If the U.S. Senate can’t do anything productive it might as well produce the appearance of activity by running in circles. Tuesday, after several days of predictions worthy of the biblical Book of Revelations, Republicans and Democrats agreed on a compromise that will allow seven federal appointments to move forward after months of delay. Frustrated […]
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Gun changed the equation in Sanford, Florida
Trayvon Martin is dead. George Zimmerman is not guilty. Except for the people involved in the case — who will be forever marked by the tragedy — the rest of us should move on. Before we do there is a cautionary lesson to be learned about guns, the people who carry them and the rest […]
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Boothbay plan seeking to trim energy use, cost
As we flip on the air conditioners or leave on that summer road trip, consider our power predicament. Coal once produced a larger part of Maine’s power, but the big plants were gradually phased out as dirty and inefficient. Nuclear power met about 20 percent of Maine’s electric demand between 1972 and 1996. That’s when […]
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Violence is not a family value
Leanna Norris confessed to police that she drove her 2 1/2-year-old daughter to a remote road in Newport on June 23, gave the child two or three syringes of Benadryl to make her go to sleep, placed duct tape across the child’s nose and mouth and then covered the toddler with a blanket. Norris didn’t […]
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A mountain of generosity in Rumford
Something good is happening in Rumford. In the weeks since voters turned down a request from the Maine Winter Sports Center to fund $51,000 in tax dollars for the nonprofit Black Mountain of Maine, residents and businesses have stepped forward to raise the necessary funds. The two most recent businesses to step forward are Bangor […]
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A helping hand for our ‘sister’
If you put any stock in the Chronicle of Philanthropy that rates Maine 49th in the nation in charitable giving, you might be forced to believe that Mainers are not all that charitable. You would be wrong. We are. On Tuesday, Farmington selectmen established a relief fund for the town’s sister city of Lac-Megantic, Quebec. […]
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Uniform access for all education, career recruiters
Late Tuesday, the House rejected a bill that would require Maine’s schools to grant uniformed military recruiters the same access and opportunity to meet with secondary students as are provided to other postsecondary and career recruiters. Key word? “Uniformed.” The measure required 101 votes to pass as a mandate but failed 96 to 45, just […]
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Disaster should prompt state to examine rail regs
The runaway train was like a rolling bomb on rails. More than 70 cars, most of them tankers loaded with crude oil, barreled downhill toward the Quebec town of Lac Megantic. Apparently, with no one aboard. In the middle of the night. What followed was the kind of disaster you hope only to see in […]
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Violence: In the heat of the night
One of the most widely accepted verities in the news business is that when temperatures go up, violent crimes are more likely to occur. It seems logical, but is it really true? The reasoning is simple: People are living in crowded households and neighborhoods. City streets and buildings act like heat magnets, increasing the temperatures […]
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What a week in the history of our nation
If you attend a fireworks show this evening, we invite you to think about what a remarkable week this is in American history. We created a nation in 1776, and then we guaranteed its survival as a union in 1863. As the darkness envelopes you tonight, and the first fireworks light the sky, imagine you […]