Commentary: Broadband is good. Sprawl is not. How can Maine have one without the other? Critical to success are multiple-community planning and engagement as well as local leadership. By Nancy SmithSpecial to the Press Herald Share Mainers are preparing for a once-in-a-generation chance to build lasting prosperity. As we consider how to invest the significant COVID relief funding that is coming through the federal American Rescue Plan, we must merge the state’s plan to extend internet access across Maine with a comprehensive look at what our communities can be a generation from now. Related Maine will receive $120 million in federal funding to invest in broadband infrastructure. In addition, state, county and municipal governments will receive $1.2 billion in COVID relief funding to be spent by 2024, with broadband as one of the allowable uses.