators must try to reconcile the differences in the bills before the start of the 2004 fiscal year on Oct.1.
In total, the Energy and Water Development legislation will cost about $27 billion.
Maine Senators Vote Against New FCC Regulations
WASHINGTON - Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe voted Tuesday for a resolution that passed overwhelmingly to overturn new media ownership rules the Federal Communications Commission had approved in June.
The new FCC rules would end longstanding restrictions that prevented media companies from dominating a market with cross-ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers. Critics argue that the FCC change would allow a small number of media giants to gain total control of media markets and limit the scope of news.
The concern is greatest in small markets and rural states, such as Maine. Both senators said the problem already exists in the radio industry.
The "media consolation has eliminated much local content," Collins said Tuesday. "We cannot allow the error made in the radio industry to be repeated in broadcast and print media nationwideá.
"The FCC rule reduces the choice people have," she said. "It is not a good situation when the same company owns the largest newspaper, the local television station and the local radio station."
Snowe added that "when reports show that five companies or fewer could control about 60 percent of television households in just the next few years, we should all be very concerned."
The Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D.-N.D., was offered under the 1996 Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn new federal rules. The "congressional veto" has been implemented just once, in 2001, when the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration successfully rolled back workplace safety regulations issued by the Clinton administration.
To change the rule, the resolution, which the Senate passed, 55-40, also would require a majority in the House, as well as President Bush's signature. House Republicans have threatened to kill it.
Collins said the Senate vote sent a strong signal of disapproval to the FCC, but she added that previous opposition to the new rules was largely disregarded. "Thousands of comments that were filed in opposition to the rule were ignored by the FCC," she said.
"The FCC should have had a series of public hearings in order to give people the opportunity to voice their opinion." A federal appeals court on Sept. 3 blocked implementation of the new rules and scheduled a hearing in November.
SBA Award for James Eaton
WASHINGTON - Even as Hurricane Isabel approached the nation's capital, James Eaton, a Maine manufacturer, was in Washington on Thursday to receive the Small Business Administration's State Small Business Person of the Year award for Maine.
Eaton is president and CEO of Little Harbor Window Co. Inc. in Berwick, which grew from a one-man shop in 1983 to a 30-person manufacturer of mahogany doors and windows today.
Eaton's success story was in great part made possible, he said, by the SBA's "invaluable" support. Not only did he receive three SBA loans, which enabled him to expand and to hire people at competitive salaries, but he also received logistical support to help him manage his business.
"The work ethic of people in Maine seems to exceed that of the average person," Eaton said. "People here in Maine really take pride in the job they do. That's one of the reasons this was made possible."
According to SBA administrator Hector V. Barreto, small-business person awards recognize the company's productivity, the owner's record as a good employer and the owner's giving something in return to the local community.
On Tuesday, Eaton, accompanied by his wife, Louise Littlefield, met with Maine Senator Olympia Snowe and Maine Congressman Tom Allen.
Eaton's award came as part of the SBA's 50th anniversary celebration this. Earlier, President George Bush, who was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at an SBA breakfast conference on women in business, was replaced by Vice President Dick Cheney after Bush's White House meeting with Jordan King Abdullah was delayed.
In his speech, besides honoring the entrepreneur spirit, Cheney addressed the need for tax relief, liability reform and the administration's continued efforts to fight terrorism.
SBA deputy administrator Melanie R. Sabelhaus said in an interview that despite the growing costs of the American presence in Iraq, small businesses had no reason to worry. On the contrary, she said, small businesseshave received more contracts from the administration, especially in the IT sector, than they did before the war began in Iraq.
Maine Senators Divide on Overtime Pay Measure
WASHINGTON - The Senate approved an amendment Wednesday that would thwart the Bush administration's plan to change requirements for overtime work, a proposal Democrats say would eliminate extra pay for hundreds of thousands of workers but Republicans contend would mean more money for low-income employees.
Maine's two Senators split on the amendment. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine was one of six Republicans who sided with Democrats in the 54-45 vote.
"The ramifications of this policy change could be far-reaching and could result in diminishing the incomes and wallets of working Mainers and Americans," Snowe said in a statement. She added that "these changes would pose a significant hardship for working families, particularly during these insecure economic times."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against the amendment. "By increasing the salary threshold from $8,000 to $22,000 annually.á Maine workers will receive an estimated $2.9 million in overtime pay," she said. "These dollars could make a big difference to thousands of Maine families by helping them make ends meet during these tough economic times."
The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would prohibit the Labor Department from changing the law that dictates who must receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week.
Democrats argue that the Bush administration's proposed regulation threatens to abolish overtime benefits for 644,000 white-collar workers, while Republicans say the change would make 1.3 million low-income workers - mainly women and minorities -- eligible for overtime payments.
The Republican-controlled House narrowly defeated a similar amendment, and President Bush has said he would veto the $472.2 billion spending bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education if the Harkin amendment is included. So the odds are against the amendment surviving in the final bill.
Michael Eastman, director of labor law policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the administration was right to push for what he called a clearer overtime regulation.
"Overtime regulation needs to be updated, but this amendment would effectively kill any revision of the regulations," Eastman said. He added that "there are large litigation costs, because the regulation is old and confusing. We want to prevent that."
But Adam Fisher, assistant commissioner at the Maine Department of Labor, said the state sees few lawsuits on overtime pay.
"We feel the current regulation is sufficient," Fisher said. "Overtime protection for the Maine people has never really been an issue."
Democrats gained the upper hand on the issue when they managed to delay voting on the amendment until the four Democratic senators running for president could be there. Sens. Bob Graham of Florida, John Edwards of North Carolina, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut all voted for the Harkin amendment.
