On March 23, members of the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs held a hearing on LD 980, “An Act to Prohibit Cyberbullying in Public Schools.”

A bill that defines and addresses this unique complexity and that guides school boards to writing standards of decency should be passed.

Such a bill would do much to inspire and frame this issue within our families, schools and communities, and it would align our legislative code with the values we all, collectively, aspire to live our lives by.

But while this bill is a significant step in the right direction, it should not pass without revision. As a father, former teacher, social worker and citizen, it is hard for me to support a bill whose interventions toward offenders are exclusively punitive.

School boards will look to this document and model their language after it. As it is written, the law offers the interventions of “suspension,” “expulsion,” and “fines of no more than $500.”

While there is language for “other appropriate disciplinary action” in the bill, it’s unlikely school boards will see that as a challenge encouraging them to consider alternative means.

The assessment of fines and the disruption of an offender’s education could become a state-endorsed contribution to the very cycle that perpetuates one student’s abuse of another. The origin of bullying can be found in relationships that fall short for a variety of reasons. We should put our energy there.

If we truly want to inspire those who fall short of our standards to improve their actions, our interventions must not serve as setbacks.

Jeremiah Hackett
Freeport 

Tidal power seems to have many advantages over wind 

After reading “Tidal power prototype passes all tests” in the March 8 Press Herald, I began to wonder why the University of Maine has not devoted more time and money from grants to further develop this energy source.

It has spent a tremendous amount of effort to promote wind energy, which is not nearly as efficient, and also much more costly, than tidal energy. Wind energy will require subsidization to be competitive with oil or nuclear energy.

Wind energy requires very expensive towers on land or platforms on the ocean to support the turbines. Wind does not blow consistently and even not at all at times. It is expensive to store the output for use at a later time.

Tidal power, on the other hand, relies on the rising and falling of the tides, which has been happening daily and consistently since the Earth’s first seas appeared.

There is a period between the rise and the fall of the tides called slack tide, during which the water remains at a constant height. This occurs at high and low tide before the tide reverses and happens four times in a 24-hour day.

During slack tide, the water does not turn the turbine, but slack tide only lasts an hour or less, which means the turbine would produce electricity for 20 to 21 hours a day.

Tidal-powered turbines are far more reliable than any wind-powered turbines. The rise and fall of the tides varies in time depending on location.

Therefore, a turbine may not be producing power due to slack tide in Kittery, but a turbine in Rockland will be producing power because the tide there may still be rising or falling.

If we can motivate more research in tidal power by universities and government, turbines may become more sophisticated and require much less water movement.

There are so many basins and inlets between islands along the Maine coast that would be perfect for cost-efficient tidal power.

Fernand LaRochelle
Westbrook 

Sussman-Pingree nuptials could be our royal wedding 

With the world agog over the impending British royal nuptials between Prince William and Kate, let’s not forget our own upcoming “royal” wedding between Chellie Pingree and “The Donald” Sussman.

Readers may recall that Rep. Pingree escaped House Ethics Committee sanctions over accepting airplane rides from Sussman by revealing her secret engagement to “The Donald.”

I hope this delightful couple doesn’t believe in long engagements. If there were to be a fairy-tale marriage in Maine this summer, it could provide a boost to our morale after the long winter.

It also would provide a shot in the arm for Maine tourism with the excitement, the glitterati and the “beautiful people” an event like this would attract. I’m sure the wedding party would include their good friend and fellow jet-setter Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who’s doing so much to introduce a new crop of “grass” to Maine agriculture.

I would suggest an outdoor ceremony at Portland Head Light with a horse-drawn carriage to the Civic Center for a massive reception, with the attendees to be chosen by lottery.

I realize the newlyweds would be sacrificing a level of privacy, but it would not be the first sacrifice they’ve made for us.

After all, Chellie has been sharing her economic expertise with us for some time, showing us how to spend and tax our way to prosperity. Barney Frank has worked diligently to make sure every American has a home without regard to ability or willingness to pay.

Last, but not least, “The Donald” has been almost single-handedly financing one of Maine’s major political parties by giving it millions, with precious little public thanks or recognition for his sacrifice.

Porter D. Leighton
Falmouth 

Congress’ budget plans cut too much from needy 

I am appalled at many parts of the federal budget that is developing. It seems foolish and immoral.

Cutting family planning, cutting cancer research, slashing education, throwing veterans out of housing — so many aspects are terrible.

There was a short period when our nation forecast surpluses long into the future. The big changes since then are:

1) Big tax cuts;

2) Medicare Part D was created;

3) And two unending wars were started (with a third under way).

We increased government expenses massively as we cut taxes. Now the GOP Congress wants to make the children, unwed mothers and nearly homeless veterans make up the difference.

Why not attack the real problems instead of spreading hurt all around our nation?

Ted Arnold
Portland 

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