We write to urge Norway residents to vote June 8 for both highly-qualified candidates on the ballot for the two open seats on the Norway Memorial Library Board of Trustees. Cynthia Reedy is running for re-election, and Jessie Shiers is running for a first term. As elected officials, trustees oversee the library budget, set library […]
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
Austin Bay: China’s bio-economic war on the world has begun to backfire
China’s communist dictators decided to wage bioeconomic warfare on the world. If Donald Trump were president, that decision would cost Beijing. With Slow Joe in charge? I’m not so sure. But the facts are coming out. And when they do, blowback is inevitable.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Larry Gilbert Sr.: U.S. needs to stop aiding ‘warmongers of Israel’
We need more than the thoughts and prayers the president offered for the grandmother of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is living under Israeli occupation. Tlaib was, in effect, denied her ability to visit her grandmother in Palestine because of the silencing conditions placed on her by the Israeli government. Thoughts and prayers don’t stop the […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Patrick Eisenhart: GOP lacks platform, suppresses voters
What am I missing? In the 2020 election, the Republican Party failed to put out a platform to help us all decide if we agreed with it or not. Nonetheless, 73 million Americans voted for Republican state legislators, thus putting them in full control over 23 states. Those states are now proposing and passing bills […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Joyce Bucciantini: LD 1622 a ‘win-win’ for Maine workers
Many of us grew up hearing the phrase, “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Yet for many Mainers, being able to save seems out of reach. LD 1622, “An Act to Promote Individual Retirement Savings through a Public-Private Partnership,” was approved by the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services with overwhelming and […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Froma Harrop: 2020 brought us startling, weird numbers
The country as a whole last year grew at its slowest pace since 1918 — by only 700,000 residents, or 0.2%. Some of that low count reflects deaths from COVID and a lower birthrate. The number of babies born in the U.S. hit a 4 million high in 2015 and has fallen every year since.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Crystal Ward: Water rate hike ‘drastic’ in trying times
At its May 17 meeting the Lewiston City Council approved a water rate increase of 23%, 7-0. This is a drastic increase in a very trying time. The only information provided to the public was a one-page blue sheet of paper from Public Works. Very little information was provided as to the great need for […]