This may sound strange, but in defeating Question 2, voters signaled support for casino gambling in Maine.Just not this casino. Olympia Gaming spent vainly to sell this plan in the tightest time frame, but couldn’t overcome its inherent flaw: Enacting legislation with provisions bordering on the surreal.So it was defeated. But not by numbers – […]

When dawn broke across Lubec this morning – the easternmost point in the United States – this country had likely elected either its first African-American president or its first U.S. senator as president since 1960.Or possibly both.It’s a brand new day in America, regardless, the closing of a tumultuous era. This nation has been at […]

We hope voters, not courts, decide this presidential election. The 2000 hanging and pregnant chads, butterfly ballots, Katherine Harris, Al Gore, Supreme Court decision and the conspiracy theories are best left to the past.That controversy still echoes loudest on days like today, though. Its resonance is attention on how Americans vote, instead of how Americans […]

Plummeting heating oil prices are a win-lose situation, as customers who locked stratospheric prices last summer are suffering from an unaffordable burden, while others reap benefits from their patience.Sound familiar? The same scenario played out nationally – as prices (or values) declined, those who were heavily leveraged in crumbling markets collapsed. You might have read […]

The tragic death of an 8-year-old boy in Massachusetts recently has put renewed attention on the Second Amendment. The boy was firing a machine gun during a supervised event. He lost control when the powerful weapon recoiled; it turned and he was fatally shot.In years past, this type of accident would have incited fierce disagreement […]

When making history, it’s best not to rush.This is good advice for the Board of Environmental Protection this week, as it holds discussions about raising the classification of the Androscoggin River from Durham to Merrymeeting Bay.A potent coalition of river communities and advocates support the change, which would make that section a Class B river […]

Cheers and jeers from around the news:• Cheers to the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition for proving, once again, the ability of political candidates to equivocate the unequivocal.The MFOIC asked candidates to pledge their support, at every opportunity, for the people’s “inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they […]

Some sensible safety recommendations for Halloween night, courtesy Lewiston police:• Children should be home by dusk;• Trick-or-treating should be supervised by adults;• Examine all candy before consuming;• Ensure costumes fit well and are easily visible;• If out past dark, carry a flashlight;• Only trick or treat at lit houses;• Use sidewalks and crosswalks;• Remember that […]

The negative tactics by the Oxford casino campaign should raise concerns about whether similar, aggressive methods would be used to influence the Legislature, if the casino is approved.The enacting legislation for the casino is scary, after all.If approved, voters would give a seat on the board of all organizations receiving gambling funds and a 10-year […]

While Rumford selectmen deserve credit for holding landlords accountable for their properties’ failure to comply with life safety codes, evicting tenants until landlords comply is too much to demand.If fear for tenant safety was so great, selectmen should have ordered an immediate evacuation of properties and provided relocation assistance. With their 30-day-to-vacate orders of Oct. […]