Cheers and jeers from around the news:
• Jeers to communication breakdowns. Just because relations are strained between Lewiston and Auburn,this shouldn’t mean all talks should cease. The Lewiston City Council’s reaction to discussions about a joint, two-city police chief was unfortunate and predictable.
All avenues for savings must be considered. Jim Bennett, the city’s administrator, was doing his due diligence in seeing if Auburn had interest. Glenn Aho, Auburn’s manager, was doing his by responding to the overture. What was wrong with this exchange?
Nothing, except some subsequent council saber-rattling. While L and A should stop talking about holistic joint services — because they have gone nowhere — targeted initiatives should still be considered. The goal is saving money.
Surely they can agree upon that.
• Cheers to Freudian slips. A radio report about the arrival ofF. Lee Bailey to help convicted killer Dennis Dechaine’s latest appeal reportedly swapped forenames and surnames to declare the famous attorney would assist “Dennis Bailey” with his case.
A funny moment, and not just because there are likely plenty of people who think the notable public relations maven from Livermore Falls must be guilty of something. But there might be a message in there, too. None of Dechaine’s myriad appeals have worked, so far.
So maybe it’s not another lawyer he needs, but some better PR.
• Cheers to compromise. This week, lawmakers agreed to scrap Sen. John Nutting’sproposed per-plastic-shopping-bag tax of 10 cents for now, to study the issue more closely in cooperation with retailers. We hope this effort yields some cooperative, collaborative ideas with vendors — and we avoid the tax.
A deposit on bags, similar to cans and bottles, to promote their collection and recycling is still, to us, the most sensible route. In the meantime, Massachusetts has recently announced a partnership with grocers and other vendors to get bags out of the marketplace and therefore out of the waste stream. That program bears watching in Maine, as this state’s process moves forward.
• Jeers to incongruity. Did it strike anyone else as odd that the Portland Police Department, amid serious budget troubles, can receive two free armored tanks from the federal government? It would seem that these developments would be at cross-purposes.
• Cheers to the kindness of the human spirit. The story from Turner, where a boy with a terrible peanut allergy has benefited from an outpouring of donations to purchase a specialized dog, enough so to allow a boy with a similar condition in Freeport to get closer to buying his own canine helper, was more than heartwarming.  It should be classified as a new cause of climate change.
editorialboard@sunjournal.com

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