The slogan “What it means to be from Maine” takes on new meaning when applied to Poland Spring’s paradoxical treatment inside the state nowadays. Last week provided examples of the water bottler’s Jekyll-and-Hyde existence.On Wednesday, a rally in Portland excoriated the company’s business as the corporate exploitation of water. On Thursday, the Maine Development Foundation […]

Rob Stalford messed up.Stalford is superintendent of Lewiston’s solid waste operations. In April, he arranged for a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems, FCR Goodman, to bring recyclables from other communities for sorting at the city’s transfer station.Along with this, a trial program in Lewiston was started for residents to bring a wider variety of recyclables […]

Nobody said crafting joint services was easy.But this is no reason to throw away the effort before its conclusion.Yet this is what some Lewiston and Auburn city councilors want to do. In recent meetings, some councilors have called for disbanding the Lewiston-Auburn Citizen’s Commission on Joint Services.Such sentiments were inevitable. The commission’s work has moved […]

Cheers and jeers from around the news:• Jeers for plans that come too late. Auburn’s laudable notion to harvest city forests for cordwood is untimely, unless taxpayers want to also dry the wood in a superheated kiln. This is a program perfect for March, not late September. Low-interest loans for heating, however, are a top-notch […]

A sure sign of winter? The first frost advisory from the National Weather Service.This week, temperatures are projected to drop toward freezing, a preview of frigid attractions that should put Mainers’ plans for winter heating to an early test. (Been itching to fire up your new pellet stove? Here’s your chance.)The only thing predicted to […]

Olympia Gaming’s emergence behind an Oxford County casino addresses one question plaguing this campaign: “Who else beside Seth Carey is Evergreen Mountain Enterprises?”The answer is nobody.Carey’s troubles have forced his departure – again – but this time by Olympia, which has bought his company and retained, as their spokesperson, someone whose contempt for Carey is […]

Gov. John Baldacci has asked Androscoggin County Commissioner Helen Poulin to “verify” her residence, as part of his inquiry into her move from her elected district. She is stonewalling.It’s no state secret that Poulin has moved from Lewiston, the community she represents on the county commission, to Auburn. Yet the governor has now asked twice […]

“Fiscal literacy” is a modern banking buzzword, which means, more or less, learning how to manage one’s money wisely. Some local banks are proffering “fiscal literacy” courses as a courtesy to their clients.This is because smart investors can usually become wealthy investors, and wealthy investors have, obviously, more assets to invest. Investing smartly means managing […]

Maine, a recent report has stated, can generate 9,000 new jobs through a $100 billion “green economic recovery plan” of federal tax credits, investments and loans.This sounds quite good. A federal emphasis on environmental sustainability and energy alternatives is long overdue; these incentives should have been introduced and enacted years ago, long before fuel reached […]

The deadline for letters to the editor that endorse candidates for elected office is Friday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m.Letters must be either e-mailed, faxed or postmarked by that time to be considered for publication.Candidate endorsements are limited to 150 words and must be exclusively written for the Sun Journal or Sun Media Group newspapers. […]