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Rethinking Government In Maine, Steve Ballard Jan 1995

Rethinking Government In Maine, Steve Ballard

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Electric Service: The Next Generation, Gordon L. Weil Jan 1995

Electric Service: The Next Generation, Gordon L. Weil

Maine Policy Review

In the past few years,Maine's electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition.Maineis experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. Gordon Weil, active inMaineand elsewhere in promoting increased competition in the electric industry, explains the forces for competition. He traces the history of the electric power market from its beginnings as a monopoly, to its present status where all of the forces promoting competition nationally are at play inMaine.


False Competition And Fulfilling The Promise Of Retail Wheeling, James F. Mitchell Jan 1995

False Competition And Fulfilling The Promise Of Retail Wheeling, James F. Mitchell

Maine Policy Review

In the past few years,Maine's electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition.Maineis experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. James F. Mitchell describes some of the political and financial limits to restructuring and provides suggestions for how to proceed in creating full and fair competition. This article is taken from the author’s presentation at a December 1994 conference entitled ”Retail Wheeling,” sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy's Project for the Study of Regulation and the Environment.


Income And The School Funding Formula: A Contrary View, Ralph Townsend Jan 1995

Income And The School Funding Formula: A Contrary View, Ralph Townsend

Maine Policy Review

School funding in Maine remains a controversial and complex issue. Economist Ralph Townsend provides one perspective on this issue in his commentary.


An Interview With Janet Waldron: Reforming Maine State Government, Janet Waldron Jan 1995

An Interview With Janet Waldron: Reforming Maine State Government, Janet Waldron

Maine Policy Review

This past year Janet Waldron was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services for the State of Maine, planting her firmly in the center of a number of recent Maine state government reform initiatives. In this interview, Waldron discusses some of these current initiatives and in the process, offers a vision of a more streamlined, responsive, and accountable government.


Retail Wheeling: A Closer Look, William C. Perkins Jan 1995

Retail Wheeling: A Closer Look, William C. Perkins

Maine Policy Review

In the past few years,Maine's electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition.Maineis experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. William C. Perkins analyzes a number of potential costs and risks of full-scale retail wheeling. This article is taken from the author’s presentation at a December 1994 conference entitled ”Retail Wheeling,” sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy's Project for the Study of Regulation and the Environment.


Electric Market Restructuring: Environmental Considerations, Armond Cohen Jan 1995

Electric Market Restructuring: Environmental Considerations, Armond Cohen

Maine Policy Review

In the past few years,Maine's electric utilities have begun to face the forces of competition.Maineis experiencing the effects of a national trend, a shift from a traditional and regulated system to a more innovative and competitive one. Armond Cohen explores the environmental impacts that are at stake in restructuring and offers some possible solutions. This article is taken from the author’s presentation at a December 1994 conference entitled ”Retail Wheeling,” sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy's Project for the Study of Regulation and the Environment.


The Search For Predictability: A City Manager's Perspective On Intergovernmental Relations, Thomas Stevens Jan 1995

The Search For Predictability: A City Manager's Perspective On Intergovernmental Relations, Thomas Stevens

Maine Policy Review

Thomas Stevens’ perspective on intergovernmental relations has been shaped particularly by his experience as town manager in Limestone, Maineas he watched the federal government attempt to close Loring Air Force Base on numerous occasions. The closing of Loring was an especially traumatic experience for central Aroostook County. Not surprisingly, the nature of intergovernmental relations and the economic future of the region are high on Tom Stevens' list of concerns. In a recent interview with Maine Policy Review, he argued for a new partnership among the three levels of government that would be characterized by stability and predictability.


Why Conservation Matters And What We Can Do About It, John C. Sawhill Jan 1995

Why Conservation Matters And What We Can Do About It, John C. Sawhill

Maine Policy Review

While environmental and economic needs have long been considered to be in direct opposition to one another, a new approach to environmental conservation is emerging. Called the "ecosystem" approach, it focuses not only on protecting the environment and its species, but also seeks new ways of balancing these interests with human needs. The article is drawn from a speech delivered by John C. Sawhill at the Summer Lecture Series of the College of the Atlantic,Bar Harbor,Maine, on August 2, 1994. Sawhill outlines the conservation principles that guide The Nature Conservancy and provides examples of how the ecosystem approach has led …


Regulatory Updates: Maine Public Utilities Commission, Ralph E. Townsend Jan 1995

Regulatory Updates: Maine Public Utilities Commission, Ralph E. Townsend

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Technology Policy: A Fixture On The National Agenda, Robert W. Rycroft, Don E. Kash, Richard Adams Jan 1995

Technology Policy: A Fixture On The National Agenda, Robert W. Rycroft, Don E. Kash, Richard Adams

Maine Policy Review

Federal government research and development priorities have shifted in recent years away from areas of national security and agency missions, and toward the enhancement of industrial competitiveness in the global economy. This shift has stirred ideological controversy over whether the federal government should be in the business of picking "winners" and "losers," even prompting some to label this practice “corporate welfare.” Rycroft, Kash, and Adams suggest that the central issues at stake have little to do with ideological differences and a great deal to do with whether the U.S.will continue to lead the world in technological innovation. They describe a …


Solid Waste Management Options For Maine: The Economics Of Pay-By-The-Bag Systems, Stephanie Seguino, George Criner, Margarita Suarez Jan 1995

Solid Waste Management Options For Maine: The Economics Of Pay-By-The-Bag Systems, Stephanie Seguino, George Criner, Margarita Suarez

Maine Policy Review

State and federal environmental mandates during the last three decades have changed the nature of the debate over solid waste disposal, but not the basic question: What do we do about the garbage we produce? Unlike years past, however, disposal options are now fewer and more costly. This has resulted in a shift in focus away from solutions that simply try to deal with the output of the disposal process—the trash—to those that focus on inputs—reducing the volume of materials going into the waste stream. Among the volume reduction strategies are recycling, which focuses on specific input materials, and volume-based …


The Importance Of Health Insurance Reform, Nancy Landon Kassebaum Jan 1995

The Importance Of Health Insurance Reform, Nancy Landon Kassebaum

Maine Policy Review

In her commentary, Republican Senator Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas outlines a proposed bipartisan health insurance reform act which she will introduce in the Senate next year.


Regulatory Updates: Telephone Carriers Headed Toward Cable Market, Barbara L. Krause Jan 1995

Regulatory Updates: Telephone Carriers Headed Toward Cable Market, Barbara L. Krause

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Welfare Reform: Unresolved Issues, Deirdre Mageean Jan 1995

Welfare Reform: Unresolved Issues, Deirdre Mageean

Maine Policy Review

As this issue goes to press, the U.S. Congress debates passage of sweeping legislative reforms to welfare, shifting responsibility to the states via block grants. In this Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Deirdre Mageean highlights several unresolved welfare reform issues.


Technology Policy: A Fixture On The National Agenda, Robert M. Kidd, Richard C. Hill, James S. Ward Iv Jan 1995

Technology Policy: A Fixture On The National Agenda, Robert M. Kidd, Richard C. Hill, James S. Ward Iv

Maine Policy Review

In his commentary, Robert Kidd, president of the Maine Science and Technology Foundation, echoes the call by Rycroft, Kash and Adams in their article [this issue] for a new technology policy focused on industrial competitiveness. He defines a partnership role for states in the design and implementation of national technology priorities. James Ward, IV and Richard Hill, raise several questions in their commentary. Can we rely on the federal government to successfully direct this policy area? How would a new technology policy impact the roles and responsibilities of the private and public sectors? What can we learn from partnerships between …


The Complexities Of Decision-Making Related To Health Risk Assessments, Barbara A. Knuth Jan 1995

The Complexities Of Decision-Making Related To Health Risk Assessments, Barbara A. Knuth

Maine Policy Review

Maine, like the nation, has focused a great deal of recent attention on determining acceptable levels of environmental and human health risk. Barbara discusses the role and uses of scientific information in risk assessment and public policy debate. Similar to Kevin Boyle's previous article (featured in the December 1994 issue of Maine Policy Review), Knuth discusses the 1992 Maine Board of Environmental Protection hearings which focused on the human consumption of fish potentially contaminated with dioxin.