Of course the rest of the media waited until AFTER the decision was made to stop the project in its tracks and quite frankly we saw this as a complete injustice to the Eastern Shore as they should be telling BOTH sides in advance.
However, this is what we get any more these days and this is exactly why this Blog continues to grow exponentially.
One article fell only a few short comments under 1,200, something never seen here before, or anywhere else. Hundreds of additional comments came in on other articles referencing the same topic. Somerset County residents flat out said, NO!
They can blame the immediate halt to this project on Legislators but I think we all know, your comments are what put a stop to it, period. They knew many months earlier what these Legislators had decided, yet they waited until after comments came in to see their project no longer had legs. Of course the rest of the media isn't willing to mention the massive amount of comments. Instead, they simply republished the press release announcing it was over.
So my hat is tipped to ALL of you who participated with your comments. You CAN beat City Hall and now you know how influential you can be with your comments.
NEXT!
40 comments:
I think SBYnews had something to do with it because it got people talking and looking into the claims Pioneer was putting out.
Agree 100%! PG can blame it on politics but it was SFS and this site that put the final nail in the coffin of the not so Great Bay wind farm.
No "thanks" to Liberal Jim who was in bed with PG from the start...
Kudos go out to Tammy Truitt...she helped lead the ground charge and was not afraid to stand up to the big money and entrenched politicians.
Kudos to Harvey Kagan who helped educate folks on the issue which included great presentations to the public.
...and kudos go out to those who got involved and let their voice be heard.
Black eyes to Mathias for his blind support of this bad idea and to Delegate Charlie Otto for having the spine of a snake when it comes to taking a stand.
A note to you two fellas...wetting your finger to check which way the political wind is blowing is not leadership! Both of you were showed no ability to lead in any direction.
What a shame this is. Somerset county, and the shore in general finally had an opportunity to be leaders in something that WILL be part of our future (like it or not). But in true Eastern Shore fashion, no one will accept change or anything new. Congratulations on your victory.
Congrats to everyone involved in defeating this monster!
Thanks Joe. This blog exposed the dirty realities of wind that the industry and the Daily Times refuses to discuss. The culprits here are James Mathias, Charles Otto, and Somerset County Commissioners. It is truly sad that those we have entrusted to represent us are doing the opposite. The Daily Times refusal to publish information that would have alerted citizens early in the process is disgusting.
I am betting it had alot to do with Salisbury Blog and Greg Johnson with HSB. When News hit on Salisbury BLog with Greg Johnson and all his and his Board of Directors corruption, the land was then questionable. Meaning land was bough under the table by Scott Tawes (Greg Johnson's buddy). I believed the land that it was supposed to be on was obtained illegally. Needs investigating.
Now, something that WILL be part of the shore (like it or not) is peace and quiet, a skyline of natural beauty, and bad politicians voted out of office!
Pioneer Green is refusing to leave Somerset County and continue to work with "key community leaders" to develop renewable energy in the county. The revised plan is to cover 7% of Somerset's farmland with solar panels. A project of this magnitude would be the largest solar facility in the eastern US. It is irresponsible to place a facility this size in a flyway for massive numbers of waterfowl.
Wonder what will happen now to the lands Johnson's buddies stole?
Don't be so silly 9:10. Common sense dictates than not all change is good and FYI most changes turn into disasters. Take the industrial/factory farming methods people jumped into because of people like yourself who lack forward thinking skills and ate the BS by the shovelfuls.
The once bucolic Eastern Shore was prosperous with 20 or more chicken processing plants and 100's of other businesses who fed off the growers. Not anymore because of people like yourself who aren't swift enough to think through ideas. Now the Shore is littered with factory farms and the land is a toxic waste dump.
All the more reason to wait then 9:10. If in fact wind energy is to be part of the future than a prudent person waits until the technology is perfected before they jump into what is still now a trial and error phase.
No one who is even remotely informed can ignore the fact that a good majority of these "farms" end up not doing anywhere near what was claimed they will do, and many more have been abandoned.
What you people need to do is educate YOURSELF instead of buying into every thing salesmen tell you. It would benefit you greatly.
Scott Tawes:
Better luck next time!
Does this mean that Somerset County will now pull the plug on investigating the ethics mess that SFS uncovered?
Jim,
Please move all of those wind mills to OC. You bud Mayor Rick could hire you as project manager, and if there was ever a disaster, he could pay you twice to have your "side" company to clean up the mess!
The bottom line is these turbines are becoming obsolete. Already in Europe they are being replaced by more modern and more efficient gas fired power stations and low energy nuclear technology that costs much less and provides energy without any harmful effects of nuclear waste.
Common sense and liberals know if you put a windmill near your property no one will buy it,look how they all fought the windmills off Nantucket and they were 50 miles offshore!
I guess if they try to put solar panels in Somerset, they will fight that, too.
Thanks to Pioneer Green it is possible that Somerset County may never be the same, despite the County's motto -- "Always the Same."
The opponents have uncovered a real ethics scandal involving elected and other County officials that hopefully won't be dropped.
Has the State's Attorney become involved yet?
Joe -- lots of credit for this should also go to the Crisfield newspaper and its editor, who kept Pioneer Green's scam in the news with comprehensive coverage, much more and better than the Daily Times. The Crisfield Times has also kept the ethics scandal in the news when they tried to cover it up.
Richard Crumbacker needs to watch his back -- the good old boys may be looking for revenge.
Looks like Somerset's commissioners are stilling working backroom deals. Pioneer Green has been hiding its plans to pave 1900 Somerset acres in solar panels. Looks like the Princess Anne area is the target this time. Wonder what "relatives" will benefit on this one.
Richard Crumbacker is a true newsman who publishes publishes facts. Unlike The Daily Times that ignores the truth to promote their liberal agenda.
Good thing we are not as dumb as The Daily Times would like us to be.
And that's why it's one of the most impoverished counties in Maryland. Preserving their way of life!
Windmills will condemn us to poverty because real estate prices plummet and electricity rates rise. There are 2 watchman jobs that entail picking up bird carcuses and watching monitors. Trading our natural resources for a few tax dollars is not economic development.
Somerset County is already condemned to poverty. This just shows why.
King Obama will change this YO...
2:55, The county is condemned to poverty because the State of Md has been working overtime for years to make it a lousy place to be in business. There is a glimmer of hope with newly elected Gov Hogan and people like Bob Culver.
And you could enrich our lives by moving out of the area.
Does anyone know what will happen with the lease holders? Do they continue to get paid or is the lease just terminated?
Are the ethics issues still a hot topic?
A comment above asks: "Has the State's Attorney become involved yet?"
You can't be serious -- he's one of them!
The State's Attorney is Daniel Powell. He was the County Administrator in 2009. Isn't that when the County started to play ball with Pioneer Green?
5:46
Hard to say how their contracts were written...most were probably tied to actual construction of the project. There was "hush" money being pushed to neighbors...whose silence PG sought to purchase. Not sure if that was up front money or not.
No doubt that PG tied up money on some lease options...but that is the gamble of the business they are in.
Somerset suffers from:
-State policies that limit investment and business growth.
-Poor leadership decisions by some under educated elected officials.
-Failure to capitalize on being a retirement location and a sportsman's/naturalists paradise.
Examine Crisfield...a town with natural wealth that is dying. Poor city planning, lack of vision, destruction of vistas through building, and local government that reflects the values of those who made the mistakes historically.
Princess Anne suffers similarly, except they have UMES to prop them up.
In Somerset County you can see a real chasm: Consider the members of a local volunteer fire company in contrast with the members of the local chamber of commerce. They are not compatible. Not intended to slight either, just a reflection of values and direction.
Somerset is occupied by most who want the government to be the savior and a host of politicians who are willing to be a messiah.
7:08-
You have described what was medieval feudalism -- but it's still alive and well in Somerset County.
The motto there is "always the same" and that won't end until the whole government is thrown out and replaced by persons not related or affiliated to Scott Tawes.
7:08 Crisfield doesn't prosper because they can't do anything without appointing a commission of people to sit around and do "studies" before actually doing something.Rumour has it they hired Rick Pollitt too.WTF?.They can't even patch potholes without first doing more "studies" and applying for government grants.Unlike Salisbury,there is no "hotline"to call to have them patched.
They have spent who knows how much money on that Superfund-worthy contaminated Carvel Hall property,for what? It is sitting there empty and will continue to do so until it falls down.Who wants to move into a place sitting on top of a potpourri of heavy metals and other environmental toxins?They are building a library on a lot that is so boggy they have to pump out water daily from the ground before they go to work.Poor leadership indeed.
Wind energy does not work because it cannot be controlled or stored. The grid must have balanced sources of energy to function, because wind is not dispatchable therefore it adds zero value to the grid.
Anonymous at 12:32 said...
Joe -- lots of credit for this should also go to the Crisfield newspaper and its editor, who kept Pioneer Green's scam in the news with comprehensive coverage, much more and better than the Daily Times. The Crisfield Times has also kept the ethics scandal in the news when they tried to cover it up.
It's too bad that Wicomico County does not have a newspaper like that. Our "Daily Times" and weekly rags run by Bassett and Dunn are worse than worthless.
****
Joe - Are you interested in doing one like the Crisfield-Somerset County Times? Maybe you and Mr. Crumbacker could get together
Somerset and local towns have went by the wayside because of no elected visionaries just people in charge taking your tax dollars.
Somerset's assets are its natural resources. Too bad current leaders are willing to destroy it for a few bucks.
After reading the Daily Times "Our View" from the Sun paper I wonder why they wasted space for it . On April 12,2012 a man living in a wind energy project in Wisconsin wanted to write a opinion letter to Susan Parker explaining what it is like living in such a project. Some of her response to him " What is planned (but is far from certain) is offshore turbines, in the ocean more than 20 miles away from land. In addition, there may be a few planned for a nearby county, but not sure you'd call them industrial." Susan 400-600 feet turbines are industrial .Why hide what was really going on ??
Safe for Somerset's letter to the editor in the March 25 County Times is great "AN HONEST ENERGY DEVELOPER HAS NOTHING TO FEAR FROM AN OPEN PROCESS".
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