Robert LaPointe may have surrendered his passport while he faces charges of manslaughter and operating under the influence from August’s boating accident on Long Lake, but if he’s convicted, he can keep his driver’s license.It’s a loophole Maine lawmakers should close.Unlike some states (including LaPointe’s native Massachusetts), boaters convicted in Maine of operating under the […]

The chief executive of FairPoint Communications doesn’t act like a man with government regulators, consumer advocates and labor unions in three states calling his company’s finances into question.Gene Johnson speaks glowingly about his company’s commitment to Maine. “We wanted to buy locally if we could,” he said recently, in announcing FairPoint’s deal with FISC Solutions […]

“You can find anything in Lewiston-Auburn, if you look hard enough for it.”Deacon Lasagna, a senior at Edward Little High School, heard this from an acquaintance who attends Bates College. It struck Lasagna, a teenager who thinks the Twin Cities gets a bad rap for having nothing to offer, given all the social and cultural […]

The first vote has yet to be cast in a single presidential primary, but most of the contenders already have a severe case of don’t-want-to-say-it-too-bluntly-itis. They’ve zipped their lips on the messy details of the issues that count – from the exact contours of a responsible Iraq withdrawal to how to avoid war with Iran.More […]

“I think in 10 years from now, every one of us is going to look back and say, ‘I was part of that and I’m proud.’”– Lewiston City Administrator Robert Mulready, Oct. 14, 1997. Mulready was right.Ten years ago today, the “Bates Mill Master Plan” was unveiled. Homegrown architect Tom Platz presented a stunning redevelopment […]

For 14 hours Thursday, Norman “Bo” Thompson holed himself in his mother’s Mexico home, refusing to yield to the dozens of police officers waiting outside. They had a fistful of warrants for Thompson, the subject of recent celebrity for his frame-by-frame capture last week by a Sun Journal photographer.He had been inexplicably released on recognizance, […]

An interesting fact was overlooked in Maine regarding the landmark settlement with American Electric Power, an Ohio-based utility, which will pay $4.6 billion to settle a federal lawsuit regarding Clean Air Act infractions.States downwind of Ohio are saluting the settlement, which puts an environmental muzzle on the smokestacks of one of America’s largest coal burners […]

For gambling types, the smart money is riding on Massachusetts.This week, Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to unveil legislation legalizing gaming, which would invite three major gambling resorts into the Bay State. Patrick is promising money in the pocket to property taxpayers if his bill passes.Contrast this bold proposal to Maine, which is facing a […]

There’s a difference between being right and doing right. An enclave in the coastal town of Stockton Springs is having trouble understanding this concept.A homeowners’ association there, SquawPoint, has been smacked with a human rights complaint for failing to comply with a seven-year-old Maine law prohibiting “squaw” in the name of a public place. Dozens […]

In one sense, Norman “Bo” Thompson isn’t a flight risk. As his graceless leap from a third-floor balcony shows, no matter how hard he flapped his arms, the suspected burglar couldn’t fly.What Thompson can do, however, is flee.He’s proven it countless times, enough to have police across Central Maine slap him with the tag of […]