When does a housing crisis become a land grab for developers? Answer: When LD 1884 allows a statewide housing shortage to make null and void decades of Auburn residents’ due process in determining Auburn land use. Auburn residents have chosen multiple times to protect the 18,000 acres (down from 35,000) of farmland since 1964 from […]

This session the Maine Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee, on which I serve, has devoted a lot of time and energy to the emerging crisis of PFAS contamination. Also known as “forever chemicals,” this class of persistent cancer-causing chemicals is a threat to public health, and we now know that our state has extensive […]

The Build Back Better Act is being held hostage by Republicans (all 50 senators including Susan Collins) and two Democratic senators, and by antiquated filibuster rules. Many important policies and programs in the act — like the child tax credit and immigration reform — have already been removed, and they all need to find a […]

It was reported recently that Jean-Claude Hollerich, a preeminent German bishop and cardinal, stated publicly that Catholic teaching on homosexuality is “no longer correct” and that “a fundamental revision of the doctrine” is imperative. Unsurprisingly, he buttressed his judgment by emphasizing that Pope Francis himself favors far-reaching doctrinal change generally. The pope’s barely-there pro forma […]

Catching up over the weekend on Steve Collins’ fascinating retrospective in the Sun Journal on the 50th anniversary of the collapse of Edmund Muskie’s presidential campaign, I wondered if there was a high-quality political biography of the influential lawmaker, Maine native and fellow Bates College alumnus that I could pick up to learn more, but […]

On a recent airing of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” 1619 Project architect Nikole Hannah-Jones said, “I don’t really understand this idea that parents should decide what’s being taught.” This is the same woman whose signature Pulitzer-winning 1619 Project has been criticized by many historians for its inaccuracies and distortions. The National Association of Scholars has […]

I veered away from traditional schooling to pursue a career with my local labor union, IBEW 567 in Lewiston. My first assignment as a newly-trained electrical apprentice was building an 11,000-panel solar field. I knew this path would be a successful one for me, and better yet, my work would not only sustain my family […]

Laurel Libby unquestionably will get my vote for House District 90, Minot and part of Auburn. No one can outwork her, and she’s not swayed by partisan politics. She has shown in her first term that she will work with all House members for the good of the Maine people — as she co-sponsored bills […]

I wonder whatever happened to uniting in times of crisis in this country. Previously in such times, Americans united to sacrifice, which included curfews, food rationing, blackouts and buying war bonds to support a common cause: our country. Today, protesters’ rhetoric against pandemic-related restrictions mirrors the poisonous, pandemic-prolonging talking points that have infected a vocal […]

A mob of Donald Trump followers assaulted the Capitol to stop the pro forma ratification of Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021. Questions immediately began whether the role of the president’s rhetoric and legions of his followers’ quixotic quest for evidence of fraud fueled the violence. Unlike Watergate, Republicans refused to establish a bipartisan […]