December 16th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Cathy Newell, past president of the Exchange, was there for the Grand Opening.
The Bethel Area District Exchange, a nonprofit organization that supports a food pantry that helps people in crisis, celebrated a Grand Re-opening today in a new location.
The Exchange takes donated clothing and resells it to raise money to provide folks who are in trouble with food. This organization, and its many volunteers, do inspiring work.
A few months ago, then Exchange President Cathy Newell told me that the organization needed to find a new home or it would not be able to continue its mission.
Bethel Park, a housing complex managed by Stanford Management, had a vacant space that was a near perfect fit. At Stanford, we decided it would be a great public-private partnership to put the space to work for the community and are donating the location to the Exchange.
Working with the Exchange, we were able to get the space in shape and ready for work. The Exchange started its work again about two months ago in its new home, and we celebrated the Grand Opening … Continue reading "Grand Opening of the Bethel Area District Exchange" »
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, small business | No comments »
October 10th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
The Protect Maine Votes/Yes on 1 campaign has released its first television ad of the campaign.
The ad does a great job of explaining why the issue of same-day voter registration is so important. But the campaign needs our help to get the ad on the air. I hope you’ll check it out, consider helping if you can and share it with all of your friends.
Voting rights are worth fighting for. Vote Yes on 1 on November 8th.
http://www.protectmainevotes.com/tv-ad
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, voting rights | No comments »
July 21st, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Former Marine Resources Commissioner Norman Olsen offered a peek inside the inner workings of the LePage administration yesterday when he abruptly resigned his position.
In a lengthy public statement, Olsen laid out a stinging indictment of the governor and his unwillingness to stand up to special interests, support his rhetoric with action and manage state government. Olsen went so far as to predict that the administration would cover up a report that would be unflattering to the department and some members of the fishing industry.
But there was one piece of information, if true, that demonstrates a dangerous vindictiveness on the part of the governor and an economic short-sightedness that could hurt Maine’s chances for economic recovery.
According to Olsen, LePage ordered: “No further collaboration with the City of Portland to develop measures to return our groundfish boats to Maine, despite the work already done to secure the support of visiting Commerce Department officials. Portland was against him, he said, and we will not work with that city. Rather than work with Portland, he said, we’ll build a new port somewhere.”
It sounds absurd that the governor would turn his back on the largest city and one of the economic engines … Continue reading "Punishing Portland?" »
Posted in Maine, Portland, Rosa Scarcelli, economy, fishing, government | No comments »
June 14th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Another disturbing national trend has come to Maine — efforts to keep people from voting. Gov. LePage and his allies in the Legislature are moving our state in the wrong direction on voting. We should be making it easier for people to participate, not harder.
I hope you’ll check out my post on Huffington Post.
http://tinyurl.com/42ezmw2
Posted in Huffpo, Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, voting rights | No comments »
April 26th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Thirty-four years ago, Maine decided to take a road less traveled.
The state banned billboards, removing more than 4,800 signs from highways.
It was a tough decision, but it has helped to cement Maine’s identity as a place that takes environmental stewardship seriously.
Here’s my take on Huffington Post:
http://tinyurl.com/63na5rw
Posted in Huffpo, Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, billboards | No comments »
March 28th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
I don’t suppose anything should shock us anymore, but when I saw that Gov. LePage had the Labor mural removed secretly over the weekend I was surprised.
As I wrote in an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald today, an open and inclusive approach to government is quintessentially Maine. Closed doors and a history whitewashed, that’s not my state.
I can understand the Governor is probably tired of hearing about the mural, and his public comments in which he called people who disagree with him “idiots” demonstrate his frustration.
But by his actions, he has turned the mural into a lasting symbol of his administration, one that will be remembered long after the mural finds a new home.
Businesses, and particularly small businesses, deserve a voice in government, and they should be made to feel welcome at the Department of Labor or anywhere else in government. But his actions go too far.
Maine needs open, honest dialogue. We need intelligent examination of the issues we face. Our governor should encourage diversity. He should shine as much light as possible on the whole process of making our state stronger.
Gov. LePage … Continue reading "Removal of mural creates a lasting symbol" »
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, labor | 1 comment »
March 28th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Gov. LePage’s plan for an advisory council was good, and he shouldn’t back away from it — as long as it’s public.
SCARBOROUGH – Maine businesses deserve a voice in our government.
Our small businesses and homegrown industries have a perspective that we can’t afford to ignore. But we are a state made up of workers, and thinkers, and entrepreneurs, and we need to hear from them all. Not just a select few.
Gov. LePage’s desire to make the Department of Labor more open to business is a worthy goal.
But banishing history from the halls of the agency is a cynical attempt to ignore the important role that women and unions have played in the struggle to grow our economy, expand the middle class and improve working conditions.
Last week the administration announced that it would remove a mural depicting important moments in labor history, including an image of “Rosie the Riveter,” from the walls of the Department of Labor.
The department is also being forced to rename several rooms, including one named for Frances Perkins.
Perkins was secretary of labor under FDR, and was the first woman to serve in a president’s Cabinet.
The U.S. Department of Labor building is named for Perkins, who is … Continue reading "Maine Voices: Small business deserves to have its voice heard in Augusta" »
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, economy, small business | No comments »
March 24th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Tomorrow, working people, artists and historians are rallying at the state capital to tell the governor that they will not stand for revisionist history and the governor’s demand that a mural depicting Maine’s labor history be removed.
The timing of the governor’s actions couldn’t be worse.
On March 25, 1911, 146 people, mostly women and mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants, died in a terrible fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York.
It was the spark for the modern Labor Movement, which led to critical reforms that have made workplaces safer.
It’s hard to imagine when children had little choice but to work in textile mills for 14 hours at a time, or when women were locked onto factory floors and forced to use the boiler room of the mill as a bathroom.
But those were the facts before working people had the chance to organize and demand better conditions.
Along with public education, unions in the United States have helped to build a robust middle-class that has carried our country through everything from natural disasters to wars and economic collapse.
Today, that middle-class is being eroded by public policy that punishes working families to give tax breaks to millionaires.
It’s not right.
There’s a better way.
Government … Continue reading "There is a better way." »
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, labor | No comments »
March 23rd, 2011 by rosascarcelli
Governor LePage is making national news again. This time it’s with his move to erase from the walls of the Department of Labor a mural that depicts the state’s labor history and to rename conference rooms in the agency, including one named for Frances Perkins, a pioneering woman in government. She was the first woman to ever serve in a president’s cabinet, joining FDR’s administration as the Secretary of Labor.
While the removal of a mural or the renaming of conference rooms at the Department of Labor aren’t likely to inspire hundreds of Mainers to protest, they are indicative of Governor LePage’s contempt for working families, for unions and for history.
There is no better example of this than the Governor’s proposed two-year budget, which he would balance on the backs of teachers, state troopers, state workers and the poor. Under his plans, they would all pay so that the Governor can lower taxes for millionaires and the state’s highest earners.
His plan takes the real economic hardships the state faces and uses them to pursue an ideologically driven agenda. He’s following a national script, but Mainer’s by nature don’t follow the crowd. They know right from wrong, and they’re watching the … Continue reading "Wiping out history?" »
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, labor | No comments »
January 5th, 2011 by rosascarcelli
I first want to congratulate our new governor on his campaign victory and wish him the very best following today’s inauguration.
Today, he offered hope to the people of Maine and a pledge to work across party lines to bring more jobs to Maine and improve our business climate. There’s no question that he faces many challenges ahead and he’ll need the voices and efforts of both parties, independents and unenrolled to achieve the vision he outlined today.
Now comes the hard part. What specifically are the regulations he wants to eliminate? How does he intend to pay for a fifth year of high school when the state and communities are struggling to afford what we already have? Which social programs does he intend to eliminate or curtail?
Today was mostly symbolic, and it was an opportunity for the governor to introduce himself and his family to Maine voters. But the hard work starts now and we’ll all have to wait and see what’s exactly in store. I wish the governor well in working to improve the future of our great state and the lives of … Continue reading "My Thoughts on Today’s Inaugural" »
Posted in Maine, Rosa Scarcelli, government | No comments »
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