I appreciate the AP science writer’s article about allergy seasons getting longer due to the warming climate (“Climate change to make allergy season nastier,” March 16). It is disturbing to know that even with moderate cuts in our greenhouse gas emissions (less car exhaust, fewer coal power plants, more heat pumps perhaps) we will still […]
Alex Lear
A Maine native and Colby College graduate, Alex has been covering coastal communities since 2001. He lives in the Portland area with his wife Lauren, 4-year-old daughter Alaina, and 7-year-old bulldog Walter. He has released four CDs of original music and does occasional research work for Marvel Comics' collected editions.
Lynn Ouellette: Court confirmation hearings needed more respect
Respect. Speaking respectfully with another person without interruptions, raised voice, sarcastic comments, and badgering is easy and more productive. What should have been a respectful process in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s experience and credentials became a spectacle among some senators to challenge, to discredit, to belittle, to […]
Holly Lasagna: Sheats offers ‘extraordinary set of skills’ to state Senate
I am so pleased to write this letter in support of Bettyann Sheats’ candidacy for Senate District 20. Bettyann has admirably served her community in many ways. As a two-term state representative she was a thoughtful dedicated public servant who listened carefully to her constituents and considered all sides of an issue. She found common […]
Steve Fairbanks: ‘Let’s come together and put America first’
I ask all my American brothers and sisters: What happened to patriotism? Our forefathers fought and died to ensure our freedom, but today that’s far removed from the minds of so many Americans who fail to appreciate this sacrifice, thus weakening America with dissension from within. The tenets of a democracy are fragile, but both […]
Shawn Yardley: Support bill, protect Maine kids’ oral health
At Community Concepts we work with families who face significant barriers to getting basic services for their children, and we see first-hand how these barriers prevent children from getting dental care. There are few dental practices taking new MaineCare patients, and those that do are often so far away that getting children to dental checkups […]
Allison Long: ‘Appalled’ by senator’s statements on clean water bill
I’m appalled at the behavior of Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Senate District 18, during the Judiciary Committee work sessions on a bill intended to provide clean drinking water to the Passamaquoddy reservation at Sipayik. Clean drinking water is a human right. For more than 40 years, the Passamaquoddy at Sipayik, in Washington County, have been living […]
Marilyn Burgess: Putin doesn’t just want Ukraine
I wonder how long are we going to tolerate the Russian atrocities and expect the Ukrainians to “compromise.” If someone broke into a person’s house, killed their kids and burned their house, would they compromise? What is there to compromise? If the Ukrainians let the Russians off with everything they have done and let them […]
Froma Harrop: Consumer societies are clearly worth defending
Consumer societies are not weak because their people like road bikes, garage door openers and air fryers. The choice of goods that come in boxes rewires the society to be more flexible and eventually stronger in ways that can’t be touched.
Rich Lowry: Why Trump?
Republicans could have their pick of a variety of alternatives in 2024 who don’t personalize everything, who don’t create a haze of chaos around everything they do, and who don’t carry more baggage than the underbelly of an Airbus A380-800.