How much does “administration” in the Lewiston School Department cost taxpayers? That question has perplexed, baffled and mystified many. What is the definition of “administration”? Working with Lewiston’s Bobbi Avery, chief administrative officer, and with Maine Department of Education personnel, the answer is challenging. The state budget process for all school systems has administration cost […]

LD 816, An Act to Implement a National Popular Vote for President of the United States, was recently defeated in the Maine House of Representatives. Hoorah! It did nothing for Maine other than make this state even more insignificant than it was with its small number of electoral votes. It would have allowed the states […]

Recently the Sun Journal carried a story about potential safety issues at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (June 9). What readers may not have noticed was local journalism working at its finest and another reason to robustly support local journalism. Without the Sun Journal, people could pray in that gorgeous building never realizing […]

On June 13, about 50 Mainers traveled to Augusta to urge lawmakers to fund LD 1689 — a bill to maintain and expand harm-reduction programs. Health care professionals, veterans, city officials and persons in recovery believe the $1.7 million cost will save lives and improve the health of those with substance use disorder. The seven […]

I urge representatives in Maine’s Legislature to support LD 1083, the Ranked-Choice Voting for President bill. The bill would expand Maine’s ranked-choice voting law to include presidential elections, thus eliminating the disaster of “spoilers” and vote-splitting while finally restoring majority rule. LD 1083 would simply require the winner to be determined by ranked-choice voting, which […]

Why is the Auburn School Department bent on making Auburn not affordable for a family to come here? School Department officials pushed for the extravagant new high school, but how will the city manage to pay for the upkeep when the old building couldn’t even be maintained? When “Maine’s Got Talent” appeared at the Franco […]

Recently, I learned that the bill for open primaries had been voted down in the Maine Legislature. It made me wonder if members of the Legislature want to keep independents from voting. As a longtime independent, I choose to vote based on candidates’ qualifications, not political parties. I have experienced having to register and unregister […]

The Sun Journal headline (June 12) proclaimed a big “yes” for a new Edward Little High School. The story told how ELHS principal Scott Annear cried out “yes” at news of the voting results. Auburn School Superintendent Katy Grondin announced that “the community spoke loud and clear,” and Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque claimed that “the […]

Maine is falling behind while other states are growing their economies, saving money on energy costs for their people and businesses and creating good local jobs. How are they doing it? Solar power. Right now, legislators are considering a bill, LD 1711, which would help Maine capture those same benefits. According to an analysis done […]

I am writing in support of LD 1491 “An Act to Establish the Work Tax Credit,” because working Mainers with low incomes need to meet their basic needs, and they deserve to keep the money they earned to do it. The legislation would allow working people to pay for transportation, child care and other basic […]