As 2009 fades and we look ahead to 2010, it’s natural to look back over the year and assess where we’ve been and what we’ve endured. Not all of 2009 has been pleasant. In fact, for some, it’s been a year of sacrifice and struggle. For others, a year of sadness. The Sun Journal’s Top […]

Firefighters from six communities spent 13 hours in November fighting a large warehouse fire that destroyed a Presque Isle firm. Three days later, police arrested a paid, on-call firefighter, Timothy MacFarline, 25, and charged him with arson. The State Fire Marshal’s Office made the arrest, according to the Bangor Daily News, after reviewing evidence and […]

There is, as critics of the recently passed Senate health care bill have said, nothing in the U.S. Constitution that allows the federal government to force people to buy health insurance. Just as clearly, however, the Constitution doesn’t require hospitals to treat uninsured people when they show up in need of care, and yet they […]

Crunch time. Like many households and businesses, the state is experiencing some extraordinary problems due to the recession. Maine’s revenue picture has turned from bleak to dire. With the two-year shortfall projected at north of $400 million, there’s no question that big changes are on the way. The governor has proposed some painful but necessary […]

On the bright side, traffic jams are practically non-existent in Maine, and our rural interstate system is in better shape than in any other state. On the other hand, a third of our bridges are deficient or functionally obsolete. That’s the mixed picture of Maine’s highway system, according to an annual report done by the […]

Jeers for Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, and other senators, who bartered their votes on health care reform for sweetheart deals. Cheers to Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe for refusing to do so. “I just think it’s so politically egregious and grotesque that we would have these kinds of exemptions embedded in this legislation as a way […]

Once it held laughter. Once it held dreams. Did they throw it away? Did they know what it means? — Tom Waits, “The House Where Nobody Lives” It’s a season of light and celebration, but Christmas this year is tempered by the knowledge that this is not the same country it was a year ago. […]

Daylight seen between NRA and gun owners If you run a big organization in Washington that depends on donations from fired-up members — and there are many such groups — the last thing you want to hear is that your members share some common ground with your enemies. That’s the uncomfortable Christmas present the National […]

It’s been said so often, and challenged so rarely, that we accept it without question — Maine is a tough place to do business. The complaint took on a new dimension last week when several business organizations told a state board the one thing Maine business owners fear most is the heavy hand of state […]

Members of the Gray Town Council did the right thing Thursday by voting to discipline the town’s recreation director in public session. It made legal an illegal move by the council to take this action in executive session the week prior. Last month, Town Manager Deborah Cabana fired Dean Bennett for cause, and Bennett appealed […]