The town of Paris will have an upcoming opening for Select Board. After the recent decision by the current board to pass a resolution, peddled by a right-wing anti-mask group, it is clear the town needs change. Oxford High school chemistry teacher Walter Perry will be the voice of reason and normalcy this town needs. […]
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
Aurora Cobb, Robert Jensen: Male violence makes single-sex shelters a necessity
Single-sex shelters exist because of women’s need for refuge from men in a male-dominated society in which male violence against women is endemic. Women are raped, beaten, sexually harassed, bought and sold in prostitution, tortured, and all too often murdered by males. Because of the violence that is so routine in so many women’s lives, women have legitimate cause to fear all males, any males.
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Posted inLetters, Opinion
In rebuttal: Joseph Mailey: Crafts wrong about PRO Act
Dale Crafts’ April 23 column (“PRO Act is bad for Maine workers, infringes on privacy rights“) was a very well-written one-sided opinion. Perhaps one reason why lies in the answer to the question of “why is the PRO Act so important for today’s workers”? The PRO Act, or Protect our Right to Organize, is the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Dr. Florence Edwards: Tobacco industry uses menthol, mint, candy flavors to lure, hook Black, brown, LGBTQ youth
LD 1550, sponsored by Rep. Michele Meyer of Eliot, will finally end the sale of flavored tobacco products in Maine. It takes a giant step toward eliminating health disparities among Black and brown, indigenous, LGBTQ, and other marginalized communities. Getting flavored tobacco off the store shelves will give all Maine kids a fair shot at a healthy, productive future, free from tobacco addiction.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Froma Harrop: To our surprise, face masks will be partly missed
Evidence mounts that masks — plus hand-washing, plus social distancing — have slashed the flu death toll. In the 2019-2020 flu season, the U.S. saw 24,000 to 62,000 deaths from influenza. By contrast, the number of flu deaths this time was 500 as of April 1, and the season will be over at the end of the month. Thus, there may be a case for continuing to wear face masks in densely packed crowds, say, in airports or on public transportation.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Cynthia Stancioff: Civic participation ‘alive and well in Farmington’
Thank you for your April 27 article summarizing the results of the unconventional April 26 Farmington annual town meeting. The referendum format was apparently popular. Poll workers told me the normal attendance at a town meeting might be 80 people, but it appears from vote tallies supplied by the town that as many as 276 […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Richard Grandmaison: Rank Lewiston where it belongs
In an April 27 Sun Journal article pertaining to further cuts to the school budget, Lewiston School Committee member Ron Potvin is quoted as saying “We are the third-largest municipality in the state.” He should Google both Lewiston, Maine, and Bangor Maine. I did, and found that Lewiston has a population of 35,944. Then I […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Abdulkerim Said: Until our global neighbors can access the vaccine, none of us are safe from COVID-19
I and many other Mainers have relatives and friends in countries around the world, and we can’t disconnect from those people. But when it comes to this pandemic, we’re all connected — and not just by our common humanity. None of us are safe until we’ve reached a worldwide critical mass of vaccination.