Bangor Loses Zoning Officer, World Gains Blogger

Rick Fisher

Bangor zoning officer Rick Fisher was one of the 50-plus people at last night's Borough Council meeting. But it was his last. He's leaving his zoning job in Bangor, Portland and Upper Mount Bethel to head to the coffee mecca of the world - Seattle.

"I thought all the people were here to say goodbye to me," noted Fisher. "I forgot. I'm a zoning officer."

He's right. Zoning officers are very unpopular, almost as much as bloggers. But guess what? Fisher already is a bottom-feeding blogger, just like moi. In fact, he's created a blog called Diffle County, about some mysterious place in Eastern Pennsylvania.

When he gets to Seattle, he'll take it to the next level, and start attending City Council meetings.

Why is quitting his job? "Once you have seven different flavors of vodka in your fridge, you know it's time to give up zoning," he told Council.

In reality, Fisher's wife has a new job in Seattle, and has been there since March.

He's also working on two novels. One is about Diffle County, home of Executive Spangle (with the angle). The other, a collaboration with his daughter, involves a cat, a otter and a crow.