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A controversial bill that would require the state to compensate private landowners for actions that diminish a property’s value – the so-called “takings” bill – tops the legislative agenda this week. The Judiciary Committee will work on the bill at 1 pm on Thursday (March 9).

I just waded through a 14-page report from Peggy Reinsch, Legislative Analyst for the Judiciary Committee – and that’s just the summary of the public hearing! This is a very complex issue, with vocal proponents and opponents. The original bill has significant problems, so it’s sure to be amended, if it even emerges from the committee.

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Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recently decreased its revenue projection for this fiscal year, reflecting the fact that, with only five months left in this fiscal year, there is no chance the agency will raise the amount of money expected when the budget was enacted last year. Both DIF&W Commissioner Chandler Woodcock and Deputy Commissioner Andrea Erskine have confirmed this news.

Seven months into this fiscal year, the department’s revenue is $900,000 less than expected, and $825,000 less than the agency raised in the same period last year. The state’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

Gilbert Bilodeau, Deputy Director of the Natural Resources Service Center, provided this information in his February 15, 2012 “Monthly Financial Update” to the legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.

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Snow-covered Mount Katahdin is hard to ignore, right there across Millinocket Lake from our perch in the River Driver’s Restaurant. There’s no prettier dining spot in Maine.

The restaurant is at Twin Pine Camps, part of Matt and Wendy Polstein’s New England Outdoor Center, a North Woods destination offering a range of accommodations and great food. Combining amazing outdoor adventures in all seasons with fine dining and luxurious accommodations, Matt and Wendy have created the type of facility you would more commonly associate with Maine’s thriving coastal tourism industry.

The only difference is that they have created their dream destination ten miles west of Millinocket – the perfect location if you enjoy the outdoors as much as we do.

Read more.

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Rep. Russell Black, a key member of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, was ordered by committee leaders to stop talking to people about the bill to reform Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission.

Black’s bill to aid the maple syrup industry has also been held up in the Senate, to add to the pressure on the only Republican member of the ACF Committee to oppose a provision in the bill that would allow counties to opt out of LURC by taking on its duties at the county level.

So far, Black is holding tough in a very impressive performance of integrity and strength.

The committee is headed to a showdown on the LURC bill on Thursday afternoon. Last week the committee found some areas of agreement, then broke down after committee member Rep. Karen Foster offered an amendment that addressed two contentious issues including the opt out provision.

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There was a time when a request from a legislator was a top priority for response from any state agency. If a member of the legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, for example, had a question about anything – from a legislative bill to a pending fishing rule change – he or she could wander into the DIF&W Commissioner’s office and get an answer. A written request from a legislator went right to the top of the Commissioner’s to-do pile for a fast response. Top staff at the department treated legislative requests in the same manner, making responses their highest priority.

Those days are apparently over. I recently obtained a February 22, 2012 memo from Carlie McLean to the Commissioners of the state’s natural resources agencies. Carlie is Governor LePage’s Senior Natural Resources Advisor. It’s important to state that I did not obtain this memo from anyone in any state agency.

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I’m approaching the busiest week I’ve had in a long time, starting with meetings at Maine Audubon on Monday, followed by three days at the legislature, and ending on Friday with the annual Milfoil Summit in Auburn.

It’s exciting to be collaborating with my friend Ted Koffman, the executive director of Maine Audubon. When he was in the legislature, Ted sponsored a very important bill to protect and enhance our native brook trout, on behalf of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, for which I worked at the time. Since he took the top job at Audubon, that organization has added brook trout to its extensive agenda of issues and projects, and its good to have their interest in a key fisheries issue.

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There’s one key ingredient not in the food that makes a restaurant special:  Fun. And we had a lot of that at Portland’s Hot Suppa.

Our friend Rusty Atwood recommended brothers Alec and Moses Sabina’s small 40-seat restaurant, and we owe him big time now. This is a very special experience.

Located at 703 Congress Street in the west end, Hot Suppa is a popular breakfast and lunch place, and we originally planned to eat lunch there. But after taking a look at their dinner menu, we changed our mind. And we are so glad we did.