While it’s not the Teapot Dome Scandal, Maine residents deserve a prompt explanation of how state officials allowed the cutting of hundreds of acres of deer wintering yards that were apparently under state protection. The issue was first reported by Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine Executive Director George Smith and State Sen. David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, in […]

It has become fashionable to believe that government can’t do a blessed thing right. And, indeed, if you listen to talk radio or spend a lot of time in the blogosphere, you are probably convinced that every government regulation is foolish and every government employee a meddling nincompoop. But we are reminded from time to […]

The Maine Education Association hosted an event at the Augusta Civic Center Tuesday, a full-on lobby effort to pressure legislators to vote against cuts to education. It was a dine and wine affair, with about 200 teachers and other education professionals assigned to table seating at a ratio of about 7-1, educators-to-legislators. “We want you […]

Double jeers to the Maine Legislature for its plan to celebrate Franco-American Day next Wednesday. Isn’t that St. Patty’s Day? The annual feast day to celebrate one of Ireland’s most celebrated patron saints? And a day of great importance to the Irish? Really? Wouldn’t it be better to celebrate Franco-American heritage on a day of […]

It is maddening beyond belief that 79 percent of the $2 billion in renewable energy grants made under the federal stimulus program have ended up benefiting foreign companies. Yet that is the conclusion of a recent report by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University. The goal of all federal programs should be to stimulate […]

President Obama has found a convenient whipping boy for all that’s wrong with health care in America — insurance companies. But his choice shows again the fundamental problem with his health insurance reform plan: It does little to solve the real problem with the U.S. health care industry, skyrocketing costs. The president has been on […]

Four heavily armed men walked into a Seattle Starbucks last Wednesday and … what? Robbed the place? Shot somebody? No, they ordered beverages. Perhaps lattes with little swirls of whipped cream on top, although that’s not specified in The Wall Street Journal story about the event, or incident, or whatever it was. The men were […]

The Legislature is poised to “solve” another problem that does not exist — and in so doing deny the public access to some longstanding public records. Lawmakers heard arguments Wednesday in favor of a bill that would restrict the release of birth and marriage records in order to combat fraud and identity theft. The deputy […]

An editorial Monday on page A6 should have said the state’s school districts might save $30 million per year by switching to self-insurance for health care, according to one proponent of the idea. It was a reporting error.

In 2000, 44 percent of private-sector U.S. workers were covered by employer self-insurance health care plans. Today, that’s 55 percent. And there’s a simple reason for that: Money. Increasingly, mid- to large-sized firms have found that self-insurance helps control health-care costs. So, shouldn’t Maine’s school districts — facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in state […]