If a storyteller was looking for one person to exemplify the troubles of the American economy, they couldn’t have conjured a better character than Travis Soule.Soule was perhaps the most aggressive, high-profile property developer in the Twin Cities. He invested millions into downtown Lewiston – for apartment buildings and commercial properties – and built new […]

Cheers and jeers from around the news:• Jeers to arson at the topless coffee shop in Vassalboro. The savage firebug who sparked the blaze put the lives of seven people in jeopardy, including two infants. If this was an attempt to convey a message of morality, it went horribly awry. The only message sent is […]

In Washington, D.C., today, a cadre of Maine dignitaries – our Congressional delegation, Gov. John Baldacci and UMaine professor Habib Dagher – will meet Energy Secretary Steven Chu to discuss the state and university’s place in the energy economy.Maine has an endless coastline and vast swaths of open ocean, perfect for harnessing electricity from the […]

In his book “Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain,” legal scholar Richard Epstein asserts the Fifth Amendment, like all laws outlining eminent domain, is “linked together in sentences of great power, but of equally great abstraction.”This simply means there’s power within the words around taking property – just compensation, public use, due […]

The irony in listening to legislative debate about establishing a “sales tax holiday” is lawmakers seem to forget tax exemptions are granted all the time, just not directly to consumers.Lawmakers held spirited debate about the Columbus Day weekend holiday last week. (One even sang the Marden’s jingle to make her point.) Arguments fell along two […]

Tony Ronzio previews tomorrow’s editorial:

  There’s a numbness around the bankruptcy of General Motors that belies its significance for the American economy, society and culture. Of all U.S. manufacturers, the “General” is perhaps most intertwined with the country. Its successes were American successes. And its failure is now, literally, an American failure. The automaker has accrued debt of $172 […]

Tony Ronzio previews tomorrow’s editorial:

A year ago, lawmakers and Gov. John Baldacci were bullied into compliance with the Real ID act with threats that innocent Mainers would be banned from commercial flying. Legislation was hastily written up and approved, mandating residency and citizenship/legal status to get a driver’s license.The state had a problem of illegal licensing too, as all […]