Press Herald: We’re changing our commenting system. Here’s why.

August 28, 2019

Today we introduce a new approach to online commenting.  As we continue to add more benefits to our subscription offerings, the ability to participate in online discussions on PressHerald.com will be for subscribers only.

Different from ubiquitous tools like “email to a friend” or social sharing, commenting won’t be a de facto feature on every story. Instead, we intend to use the commenting tool less frequently but with more depth where journalists can participate directly in the discussion or we can share additional insight into the reporting process. We are looking to create a higher level of engagement and reduce the volume of unproductive comments...........................................

To learn more about this change, please read our FAQs.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Earlier related reading:

Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting: Maine’s newspaper industry is now unlike any other in the country

At a time when the U.S. newspaper industry is most often described as “dying” and “decimated” and publishers agree that “flat is the new up” with regard to profitability, a lot of eyes are on Maine.

They’re looking here, not because the picture is significantly brighter but because Maine’s newspaper industry is now unlike any other in the country. There’s not another state that has a single individual owning the majority of its daily newspapers, as is suddenly the case here.

Reade Brower. Photo by Patricia McCarthy.

Reade Brower. Photo by Patricia McCarthy.

In rapid-fire style – just three years – Camden businessman Reade Brower has acquired six of the state’s seven daily newspapers. The speed with which he’s done it is causing wariness among some journalists and others in Maine and an abundance of curiosity throughout the industry nationwide, about his motives and strategies.

Read the full article here:

https://pinetreewatch.org/constant-concern-and-a-glimmer-of-hope/

S. Donald Sussman, who personally incubated D.E. Shaw, longtime half owner of First Wind, sells his newspapers

The S Donald, the U.S. Congresswoman's husband who personally incubated D.E. Shaw, longtime half owner of First Wind, sells his pro-wind newspapers.

Press Herald papers purchased by midcoast businessman Reade Brower

A memo sent to Maine Today Media staff late Tuesday confirmed financier S. Donald Sussman, husband of Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, agreed to sell the paper. 

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/04/28/business/press-herald-papers-...

    **************************************************************************

  1. S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree's husband gave First Wind's half owner its start with $28 Million
  2. Donald Sussman, the billionaire husband of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) gave hedge fund D.E. Shaw its start with $28 million. D.E. Shaw is the longtime half owner of First Wind, the wind developer running roughshod over the ridges and mountains of Maine in its endless pursuit of taxpayer funded subsidies, stimulus grants and government mandated support from ratepayers. Sussman is also the owner of Maine Today Media, owner of the largest newspapers in the state such as the Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.

The screenshot below references the $28 million amount.

http://www.institutionalinvestorsalpha.com/Article/3259267/Hedge-Fu...

http://www.institutionalinvestorsalpha.com/Article/3259265/Hedge-Fu...

===============================

Portland Press Herald Owner Incubated D.E. Shaw (Half owner of First Wind) /

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree using husband S. Donald Sussman's Wealth in Deal Making?

One would think that if you're a fellow legislator and Chellie gets you money, you listen to her on policy. Watch the lame duck session.

Her value to to the Democratic party, says Brewer, is also due to the help she can give to other candidates. "She is someone who other members of the party turn to for assistance, whether it's assistance in terms of policy or in terms of re-elections," he says.

Brewer says a key factor is the enormous wealth Pingree has access to through her husband - billionaire financier and noted Democratic donor Donald Sussman.

http://news.mpbn.net/post/democrat-pingree-heads-back-gop-controlle...

Portland Press Herald Owner (and husband of U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree) Incubated D.E. Shaw (Half owner of First Wind)

PUBLIC INTEGRITY: D.E. Shaw's (1/2 owner of First Wind) original investors included S. Donald Sussman (now principal owner of Maine Today Media) 

David E. Shaw, founder D.E. Shaw (half owner of First Wind)

D.E. Shaw’s original investors included the Tisch family of New York (the family behind the Loews Corporation empire) and the Tisches’ in-law New York financier S. Donald Sussman.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2000/08/17/3274/democratic-fundraise...

  1. Donald Sussman founded the Paloma Funds in 1981. The firm’s multi-strategy hedge funds employ various quantitative, relative value and computerized statistical arbitrage strategies.

    According to Teri Buhl, the Paloma’s main fund was up 20% in 2009 and has had an average annualized return since inception of over 20%. In her Greenwich Time article, Ms. Buhl also reported that Sussman's fund has incubated several hedge fund trading legends, “such as David Shaw of D.E. Shaw; Dan Arbess, who runs Perella Weinberg's Xerion Fund; Bruce Kover of Caxton Associates; Richard Perry of Perry Capital; and Dan Och of Och-Ziff.” 

http://hedgetracker.com/article/MurderSuicide-plot-at-Paloma-Partne...

First Wind Holdings LLC will get a $117 million loan guarantee from federal "stimulus" funds to finance the construction and start-up of a wind energy project in Kahuku, Hawaii, the federal Department of Energy announced Friday. Once complete, the project will create "six to ten" jobs, according to the Department of Energy. At $117 million, works out to a federally guaranteed loan of between $19.5 million and $11.7 million for each job created.

Last year, when the Obama administration awarded its first windmill windfall of $115 million to First Wind, wereported on some of First Wind's connections to the administration:

First Wind ... had owners that included D.E. Shaw and Madison Dearborn Partners. Shaw is the firm at which President Obama's chief of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers, held a $5.2 million a year, one-day-a-week job, and Madison Dearborn is the firm of which Rahm Emanuel, now the White House chief of staff, said, "They've been not only supporters of mine, they're friends of mine."...

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/03/another-117-million-for-f...

From the attempted First Wind IPO:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1434804/10/00010474691000857...

NOMINATING AND VOTING AGREEMENT

 

among

 

FIRST WIND HOLDINGS INC.

 

  1. E. SHAW MWP ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, L.L.C.

 

  1. E. SHAW MWPH ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, L.L.C.

 

and

 

MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS IV, L.P.

The following article seems to connect PPH owner S. Donald Sussman to the man behind First Wind's half owner, DE Shaw.

"Sussman's had business dealings with other top Democratic donors, including fellow hedge fund manager David E. Shaw..."

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2012/12/07/stealthy-wealthy-dona...

 

Also see: FIRST_WIND_DE_SHAW_MADISON_DEARBORN_Appendix%203-1%20corrected.pdf

Majority Owner of Portland Press Herald Largest Political Campaign Donor in State by Giant Margin

16 times as high as the second largest campaign contributor.

No. 1: Selwyn Donald Sussman, founder of hedge fund Paloma Partners, principal owner of Maine Today Media (Portland Press Herald, Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel), developer, North Haven: $2,971,741.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/10/31/politics/the-top-10-maine-cam...

Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

In the Matter of :
: ORDER INSTITUTING PUBLIC
: PROCEEDINGS, MAKING
S. DONALD SUSSMAN : FINDINGS, CEASE-AND-DESIST
: ORDER, AND ORDER IMPOSING
: REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
Respondent.

Cease%20%26%20Desist.pdf

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/ia1653.txt

************************************* 


Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Views: 340

Comment

You need to be a member of Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine to add comments!

Join Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on September 2, 2019 at 7:11pm

The Hard Truth at Newspapers Across America: Hedge Funds Are in Charge

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-hard-truth-at-newsp...

What else explains newspapers' complete lies and half-truths about the wind industry?

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/what-else-explains-news...

Goodbye to the Age of Newspapers (Hello to a New Era of Corruption)

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/goodbye-to-the-age-of-n...

Warren Buffett Says All But 3 American Newspapers Are Doomed - What Does This Mean for You and Me?

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/warren-buffett-says-all...

Media Already Hit with Massive Layoffs in 2018

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/media-already-hit-with-...

The latest indication that certain newspapers sell favorable coverage

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-latest-indication-t...

Comment by Stephen Littlefield on September 2, 2019 at 6:57pm

I cancelled the subscription as soon as my mother passed away, she had dementia and actually believed the paper! I've read and posted comments which brought the SJW's out snarling and name calling, which is the usual for the mentally destitute. The comments were a joke with a few that actually made factual sense, and the majority were bobbleheads that supported the article with blind allegiance. Not a loss their slowly going the way of the New York Times slipping into bankruptcy like a slow motion train wreck! 

Comment by Dan McKay on September 2, 2019 at 4:11pm

Cancelled my subscription. Ain't interested in rubbing elbows with the elite.

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on September 2, 2019 at 2:43pm

"We intend to use the commenting tool less frequently"

This is mere continuance of the direction the PPH was already heading. In the last few months, articles covering controversial topics were accompanied with the advisory that "Comments are disabled on some stories about sensitive topics." In other words, when the paper's Social Justice Warrior NARRATIVE would be slammed in the reader comments, the comments were shut down. The last thing the Social Justice Warriors want is it being readily apparent that most readers are calling the emperor naked. High time to speak out when political correctness says you shouldn't. That's one of their worst fears. Call them out on their lies.

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on September 2, 2019 at 2:32pm

Exclusive — Devin Nunes Warns U.S. About ‘Tech Oligarchs’ Censorship, Bias Against Conservatives: ‘I Am Very Concerned’
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/09/02/devin-nunes-warns-us-...

Comment by Penny Gray on September 2, 2019 at 2:32pm

I learn more from the comments than I do from most of the articles.  This is where you really learn which way the wind blows.

Comment by Willem Post on September 2, 2019 at 2:28pm

Comments  from subscribers only?

That is beyond stupid, as there are many people who are smart about issues and would make valuable comments, if it were not for the PAY WALL.

comments should come from all readers.

It would be up to the moderator to determine which get posted.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

Not yet a member?

Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?

We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

 -- Mahatma Gandhi

"It's not whether you get knocked down: it's whether you get up."
Vince Lombardi 

Task Force membership is free. Please sign up today!

Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

© 2024   Created by Webmaster.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service