API Staff Outside Gardiner Office

The City of Gardiner is pleased to announce that it has reached a three-year agreement with A Partner In Technology (API) for its technology service needs.

The agreement is the second one this month that features a Gardiner-based business.  API is located across the street from City Hall and proximity was one factor in the City’s decision.

The City also recently returned its banking services to locally-based The Bank of Maine. “Our agreement with API will result in cheaper costs, less down-time, and quicker service response times,” said City Manager Scott Morelli in a prepared statement.  “API is a good firm and the fact that they are locally-based makes this agreement all that much better.”

In all, eight companies responded to the City’s request for proposals for technology services.  After interviewing five of the firms and scoring them on a variety of factors, API came out on top.

“I am very pleased with the caliber and professionalism of the staff at API,” said Anne Davis, the Director of Library and Information Services and who also oversees the City’s technology needs.  “They are familiar with our network environment and their response time is outstanding.  API has a commitment to the City of Gardiner because they are based here and I look forward to working with Mr. Fossett and his staff.”

“We are pleased to be serving the IT needs of the city,” said owner Scott Fossett.   “We are excited to get started and look forward to exceeding the needs of the city and reduce overall trouble-calls so systems run when they need them the most.”

API was founded in April, 2000 in Gardiner with a second office in Farmington.  The company serves several municipalities in the central Maine area.  It provides computer and network support services for over 350 small and medium size businesses providing systems & network planning, design, installation and on-going support services with special pride in personal service.

The City currently budgets $22,000 annually for technology services

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Gardiner Public Library

The Gardiner Public Library proudly announces that it has received a phase II grant from the Opportunity Hardware Grant program made possible by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  According to Anne Davis, Library Director, they have purchased 2 netbooks for the Young Adult section of the library.  These netbooks are now available for use at the library.  The staff will also be purchasing an Apple ™ iPad in the near future.

These three laptops will connect to the library’s wireless network and are meant to be used by our community teens when they come to the library.  The Gardiner Public Library serves the towns of Litchfield, Pittston, Randolph and West Gardiner as well as the City of Gardiner.  The staff would also like to thank the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for all the support that they give to public libraries throughout the country.

Harnessing the Wind For More than Sailing

On April 22 at 7PM the Maine Maritime Museum and the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) will co-host a unique panel discussion as the next event in KELT’s series titled Wood, Water, Wind: Alternative Energy and Impacts on the Kennebec Estuary. The discussion will explore the role of wind power as an economic stimulator that generates more than just megawatts. Panelists include Jack Parker representing Reed & Reed, Keith Burgess representing US Windblade, and Jim Tolan representing Sgurr Energy.  Each will discuss their companies’ role in harnessing this plentiful resource and the economic impacts of its growth, then take questions from attendees. Don’t miss this very topical discussion.

Suggested Donation: $5 Members of MMM or KELT / $7 Non-members

Maine Maritime Museum
243 Washington Street
Bath 04530

So, for whatever it’s worth, I’m passing the word along to everyone so they can at least be apprised of the product and it’s features. I think you’ll like it.

Why use Google Chrome?

The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: When you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser.

• Speed

  Chrome is designed to be fast in every possible way: It’s quick to start up from your desktop, loads web pages in a snap, and runs complex web applications fast. Learn more about Chrome and speed.

• Simplicity

  Chrome’s browser window is streamlined, clean and simple.

  Chrome also includes features that are designed for efficiency and ease of use. For example, you can search and navigate from the same box, and arrange tabs however you wish — quickly and easily.

• Security

  Chrome is designed to keep you safer and more secure on the web with built-in malware and phishing protection, autoupdates to make sure the browser is up-to-date with the latest security updates, and more. Learn more aboutChrome’s security features.

• And more features

  Chrome has many useful features built in, including extensions, translation in the browser, themes, and more. Learn more about Chrome’s newest and most-loved features.

I suggest that you do learn more by searching for Google Chrome and checking out the information available to you on their website.

Some 15 shovel-ready projects from public institutions, including schools, hospitals, and state, county, local and tribal government agencies, will be funded with $11.4 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds received by the state of Maine.

In August, Gov. John E. Baldacci announced the funding, which not only will support the wood-to-energy heating or energy installations, but also is expected to create and retain about 200 jobs throughout the state.

“I have seen firsthand how a wood-to-energy project can benefit a public school building, and I know this important federal grant will help us expand and diversify our forest-products industry,” Gov. Baldacci said Thursday. “These projects will show how Maine is the leader in renewable energy, and they also will make the state much less dependent on foreign oil.”

“Maine’s 17 million acres of forest are the solution to most of the state’s energy issues, and the funding of these 15 projects will prove that — not only to Maine people, but also to the nation,” Commissioner Patrick K. McGowan of the Maine Department of Conservation said. “These projects will create new ‘green’ jobs and start the new ‘green economy’ across Maine and the U.S.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is providing the state of Maine with economic stimulus funds for job creation and renewable energy. The Maine Department of Conservation (MDOC) has been designated by the USDA Forest Service to receive that portion of funding for which Maine is eligible.

These are one-time funds that will be spent or committed within two years. Working in conjunction with the Office of the Governor, the Maine State Legislature, and the US Forest Service – Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry, the MDOC has determined that it will use the ARRA funding for contracts to support new and far-reaching programs to convert public facilities in Maine to wood heat.

Through the fuel conversion process, the ARRA funding will create and support jobs among licensed solid wood-fuel professionals, contractors and engineering firms. The use of the recovery funds also is expected to benefit loggers and other forest-product professionals.

Maine’s forest industry has a significant impact on the state’s economy. The ARRA funding is expected to promote wood-to-energy (biomass) activities to also help achieve a national goal of healthy, sustainable forests, state officials said.

The promotion of sustainable management of Maine forest land and the use of certified products also will be key to the funded projects, according to Maine Forest Service officials.

The biomass project applications must be submitted by Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010, and the awards will be announced as soon as possible, according to state officials. The proposals must come from public institutions, rather than vendors, and must meet two basic criteria: the wood-to-energy projects must be shovel ready, and they must create or retain jobs.

The projects can be either “standard projects,” which are smaller conversions to wood-based systems, such as a small pellet burner or furnace or an appropriately sized wood pellet stove less than 200,000 BTUs; or they can be “custom projects,” larger systems in excess of 200,000 BTUs that serve larger facilities or several buildings, such as several dormitories on a college campus.

The request for applications (RFA) is available online at: http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/arra

Or contact Jennifer Wright, Maine Forest Service, at jennifer.wright@maine.gov or 22 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333

For more information about the ARRA Public Building Wood-to-Energy Program, contact Mackenzi Keliher, Maine Department of Conservation, at 287-4909, or email: Mackenzi.keliher@maine.gov

The promise of electric vehicles is enormous, but so are the challenges standing in the way of large-scale adaptation of this new technology.

While the technical problems are formidable, a provocative new paper looks at the equally daunting social and cultural realities that will have to be addressed if a switchover away from gasoline engines is to occur.

Writing in the journal Energy Policy, Benjamin Sovacool of the National University of Singapore and Richard F. Hirsh of Virginia Polytechnic Institute note that the vehicle-to-grid concept – in which automobiles would be continually hooked up to the larger power grid, both taking energy from it and supplying energy to it – would be a major advance on many levels. Such a plan could potentially cut our nation’s need for imported oil in half, improve pollution levels and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

But they argue that if we’re going to spend the “huge amounts of money” needed to develop such a system – with plug-in vehicles being the precursor – we’d better take into account the inevitable resistance that will arise to such a radical change.

“Most consumers often remain impatient and close-minded about new energy technologies,” they write, noting that to overcome such resistance, “General Electric designed its first electric lights to look like gas-fired street lights.”

Auto manufacturers won’t have that specific problem – a car will still look like a car – but it will feel different to drive. A survey of drivers of prototype plug-in vehicles found many complaints about their lack of performance, including their inability to reach speeds as high as those common with combustion engines. The high some drivers obtain from putting the pedal to the metal (perhaps putting "the plug to the rug"?) will have to be found elsewhere.

Such vehicles would be far more economical to run than today’s automobiles, especially if owners can sell back energy they have generated, but not used, to the power company. But up-front costs will be high, and the authors note that few buyers are sophisticated enough to correctly calculate how much they will save over the years.

Then, of course, there will be opposition from industry – and not just the oil companies. “The cost of EV maintenance should be minimal, since the vehicles have fewer moving parts and need no lubricating oils, filters, coolants, clutches, spark plugs,” etc., the report notes. More than 800,000 people are employed as automobile service technicians. Their jobs – their industry – will disappear, presumably not without a fight.

“In short, many of the most significant participants in the existing transportation infrastructure have huge stakes in maintaining the status quo,” the authors conclude.

While they don’t make specific recommendations as to how to address these issues, the scholars rightly insist that policymakers need to be thinking about them now, at the same time scientists are working to develop the technology that will make electric vehicles the norm. If we ignore the human side of the issue, they warn, all that brilliant scientific work could end up as useless as a dead car battery.

By Tom Jacobs

Thanks to Mr. Jacobs and:
Miller-McCune magazine and Miller-McCune.com
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This is a great magazine for news and information on many topics

The staff of the library and all of its community partners wish to thank this wonderful foundation for all that it does for the public libraries throughout Maine and the United States.

Please call 582-3312 for more information

Participants will learn the fundamentals of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, as well as how to establish a business presence on each of the social networking sites. They will also learn ways to leverage and integrate that presence into their existing business and marketing strategies to achieve business objectives.

The Chamber’s social media program will be presented by Lynnelle Wilson, president of Bold Vision Consulting. She has more than 25 years experience of developing and managing sales, marketing, and complex strategic projects.

The program will be held at the Winthrop High School cafeteria from 6 to 9 pm. For those who preregister, the cost will be $25 for Chamber members $30 for nonmembers. The cost will be $40 at the door. Attendees must bring a computer with wireless connection. Light refreshments will be served. To register and/or for more detailed information, please send an email to info@winthropchamber.org, call 207-377-8020, or go to www.winthropchamber.org.