Libby Mitchell (D), Eliot Cutler (I), Shawn Moody (I), Kevin Scott (I)

BATH — Four of the five gubernatorial candidates are scheduled for a debate on Wednesday, August 25, at Bath City Hall auditorium, from 6 - 8 p.m. Confirmed attendance will be by Senator Libby Mitchell (D), Eliot Cutler (I), Shawn Moody (I) and Kevin Scott (I).

Paul LePage declined the CJ’s invitation, pleading a previously scheduled fundraising engagement in Presque Isle on that date.

by Annee Tara
Coastal Journal contributor

BRUNSWICK NAVAL AIR STATION — In less than a year, the Navy will be gone and Naval Air Station Brunswick will be history.  In its place will be Brunswick Landing, Maine's Center for Innovation.

So, how's the transition going? Late last year, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) announced its short- and long-range objectives.  In the near-term (within three years after the Navy conveys the property to MRRA), the plan is to replace the 700-plus civilian jobs that will have been lost with the departure of the Navy.  

The recent announcement that Kestrel Aircraft will bring its operation to Brunswick Landing was great news - a big step toward MRRA's goal: Kestrel plans to start with a workforce of 80 designers, engineers and people who will produce the prototype of its new aircraft.  While some of those will be current Kestrel employees, the company expects to hire area residents with the skills to bring the Kestrel to market.  Ultimately, the plant will employ as many as 300 workers.

Federal Rail Administrator Joe Szabo addresses the crowd as the rails arrive in Brunswick.

BRUNSWICK -- They say “success has a thousand parents,” so it's not surprising that everyone from the local officials to the Governor and the Congressional delegation to representatives of the rail industry and the Federal Rail Authority were on the program at the “kickoff” event to celebrate the start of a two-year project to upgrade the railroad track from Brunswick to Portland, which will enable passenger train service from the southern Midcoast to the Amtrak network.

Thirty-two train cars, carrying enough rail for 7.8 miles of track, pulled up next to Maine Street Station, where well over 100 people were on hand and saw the first section of rail laid.  Officials expect 200 people to be working to complete the project.  In addition to the short-term boost in employment, train service has been shown to be an economic driver to the communities in and near its stops.  

Mrs. Lee Peacock looks on as workers from Fairpoint Communications work to restore service to Marrtown Road

GEORGETOWN — The storms that hit the midcoast region on Wednesday night brought a little something extra to the residents on Marrtown Road in Georgetown. Just as it was beginning to get dark, residents believe a tornado tore through the area, uprooting trees, tearing apart utility poles and leaving residents stranded without electricity and phone service as well as trapping them behind the devastation at their end of the narrow road. Torrential rains were also reported as part of the storms, washing out portions of some local roads.

The National Weather Service, after reviewing the damage, doubts that it was in fact a tornado.  After carefully checking the compass direction of the tree fall, the team concluded it was a straight line wind event.  However, residents are not convinced, and some of the photographic evidence does seem to point in a different direction. Some of the tree fall and power pole falls, even in the same location, appear to have fallen in random directions.