There’s nothing appealing about cell towers. Plain superstructures of steel and metal, they are like antiseptic Eiffel Towers, but without aesthetic qualities. When placed in bucolic country settings, these towers just cannot blend.And Maine needs many, many more of them.Today, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to decide whether to cap an important subsidy – […]

Jubilant but bleary-eyed Red Sox fans who slouched into work late on Monday had a ready-made excuse.It’s the government’s fault.Instead of turning the clocks back on Sunday for an extra hour of slumber, federal lawmaking from 2005 delayed the conclusion of Daylight Saving Time by one week, from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4. This spring, […]

We’ve said these things before, but they’re worth repeating.Carry a flashlight and a cellular phone. Use caution with items unwrapped, homemade or otherwise vulnerable to tampering, like fruit. Adorn costumes with reflective material. Drive extra-cautiously through neighborhoods.Remember chocolate and candy are potentially lethal for animals, especially dogs. And homeowners should make their properties trick-or-treater friendly; […]

Barry Dolloff of Peru deserves credit for recognizing the looming issues regarding his residency, long before officials of SAD 21 became aware. A registered sex offender, Dolloff realized the construction of a new school on property adjacent to his home was a prime recipe for controversy.So, Dolloff has acted graciously, by all accounts. First, he […]

Preaching procedure over practicality is the last bastion of the powerless. So is having a lawyerly escort for entering into minor confrontations.This about sums where the Androscoggin County Commission is these days.After its drawn-out drama over a deputy, the commission has decided again to attempt to assert authority in an unfortunate way. Three absent-minded – […]

With their out-of-nowhere winning streak, the Colorado Rockies are reminding us what sport can be at its best: exhilarating, uplifting, even inspiring. The Rockies entered the World Series after 21 victories in 22 games. One might even call such a streak miraculous, a description much of the team would happily accept. The Rockies have become […]

Tales about the Calais racino get bigger, every time they’re told. Proponents of the slot parlor talk about its great economic development potential, both in generating new revenue for its sponsor, the Passamaquoddy tribe, and the state of Maine, as well as creating jobs inside a depressed region. Not so fast, say opponents. Gambling is […]

Drug use in schools made national headlines again recently, rattling parents from Connecticut to California. But this time, it wasn’t marijuana, cocaine or heroin creating the furor. And the suppliers weren’t dealers on some street corner or deserted alley.Nope. The drugs were contraceptives, and the proposed distributors were school officials.The Portland, Maine, school board voted […]

As a courtesy, here are the arguments for and against extending term limits: Pro: Legislators need time to learn the ropes and develop the institutional knowledge and leadership skills to work effectively. Citizens deserve representatives who can do the best possible job. Con: If these lawmakers are so ineffective, Maine shouldn’t keep them around any […]

If only Gov. John Baldacci spoke so menacingly about the Maine Turnpike Authority earlier; maybe he could have stopped the $26,000 junket the agency lavished on officials to attend a conference in Austria this month.Instead, the governor saved his anger for the authority’s plans to study the prospect of tolls along I-295 from Scarborough to […]