They say a boat is really a hole in the water into which you pour money. Now, multiply that times 1,000 for each foot of a 40-year-old aircraft carrier.
A nonprofit group announced last week that it is still in the running to bring the decommissioned USS John F. Kennedy to the Portland harbor as a floating museum.
We're not cheering.
Aside from being a completely incongruous addition to the quaint Portland waterfront, we cannot imagine how this venture would sustain itself, let alone thrive.
There are several of these floating aircraft carrier museums dotted around the country, including the USS Intrepid in New York City, which is undergoing a $60 million renovation, and the historic USS Midway, perhaps the most successful of these ventures, in San Diego.
Two others, one in Corpus Christi, Texas, the USS Lexington, and the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C., seem to struggle.
All four of those host cities are much larger than Portland and have year-round tourist industries.
We can't speak for the City of Portland, but we feel strongly that the rest of the state should not be dragged into this project via support from state government.
If the City of Portland really wants this boat, it should go it alone.
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I see NOTHING wrong brining
I see NOTHING wrong brining im the USS JFK as a Museum ... I personally have been aboardthe USS North Carolina ( Docked in Wilmington NC) & also Battle Ship Cove in Fall River Mass. www.battleshipcove.com/ where they have 3 ships. This would be a GREAT idea & a super teaching tool for kids who are possiably thinking of joing the military
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Northwoods - Great job of
Northwoods - Great job of re-writing history.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.I like the idea of having it,
I like the idea of having it, but as was said I don't agree that those not in the Portland area should be dragged into helping pay for it. How is tourists to Casco Bay area affect those in Lewiston/Auburn, Bangor, Augusta, Houlton, Fort Kent, etc... It won't therefore it shouldn't have any state money helping it.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Since the Kennedy clan was so
Since the Kennedy clan was so fond of fishing off Cape Cod, why not sink it off Hyannisport and turn it into an artificial reef? Wait a minute...why not put the remainder of the enemy combatants from Gitmo onboard and let the Navy - submarines, surface ships and aircraft - use it for target practice? Everybody wins (except, of course, for the terrorists); the fish get an artificial reef, the Navy gets to hone their skills, and the American people get to avoid the expense of a bunch of trials in civilian courts - something to which the enemy combatants are not entitled in the first place.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.They named a ship after a guy
They named a ship after a guy that destroyed his own PT boat.
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