For years, the federal Victims of Crime Act has funded programs across the country that provide support for victims of violent crime. However, due to congressional inaction, federal funding for states is expected to be drastically reduced. In the coming year, Maine is set to receive 60% less VOCA funding, leading to alarming potential consequences for victims and the organizations that support them.
Alex Lear
Staff Writer
Alex Lear is a lifelong Mainer who has spent 25 years in journalism -- the first 20 as a reporter for newspapers in Damariscotta and Falmouth, then as Opinions section editor for the Sun Journal and now a digital producer with the Maine Trust for Local News. His long-running “Learics” column won first place in the Maine Press Association’s 2023 Better Newspaper Contest. He and his wife Lauren are kept young by their 9-year-old daughter Alaina. Send feedback and suggestions to Alex.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Matthew Agren: Let’s make a positive reform in Maine Child Protective Services
The separation of CPS from the Department of Health and Human Services would shift the focus to prioritizing what is most important — our children. It is imperative that we improve our record of ensuring the well-being and welfare of all children in state custody from the moment they enter care.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Rich Lowry: The last time an unfit incumbent ran for re-election
At the beginning of his term, President Biden’s boosters, hopefully and absurdly, compared him to Franklin D. Roosevelt. But it may be in exhibiting the same reflexes as the legendary Democrat in 1944 that the comparison is most apt.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Austin Bay: The not-so-secret preludes to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine
A strong case can be made that Russia’s war to seize Ukraine began in 2004 with a covert attempt by Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin to subvert Ukraine’s election and install a pro-Moscow vassal.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Cal Thomas: Gospel on PBS lifts spirits
Hosted by Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., “Gospel” traces the history of gospel music, which has sustained African-Americans through toils and troubles. Gates, who has created and hosted programs examining the family history of prominent Black Americans and others, has created an uplifting program that will bless all but the hardest of hearts.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Clarence Page: Economic gloominess in spite of upbeat data also affects immigration debate
Donald Trump thunders about migrants “poisoning our nation’s blood.” Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently projected $7 trillion in added benefit to the U.S. economy over the coming decade thanks to the recent boost in immigration.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Jon St. Laurent: A ‘profile in cowardice’
Disgraced late Trump organization reprobate lawyer, swindler, and Donald Trump mentor Roy Cohn honed his mentee in the trenchant “dark arts” in the former’s early New York City real estate magnate years: the classic use of of lying, cheating and DARVO (deny, attack and reverse victim and offender). The student has since — like no […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
In rebuttal: Ray Cooley: Look at whole picture, stop blaming the gun
I write in response to a guest column by Dr. Joe Anderson (“Public health response to gun violence demands reflection, bold action,” Feb. 11). The Lewiston mass shooting is of concern to everyone, and we all hope and pray there is never a repeat. There were safeguards in place, which could have prevented this horrific […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Bob Neal: The Countryman: Accepting what we don’t understand
No one gets hurt when two people of the same sex marry. Just as no one is hurt when two people of opposite sexes marry. But the way some people react, you’d think that two women in love down the street would destroy the neighborhood. I think that’s an overly emotional reaction to a reality we weren’t taught about when we were younger.