I recently returned from a shopping trip to Portland and started wondering about why I make this journey so frequently.

Why can’t Lewiston-Auburn get a Trader Joe’s? Why can’t Lewiston/Auburn get a Panera Bread? Why did Amtrak connect to Brunswick and not to Lewiston-Auburn? I travel on the Downeaster and I need to go to Portland to get onboard to continue on my way to Boston.

Isn’t Lewiston the second largest city in Maine? Lewiston and Auburn together are a very large community. Why are things not happening here? Why do we seem to never make the mark?

I do not want to travel on the Maine Turnpike all the time. I want to shop locally, in my hometown.

We have a great community and deserve some of these things. How can we make this happen?

Marsha Auster, Auburn