On Jan. 30, the Sun Journal ran an article about the Maine Housing proposal to grant $1.4 million to open a warming shelter that would permit homeless residents to get warm. Although this proposal seems a step in the right direction, the state has a long way to go to adequately address Maine’s housing crisis. […]
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.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Bob Neal: The Countryman: Journalism 101 in late-night school
According to a study I saw a couple of years ago, when no reporter is sitting in on council, select board and planning meetings, local taxes rise between 1 and 5% in the first year. So, if your tax bill is $1,500 a year, your taxes would rise between $15 and $75 a year. It won’t take long for your tax increases to cost more than a subscription to a local paper.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Jenny Johnson: Casco Bay Trail Alliance offers safer cycling solution
The Maine Department of Transportation reports online annual statistics on motor vehicle crashes with bicycles, including those resulting in fatalities, serious injuries or no apparent injuries. The five-year average cyclist crashes resulting in serious injuries was 150.6 cyclists between 2019 and at the time of this letter. Additionally, an average of 1.6 fatalities resulted in […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Caitlin Humphries: LD 1359 offers compassion to juvenile lawbreakers
I’m writing to draw attention to a critical piece of legislation that is being proposed. Specifically, L.D. 1359, which is An Act to Provide an Opportunity for Resentencing Individuals Who Were Sentenced for Crimes Committed as Juveniles. If this bill is passed, the judicial system would be restricted from imposing a sentence of imprisonment on […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
In rebuttal: Roberta Schlechter: Electoral College bill has many problems
Rudolph Ziehm doesn’t like the Electoral College (“Popular vote bill ‘makes perfect sense to me’,” Jan. 25). That’s his right. But L.D. 1578 is riddled with technical problems, violates the Maine Constitution’s residency requirements for voter eligibility, is incompatible with ranked choice voting and would undermine Maine’s exceptional method of allocating electoral votes by congressional […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Gildace Arsenault: Lewiston administration should acknowledge its failures
Lewiston’s city administration has thus far failed to justify its recommendation to eliminate the sanitation/code enforcement officer, which entails housing as well as food service inspections. Furthermore, administration has not justified why it is not renewing its contract with the director of planning and code enforcement, as there is no supporting paper trail. Administration was […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
George Fogg: Lewiston shootings reflect people problem, not gun problem
The mass shooting last year in Lewiston has increased the call for removing guns from society. To the media and liberals, the quickest fix is remove all the guns or at least bar the so-called “assault weapons.” That is what all the government lackeys wish for, and they are dead wrong about it. As has […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Froma Harrop: Republicans turn themselves into the open borders party
Donald Trump has called on Republicans to kill a bipartisan deal that would give the president emergency powers to shut down the border when illegal crossings get out of hand. He’s thus helped President Joe Biden turn one of his political liabilities into a strength.