President Barack Obama tried turning a speech about a war into a speech about money last week. It was clearly an awkward transition, mainly because Americans are simply not comfortable making hard choices between buying Humvees for soldiers and paying Grandma’s nursing home bills. We are emotionally connected to both Grandma and our GIs, and […]
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Asphalt and duct tape for Lewiston
The brick-lined sidewalk on Park Street was, at one time, evenly set and attractive. No more. The bricking undulates, severely so in some places, making it difficult to walk in good weather and exceedingly difficult to shovel in bad. The walkway has gotten so rough in front of the traffic court building on the corner […]
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Vandal chose the right path with apology
OK, kid, melt our hearts why don’t you? Try as we might, it is impossible to remain angry at 18-year-old Billie Coburn who on Thursday walked to the Sun Journal to deliver an unusual message. Coburn was one of three young men recently arrested for knocking over more than 100 headstones at Riverside Cemetery in […]
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What makes a good person go bad? Power
It’s Thursday. It’s September. It’s hot and it has to be the slowest day of the year here at Acme Coaster Brake and Bike Bell. The phone hasn’t rung in an hour. Half the staff is on vacation and the air conditioner died two days ago. All your customers are on vacation and there’s a […]
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Facts show state spending really is down
We all know that numbers can be used to prove just about any point you are determined to prove. We came across an excellent example several weeks ago in a essay appearing in another newspaper. Rep. Ken Fletcher, R-Winslow, complained in the Kennebec Journal that Democrats running Maine continue to spend more and more money. […]
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Immigrants making a mark on Lower Lisbon
We are, we like to say, a nation of immigrants, a melting pot of cultures, nationalities and races. It’s what we, as Americans, do best — absorb and assimilate people from all the world’s nations. It’s not, however, as if this has ever happened without friction. From African immigrants in Lewiston to Hispanics in Arizona, […]
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Race to Top shows the reach of Big Brother
“Our formula is as simple as it is sweeping: The federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the workplace. That is why we will abolish the Department of Education and end federal meddling in our schools…” — The Republican platform, 2000. Yes, times do change. […]
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Short takes on the week’s news
Cheers to local businessman Jim Wellehan for helping organize a free shoe distribution in Kennedy Park on Friday, outfitting hundreds of children and adults with gently used shoes. And cheers to Wellehan’s customers and others who donated 2,500 pairs of shoes to be given away. Each pair was a true gift to the community. Friday’s […]
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Jenkins should re-examine his decision to run
We like and admire John Jenkins. In fact, we’ve never met anyone who didn’t. Jenkins is about as popular a politician as you will find in the Twin Cities. But any decision to run for governor should be based upon way more than the number of Facebook friends a man can acquire in 45 days. […]
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Many examples of a community pulling together
You can judge the character of a community by the way it pulls together when the chips are down, or for a good cause. By that measure, the Lewiston-Auburn area has been standing tall this week. Only three days after announcing it would have to close its doors for good, the 130-year-old YWCA of Central […]