DOWN EAST NOTES

Portland Press Herald - At 1,165 feet, Mount Harris is little more than a broad hill in a small town along Route 9, southwest of Bangor. And as residents debated an ordinance to regulate wind power development here, it seemed like a local matter. That changed Nov. 19. By a wide margin - 229-78 - voters approved an ordinance that's being called one of the most restrictive in New England. It requires a one-mile setback between turbines and homes, a standard that likely will have the effect of banning grid-scale wind power on Mount Harris and other wooded ridges in town. Now developers, environmentalists and state officials are wondering whether growing public backlash against wind power will prompt more towns to use ordinances similar to Dixmont's to restrict similar proposals. Mainers have a long history of craving economic development in general, but fighting it in their backyards. Does Dixmont's vote signal that the apparent public support for renewable energy extends only to wind projects that are very far from where people live?

Kennebec Journal - Maine is on the verge of losing scientifically important specimens throughout the state because they are not being stored properly and funding is in short supply, according to a report from the Maine State Museum. Paula Work, registrar and curator of zoology for the museum, said that during the past 30 months, museum staff have visited more than 40 collections stored at 11 state agencies or university campuses. Among the findings: an irreplaceable early 19th-century bird egg collection "dangerously stacked in boxes in an attic". . . insect collections stored in an attic that has temperature and humidity extremes; and a freshwater mussel shell collection stored in basements and attics at several locations across the state.

Maine Public Broadcasting - State wildlife authorities say there's been a sighting of a rare butterfly that was thought to have disappeared from Maine 75 years ago. Scientists say the spicebush swallowtail hasn't been seen here since a single adult was spotted in 1934.

31 year old Brian Andrews of Old Orchard Beach was arrested while driving a stolen truck. More interesting, however, was what was in it: an ATM machine ripped out of a convenience store.

Boston Globe - Volunteer weather observers are being sought to take precipitation measurements across Maine. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network is offering six training sessions between Dec. 1 and 9 for weather enthusiasts who want to take part. Backyard weather observers will take precipitation measurements, which are then recorded on the network's Web site. Maine joined the nationwide volunteer weather network in August. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a major sponsor of the network.

The League of American Bicyclists lists Maine as the third most bicycle friendly state - behind Washington and Wisconsin

A journalist goes out on the flats with a clammer: By the time I had dug for 20 minutes, with two or three breaks, I was exhausted, I hurt all over, and I had sand in my teeth. Some summer days, Downs does this for 10 or 11 hours. He has collected more than 300 pounds of clams in a day. Just thinking about that makes me ache all over.