When the ship is sinking, the rule is “women and children first.”After them, etiquette for who deserves an open seat in a lifeboat gets a little murkier.The same is true of the housing market. On Capitol Hill, lawmaker after lawmaker expressed support for rescuing unfortunate, impoverished American homeowners who were victimized by unsavory subprime mortgage […]

Wood is a traditional Maine heating source, but there’s still much to learn about it.Summertime concerns about winter’s heat are pushing supplies of wood, and wood-fired heating sources, to the brink of sustainability. There is discord among government, business and environmental organizations about exactly how much more wood can be safely harvested.While it seems strange […]

There’s little reason for towns as small as Monmouth and Sabattus to bear the time and expense of four separate school budget referendums. After three tries, it’s apparent the repeated votes have failed to produce consensus.In fact, it appears the opposite has happened. With signs sprouting along the road in Sabattus, and the vocal frustrations […]

One eight-foot reticulated python found in a Gorham washing machine is a novelty. Another eight-foot reticulated python found under a pickup truck in Wilton is a trend. But a trend in what?A herpetological revolution in Maine can be ruled out. Of states, only Maine and Alaska lack poisonous snakes – the most dangerous species here […]

There are 90,000 reasons why DirigoHealth is going to referendum this November – each name on a petition to repeal tax increases enacted this year to fund the subsidized health insurance program.This petition landed upon the secretary of state’s desk with a thump. Anti-tax forces needed 55,000 (and change) to get the item on the […]

Increasing Maine’s gasoline tax for inflation is controversial, not because it is unsound policy, but because gasoline costs too much. When gas was cheap, the increase was largely unnoticed.With gasoline a dearer commodity, indexing is under scrutiny. But this inquiry obscures a more crucial question: What happens to Maine’s transportation infrastructure if gasoline sales keep […]

Good analogies don’t die, they get overused. Just like repeated comparisons of anywhere with energy resources as the next “Saudi Arabia” of “enter preferred petroleum alternative here.”T. Boone Pickens, an oilman turned wind-man, calls the Great Plains the “Saudi Arabia of wind.” Former Maine governor turned wind-man Angus King says the Gulf of Maine is […]

In 2006, for Lewiston-Auburn’s current iteration of collaboration and consolidation, a poll of residents found the services most favorable to unite were the ones they couldn’t see.Seventy percent said back office systems should be consolidated, more than those who favored police, fire, or economic development. We’ve vigorously endorsed the aggressive latter actions, such as having […]

Herbert Hoffman is an affable, intelligent and engaged citizen. A retired psychologist, he won an election once: for the charter review committee in Ogunquit, an effort which he chaired.(And, he says, completed on schedule.)And while municipal charter reviews are important work, such experience is not the stuff United States senators are made of. The ex-Democrat […]

Loons are an overlooked animal symbol of Maine. They’re neither unique to our lakes and ponds, nor critical to our recreational or resource economies. They’re neither hunted nor harvested. It’s easy to forget they’re even there.Unless, of course, they’re gone.Which is why, Saturday, scores of searchers will paddle and putter across Maine tallying loons for […]