BATH — If U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe is feeling the political heat at her right flank at the moment, she's not showing it. The Maine Republican was spotted walking along Front Street in Bath last Thursday, talking with passers-by and shop owners while conducting an interview by an NBC News crew and its correspondent Kelly O'Donnell. She included Bath in her two-day constituent visit along with time spent in Portland, Lewiston and Waterville.
"I can't imagine they would," Snowe replied when asked if she was expecting a primary fight from the conservative wing of her party should she decide to run for re-election in 2012. "I don't know why — we get along."
But do they? On the heels of election night results 16 days ago, political analysts have been abuzz with speculation over a conservative purging of moderates going on within the Republican Party, with the 23rd District of New York representing the proverbial first shot fired a la Fort Sumter, ironic given that that seat had been occupied by a Republican since the Civil War. Not anymore.
Were it not for the purge this fall, the winner very likely would have been Dede Scozzafava, the moderate Republican who had a comfortable lead until former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced her support for the ultra-conservative Doug Hoffman. The Republican National Committee, Republican members of Congress, and conservative Talk Radio wags all followed suit with their endorsements of Hoffman, prompting Scozzafava to withdraw from the race. And yet, enough moderates and independent voters sided with Owens effectively countering the passion for Hoffman by his followers.
Undeterred, the conservative movement is now targeting the higher profile Florida Governor Charlie Crist, running for the U.S. Senate. Generally considered a moderate, the heretofore popular Crist is running an uphill battle with his own party who are trending toward the conservative darling Marco Rubio. That Crist is pro-choice and supported President Obama's Stimulus spending earlier this year will earn himself no quarter with Evangelicals and Tea-baggers, and makes him especially vulnerable to the overall rightist movement nationwide.

BATH — At the end of October, a federal bankruptcy judge ordered that a federal trustee be named to take over the operations of M.W. Sewall, which provides heating oil and propane, and runs several convenience stores in the midcoast. The trustee would attempt to stabilize the company in the face of ongoing family disputes.

M.W. Sewall has been a Bath fixture since 1887, and currently employs about 150 people. For many years, it was well known as a stable company in the midcoast.

Throughout the 1800’s, the Sewall family operated one of five major ship building yards along the Kennebec River. In 1905, the square masted schooner, the Edward Sewall, delivered kerosene throughout the Caribbean for Texaco, and in 1910 horse drawn sleds and wagons delivered coal and ice to the Bath community.

Things were going well just a few years ago, when Howie Kirpatrick sold his family’s Bath Fuel Company to Ned Sewall to become part of the greater M.W. Sewall enterprise.

But trouble was on the horizon. The three Sewall brothers - Edward (called Ned), Phillip, and Mark - did not always see eye-to-eye. During their parents’ lifetime, Ned, who had served as president for 12 years, was more intimately involved in the day-to-day running of the family operation than his brothers were.

When the parents died, however, the estate was split three ways, and Phillip and Mark moved to seize control. They voted Ned out, so Ned sold his shares to his brothers as well as a trustee for his children, and left the company in 2007. Phillip took over as president, while Mark occupied a position on the board, according to court records. Many senior employees were asked to leave with Ned at that time, and others left of their own accord.

TABOR II defeated, Excise Tax change defeated, Consolidation laws upheld, Medical Marijuana expanded

by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

BATH -- In a nail biter, Question One appears to be headed to victory as of presstime. Voters narrowly approved the repeal of gay marriage rights by a 52.75% - 47.25% margin, although by 6:10 Wednesday morning, some 13% of precincts had not yet reported returns.

The question was fought in newspaper editorials and letters, as well as highly emotional television commercials, both for and against the question.

by Annee Tara
Coastal Journal contributor

BRUNSWICK --One thing is for sure: redevelopment of the Base - Naval Air Station-Brunswick - is a process, not an event. It's been nearly two years since the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority took on the job of implementing the Reuse Master Plan, which was developed by a Local Redevelopment Authority in the year after the Department of Defense announced that the Base would be closing in 2011.

To mark the occasion, MRRA held its Second Annual Meeting in Freeport last week. That in itself is significant. The first “R” in MRRA stands for “Regional” and this agency differs from its “Local” predecessor in the scope of its enterprise. While there were nine Brunswick residents on the 13-member Local Redevelopment Agency, only four of the current nine members of MRRA live in the Town (there are two vacancies). Monthly meetings have been held in Topsham or Bath, as well as in Brunswick.

The Annual Meeting, which featured a dinner and a presentation by Maine economist Chuck Lawton, was preceded by the regular MRRA monthly meeting. As typically happens at those meetings, Executive Director Steve Levesque and the various standing committees reported on the progress during the past month.