With crampons, a set of carabiners, 60 yards of climbing rope and a team of Sherpas, you too might be able to ascend the snowbanks on your street, driveway or those along the side of Route 4.They may get you thinking – as they’ve got us thinking – about who has ownership and responsibility for […]

We didn’t stay in a Holiday Inn last night, but odds are, a state official did.Let’s hope the hotel’s intellect-swelling effect educates Maine’s government about its travel expenses, and the definitions of discretion and fiscal restraint.In 2003, Gov. John Baldacci asked state agencies to restrict travel to the barest minimum, a restriction that remains in […]

In a guest column published on Feb. 24, the president of Franklin Memorial Hospital spared little wrath for state government and its policies regarding MaineCare reimbursements.Rick Batt, in short, compared the state’s accounting of MaineCare to Enron, the malevolent corporate titan whose fiscal tricks and obfuscations caused its empire to crumble, emptied employees’ retirement accounts […]

Children cannot vote, but they can imbibe.The lengths taken to regulate children’s beverage selections, however, are sometimes a stretch.There’s now a legislative effort to restrict “energy drinks” from children. Rep. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, believes these fashionable beverages are harmful, though many have less caffeine than a cup of coffee.(Which is, the last time we’ve checked, […]

Maine’s economy is slowing, ala the national economy, and revenue forecasters this week again predicted doom. The state budget deficit is now estimated at $200 million, because economic uncertainty will reduce tax collections.In response to the national slowdown, the federal government is cutting checks. In Augusta, the response is cuts – whenever and wherever possible […]

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is a regulatory watchdog. It requires strict permits, closely monitors compliance and hands down strong enforcement actions. Its attention can feel like a thorn in the side.Every thorn has its rose, it seems. Through its commendable leadership on compact fluorescent light bulbs, the agency has provided an important public […]

There’s no reason to build an inefficient home in Maine. We have enough already.Almost one-third of the state’s housing stock predates World War II, according to Maine Housing. That’s 151,000 of about 550,000. By comparison, new construction totaled about 37,000 homes from 2000 to 2006, a rate far from an aggressive replacement schedule.Maine’s construction boom […]

A sentence in Rick Batt’s op-ed “Putting a straight face on MaineCare payments” (Feb. 24) incorrectly referred to Enron’s accounting practices as “technically legal.” The correct sentence should have read:“Maine’s strategy for obscuring its debt is technically not illegal the way Enron’s was, but it is still unethical and terrible public policy.” It was an […]

By hiking the Appalachian Trail, Jarad Greeley of Jay and Marshall Berry of New Hampshire are extending a hand to help homeless veterans. It’s what needs to be done.Greeley and Berry are Army buddies, home now after four years in the service, including 15 months in Iraq. They’re hiking the AT to honor, thank and […]

Although meetings themselves can be unproductive, there’s money in the meeting business.An analysis from Portland indicates that city, in 2007, missed out on $8 million in visitor spending because it lacks a large convention center.It’s this type of spending that has driven dreams for a convention center in Lewiston for years, with Bates Mill No. […]