Editorials from around New England

Editorials from around New England:

RHODE ISLAND

The Providence Journal, Nov. 18

A state that’s barely adding jobs, struggling to pay its bills and losing young workers hardly stands out as a place of growth and opportunity. But this picture is precisely what we have - or more precisely, still have - in Rhode Island.

Based on the latest checkup on the state’s fiscal health, the results might be summed up as follows: Government costs are coming in too high, revenues are falling short, and the long-term economic forecast points to more of what we have heard for far too long. Growth in jobs, and payrolls, will be tepid, and so will growth in the overall population and workforce, with losses in the critical 20-to-29 age group.

All of this comes from the state’s latest Revenue and Caseload Estimating Conference, a twice-a-year event that reviews recent trends and predicts where revenues and expenses are going. Along the way, state officials hear a presentation on where the state’s economy appears to be heading.

Some of the news at the latest conference was positive. Revenues and employment are up compared with last year. Unfortunately, at the same time, several state agencies are overspending, notably those overseeing social services. And revenues, though up, are falling short of the projections state officials made this past spring - a reality that reflects the continued sluggishness of the state’s economy, even as the national economy hums along nicely.

On the state budget front, the latest numbers point to a $60 million deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends next July 1, and state officials are projecting a $204 million deficit for the following year. Such numbers will severely limit the state’s ability to make tax and regulatory changes that could help the economy. Yet those kinds of changes are precisely what the state needs.

For all the talk from our elected leaders about the economy being job number one, Rhode Island is still struggling. Yes, the state has taken steps such as reducing the minimum corporate tax, eliminating the sales tax that businesses paid on utility bills, creating a funding mechanism for bridge repairs, better aligning workforce training programs with the needs of employers, and luring tiny outposts of such high-profile companies such as GE, Johnson & Johnson and Virgin Pulse through the use of taxpayer-funded incentives. Rhode Island has also controlled otherwise catastrophic pension costs.

But the report from IHS Markit that was prepared for the recent revenue and caseload conference predicts little growth in the labor force and just 0.4 percent growth in annual payrolls through 2022, a pitiful figure.

The bottom line for Rhode Island’s elected leaders is that they must be far more aggressive in improving the economy. Energizing the state will require great public schools and a more favorable tax and regulatory climate for businesses. Those are the ingredients that produce well-educated, well-prepared workers, and make the state a place where people and businesses want to be, feeding into the energy of Massachusetts next door.

Heading into an election year, Rhode Island’s elected leaders should not be focused on what they’ve done, which is not enough. They should be focused on what they will do to finally turn around the state’s economy.

Online: http://bit.ly/2AgYcNG

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CONNECTICUT

The Record-Journal, Nov. 21

Bristol’s Northeast Middle School made national news recently when its plan to have a Muslim woman speak to students as part of a lesson on world religions was scuttled.

Made aware of vitriolic - and some threatening - comments posted to social media and directed at the teacher who invited the speaker, Bristol’s superintendent of schools cancelled the planned talk. How sad.

Not only did Northeast Middle School students lose the opportunity to hear from Annam Choudhry, the founder of YUSRA, an organization which aims to empower Muslim women, but pulling the plug on her talk sends a terrible message; that bullying works. Bristol schools - buttressed by the Bristol police - should have stood their ground.

The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, responded to the news that Choudhry had been disinvited to Northeast Middle School with a pointed message.

Farhan Memon, chairperson of CAIR-CT, stated, in part: “While we appreciate that the safety of students and faculty is of paramount importance, the district should be working with the Bristol Police Department to ensure the security of the school. The police department in turn should be taking any true threats seriously and investigating them.

“Cancelling speakers outright emboldens individuals and organizations in Bristol who are Islamophobic and Anti-Semitic. It does a disservice to Bristol’s students and to the community as a whole who need to learn about America’s pluralism and diversity.”

In another questionable move, as part of the brouhaha surrounding Choudry, a presentation by a Rabbi who was set to speak about Judaism at Northeast Middle School also was canceled.

However, it is being reported that Bristol Public Schools plan to hold a panel discussion on world religions shortly at a local high school. This would be a step in the right direction. Hopefully, this time, school leaders don’t kowtow to bigots.

Online: http://bit.ly/2BjO0kD

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MASSACHUSETTS

The Berkshire Eagle, Nov. 21

Big energy corporation comes to small town to construct a controversial pipeline extension through protected forestland that draws protesters from far and wide. Big company pays state police big bucks to keep the peace, making some 100 arrests in the process. What’s been going on in Sandisfield these last few months doesn’t rise to the level of the days of union-busting government goons, but it also doesn’t pass the smell test either.

In a formal complaint hand-delivered to Governor Charlie Baker’s office last week, pipeline opponents the Sugar Shack Alliance allege that, among other things, the state police have become “a private arresting force for Kinder Morgan,” the energy company finishing up the Connecticut Expansion Project, about four miles of which was built in Massachusetts. Indeed, Kinder Morgan’s contract with state police raises plenty of questions regarding who answers to whom. State police invoices given to The Eagle by the Massachusetts PipeLine Awareness Network show Kinder Morgan has so far paid Massachusetts State Police $773,000 for special details during the pipeline project. Berkshire residents could understandably ask if the state police are acting in the name of government or a private entity.

The protests in Sandisfield began when workers began leveling some 28 acres of state forestland to expand the company’s pipeline corridor. As the protesters grew in numbers, so did the police presence and so did the tension. Protesters have claimed the state police have gotten heavy-handed. Two weeks ago, 55 state troopers, two with police dogs, were sent to Sandisfield when protesters blockaded a road. One protester was subdued with a stun gun after he panicked and ran, knocking down a trooper during the chase, police say. A week earlier, another protester was tackled by troopers after state police said she pushed a trooper’s arm.

To be sure, the state police and some of the older protesters have shared a mostly a friendly and respectful relationship over the last few months and these two troubling incidents aren’t the norm. Protesters engaging in civil disobedience know they are subject to arrest and court appearances. But the increased police presence, the use of police dogs and the extraordinary amount of money being made by individual cops exposes how worryingly vague this financial arrangement is between the state police and Kinder Morgan.

One state police sergeant made more than $19,000 for 24 separate days of overtime on pipeline details. Another sergeant made more than $15,000. A captain made more than $13,000 for 11 days of work. Why are such high-ranking law enforcement officials working the mud detail in the backwoods of Berkshire County anyway, beyond the opportunity to earn some nice money? Is this the best use of their time on behalf of the people of the commonwealth?

Over a period of time, camaraderie can easily and understandably form between police officers on detail and the private companies they’re working beside. But in this case, as Kinder Morgan came to represent big dollar signs for individual state troopers, it’s fair to question how certain calls were made in handling some of the more impassioned protesters and if such paydays could tilt allegiances to the side of the one cutting the check.

The state police insist that its mission at the pipeline hasn’t deviated from the mission it undertakes each and every day throughout the commonwealth - to keep people and property safe. But with a project as ripe for controversy as this, and with so much money on the table, it is asking for trouble. It is incumbent on Beacon Hill and the state police to more clearly define when and under what circumstances police officers can work for private companies. If it can’t be clarified, than it is bad policy.

Online: http://bit.ly/2i2tS1K

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

Concord Monitor, Nov. 21

The city of Portsmouth is taking the correct steps to recreate the downtown portion of Maplewood Avenue to better integrate the streetscape within the already expanded footprint of the downtown.

It wasn’t many years ago that Maplewood Avenue served as the boundary of the downtown as it essentially ended where Congress and Islington streets met. However, the development of Portwalk and re-creation of 30 Maplewood Avenue has already expanded the downtown’s informal border to Bridge Street, if not onto Islington Street.

The downtown portion of Maplewood Avenue, once resembling a highway with two travel lanes in each direction was modified to add dedicated turning lanes, but nevertheless, it still is unfitting for a downtown street. Think of State, Market, Hanover and Deer streets and then look at Maplewood Avenue.

The redesign area stretches from Congress Street to the North Mill Pond bridge and includes a “loop” comprised of Raynes Avenue and Vaughan Street, where new development is on its way. The city’s consultants are expected to present preliminary plans to the public in December or January, then a complete concept in February.

The city will employ “Complete Street” elements to downtown Maplewood Avenue. It is planning to expand sidewalks, add on-street parking, bike lanes and traffic calming features. Narrowing the traffic portion of the avenue will do wonders to make it a street that reflects the sensibilities and aesthetics of a downtown road. Expanding the sidewalks and improving crosswalks and signalization will not only make Maplewood Avenue reflect its new downtown status, but it will also provide better connectivity to the city’s new Foundry Place parking garage, which is scheduled to open next fall.

It will of course also enhance the walkability of the new edge of downtown and the redeveloping North End.

Recreating Maplewood Avenue will serve as a vital link to not only Market Square, but also the planned upgrades to Chestnut Street and Vaughan Mall, as well as perhaps some conversion of the Worth lot into a park. It can help create a pedestrian path the links the west and north ends of the downtown to all other sections.

The city expects a development-driven 25 percent increase in traffic on the downtown portion of Maplewood Avenue. Narrowing the roads will not necessarily result in gridlock, at least no worse than is seen on Congress and State streets. In the end though, whatever enhances the walkability of Maplewood Avenue and acknowledges the new boundary of the western and northern edge of the downtown will pay vast dividends.

Another benefit of expanding the sidewalks is that doing so will reduce to some degree the impact of the height of the portion of Portwalk facing

Maplewood Avenue, as well as the new development at the edge of the Worth lot and the corner of Maplewood Avenue and Deer Street. It would have been better had the city not allowed Portwalk to build to the very edge of the property, but what is done is done, and wider sidewalks will mitigate that encroachment.

It’s easy to envision the beauty of Maplewood Avenue once it is designed to look and perform like a downtown street. Over a longer period of time, more and more of Islington Street, someday all the way to the West End, will become part of the downtown.

Making Maplewood Avenue a downtown street is a crucial earlier step.

Online: http://bit.ly/2AtJdzU

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MAINE

Portland Press Herald, Nov. 24

Out-of-state enrollment in the University of Maine System is at an all-time high, and that’s good news in more ways than one.

First, because those students pay higher tuition than in-state students do, the uptick in enrollment - primarily at the University of Southern Maine and the Orono flagship campus - has led to a relatively modest rise in revenue.

But more importantly, it means the state is drawing new people to within its borders, people who, if they stay following graduation, can help grow the workforce at a time when Maine’s population is stagnant and its economy is badly in need of more workers.

It’s a problem that is affecting nearly every industry. Local government is just the latest sector to wonder where its next generation of workers will come from - municipal officials across the state are saying they are not sure just how they are going to fill the spots left when their predominantly older workers retire.

That’s also the story with law enforcement, teachers, construction workers, nurses and doctors and throughout the manufacturing and hospitality fields. Whether it is to replace retired workers or grow the business, employers throughout Maine just can’t find enough qualified candidates.

Each of the fields has issues specific to their industry, but all have one thing in common - they are drawing from a limited pool of workers. Certainly, the state needs to do more to turn Maine’s high school graduates into skilled employees, but even if every high school graduate stays in Maine and gets the qualifications necessary to land one of these jobs, there still isn’t enough of them - Maine’s population, up only .12 percent between 2010 and 2015, just is not growing fast enough, and the growth has been centered in the southern part of the state, while central and northern Maine shrinks.

So that means Maine needs more people who weren’t born here to come to study and work - professionals from other states drawn by the Maine lifestyle, immigrants and refugees, who can inject new energy into our communities, and out-of-state students.

The university system has known that for some time, and the results are impressive. The number of out-of-state students has grown 36 percent in five years, and they now make up 20 percent of enrollment.

But getting them here is just the start - university officials say that 22 percent of out-of-state students stay in Maine following graduation.

Most college graduates who leave the area where they studied do so primarily for job considerations, so it is important the university system takes steps to connect students to opportunities here before they graduate; internships are a proven way to accomplish that. Affordable housing also is a major consideration for graduates, another reason that issue is so important.

The problem is as simple as it is difficult to overcome - Maine does not have enough people to rev its economy, and that will sentence the state to less-than-average growth until it is solved.

The University of Maine System is on its way to helping out, but there is much more work to do.

Online: http://bit.ly/2hSqaEo

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VERMONT

The Times Argus, Nov. 24

Last week, the owner of the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear plant objected to the state’s decision to hire a consultant to help members of the Public Utilities Commission understand two related issues: the proposed sale of the plant and plans to decommission the closed reactor.

From a public-interest standpoint, bringing in an expert to examine those topics made all the sense in the world. Nuclear issues, after all, tend to fall within a fairly specialized field and it’s not like Vermont is awash in experts on all things nuclear.

It’s also safe to say that decommissioning a nuclear power plant is a task that is important to get right the first time. That’s especially true since the potential consequences of getting it wrong are so high and opportunities for effective remediation or ” do- overs ” may be slim, if they exist at all.

The wild card in the decommissioning process is that the plant is in the process of being sold. There is a deal in the works to transfer ownership of Vermont Yankee from Entergy Nuclear to NorthStar Group Holdings.

NorthStar has claimed it can dismantle the plant much faster and a lot cheaper than Entergy proposed to do, but there are more than a few observers in the state who equate cheaper and faster to cutting corners - to the possible detriment of the public.

Such skepticism may be warranted, since this would be NorthStar’s first attempt at decommissioning a fullsized commercial reactor.

It thus behooves the Public Utilities Commission to examine the proposed sale and decommissioning carefully and from all angles, given the magnitude of the stakes at hand. The PUC was therefore right to seek outside help.

What was odd was that Entergy balked, claiming that the consultant’s scope ” improperly goes beyond what has traditionally been allowed.” The company tried to argue that the PUC should rely only on its staff, rather than bringing in an outside expert.

They also worried in their filing - since recanted - that the expert brought in by the PUC might be biased against the nuclear industry and the sale.

That’s a valid concern, perhaps, in the same way that others might worry that Entergy and NorthStar could seek to hijack the oversight process so as to maximize profits.

Pardon us for saying so, but we think the PUC is perfectly capable of deciding for itself what information it needs to make informed decisions.

Entergy’s original position - that the scope of the consultant’s examination should be limited - could be interpreted to suggest Entergy wants the PUC only to consider what Entergy wants it to consider, and they would prefer that regulators not be too well informed.

Limiting what the PUC can consider runs counter to the public interest, but it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that plant owners are taking that view. It wouldn’t be the first time corporations acted against the public interest to carry out what they believed to be the best interests of their shareholders.

We believe the public would be best served by a Public Utilities Commission that has considered all the facts before it acts.

Where Entergy and NorthStar have a point is in their argument that they should be allowed to challenge the findings of the PUC’s consultant. That’s a legitimate concern, because subjecting the assumptions and conclusions of governmental bodies to scrutiny only strengthens the process. That, too, serves the public interest.

But this talk about what should and shouldn’t be considered by regulators because of some phony tradition is just so much hooey. This is the first time a nuclear plant has been closed in Vermont, so in matters such as this, there is no tradition.

But we can start one: Let’s agree that the public interest never takes a back seat to the desires of for-profit enterprises seeking to make money off the closure of a nuclear plant.

Online: http://bit.ly/2iMq5Tq

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