Patrick Dempsey might be known to fans by his rakish two-word pseudonym – Dr. McDreamy – from the hit show “Grey’s Anatomy,” but this Buckfield-boy-turned-movie-star is proving his talent in health care is more than just having a pretty face for the cameras.In a ceremony Monday, Dempsey unveiled the “Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope […]

If lawmakers are so afraid of the public, why do they choose to serve it?This is a question surrounding ethics reform, which is again drawing attention in Augusta. And again, House Speaker Glenn Cummings and Senate President Beth Edmonds are pushing the legislation uphill.Edmonds’ LD 2179 would open lawmaker financial holdings. Cummings’ bill, LD 2219, […]

In the editorial of March 8, it was incorrectly stated that no Maine Indian tribe has a published information access policy. The Penobscot Indian Nation does have a published freedom of information ordinance for tribal members. We regret the error.

Voters in Texas and Ohio, as they did in New Hampshire, have halted Barack Obama’s headlong surge toward the Democratic presidential nomination and sent a signal that the race should go on.But despite Hillary Clinton’s exuberant declaration that “as Ohio goes, so goes the nation,” it remains unclear if her victories Tuesday in these bitterly […]

The sideshow of Rumford government is so good the town should sell tickets.Last week, a two-person unanimous vote essentially dissolved the board of selectmen by dismissing two members and censuring another. The town now doesn’t have a quorum to conduct official business, or pay its bills.This comes a few weeks after selectmen fired the charter […]

The Granite State isn’t always greener, it seems.New Hampshire – a favored positive comparison for Mainers suffering from bouts of Augustaitis – scored lower than Maine in the latest state government evaluation by the Pew Center on the States.Maine scored a middling C, while its lone neighbor scored a worst-in-the-nation D+. Few states scored above […]

In the years following the Maine Indian Settlement Claims Act, the promise of rejuvenated tribal-state relations has proven flittering, with anger and frustration turning negotiation and compromise to dust.The state and tribes have butted heads over sovereignty, influence, equality and respect. Each conflict tears open old wounds, and renews claims of classism, racism, discrimination and […]

In Auburn, a principled approach toward government spending is emerging, as new school and city officials displayed fiscal common sense this week by changing principals.On Wednesday, Auburn’s school committee approved what seemed a minor plan: shifting an assistant principal from Edward Little High School and a dean from Auburn Middle School into the vacant principal […]

“Lord there were a lot of lovely books once, before we let them go.” – Professor Faber, “Fahrenheit 451” Many communities are reading “Fahrenheit 451” this month for “The Big Read,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. Lewiston and Auburn libraries are the local Big Read sponsors, with lectures, discussions and a […]

The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they do turn. This could change under a proposal under consideration by Maine’s court system.Officials are contemplating a moratorium on criminal trials to save money. The judicial budget is spent through June; delaying proceedings could save the system from a projected deficit of $700,000.They also call it […]