On Monday evening, midway through a joint session of the Lewiston and Auburn city councils, Auburn Councilor Michael Farrell got up from the council table and handed a note to Mayor Dick Gleason. The note, written on a torn scrap of paper, read: “Goodnight. This is an infomercial not a meeting.” The topic being talked […]
Our View
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Western Maine needs the jobs a casino can create
For a decade, gambling opponents have used various arguments to talk Mainers out of a casino. And, with each passing year, the arguments have rung more and more hollow. Gambling is no way to build an economy, they have said. Well, try telling that to the Bangor City Council, which has reaped millions of dollars […]
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National rankings hurting our pride and our economy
It’s another dispiriting black mark for a state that can ill afford any more: Maine is, according to one respected business magazine, the worst state in the U.S. to start a business or build a career. We finished dead last in the most recent edition of Forbes magazine’s state rankings, nudging out Rhode Island and […]
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CMP should allow opt-out for new meters
So, what’s killing you? There must be something. The fumes that waft from your gas tank as you fill your car? The waxy stuff on the outside of the apple you’re eating? The fluoride in your water? The windmill on the far away hill? The list of things that could be harmful to our health […]
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Gubering our way toward a new governor
Why would anyone want to be Maine’s next gubernator? Or, even gubernatrix? After all, our gubernaculum is facing an $800 million deficit and and voters are plenty angry. And angry people, as we all know, are hard to guberno. Yes, they are all actual words, words which did not survive the transition from Latin to […]
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Candidates endure nasty surprises on the campaign trail
Candidates for statewide office never know what will come back to haunt them, and the race for Maine governor has already been full of “gotcha” moments. For gubernatorial candidate Libby Mitchell, it became a party photo showing the laughing candidate holding a plaque with a sticker identifying former President George W. Bush as an “international […]
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Contradictions in debate over carrying guns
It soon will be illegal in South Portland to carry a pellet gun, slingshot or bow and arrow in public. It will, however, be perfectly legal to carry a handgun in a holster or rifle slung over your shoulder. Does this make any sense? The South Portland City Council voted 6-1 last week to ban […]
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Pension crisis symptom of a larger problem
Ask six candidates for governor about Maine’s pension crisis and you get six answers. Change the state Constitution. Order an investigation. Develop a new, less-generous system. Switch state employees to a 401(k) system. Bite the bullet and pay up. Unfortunately, there are no pain-free solutions to Maine’s $4.4 billion dollar problem. The blame falls squarely […]
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Take our survey, and vote
Mainers are officially three weeks from selecting our next governor. What passed for campaigning in recent weeks will pale in comparison to the avalanche of debate we’ll see in the next 21 days. It’s difficult to pay attention to so much information for so long, so we’re hoping to make it easier for you — […]
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Be safe and stay alive this season
While Mainers busy themselves sighting in their rifles for the start of the deer season later this month, think about this: One hunter is dead. Richardson Jacobson, a 47-year-old man from Casco, died Saturday from a gunshot wound while bird hunting with a group. That’s one more fatal hunting incident than last year, and we […]