In the coming weeks, with the government reopened, Congress will continue to debate how much of the federal budget to allocate to programs supporting vulnerable populations in FY26. With the administration’s stringent deportation agenda, many representatives will continue to target initiatives that have historically supported smart alternatives to detention for those in deportation proceedings, despite […]

How can President Trump say he hates communists but loves Vladimir Putin and will let Russia benefit greatly from its invasion of Ukraine?  “The American Revolution,” showing on PBS this week, reminds us of the incredible fight our ancestors endured for the sake of independence. It recognizes the role France played in our ability to […]

The death and wounding of two National Guard members in D.C. is a tragedy. They signed up to serve their country and community. There is no excuse for shooting them. It is important to look at the president’s reaction to this violent act. As the song in “South Pacific” reminds us: “You’ve got to be […]

This year has been a grim one in the life of our nation. Every day it seems like there’s a new story of illegality, criminality and corruption from the Trump administration. Murder on the high seas, knocking down parts of the White House, suing to take away food from the poor. All that just in […]

All our lives, the Republican Party has bragged about being “the pro-business party.” And while Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were president, that was true. But is it true now? As recently reported by the Maine Sunday Telegram, small businesses in Maine are being suffocated by the surging costs of health care insurance. Mainers […]

Mainers who visited the beaches this summer might have noticed a slimy, foul-smelling red algae on shore. This is Dasysiphonia japonica, an invasive algae species that first appeared here in 2007 and has rapidly spread throughout the Gulf of Maine. While native kelp has been declining in the fast-warming waters, D. japonica thrives. This shift […]

While most of us were asleep, Stephen stood outside what used to be his house, watchingfirefighters battle the flames that consumed everything he had. As a Red Cross volunteer, I wasthere offering comfort and support as Stephen tried to make sense of a night that changedeverything. I’ll never forget the image of him clutching a […]

My 11-year-old daughter and I recently watched “Eleanor the Great,” a movie about someone’s experience during the Holocaust, which was highly recommended to me by one of my seventh grade students. While of course sad, the film was also filled with humor and warmth. Our daughter is interested in this topic and history in general, […]