The wheels are spinning on Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to merge county jails under the Maine Department of Corrections, but it’s not his fault.The blame rests with Maine’s counties, whose feelings were “hurt” after consolidation was “sprung” upon them.Just prior to Thanksgiving, the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee was surprised to discover that the Maine County […]

“I want awareness,” says JoAn Karkos, about her quixotic quest to discredit “It’s Perfectly Normal,” the controversial children’s book now available, thanks to her, in bulk at local libraries.She’s succeeded, sort of. More people have read the sex-ed tome during the past three months than the past three years; the Lewiston library’s lone copy gathered […]

In April 2006, an Edward Little High School student was diagnosed with tuberculosis. It was a frightening discovery and the community demanded information from schools and city halls in Lewiston and Auburn. No public health departments existed to coordinate a response, so the cities and local doctors did the best they could.That episode caused public […]

As projects go, restoring the Dominican Block is small potatoes for David Clem. For Lewiston-Auburn, however, the rebirth of this historic landmark is a six-course dinner.Clem, whose son attends Bates College, was struck by the potential of the dormant Lincoln Street lady, whose peeling paint and air of abandonment belied her previous glory. In 1882, […]

In 1980, we hailed the the federal Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act with the following: “Maine appears out of the woods.”The phrase reflected relief at an apparent emergence from a turbulent decade of tribal relations, fueled largely by economic issues.In a book about the Act, history professor Dean J. Kotlowski (who cribbed our phrase for […]

Adam Beggs,18, slammed down about a quart of vodka last Friday, the night he died. He guzzled it from a half-gallon jug, according to a court affidavit. His friends and law enforcement think it killed him.He was partying with about 10 friends on Granite Street in Auburn. By all accounts, it was a prototypical gathering […]

Embracing rail as an option for passenger and freight transport in Maine isn’t exactly a “Eureka!” moment for the Maine Department of Transportation. The success of several statewide railroad projects over the past several years has more than proven its current worth.Plus, the historical value of rail transportation to Maine, especially to Lewiston-Auburn, is well-documented. […]

The ideal philanthropist, according to Henry David Thoreau, imbues their charity with selflessness, and acts without concern for renumeration or recognition. “His goodness must not be a partial and transitory act, but a constant superfluity, which costs him nothing and of which he is unconscious,” Thoreau wrote in “Walden.”Thoreau could have been describing Harold Alfond.Alfond, […]

On Friday, Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds, delivered to the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee a list of 50-plus positions within state government he considers “duplicative and unnecessary.”The committee took his work for later discussion, amid its complicated negotiations about “The Initiative,” shorthand for their off-session work toward streamlining state government. (Which has covered everything including whether to […]

It’s been 68 years since the Supreme Court examined the right to keep and bear arms secured by the Second Amendment. It’s been 31 years since the District of Columbia enacted its feckless ban on all functional firearms in the capital. It’s been eight months since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of […]