To butcher a phrase: If lesser institutions borrow but great institutions steal, may we encourage institutions around Lewiston-Auburn to pilfer liberally from the “green” model that is Bates College.The hallowed arbiter of all things academically excellent, the Princeton Review, has deemed Bates one of the “greenest” colleges in America, right up there with such bastions […]

Despite broad support, the U.S. Senate has blocked legislation to create a federal shield law, which would prevent journalists from being forced to disclose sources of information to the government.It’s a needed law. Almost every state has one. Maine is one of the newest, enacting a shield this year. The law created several tough conditions […]

Speaking of baseball, Maine’s rules for political races should mimic the National Pastime.Once out of the game, there’s no coming back.Corey Troup is the erstwhile Republican candidate for Senate District 16. Troup left the race July 10 and returned July 28, after a more preferable candidate declined to replace him. He has neither fundraised nor […]

They’re paid like tycoons, but expected to stay humble.Their performance is examined with microscopic meticulousness, yet must maintain childlike innocence.After all, they’re just playing baseball.No wonder Manny became Manny.Such demands would drive us nutty, too.Maybe the best hitter in modern Red Sox history took the first plane to the coast last week, courtesy of the […]

An unclear meeting notice from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection sounds trivial. Most of the rules and regulations which govern modern environmental laws are near-incomprehensible, anyway.The DEP, in a lapse, failed to mention the Androscoggin River in a public notice of rivers and streams now being considered for re-classification under the Clean Water Act. […]

The ramifications from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s exclusion of independent U.S. Senate candidate Herbert Hoffman will be felt far beyond his campaign.On Monday, justices said Hoffman, a retired psychologist from Ogunquit, let his attention stray just enough to invalidate three nominating petition signatures he swore were signed in his presence. They were gathered by […]

In Dana Coffin’s letter published July 28, the final line should have read: “If Maine spent its money as effectively as other states, we wouldn’t need this regressive tax set 10 cents higher than in neighboring states.” The printed version was incorrectly edited to insinuate the tax – not its 10-cent difference – was unneeded.Incidentally, […]

Much has been made about the woman who, while driving through the Maine Turnpike toll plaza in West Gardiner around July 4, was snagged by police while watching a television show on a laptop computer.She wasn’t charged with anything, because she didn’t – technically – commit a crime. (Maine has laws against driving while watching […]

The 100-mile diet is not a theory. It’s a decision.It is possible to eat only foods grown and raised in a 100-mile radius from home, especially in Maine where there is a proud ethic of self reliance, land for cooperative community gardens, plenty of farmers’ markets and ready access to farm-raised meats and dairy products. […]

The Maine Lottery is a bright spot right now – department revenue is up $600,000 this year – but allegations of poor gamesmanship on scratch tickets requires immediate attention.Once big prizes on particular scratch ticket games are won, the state says it notifies merchants to cease the games. This doesn’t happen, say many local store […]