So we don’t have the Mason Station peninsula cleaned up yet and the state’s downtown plans continue to draw criticism and concern along with praise and hope. I’m an optimist on both projects, based on the work that has gone into them and the importance of both to succeed.

Planning doesn’t always produce a project, as we saw with everyone’s work on the bypass and the miss on the town’s try at federal cleanup funds.

But the state appears confident the downtown project is a go, and the advisory committee has Maine Department of Transportation’s ear every step of the way.

The Mason Station peninsula will only remain largely idle so long, before it gets the investment it needs, public, private, or both, and returns to being a revenue and job producer. There’s so much to gain with those properties’ renewal – this will happen, and hopefully sooner rather later. Peregrine Turbine Technologies gave it a good start by moving there. Who’s next?

I’d be glad to stop calling it the Mason Station peninsula, by the way. Email suggestions to susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com or better yet, pitch your ideas in a letter to the editor at news@wiscassetnewspaper.com. The peninsula is more than a former power plant. There’s a long way to go, and wishing doesn’t make something so. But a positive thought has led to many a good thing.

* * *

Somehow, already, we are in the last full month of summer. School will soon reopen, and the last days of September belong to fall, by the calendar – although the Wiscasset Art Walk follows its Aug. 31 installment with a final one Sept. 28. Yay, Wiscasset!

Let’s put the gusto in August, bugs be darned, and enjoy the weather, events, the waterfront and ice-free roads. Let’s get all we can out of what’s left of summer.

Stay safe, cool and hydrated. Watch for cyclists and horseback riders. And respect thunderstorms by staying out of them. Now get out there and have fun!