The cost of living in Maine is high, higher than in other parts of the country and it is not because of location. Much blame has to be laid at the costs imposed on all, citizen and businesses, by our legislature and city governments. Refusal to import electricity from Canada is a prime example of Maine cost of living being high. Taxes are a big villain-- loolk at the cost of registering a vehicle in Maine and compare to other States. The motor vehicle inspection that costs $12.50 or so does not pay a mechanic for the time to do an actual inspection and does nothing but rob citizens of $12.50. This pays for only 7 or 8 minutes of a mechanic's time, hardly enough to write the sticker and report. I'm not advocating a raise in cost here, but abolition; studies have shown States with no inspections fare just as well in safety. Maine has to lower its tax rates to attract industry, those industries that pay a better wage. Governor Lepage has the right ideas and the people of Maine should continue supporting him and not listen to his detractors who only want to continue in their cushy jobs and could care less for the average citizen and taxpayer.

There are many good apartments in Lewiston owned by responsible property owners; more so than so called slums. While Lewiston has so called slum lords they are few in numbers and there is no need for anyone to patronize them. Tenants have a responsibility to make an intelligent choice and not rent these units just like landlords have a responsibility to only rent to responsible tenants who will maintain their units properly and not disturb their fellow tenants. The problem in the twin cities is there are so many apartments that we should not be using taxpayer funds to help these developers line their pockets with our hard earned dollars. If the project is not viable, do not build it.

If there are tenants in need, use section 8 vouchers paying the local level of established rents so these folks can get help; this would help those in need, save tax dollars as current rents go for less than these new units, and the local owners would benefit. All these boondoggles do is create more of a surplus of apartments and feed the so called absentee ownership of rental properties as many of these so called developers are not local.

To Mr. Breton, the definition of $68,000 as low income is not my definition, but that of your elected officials in Washington.

At $1,250,000.00 for 5 units, the price per unit is $250,000.00. Will anyone making $68,000.00/year be willing or able to pay such a price? And don't forget that this is the cost of building the units with no profit in it for developer. One can buy a very nice private home in the twin cities for much less than this.

This is another boon doggle that will only fly because of the government grant to the developer and most probably a subsidized loan to the buyer which means that taxpayers are again forced to pay for others to make a profit and get cheap housing. At some point the taxpayers of this country will have to tell politicians we have had enough of this foolishness. If developers cannot come up with viable plans to make an honest profit, we must tell them to stop raiding taxpayer monies.

On his last visit to Maine, we commoners were barred from visiting the major attractions in Acadia National Park while HE and his entourage were there; will he stop people from being around him as he comes looking for votes and support this time?

This is a fantastic and needed bill if it indeed bans both corporate and union funding of candidates in all forms. The idea of limiting funding to only people who can vote for the candidate or item on the ballot is an excellent idea and could help in getting the obscene amount of money being spent in these political campaigns out.

We must thank Governor Lepage for insisting on getting the financial information requested before giving away more money to this endeavor. Governor Walker may feel comfortable giving money away without having all the facts needed to justify giving away this much money, but Governor Lepage is more prudent. Solyndra in California is a prime exaample of the folly of giving away money without doing the necessary homework. Thank you Governor for not wasting tax money.

Hopefully the State can take away what it has offerred Mr. Kestrel as he has not livedd up to his responsibilities.

Changing ooffice decor can be a good thing, and bringing up labors woes and promotion of strikes etc. may not be the best thing to have at an office charged with bringing new industry to the State. A museum such as Museum L-A is an ideal place to showcase the struggles of the working person. Certainly strikes and the organized labor movements are a part of Lewiston's history, more so than Portland. Presenting the timeline of manufacturting jobs disappearing from Lewiston-Auburn would probably also be an ideal tie in. We thought it was great to see the unions stand up to management and get wage and other concessions. About 1954 when we saw the Androscoggin close down and move to lower cost States, we should have seen the light. This timeline of the twin Cities growth and demise could be a great stimulator to make people think of how great this country was and where we are now before we reach a dead end. Hopefully it could bring about the need of labor and management cooperating for the greater good of all.

Not only Maine, but the rest of the country is experiencing financial difficulties. Unless they are seeking asylum here for their personal safety from persecution immigrants should come prepared to support themselves. Other countries expect that of immigrants and I feel we should also. When one moves to a new country one should be expected to support themselves and learn the way of their chosen country. I am all for helping them make the transition by offerring language classes etc., but to expect welfare from the start is a little too much. I do not see how anyone can find fault with the Federal stipulation that immigrants should not expect financial help for the first five years of their living in the country. Welfare, as a whole, is too widespread in this country. We must take care of our old and those who cannot physically or mentally care for themselves, but the program needs reform.

It does not matter what party he is from, why is it that another former Senator gets the cushy job? What does he know of operating this type of business? Citizens should start to demand better from their government. The whole board should be replaced. None of them gives much consideration to the actual operation of the pike. People on the board should know the basics of road construction and have a history of successfully operating a business.

Mr Hobbs: Your suggestions sound good and i am certain are well intentioned, and these would have (and did) work 40 years ago when we still had owner occupied rental units. Unfortunately laws changed due to requests by tenant groups and the small owners were forced out of the market by the complxity of laws. While in the early 70's the average landlord in Lewiston owned roughly 13 units (apartments not buildings) and the largest may have owned up to the mid 40's we now have owners owning 300 or more units. The personal touch where landlord and tenant knew each other is gone. The working landlord is also a thing of the past. This was the person or family who tended to their property personally and had a personal pride in ownership. Also, when so called non-profits entered in rental housing you then have people who are not really landlords, but managers who hire out everything and can only operate because of government subsidies. These are the 8-5 landlords. If landlords could evict unruly tenants easily and quickly you would see a change in rental housing, but an eviction is now a costly and long endeavor. So-called 30 day no-cause evictioons can take 60 to90 days to be done and can cost in the thousands when you add attorney fees and lost rent. Cause evicitions are even harder to process with the tenant and their government provided attorney extending again the time these people stay wothout paying rent. This is probably one of the main reason for the loss of the small landlord or owner occupied landlord. Rental housing is getting to be a very complex business and in the Twin CIties is made harder by the glut of subsidized housing. A tighter housing market would certainly strengthen the owners hand, but as things are now I can see where today's owner has to operate as they do. As you can proobably guess I am a former landlord. I am now retired and would not want to return to the fold.

While very generous, there seems too be a tinge of blackmail here.

Making it harder to terminate (fire) people does not really help anyone; the slackers take advantage of this and drag a company (or State) down. If one is not happy at their work it is time to move on. Same thing if their supervisors are not satisfied with their production. Look at the results of union membership and strength---how many textile mills, shoe shops, and even old line paper producers left in Maine. Is IP still there? No one wins with exhorbitant wage demands and making it tougher to terminate people. Safe labor laws are not just a province of unions, they are the province of State inspectors sent and funded by the Legislature. Government employee unions cannot force the government to move out of the country as private industry has, but we are reaching the point of not being able to fund the promises made long ago. It is time to stop the foolishness and while we MUST HONOR promised benefits, from this day on we must admit we can no longer afford these promises. I say let the elected officials set aside so much money to fund the equivalent of popular 401k plans annually for Government employees. As far as guaranteeing them a job, I say the State and its directors and supervisors should be able to terminate anyone at any time for any reason.

Unions need to be kept in check from taking advantage of the taxpayers who foot the bill for their sometimes unreasonable demands. We must remember that the same wage and benefit demands are what drove industry away from the United States.

Maine is blessed to have 2 excellent Senators in Washington. Senator Collins and her staff do a great job oof helping Maine citizens. May she keep on the good work.

Labor unions were a wonderful thing in the past, but as time marches on, the unions got too powerful and too demanding. Management is also to blame for not resisting more, but the end results are that unions have driven this country to financial ruins. In this area alone, factories are not even a shadow of their past. How many textile workers are left in the area? How many shoe manufacturing jobs are there left? Why is the Elmet plant leaving the area? What are union policies and demands doing to all of us when governmental unions are demanding unrealistic pension and other benefits? Can taxpayers afford these demands? What of the railroad industry? From Caboose tenders to other unrealistic demands railroads were driven out of existence. Only now, and again with great taxpayer subsidies , are rails reappearing. Unions are not totally bad, but they have to be limited in their unrealistic demands before the country is further harmed by them. We cannot allow all manufacturing to go out of country. Just like fair labor laws were instituted to limit unscrupulous management from taking advantage of employees, we need legislation to protect the American public from unscrupulous union demands.

I must agree with the previous writer who said "we have too many Legislators in Augusta with too much time on their hands". Maine could have less Legislators and shorten the sessions. As it is they come up with too many bills and it never fails that the important ones are put off till the last minute and its a mad rush too pass them through then without proper scrutiny. As far as fireworks are concerned there is a problem with them being imported from out of State. Anyone who lives in an area populated by "summer" residents is well aware of this. Perhaps legalizing the sale of the product along with edducational material would not be a bad idea. It is worth consideration. As far as the comment on marijuana etc. in the editorial, maybe Mr.Rhoads should review his history books on the prohibition era. There is a lot of similarity between the revenuers smashing stills and the DEA pulling up weeds. Ditto for the gangsters of the era and the druglords of today. People apparently want their drugs of choice now as they did then and it should be looked at with a fresh view to see if it is possible to stop this or if the best we can do is regulate the sale of the drugs of choice.

Obamacare has been a sham perpetrated on the American people and both sides are guilty of neglecting our needs. We have an excellent system in this country called Medicare that does a credible job of helping seniors. This could be expanded to all. While many will say we cannot afford it and that Medicare is bankrupting the Nation, I say tweak it and improve on it. As it is doctors and suppliers charge exhorbitant fees and settle for pennies on the dollar; no one wants price controls, but providers of medical services have to be made to realize they have to price their services reasonably. Socialized medicine is scary and a close look at other nations who have it reveals there can be long wait times for rationed services, and in many instances private insurance for private medical systems exist to take care of the wealthy, which is not the American way. Probably the best way to improve Health Services in this country would be to pass a law that Congress cannot exempt itself from whatever they give us, (this is all they would have), and while at it the same law could say that Congress must live with Social Security and not their Golden plan that they now have. This would also quickly save Social Security. In other words, force these Elitists in Congress to live under the same circumstances they expect us to live under. Only when we the voters insist on this will we have solutions to our problems.

Only when stockholders are given the right to have a binding vote on election of directors and executive compensation will this greed be brought under control. As it is now directors and CEO's control so many "phantom" votes that corporate elections are a mockery and executives and directors are allowed to legally plunder companies. The only real vote investors have is to vote with their feet. "Non Profits" also have problems with greed and should be controled somehow. Unfortunately greed is alive and well at all levels and we should also look at union greed.

How can the City and State rationalize spending more tax dollars to create housing in a City with an obscene amount of vacant apartments? What is to become of those buildings with high vacancy rates? While I realize few will feel sorry for the Landlords, realize that every taxpayer in Lewiston is affected by the vacancy rate as people walk away form their buildings and as the City has too take them over and demolish them. Also, it is the public's tax dollars that are being spent here. All are paying so this developer transforms this space in not-needed housing and makes a bundle out of it. If the developer had to spend his own money to do it, he would not as it is not economically feasible. Citizens of Lewiston should initiate a recall petition for those who voted for this follish plan.

Hopefully the $15,375 second mortgage is the end of taxpayer monies used to help them create more apartments in a City that has one of the highest vacancy rate in the country.

Another question we should ask is: What happens after we leave even if we do win the war? Will the country revert to its old ways? Many of these third world countries are so accustomed to graft and corruption that things cannot change. It is not worth the price in human lives and sufferring we are paying. We need a President and a Congress that can accept this fact. We also need a strong military and intelligence department to make certain that 911 is never repeated.

Unfortunately the Democrats like to encourage class and race separation in this country. That is not the American way. I do not care if the Democrats use a $250,000 or a million dollar threshhold I do not come close to earning either amount, but I am still against discriminating in such a way against those peoploe who happen to be fortunate enough to earn such a salary. This is divisional politics at its worst. Those high earners already shoulder a higher tax burden than most of us, why discriminate against them? Why make them villains? All the government does when it sets discriminately unfair rules as this is encourage people to come up with ways to get around them. If tax cuts are good for us they are also good for all! Hopefully the last of these dividing people will get kicked out at the next election.

As I read the story yesterday Mr. Theriault did not "brandish" his gun, he merely made it visible and available, but the gun remained untouched in its holster. This was done when Mr. Theriault was on his property and felt threatened by the two men's behavior. Apparently one of those two, if not both, had parked their cars illegally on Mr. Theriault's property. His actions were both appropriate and reasonable. When we are not allowed to defened ourselves when threatened on our own properties, it is time to live elsewhere. The idea of gun control is wrong. Mr. Theriault and any one else in the State of Maine and the U.S. should have the right to have anything removed from their property without fear of repercussion. In this case all should have the right to have illegally parked cars removed at the car owner's expense form their properties without having to jump through any hoops.

All levels of government need more people thinking like the Auburn City manager. Bravo to you sir. Businesses could learn from him.

The problem with Obamacare is more wwith the way he, Reid and Pelosi pushed it through Congress promising anything and everything to their Democrat legislators to support it; (remember the 'special" deals for different States.) The problem the Democrats faced was at the end when they lost control of the Senate with Ted Kennedy's replacement being a Republican and they had to beat a hasty retreat to salvage their bill. Unfortunately, we the American taxpaying public are stuck with an imperfect piece of legislation. Many of the ideas in Obamacare are good, but they could have been much better if the Democrats had not flexed theiur muscles so much too prove they were the bigger bully and if the two parties could have worked together and did their job for the benefit of the American citizens.

The terrorists must be rolling over in laughter. Every time they do something new the flying public loses out as the powers that be decide to look for that item. This amounts to driving by your rear view mirror/camera. There are devices and animals out there that can sniff out explosives far faster, more conveniently, and with better results than what they are doing now. Do you think that the pat down (groping) artist will be as thorough with grandma/grandpa as with a cute young thing. Also, after a day of groping many many passengers how attentive do we think these folks are going to be. How many people will take the advice of the LSJ and quit flying? I, for one, am ready.

While I enjoy Christmas and all its festivities these people are creating a dangerous nuisance which requires police intervention and they should pay for this cost. All I can say is thank you for not choosing to live in my neighborhood.

I can partially agree with "ajax" in that we have to stop the importation of goods in this country and start producing them here. On the question of unions, however, I must disagree. The importation is because of cheap wages elsewhere and while we Americans do not want to work for the low wages paid elsewhere, we must realize that the wages demanded by unions is the main reason companies left here. Until Americans from the CEO to the lowest paid member of a company get more reasonable in their wage demands imports will flourish. Only we can turn this country around. Free trade is OK as long as it is a 2 way street. What MUST be STOPPED is the one way street where countries like Japan put up so many roadblocks to our industries selling there. Until these countries start letting our products come freely in their countries it is time for us to close the door on their productss.

I cannot agree with this being worthy of coonsideration. While I may chafe at the thought of another Baldacci or Mitchell in office, I don't like the idea of a second best candidate getting the nod. The person that gets the most votes should be elected, or provisions made for a run off when no one gets a majority of votes. Cutler could have run as a Democrat, but he chose not to. Had he run as such, he may be governor today. He was too weak kneed to take on Mitchell so let him live with his defeat.

The people have spoken and Mr. Lepage is our Governor elect; let us give him the benefit ofo the doubt and stop this childish back biting. To arrive where he is the man has to be intelligent and may well benefit the State. Certainly he cannot lead it to a worst postion than where it now is. I only pray he can accomplish what he has set out to do so our children and us can find good paying jobs in Maine. As the business climate is now in Miane, it is difficult for abusiness to think of expanding here. Look at how many folks you know who no longer are Maine citizens; they may visit the State for a few months, but are now citizens of other States. Have you ever wondered why?

We need to get the government out of drug pricing, shorten patent protection, and for the most part, get meds out to consumers over the counter and out of the pharmacy section where the pharmacists make obscene salaries for just looking at pills to make sure the highly paid tech counted them correctly. A pharmacist in this country makes $60+ dollars an hour plus benefits and that ads needlessly to most meds. Prilosec (Omeprazol) used to be over $100 a month when it first came out and now you can buy it over the counter for probably a quarter of that amount and in other countries for less than $1.75 a month. Does that make sense? A total review and change in the distribution process for meds is needed here. Sen. Snowe's bill to allow importation of meds from foreign countries would definitely be a step in the right direction. Right now Lipitor (no U.S. generic available) cost me $130 a month in U S, but a generic is available in Canada for under $30 U S a month.

No questioning the fact that the Democrats have an extra candidate with Mr. Cutler. It is high time to clean the mess in Augusta, and REMEMBER Paul Lepage cannot do it alone. If the same people are sent to the House and Senate Mr. Lepage will not be able to change things. It is time for change and this is the time to do it.

Michaud is not deservingofbeing called a BLUE DOG! He is a Pelosi-Reid followerin the first degree!

Could Mr. Lepage be experiencing the phenomena of being "Borked"? Look it up in Wikopedia or elsewhere, it refers to the way Mr. Bork was treated when being nominated to Supreme Court. His tax flap should be a non issue; his wife registered for a resident's homestead tax exemption when she owned property in Maine and was a Maine resident and when she moved to Florida she did likewise along with getting a Florida driving license and registering to vote in Florida. At that point she had to relinquish her Maine driver's license and the State of Florida had to check with Maine to find her driving record and advise Maine that she had become a Florida resident and voter. At that point Maine was notified of her move and had the responsibility to remove her name from driving, voting and all other residency information. Think for a minute how a family is affected when one of the partners has to move out of the house to help with a family member in need. Her children followed her and all had Florida residency and had the right to go to florida schools as legal residents. In the meantime, Mr. Lepage has to continue his usual responsibillities and take over those of his wife who is no longer home while taking care of her mother. How easy not to notice that the State of Maine and the Taxing department in charge of assessing and taxing his home did not do their job? The State and City have to shoulder most of the fault here. His other so called gaffes can be just as easily excused; when he made the statement of telling Mr. Obama where to go, he was not talking or addressing a group of Obama admirers, he was addressing his constituents. In this election and all elections, take a close look at the mud slingers as they know they are losing (probably deserve to) and use this low tactic to discredit their oponents While there are many candidates for the position of Governor, in reality the race will narrow to two, Mr. Lepage and Ms. Mitchell. She has been in the Maine Legislature for more years than many have been around; what has she and her allies accomplished? Do you really want more of the same? Look where Maine ranks in education, taxes, unemployment, income etc. She has been at the forefront of the ruling party in Maine; what you have is a result of what she stands for and if elected, what you have is what you will continue to have.

On the Obama quote, we have to remember the target audience and realize it was aimed at them, not the press that will do anything to sell their wares. This race, unfortunately like most political races, is between the two major party candidates. Mr. Lepage is a fresh voice on the political scene and could change things in some ways in Augusta. Ms. Libby, on the other hand, will be a continuing slide down for this State. She has been in State politics for quite a few years and I doubt that this tiger (tigress) can change her stripes. Maine is at the bottom of economic success in this country and a vote for Ms. Mitchell is certainly a vote to continue the slide to the bottom.

Besides tariffs the American people have got to realize the dangers of Chinese goods. When a people think so little of human safety that they poisoned their own children's milk formula with plastics, what do you think their feelings are toward our safety when they produce goods for us. Think of that when you plug in that "made in China" appliance you just bought.

Mr. Lepage did show impatience with the reporters, but who among us would not with the way reporters hound public people on every detail they can. A famous Democrat, the late President Truman, was known to occasionally speak his mind. This is not a detriment. Unfortunately American politics and the media have gotten meaner over the years to where many of us ignore or overlook these stories. Hound a person with the same miserable questions, after they have been answered once, and eventually they will lash at you. This is human nature. To all of you who want to paint Mr. Lepage and the Republican party badly, just think back a few months and remember how many "good" Democrats that Mr. Obama had difficulties appointing to various offices because they conveniently forgot to pay taxes.

Let us hold our tongues until the answer comes out. Maybe the Lepage family did goof here or maybe in good faith they felt that the Maine home was his home and deserved the tax credit while the Florida house was in her name and she WAS there taking care of a sick parent thus she was residing in Florida. This only serves to bring up the unfairness of taxes in that because a person or family has more than one home they are treated differently. If you look honestly at where the State of Maine is economically you will realize that it needs to change and change for the better. Leave here and travel this great country and you will see how other States are doing as compared to here. Look at the taxes people pay in other States as compared to here and how those States are growing financially. The taxes citizens pay here are too high and the services received are too low. My question is why? The same mentality has prevailed for over 50 years at the State house and it is time for a change. Change must come not only to the Governor's position, but also in both chambers and also down the line in the various State offices and bureaus.

The Somalian communuiuty could help itself assimilate by not dressing in such a way as they do, esp. the women. Just the way they stand out refusing to accept the norms of this Nation's dress code make them look as if they do not accept us; it's "in your face" type of behavior. I don't mind their using their language among themselves, but when working in serving the public they have to make a greater effort to learn English. While we should accept them as newcomers, they also have to accept the ways of the country that THEY chose to come to. They cannot expect to make America into another Somalia as they chose to leave their home turf for better.

We would all be better off if we limited the size and activities of our legislatures. First thing should be a limit on how many bills that can be introduced by any legislator, then do limit their pay to reflect the fact that this is truly public service and not job replacement, limit their time in office, and make them pay their own way to get elected, i.e. do away with public financing where taxpayers get to foot the bill for anyone to run for office. Public financing may have good intentions, but the practical outcome is not that great as the candidates are not responsible to anyone and while this sounds great it has not proven to be so great.

I am amazed no one picked up on Ksandra's comments; we have so many running for office that the law of supply and demand tells me we should cut the pay and BENEFITS we citizens give to our elected officials. It is high time they learn to live as we do. As far as the unemployed, after so long of not working are they interested in working or are they just enjoying early retirement? Maybe it is not the dream job people are looking for, but they have to go with changes in life. If your trade is making buggy whips, realize this job is not in great demand and learn to do another job.

You would think that the elected leaders would be intelligent enough to not spend money until they have it. But then again, why should they be worried as the same people (party) has been in control since Ed Muskie took over in the 50's. Then people wonder why the State is in such poor shape.

Are any of these projects contemplated to be built with private financing, or are they only to be built with taxpayers picking up the tab via subsidies? In an area with an overabundance of VACANT apartments surely these developers cannot seriously expect to get government assistance of any type, or do they? A quick look at the classifieds in today's or any edition of the Sun Journal should convince anyone that there is no need for additional housing in the twin cities. Maybe tenants do need help in paying their rent, but that is not a reason to create more housing. The local governments should be looking at ways to help these tenants find ways to afford their housing either by getting more rental assistance for them or by making the twin cities more attractive to prospective employers bringing in well paying employment. To create new subsidised apartments that the owners of the current housing stock cannot possibly compete with is a waste of taxpayer monies and creates a future problem for the cities. When owners cannot rent their units they cannot generate enough funds to maintain them and eventually walk away from them. We are all then left holding the proverbial bag as these deserted buildings become eyesores, magnets for derelicts, and fire hazards. No one can afford to build or convert these units without subsidies and reent them in the $500 TO $900 per month range; it is physically impossible to do. The Sun Journal should send out a reporter to City Hall in both Lewisotn and Auburn and ask them how these projects are to be funded, what impact these projects will have on existing housing and on the tax base of the Cities.

Unfortunately for the Republican party the Tea Party folks are extremists; this may make the members of the party happy, but will they be able to attract the Independents and conservative Democrats? Republican leaders should take a close and hard look at the last Connecticut Senatorial election and see how the extremist Democrat bumped out Senator Lieberman in the primary there, but lost to the same Senator Lieberman who ran as an Independent in the Fall election. Elections are not won by extremists, but by mainstream politicians who can sense the will of the majority.

Tron does show his intellect. Hopefully we as a nation will get over this, expect BP to pay for the cost of correcting this and learn something from it. Certainly we can expect the energy department to lay out codes for drilling for oil and enforce them. We need to continue drilling and it can be done safely. We do not need a whole set of complicated rules, but common sense ones that will work. We also need inspectors who will open their eyes and enforce the regs. Too many code enforcers only act when a complaint is filed or a situation like this develops. They should be out in the field investigating what is going on.

This man was asking for trouble and is most fortunate to be alive. It was most obvious that his group intnded to inflict as much damage to the Israelis as possible and did not care what they did to the Israeli soldiers. He should be condemned for participating in this with a group of terrorists. The United States government should be involved in this and considertaking his passport away from him. Hopefully the army will not be better prepared to deal with the new group of terrorists trying to go through the blockade.Israel is a strong but fair country granting freedom to its citizens; can Hamas say the same? Can any of the Arabnations say they grant even religious freedom to its citizens?

Very poor choice of news reporting by the Sun Journal.

Augusta politicians have tken the voters of Maine fo fools for ages and maybe they are not wrong as the same politicians get returned to the legislature every election and the same type (tax & spend) politician gets elected as governor. Until voters wake up and smell the roses and initiate change things will not change. I love Maine, but can no longer afford to be a part of it.

Funny that stations will sell through more expensive inventory and buy cheaper gas to pass on lower price, but when wholesale goes up price increases immediately because replacement will cost more. Somethingis not right here.

I feel sorry for armymom; that poor lady needs help; even downtown  Portland is not that bad. As far as the boob lady, she is just an immature school child looking for atttention.

Surely this immature 22 year old student will come to regret this childish behavior. What is she really protesting? What she is doing is not illegal, and she is aware of this; she can protest human nature, but there are certain things that even her childish tantrums cannot change. Unfortunately even though she may not list this activity on her resume, with a simple Google search this will follow her for a long time.

Unfortunately this is not exactly the way things are. While we all pay for snow removal through taxes, we all benefit from it. Roads are paid for by  road taxes levied  on our fuel and registration fees. If more public transportation is warranted and/or wanted, the busses etc. should be generating the funds needed to fund such services. In other words, if you want public transportation, pay for it and do not ask others to pay for you.

Excellent post georgie anna! Tenants should take the time to check their prospective landlords the same as a responsible landlord should check out prospective tenants. Through friends and acquaintances it should be easy to know who the problem landlords are; a quick check with the code enforcement office should also help in knowing if there have been problems with a landlord and housing unit. As a former landlord it seems every one knew who the problem landlords were and it works to a tenant's disadvantage in looking for housing when their history  includes living in undesirable landlord's buildings. Just like in any other situation looking for housing involves making responsible choices and doing your homework.

Certainly this has a stench to it. This should be investigated by a prosecutor and if jail time is warranted, jail time should be applied. Politics as a whole stinks right now and it is time for reform. Hopefully we will see a change of leadership at National, State and local level soon. We have the vote and should exercise it in a meaningful way. Look at half if not more of our politicians and you see many inept people who could not earn an honest dollar if they were not elected to public service.

An excellent article "quicknotes". This is an economic war with the intent to defeat us. Not only is China hitting on us, but look at Japan which has strict limitations on foreign (us) companies. Will the government ever have the courage to help us? I doubt it. One of the first thing we as a nation can do is to individually stop buying these foreign goods. Start by boycotting Chinese goods. How can you trust a country that sent us that rotten sheetrock, put plastic in their own children's formula milk, sends us toys with lead paint etc.? The next thing to avoid are Japanese cars; Toyota certainly is proving that the quality of Japanese cars is/was a myth. Lastly, as Americans we have to realize it is a small world we are competing in and start to accept that we need to lower our expectations for higher and higher wages. This is hard to accept, but unfortunately if the citizens of other countries can produce a widget for so many dollars, we must also do the same. Manufacturers have to get the best and most profitable equipment and workers from the entry folks to the CEO have to be responsible in their wage demands. Only then will we see "Made in USA" on what we buy and the country will be prosperous again.

The banks have or are paying back the government and the government was charging the banks quite a bit for the money it loaned them; much more than any one of us can get from any CD. The auto makers did not get a loan, they were bought out! The Canadian and American governments along with the unions own them. People who bought houses and lied about their income etc. is nothing  new; this same thing happenned a few years ago in the S&L debacle. If they lied (even if bankers were aware), they have no claim to having ordinary citizens bail them  out. Let the homeowners pay the price for lieing and let the banks pay the price for not performing due diligence here. It is high time we stop rewarding folks for being foolish in their actions. If we do help these folks with delinquent mortgages there has to be some string attached to the help so the government (taxpayers) get their just due for the help. There are many ways this can be done and certainly some one can figure a way out of this. As far as the banks (and all of American companies) Congress should look into a way to force these public companies to have meaningful elections and empower the stockholders to vote out those directors who do not perform as expected. As the situation now stands the directors are no more than foxes guarding the hen house.

You all may knock Nell, but we all have to take personal responsibility for ourselves and not blame others for our problems and shortcomings. Can Doctors do something for him now? Only doctors can answer this, but nothing here happenned overnight. He could see it happenning and chose to ignore it.

If the busses are to continue they have to be able to support themselves. I would also question how the figure of 3,000 families without cars was arrived at. Are one person families in assisted living or biarding houses (that provide transportation) counted? Regardless, public transportation should support itself or elsse there is no need of it.

I do not see how a written contract can be changed. These people were promised something as part of their contract and they honored their part of the contracct; it is now up to the county to honor its part. Why citizens elected and  re-elected people who were giving such benefits is beyond reason, but one gets what one votes for in this case. It is time for citizens of Maine (and many other States) to start paying attention to who they vote for and demand that their elected representatives serve them properly.

The man may not be qualified for the work he is hired to perform and probably not worth the salary (at taxpayers expense), but he is worth gold  to the politicians  that hired him. We should keep this wise use of taxpayer monies when  it is time to vote. Unfortunately the same politicianss are probably correct in thinking voters are too stupid to remember such things. While Democrats are responsible  for this, Republicans are just as guilty. We the voters have to hold our  politicians to higher standards and refuse to vote for the likes  of Mr. Baldacci and Mr. Richardson.

Mr. Stone is certainly not an optimist. It is time for voters in Maine to wake up and smell the roses, though I doubt they will. The Democrats have controlled the State since Ed Muskie was elected Governor and here you are. Not to point to harshly at  the Democrats as  Republicans have hardly been conservative. You need more common sense in Augusta like what former Independent Governor James Longley demonstrated. Imagine what would happen  if both houses and the governor's position were filled by thoughtful people such as Mr. Longley! If any of you travel out of the area to parts of this country that are alive and well, find out why and bring common sense to Maine. The State needs to live within its means and make business feel welcome and taxes need to come down.

So much for Michaud being a Blue Dog; his true color showed up here. Now, lets pay taxes etc. for 4 years and see how this bill really helps us.

Unfortunately we do not know what is in the bill and if you look at the sheer size of the bill (# of pages) very few people know. If a family of 4 making up to $88,000 annually is subsidized, that is $1,692.31 per week, this is foolish. Not too many families in town make that kind of money. If we are all subsidized, where will that money come from, but from other taxes imposed on us. Forget taxing the RICH as they have their fancy accountants and are protected by lobbyists and do not pay that much in taxes.

The major problem with this bill and why the American people are opposed to it is the sneaky way it was developed by the Democrats. Pelosi & Reid promised everything to everyone to get their vote. If we would not get the raw end of this deal it would have been a riot to watch those two in action. Yes, there are many good things in this bill, but look out for the special interests things in this bill. If we are lucky the bill will die in the next seven days and hopefully a new bill will be drafted but written openly and simply to protect us. If we cannot get total reform address the main objectives and get the rest another time. We must remember that every action has a re-action and if the whole system is rewritten it will be harder to correct the mistakes than if we take smaller steps.

Don't tinker with the right to be armed. If you look at our neighbor to the South (Mexico) where private citizens are prohibited from owning a gun you will see the error of your thinking. Personally I feel safer where private citizens are armed and the criminals don't know who  is armed.

Nice to pass all kinds of new laws as this makes citizens think that Legislators are actually working, but how is this going to be enforced? How can anyone tell if wood is from less than 50 miles from an area or if its been brought in from out of State? Does this mean if you come from more than 50 miles from fire site you have to be using those green little slabs that the campgrounds charge an arm and a leg for? Unfortunately those bugs will get here sooner or later. Just another way for the government to control us.

This certainly signals that Lewiston is not a City to invest in for private landlords. This is only one more nail in the coffin of privately financed rental housing. Citizens of Lewiston had best be prepared to pay high taxes to the City, Federal, and State to make up for these low rents. With the excess amount of empty apartments in Lewiston how can anyone ratioanlize the need for more units?

Just another way for the political favorites to make money by being subsidized with taxpayer (our $$$) generated funds. If investors are ready to put them up without any guarantees it is fine, but would they be????

25 cents per hour is not a big deal, but when you look at all union contracts mandating a raise for members when minimum wage goes up, this can be a stealth way to drive up labor costs way beyond minimum wage increases for business and governments (taxpayers). The legislators had best look into the implications of this closely before voting on it. .

Ken Curtis, a former governor of Maine, (high tax State) is now a resident of Florida (lower tax State) and was a Democrat as Governor. I doubt if he is a Republican now. Maybe Democrats  only like to tax others and hate to pay taxes themselves. Just look at how many people President Obama could not have on his team as they forgot to pay taxes e.g. former Sen. Daschle and others.

This thing is mostly political; why does Brunswick area have free use of interstate to Portland and L/A has to pay to do same? Same thing with this rail plan. Look at the party in power at all levels; Lewiston is a democratic  stronghold, the Lewiston vote is needed to be elected as a Democrat in Maine yet you are passed over when the political pork is passed out. When will folks in Lewiston learn to bargain hard for their vote?

While I enjoy reading the comments, it would benice if you also published the article so we can read it.

Mr. Jenkin's record in the State Senate was very Liberal. Maine needs and deserves a more Conservative stance in the Legislature. Your taxes are high, your jobs creation is low, your business climate is not conducive to growth. Maine needs a change in leadership from top to bottom. Mr. Jenkins would just be a continuation on the road to ruin.

Hopefully AT&T or one of other big companies will buy them out and get them out of picture. They were never a cooperative company and the PUC must have known that. To allow them to grow so big in such a short period was foolish.

The taxpayers got quite a nice return on their investment. No one has been able to find a CD that pays anywhere near the interest paid to the government in quite a while. Also, while no one sheds a tear for the stockholders, they are the ones who have lost the most as the value of their investments in these banks has plummetted. The unfortunate thing in all of this is that we the public have no say in the management of these companies as we invest in them either through our 401k's, mutual funds, or direct ownership of stocks. While the government has made a lot of noise on this no rule has yet been enacted to give shareholders a meaningful voice on elections of directors. Directors and corporate officers have enough clout through ownership of phantom shares that they control the outcome of elections. Even with major stockholders lobbying for major changes at the last BofA election all they were capable of accomplishing was the ouster of Mr. Lewis as chairman of the board.

As has been mentonedin previous posts this would be excellent for Lewiston. Just be careful who is approvedas a developer. You only get one "first shot" at thisand it is your best shot.

While the two are not very conservative, I share Bob Stone's comment that they are more conservative than what the Democrats offer against them; in short, they are/were the lesser of two evils which is what most elections come down to. Maine Republicans need to find and support conservatives to run for the two House of Representative seats, esp. the Southern one. Mike Michaud is to the Democrats what Snow & Collins are to their party to some degree. If we can win both House seats, we can then progress to the Senate. Also, the Republican party should run more candidates for State offices. It is time for the Party to take the pulse of this State's citizens and offer candidates in tune with what the voters want. At present voters may not be inclined to vote for strict conservatives so maybe a more moderate stance would be the one to follow. Either way, Mainers must be offerred a more conservative slate than what is now serving (?) the State. Maine cannot continue to be anti-business and pro high taxes and succeed.

This editorial hits the nail on the head; government predictions are not very accurate, and Medicare is severely underfunded and in no way can Medicare survive a $400 BILLION dollars cut. I cannot imagine how our legislative leaders think, or if they even think, when they try to come up with legislation to overhaul the health care system as they envision. The funds are not there to accomplish what they would like to. The proposed legislation is so large that few Senators and Representatives will take the time to familiarize themselves with the contents of the bills and analyze the potential effects of these bills and yet will vote on them because they are told to by a leadership that wants to be able to say they"did it" regardless of cost or effect. The leaders are pandering to every group and even trying to put in both pro-abortion and anti-abortion language and coverage in the bill. There are some things that cannot be done and this bill is attempting to do too much in too little time regardless of consequences. By the time we find out about the ill effects of this bill it will be too late. To do this properly would take time and time must be taken to think this thru. This is our National health and well being. While our current system is expensive, no one needing care is now put out at the door and refused care. It is time for Congress to sit down and work out a thorough bill regardless of time and party affiliation. Both parties have to sit together and first analyze the problems with our system and decide how to fix those problems and to prioritize the problems fixing those in greatest need first. We will be better off taking the time to do this piecemeal and thinking of the possible repercussions of each "fix" as we implement them. Continuing as Congress is presently doing will result in the failure of this bill and we will all be the worst for it. Reforms are needed, but meaningful and well thought out reforms are what we need.

We would definitely get a better plan if the Republicans could participate, but this bill came out of a closed conference room. The bill where Senator Snowe participated is not the bill on the agenda. We could use some health care reform, but this is not the manner to carry it out. Funny thing about health care reform is that people are all for it until they find out they will have to pay for others and not other way around. If someone else pays its good, but if you have to pay it is no longer good. Look at some of blatant facts, already Medicare is robbed of million of dollars to pay for this; Medicare is insolvent as it is, robbing it will definitely not help it. This past week we read where miraculously accepted medical tests as mammograms and pap smear tests are no longer needed as often. Is this how we will finance and bring about health reform. The way things look now one of the items that insurance should cover is whatever we choose to have done can be out of the country as that is probably how we will have to get our medical care. I only hope that one thing in the health care bill is THE BILL WILL BE FOR EVERYONE INCLUDING PRESIDENT, SENATORS, AND REPRESENTATIVES. DOES ANYONE REALLY THINK IT WILL BE SO?????

I must agree with and congratulate the following three especially for saying it like it is: Concernredinpineetree, Jami, and Bumble. Unfortunately the Muslim population will have to accept the unfortunate fact that in this country we are all treated alike. If they want special rules, such as allowing prayer in school, they will have to provide their own schools as the Catholic and Christian denominations do. If they want to pray at work, work for a company that allows it.

To our School administrators, congratulation for standing up to this special interest group; especially to the one who terminated the phone conversation. To our politicians, stand up for America.

Certainly these people left their homelands for a reason; they came here of their own free will and must live according to our laws and customs.

Some people can't be pleased; the council acted correctly in including the future councilors at that meeting. While the current councilors have the rersponsibility to hire the new manager it is good that they include the future councilors in the interviews and discussion of the candidates.

If you have any love for Camp Gustin join the Facebook group mentioned in the article and support them. Most troops do not report all visits to BSA HQ in Portland, but many area troops use Gustin for either a weekend overnight visit or a day visit by their troops. This is very important for the scout's development. A trip to Gustin from L-A is a 30minute trip while a trip to other larger camps is over an hour each way. Gustin is also viewed as an informal camp while the others are more regimented. My scouting leadership days are from many years ago, but the scouting adventure continues through the ages and camps as this one must be preserved.

LL interested in Gustin should join the facebook group dedicated to its preservation. Hopefully Gustin will stay and the current group managing BSA locally will change.

Could this be another case of something to take our minds off the country's problems?

Sounds good, but wasn't Mr. Baldacci aware that this had been previously rejected by voters recently? Why did he sign the bill if he claims to respect the will of the citizens? Seems more of a politician's comments to me. Makes one wonder why trust in politicians is at an all time low.

Thank you Representative Michaud for showing concern for the people of Maine. There are many potential problems with the bill as cuts in Medicare and shifting of expenses to the States via Medicaid costs. Ms. Pelosi and cohorts appear to be more interested in getting any bill through than thinking the problem through and getting the proper solution out. We should be happy that Representative Michaud is thinking of the problems this bill can create. Our Northern neighbors in Quebec have already experienced the problems of a public insurance and sued their government (successfully) for the right to have private insurance as we enjoy. Rather than trying to fix all problems Congress should look at the health care needs of the countrry and fix them in steps. Too many fixes at once will upset the system and the unexpected consequences will be worst than the original problems we now face. Realize we have the best health care system in the world, no one is denied care when they go to hospital, regardless of ability to pay, and as much as we are given vague promises on this new plan, no one gives us specifics yet.

The people of Maine have spoken, and we must all accept their vote. If the people want this to be the final time they have to vote on this, they had best research who voted for it in the Legislature and vote them out of office. This is not the first time the question has been put to a vote, and until the gay community gets what it wants it will not be the last unless the people act and vote the supporters of this legislation out of office. Those people that worked so hard to defeat this legislation should get a list of who voted for this in the Legislature and publicise it next year at voting time. It is high time that the citizens of Maine hold their elected officials accountable for their voting record. Mainers as a whole are a conservative thinking group, and their elected representatives must be made to realize this.

Helping people in need is our duty and obloigation. Unfortunately we do not always have the resources and time to check and see if the person requesting help is truly in need or a con artist. As mentioned in other letters if this person can stand and hold a sign for hours on end he can find work in construction doing same. I consider such beggars con artists. This is why we have groups such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, our churches, and the local government welfare office as well as the disability insurance. The fact he has been denied disability may well mean he is not really disabled. $30 in 20 minutes and tax free doesn't sound all bad an income for the work expanded here. It is unfortunate though because that money could be put to better use helping the truly needy. Next time a panhandler is seen, this story should come to mind. Panhandling is not a profession we should want to encourage.

Again, the problem here is that the only way these developers will build these turbines is with public dollar subsidies; they know the projects are not viable on their own. This is not new technology; wind turbines have been here for years, long enough for these same developers to realize they are not profitable or viable on their own. I, for one, am tired of these developers saying how beneficial their projects are yet do not want to risk their funds to build them. Unless these developers want to build these on their own, lets tell them to pack their bags and leave.

We should wait for all the facts to be in before rushing to judgement here. Maybe there is more to the company's position than what is reported here. We should also accept the fact that like an employee has the right to quit his or her job, the company also has the right to terminate employment. No one is owed their job. Before retiring I always accepted the fact that my employer had the right to terminate my employment for whatever reason they chose. I also had the same right to move on if not satisfied with them. One of the major problems in this country is that mostly through union negotiations weak management has given up this right and we are faced with lousy service from too many people who are difficult to fire.

Maine citizens should be alarmed at the State's ranking in comparison to other States. This negative reputation discourages companies from establishing in this State with good paying jobs. This is not a liberal vs conservative situation, but a real life problem for the citizens of the State. All need good paying jobs in order to enjoy life. Citizens of Maine must insist that their leaders provide a welcoming atmosphere to corporations looking for a place to expand to and call home. With high taxes and difficult business laws and regulations it is easier for businesses to look elsewhere. Tabor could be an indication that the citizens of the State want change. If it fails, the citizens will have spoken and the State's leaders can continue to tax you and make Maine a place where business does not feel invited or welcome.

I think it is time for Maine to enter today's world. Other States do not even have an excise tax. Wonder why you see so many Florida plates in Maine? Could it be that Florida only charges something like $35.00 to register a car total for a year? And oh yes, no vehicle inspections at another $12 or so plus the inconvenience; and what do most inspection stations check? Maine has to do away completely with excise taxes on all vehicles, boats etc., do away with its income tax, and add a few percentage points to its sales tax giving the State 6%, the county a few cents, and the Cities a small amount. This could really be revenue neutral, would have visitors pay their fair share, and would probably help folks decide to remain Maine residents when they move South for the winter thus Maine would benefit in having more population when Federal grants are passed out. Maybe Florida resident Mr. Ken Curtis could address the Legislature on this.

While not pertinent to this article, I must agree that Seniors are not being treated properly by Social Security. To say there is no inflation is a lie. Look at anything you buy except gas for your car and even that wil shortly be going up in price. The elderlies should vote for change in Washington. If you think your representatives and senators care, think and ask if they have done anything to right this wrong.

REMEMBER, inflation robs us all and while the Democrats say the millionaires shoud be taxed to pay for health care, remember that in a few years a million will only buy what $100,000 buys today. We will all be millionaires shortly, but it will not make us any richer. This is the dirty trick politicians like to play on us. In the late 1950's and early 1960's if a person earned $100/week, that person was well off;now it takes $1,000/week to be in same position. This will continue so don't think the rich will pay your way as it won't happen. Government insurance will prove to be a two edge sword and will affect the American health care system in ways we cannot imagine at this point. Great care must be taken in reforms and no one, including the President and the heads of Congress, can be allowed to rush this through.

Regardless of praise for DHS etc. this is a shameful figure. High welfare use is not and should not be considered as an honor to the state. Where has the work ethic gone? Welfare usage is too accepted by the general public and is seen as an entitlement by too many. Cut welfare elegibility except to the totally disabled and make those who can find a job. Tough love would get people out of welfare and into creative employment. Society can give a short term boost to people to get them going, but has to be limited. Unless someone is totally disabled there should be a short time limit as to how long they can be on welfare. A much more constructive article would be on which States have lowest welfare rates and how do they accomplish this. Certainly this statistic of second highest welfare use is not what makes a good company want to locate here.

I agree with Ginger1. This must be public information and SJ owes it to its readers to publish the facts. Time will tell if the lawyer was in wrong, but the red flag should go up to warn others.

Companies that offer insurance have an advantage in attracting and keeping good employees and this must be continued. As far as affordability, governments have an obligation here to attract good paying industry. (Maine is lacking in this regard. High taxes are not an incentive for companies to move or grow here.) Assuming a person has always had insurance, they should be guaranteed to maintain insurance with no penalties for their current health. Those who choose to not buy insurance and then decide to should have to live with fact they will have to pay a premium for pre-existing conditions. No one should expect society in general to pay for their insurance. This is our personal responsibility to provide for us and our families. The last thing we need, want, and can a fford is a government run plan. Doctors and health care providers go to school for a long time, have impossible schedules, are really on call 24/7 and deserve to earn a high income to reward them for this. A government plan would usually stipulate what will be paid to these providers and would discourage them from woking like they do. No one wants their doctors on an 8 to 4 schedule. Think about it, if you need emergency surgery, you want the surgeon tobe there NOW. Insurance should be available across State lines for sure.

I tend to agree with the old philosopher. Mr. Obama is a quick change artist. If he is as intelligent as I feel he is, he will realize that the American people do not approve of what has been offerred as different approaches to a health care overhaul and he will back down and start examining the system anew and list its shortcomings and problems and instead of trying to change all at once will attack the problems individually. Cost of prescription drugs are horrendous in this country especially when you factor in cost of doctor's appointment to get prescription; how many drugs can be taken off prescription status? Not being to buy insurance for pre-existing conditions is a problem, how can it be solved, is it by an assigned risk pool? Continuing coverage after a health problem and having the ability to switch insurance company is a problem that should beeasily solved. If we tackle each separately, no problem is insurmountable, but taken together they may be impossible to solve to the majority's satisfaction.

If it can't be rented as a B&B what makes them think they can sell it as condos. The history of the place will not change. Of course the profit potential is much greater and faster as condos.

Thank God she is not Kennedy. For me Chappaquidic will always be the place where the real Kennedy showed himself. Let us hope that Senator Snowe is smart enough to realize the limited medical provider system we have and before adding 50 million (or whatever the true figure of uninsured is) will make provisions to prepare this system for the masses.

These "shows" with pre-screened participants are an insult to the citizens of this country. Iam leery of the government promising me the stars and the moon, but not specifying what they want to offer us, nor what this will cost, and who will pay for it. To say the rich will is just baiting us with falsehoods as the rich will be smart enough and have enough lobbyists to make sure they don't pay. There is also a lot of lobbying $$$$ after this bill. We have aa great system as we are that could be tweaked to cover those that are not covered. Do we want the government to force us to buy insurance? Do we want the government to tax us to support a government plan? Remember this is the government that can't run a competitive postal service! Just make certain insurance is available at a price fair to both the industry and its clients to all. Make those who don't have insurance yet can afford it pay for their care. Don't goofup a system that has developed over the years. Major changes will have many major consequences.

If teachers think they are underpaid they should go out and look for other work. If they are correct in their assesment of their worth they will be happier elsewhere. The powers that be have a right to say what they feel the jobs they have to offer are worth. If they are wrong then they will not have any teachers. It may be messy for a few months, but at some point things will straighten out. Unions are ruining this country with their demands. Look at our industries---where are the textile mills, shoe shops, paper mills, etc. The car manufacturers that are successful in this country are the foreign car manufacturers who operate without unions.

Our Federal leaders may be on a government plan, but they will not consent to be on the same tier as they are willing to put us on. Let insurance be provided by private companies, mandate that they take all applicants, allow them to charge more for pre-existing conditions if a person is uninsured, mandate that all buy insurance with penalties if they don't. This way all will contribute their fair share, and the government won't be stuck with another drain on taxpayer dollars. They can't manage social security, nor medicare, how can we expect them to manage more. Also, before voting on a plan, let the public know what that plan will be so we can intelligently write our leaders in Washington.

How long will the Church leaders keep their heads in the sand? When will they open up the priesthood to women and married men? Unfortunately the leaders seem more interested in maintaining their status quo and think they can dictate to the masses and continue their lavish lifestyle and keep protecting their pedophile members. Life cannot continue as it has been and unless the leaders of the Church realize this the faith is doomed.

This council (mayor included) does not seem to be acting in a professonal manner. I agree that to name a minor to this committee is not in the best interest of the City; there is a need for life experience here. That being said, the City charter is what should govern the naming of appointees. If the mayor is correct so be it; anyone not happy with this should amend the charter. Unfortunately we have grown ups acting in a very childish manner here. This is not anything new in local politics and is not limited to Lewiston. Hopefully some day this will stop and Lewiston can have a council to be proud of. It also looks like the council is trying to shield itself from criticism in the process of reviewing candidates and their qualifications. They should not do this; they are elected to make decisions for the City. They decided to terminate the previous manager and they have the responsibility to choose the new replacement. The new manager should also be willing to take the job serving at the pleasure of the council without a "golden parachute". A manager's job is tenuous at best and is known to be a very political position. Those that choose this career should be willing to live with it's conditions.

Name calling will not settle anything. The council is always elected to do the work required of it. If they do not act properly the voters will get them out. Seems that is what happenned last time around to the council that gave Mr. Bennett that contract. Hopefully the council will find someone qualified to lead Lewiston and will be able to do it at a more reasonable cost than the last administrator. We are still in hard financial times and there must be someone qualified out there who is willing to work for a more reasonable pay than Mr. Bennett was paid and probably with less fringe benefits.

This and other violence should wake up the citizens and authorities in this country that it is time to take a new look at the drug situation; it is not like we are inventing a new wheel here as we had the same experience with demon rum less than 100 years ago. If the government would legalize them and start government run stores as they did with alcohol at least the problem would be regulated, the incentive to sell it on the street would be gone due to lack of sufficient profits, and the various derivatives would not appear on the market. Were it not for legalization how strong (alcohol content) do you think beer and wines would be? With State controls sales to minors would be slowed down considerable, derivatives would be limited, the jails might actually have lower occupancies, and instead of spending a fortune on drug control, we could make a profit on it.

Owners and/or managers must be notiified when power is shut off in a unit of a multi-unit. Protecting the safety of other tenants must take precedence over that tenants privacy. The PUC must wake up to this fact and issue an immediate order to do so. Lives and personal safety are at stake here and it is not time to dawdle. Same goes for condominiams.

Universal health care sounds good, but no timetable or deadline should be put on it. The first thing that should be done is make insurance available to all at a fair price. By fair price we have to mean one that pays for the risk the insurer takes. For those with pre-existing conditions this means a higher premium. The insurance companies have to be regulated also so they charge a fair price and make a FAIR profit. The actions of the present administration scare me because they want to ram this thing through without thinking it through and expect our representatives in Congress to vote on it by taking the committee head's word for what is in the plan. There is BIG money beind this thing from the pharmaceutical induwstry who stands to make a windfall from new prescriptions and every other group who stands to make more money if they are covered under it. No one seems to be thinking or concerned about we the citizens who will have to pay for this fiasco and be dependent on it for care. Remember how all the simplification acts to the income tax codes have helped us file our taxes; they are so simple to do now that most of us have to hire a preparer to do them! Do you want the same people taking care of your health needs?

The perks aren't working. To listen to a committee report is dangerous, especially in the political arena. I expect my congress people to spend the time to be totally familiar with these bills they vote on. Unfortunately big money lobbyists are writing and contributing to these bills and are slanting them to their advantage.A big advantage to having Congress given the same they want to give us would certainly give them the reason they need to protect our interests. If we get uniersalinsurance available to all we do not need any special system such as VA or the Congressional special care. Thiswould saveus the duplication of management we have to pay for.

Certainly a local person who is familiar with Lewiston and its past would be fantastic. We must remember that one of the best Administrator Lewiston will ever have the pleasure of having at its service was Mr. Robert Mulready who was from out of State. Those people in charge of hiring the new administrator should review Mr. Mulready's way of doing things in the open with no hidden agenda and seek a person with his many attributes.

Maybe what we need is less government inteference instead of more. To tax the rich is smoke and mirror tactics as the rich never have nor will ever pay these taxes. Their lobbyists and accountants will find a way around them. Forcing citizens to carry insurance would help, but do we necessarrily want government to do this? Maybe the draconian measure of not providing care until one pays for it would work best. Those of us who are old enough to remember debtor's prisons remember that time in jail usually got the deadbeats to pay.

The unfortunate truth is that there are no easy answers, quick fixes, or magic bullets to this problem. Starting with taking most non-narcotic pharmaceuticals off the prescription only list and making them availble over the counter would bring those costs down to a reasonable level. Tort reform where doctors can make an informed decision without a battery of tests to back themselves up against potential lawsuits would help. Simpler insurance forms where doctors and hospitals would not need such a large staff to collect their dues from insurance companies would help. Giving the stockholders of companies the power to control their board of directors and the foolishly high bonus arrangements that these boards give out would certainly help.

The last thing we want is a government run plan. This is proved by every country that has one. Look at our neighbor to the North; why do you think the people of Quebec sued their government successfully to be able to bypass their so called "free" government insurance service and buy private insurance so they can enjoy what we take for granted.

Face it, those genuinely poor are now covered by Medicaid; the rest of us can and should buy insurance. Anthem has high deductible plans at affordable prices. All that is needed is a plan similar to an assigned risk plan for motorists that would guarantee acceptance to those with existing conditions.