Not even Mainers want to be California — at least that’s the takeaway after Pine Tree State residents slammed a proposed statewide crackdown on fossil fuels this week.

On Thursday, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection heard feedback on a proposal that would phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles. According to Bangor Daily News (BDN),  Maine’s state government instead incentivizes electric vehicles. The impetus behind this central-planning and government interference is the supposed threat of climate change and is similar to laws in the Golden State.

Maine resident John Barkley, a former California resident, blasted the proposal.

“Don’t turn Maine into California,” he said defiantly.

Barkley wasn’t done, adding that Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) example is not one that Maine should follow.

“I am not a fan of any of these policies,” he explained. “We don’t need Gavin Newsom and the policies of California to come in here to Maine.”

Barkley, who was not alone in his opposition to the government overreach, also questioned who exactly was pushing for this policy.

“I moved to Maine because I wanted to get away to a very peaceful, rural area where my air is just fine,” he explained. “So I question if a lot of this movement is coming from people who do live in a city area versus a rural area.”

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"We don't need Gavin Newsom and the policies of California coming here to Maine." pic.twitter.com/ygdallS2Ta

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) August 17, 2023

For her part, Governor Janet Mills (D-ME) has said she is against adopting the sort of policy proposed by the Environmental Protection Board — but has made it a goal to have 219,000 electric vehicles registered in Maine by 2030. According to BDN, Maine is still 96% away from achieving that goal.

Individuals like State Representative Joshua Morris (R) questioned the practicality of this plan.

“How often in Maine do people lose power?” Morris posited. “Especially in the winter, if they lose power, they’re not going to be able to charge their vehicle.”

“There are not enough adjectives to describe how bad this policy is for the people of Maine. It’s callous, aloof, unthinking, unfeeling, unworkable, and simply cruel. Hardworking Mainers deserve better from their government than this policy pushed by a far-left extremist group,” Morris added.

As pointed out by The Maine Wire, several of those who argued in favor of the proposal claimed that it didn’t go far enough. The rule would require that 43% of new vehicle sales be zero-emission in 2027 and that 82% of new sales be zero-emission by 2032.

The president and CEO of the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) warned that the ongoing strikes in Hollywood are having devastating effects on non-union members, including stage crew members who have been living “paycheck to paycheck.”

Bob Beitcher posted an open letter to the industry Thursday urging the community to donate “financial assistance” to aid this particular group as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes drag on, causing a complete industry shutdown.

“These strikes are having an absolutely awful and devastating impact on the non-striking industry workforce, most especially our below-the-line crews. They are the hardest-working and lowest-paid members of our community,” the letter said in part, per The Hollywood Reporter. “They are, quite simply, the backbone of our industry, the folks who make it all come together and get it done.”

He went on to accuse the Hollywood community of “not doing enough” to support these individuals who often “live paycheck to paycheck and depend on this industry for their livelihood.”

“They have become the forgotten casualties during these strikes, overlooked by the media. Let’s face it, actors and writers make better subjects for strike stories; and now crew members are not getting the philanthropic support they’ve earned and deserve,” the letter states.

Beitcher said he’s been receiving over “500-1,000 calls a week” and that they are mostly from the crew community regarding financial assistance.

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“Our crews are at risk of losing their homes, their cars, their ability to pay utility or medical bills, to pay the caregivers for parents or disabled children, and they more than any other group need the financial support from successful community members who know and appreciate what they mean to the film and television production enterprise,” the letter continued.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and WGA have been meeting and are rumored to be coming closer to an agreement which would end the strike, which has now been going strong for over 100 days. Some of the issues the WGA has on the table are discussions about pay raises, compensation based on residuals from streaming, parameters around the use of artificial intelligence, and mandated minimums for the writers’ room.