If you’re anything like me, you’ve been annoyed that the Maine office of GIS has not updated it’s Google Earth Parcels.kml file to include the recently completed Whitefield parcels map file. Whitefield parcels have been available for a while as a shape file, but that’s no help unless you have Arcinfo or Arcview. If you wanted to view Whitefield parcels in Google Earth, you’ve been out of luck.
No longer! I managed to get my hands on both Whitefield and Jefferson parcel maps. No need to load in every organized town in Maine, you can just load in the town you want. We’ll be making use of these when we get to work on updating the Clary Lake watershed Survey:
These links will open up in Google Maps. To add them to Google Earth, download them to your computer, then open them in Google Earth and save them to “My Places”. I’ll likely put these under the Charts & Data main menu heading at some point for easier downloading.
[UPDATE] I’ve also separated out the KML files for the Clary Lake watershed and the Three Corner Pond watershed (which flows into Clary Lake):
Clary Lake and Three Corner Pond Watershed (kml) file
These too will be useful when we get to updating the Clary Lake Watershed Survey. Like the Parcel files, these will open in Google Maps. Just download them and open them up in Google Earth, save them to “My Places.”
There’s an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by Shlomit Auciello about the 
With the rate at which the lake has been falling lately, it’s a wonderful thing when the downward trend reverses, even temporarily, as it did this morning. Last night’s thunderstorm dropped 0.95″ of rain in a few short hours- a real splasher. This morning the lake had risen 0.07′ (0.84″) since yesterday morning even while it fell 1.2″ in the same period. If we’re lucky runoff will allow this water level to hold for one more day. A good soaking rain is forecast for the end of this week. Is it too much to ask Paul Kelley to close the dam gate to try and keep the water level at a reasonable level for the summer?
Presiding Officer Heather Parent has issued the Department’s Procedural Order #7. It was sent to the service list (along with an updated service list) by Beth Callahan a little before 4 PM today. First and foremost, the order addresses the recent Clary Lake Association motion filed by Robert Rubin, Association Counsel, calling for a prompt final date for closing arguments:
A short and sweet article in this week’s Lincoln County News by Shlomit Auciello about the Clary Lake Association’s short and sweet motion to set a deadline for submission of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. 
The Summer 2013 issue of the Clary Lake Clarion, the newsletter of the Clary Lake Association, is going in the mail tomorrow morning. As usual it’s being mailed to all Clary Lake shore owners as well as a number of other interested parties. I’m a firm believer that every organization, no matter how well represented digitally, really needs to put out something tangible once in a while to stay firmly in touch with their membership. The plan has been to prepare 2 newsletters per year but in for the past few years it’s been all I could do to get one out in time for the Annual Meeting. And so it is again this year.
Tony Fletcher, State Dam Inspector did in fact inspect the Clary Lake dam last Tuesday morning as 
The Whitefield informant network is alive and well- little can transpire in the town of Whitefield that isn’t observed by at least one person who spends at least part of the day hanging out at the Whitefield Superette, drinking coffee and holding office. According to several reports, there was a gathering of folks at the dam for a couple of hours yesterday morning, from about 9 AM to a little after 11 AM. Paul Kelley and Richard Smith were there, and one or more people “from the state” judging from their description. They were reportedly standing on the road and pointing at the dam when observed by one passerby.
Many of you have no doubt seen the recent articles in the Newpapers (Portland Press Herald, KJ, etc.) about DEP’s alleged “speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil” approach to environmental regulation these days as in “looking the other way”, “sitting on their hands and doing nothing”, and generally “dragging their feet” on various issues. The allegations mostly involve land use and chemical industry issues with Big Money behind them. The highlight of the first article is how DEP failed to meet a deadline for submission of documents related to water levels associated with a hydropower licensing action on Long Falls dam on Flagstaff Lake, to the decided detriment of the town of Eustis. DEP claims it was an oversight. Here’s part 1 and 2 of a 3 part series:
The water level chart update mechanism is broken. I’d hoped to get it fixed over the weekend but I guess I have to write a new script and I really don’t have the time right now. Sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll fix it when I get a chance. In the meantime, if you want to know what the water level of the lake is, go out and take a look!
Robert J. Rubin, counsel for the Clary Lake Association has filed a motion with the Department of Environmental Protection requesting the Hearing Officer set a “prompt final date for submission of the proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law of the Public Hearing from August 17, 2012.” The Association feels that these petition proceedings have gone on entirely too long and it’s time for some substantive action on the part of the Department. It is hoped this short and sweet motion will spur the Department to move quickly and decisively in the right direction on this matter.
Paul Kelley has submitted a revised response to Procedural Order #6 along with a typically confusing, profusely-footnoted cover letter explaining what the error was in the original copy. Rather than stopping there however, which would have been fine, he continues on in excruciating detail to explain WHY the error occurred and he has the gall to rest the blame with the Presiding Officer herself, for making him do it: