On a windy afternoon, spray from Great Falls whips through the alleyway beside the Libbey Mill. The brick-and-mortar hulk shudders under the wind’s assault, as metal shards dangling from the roof creak threateningly in the quiet.Most of the mill’s windows are broken. Exposed wires drape the exterior walls in some places, near weather-beaten notices directing […]

With a name like Klaas Pruiksma, he must be an excellent speller.The towheaded 11-year-old pupil at Montello School defeated myriad opponents in the Maine Spelling Bee Saturday with his Brobdingnagian lexicon. He vanquished the local spelling bee with “caribou” and “automaton,” and stung the state bee with “wasabi.”Pruiksma, a sixth-grader, now heads to Washington, D.C., […]

Imagine the countenance of Sisyphus, the figure of Greek mythology condemned to push a boulder uphill for eternity. Upon reaching the hilltop, contortions of strain would have melted to reveal an expression of pride, stemming from accomplishing such a feat against incredible odds, after back-breaking labor.But there would have been something else. A glimmer of […]

Good, but not good enough to accomplish what it intends.That’s our opinion of LD 1040, House Speaker Glenn Cummings’ bill to make the preparation of a college application a mandatory graduation requirement for all Maine high school seniors. It would mandate the completion of the application, not its submission, as an important real-life lesson.A public […]

“Do you like-like him/her?”Please pardon the teenage lexicon, but it’s the perfect phrase to describe the budding romance between the city councils in Lewiston and Auburn. We knew officials of the Twin Cities were acting like BFF – best friends forever – but the extent of their attraction is now just starting to be known.The […]

Legislation from Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, aims to reform a shortsighted military policy regarding return of fallen soldiers. The Pentagon now selects the airport at which to deliver the remains, regardless of family wishes.Stupak’s bill, HR 691, puts airport decisions into the family’s hands. Rep. Mike Michaud, on March 20, signed as a co-sponsor to […]

The voice of the American music industry spoke in Augusta this week, and it was deep.John “Bowzer” Bauman, low man on the greaser totem Sha Na Na, made a pitch to the Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development Committee about LD 686, the Truth In Music Advertising Act.Bauman is on a quest to prevent artists […]

Don’t they have something better to do?An effigy to burn somewhere, perhaps? Quiet reading and reflection on some of their favorite vitriolic, spiteful literature? Maybe a panel discussion on how civil rights, the Bill of Rights, and human rights in general have corrupted American culture? It all sounds like such fun.As does anything that diverts […]

In assessing Maine’s credit, bond agencies like Moody’s have been, well, moody.The leading bond rater, and its peers, have altered their views of Maine several times over recent years. Concerns about indebtedness, drained reserves, “structural gaps” and the specter of future financial obligations – such as for education – have spooked lenders and caused Maine’s […]

Soon.That’s the reply from the Maine Department of Education, to when, oh when, it will release funding figures to school districts. DOE spokesman David Connerty-Marin said “soon” to the Sun Journal on March 14, and again Tuesday, March 20.Statute requires the state to provide these figures by Feb. 1, and this seven-week delay is causing […]