The balloons went up and the balloons came down – at least on five tries out of six during the annual Balloon Festival this past weekend in Lewiston and Auburn.Amazingly, the persistent rains that dogged us in July and early August more often gave way to perfect azure skies.The weather may be a matter of […]

Speaking of festivals, the third and final race in The Greater L-A Triple Crown 5K Series will sprint through the Twin Cities on Sunday, wrapping up a successful blending of three popular annual road races.Early this year, organizers of the annual YMCA Fit Fest, Emily’s Run and the LA Trails Bridge Run worked together to […]

When historians dissect twenty-first century government in Androscoggin County, we hope Minot is remembered as birthplace of the revolution.On Aug. 11, Auburn City Councilor Ron Potvin and selectman Dan Gilpatric, Dean Campbell and Steve French held a conversation about rulers as out-of-touch and imperious as any British monarch: the county commissioners.“County government is the fourth […]

Don’t take this personally, but plenty of Democrats and Republicans think Americans are pretty ignorant when it comes to oil. The politicians realize that far too many Americans are used to cheap gasoline, like to drive big vehicles, take dim views of conservation and think alternative energy is still Buck Rogers fantasy material.For example:On Wednesday, […]

This state has a good – but also serious – problem. From Wells to South Portland to Auburn to Fairfield to Presque Isle, too many people are applying to community college.Fall applications increased between 1.8 percent and 18 percent at five of six campuses; only Washington County Community College in Calais has seen applications decrease. […]

Late last month, a federal judge in Washington slapped down some of the flimsiest legal arguments yet from the all-chutzpah, all-the-time Bush regime.The opinion by D.C. District Judge John D. Bates involved subpoenas issued by the U.S. House of Representatives in connection with a probe by the House Judiciary Committee into the administration’s sleazy firings […]

With a hat tip to Portland’s own Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Such was the wreck of the Hedge FundIn the midnight and the snow!Christ save us all from a debt like this,On the reef of David Lemoine’s Woe!” We’ve dusted off our poetry collection because of similarities between Longfellow’s “The Wreck of the Hesperus” and the […]

The amorphous idea of cutting Maine’s income taxes – as floated by Gov. John Baldacci – is out of character for an administration that has tightly guarded its major policy goals and proposals.School consolidation is a perfect example. Almost without warning, the governor and his administration dropped this idea on lawmakers to start the 2007 […]

A development moratorium in downtown Lewiston is the opposite of what’s needed, which are more thoughtful efforts to identify what downtown should have, rather than what it should not.The city has had success with moratoriums, such as on liquor licenses on Park Street, but it was questionable whether that moratorium was even needed. The problems […]

Possession and/or dissemination of child pornography is an offense without appropriate punishment. Nothing the criminal justice system can levy upon an adult equals the savage victimization sexual abuse does to a child.We expect courts and judges to proffer little lenience toward pedophiles. We also expect citizens to have zero tolerance about child pornography; if they […]