Twice in the past month, unspeakable acts have occurred inside American schools. Just as the nation was recovering from a bizarre shooting in Colorado, another madman struck in Pennsylvania, his victims the children of a community that’s almost never harmed another soul in anger.Following the Amish school killings, Maine education officials, law enforcement and the […]

Reginald Arsenault. James Bradley. Nancy Bessey. Maxine Collins. Rep. Margaret Craven. Rep. Patrick Flood. Kathryn Grefer-Kirkland. Lance Harvell. Teresea Hayes. Rep. Randy Hotham. Priscilla Jenkins. Gary Knight. Marjorie Medd. Rep. Janet Mills. Sen. John Nutting. Kerri Prescott. Rep. Bruce Hanley. Sheila Rollins. Mark Samson. Rep. Thomas Saviello. Jane Scease. Rep. Deborah Simpson. Rep. Nancy Smith. […]

Call it Red Lobster’s revenge.Nearly eight years to the month after the national seafood chain fled the Twin Cities because of lagging sales, Red Lobster has returned from the briny depths of memory to cause financial headaches for Maine’s signature fishery.At issue are langostinos, distant Chilean cousins of Maine’s native Homarus Americanus, being sold as […]

Four years from now, there will be fewer Catholic parishes in Maine. There will be fewer active churches and fewer priests.The weekend announcements that the Portland Diocese will consolidate parishes in and around Lewiston, Auburn, Farmington, Norway and Waterville are not surprising. Eight months ago, the Lewiston parishes of St. Joseph’s, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart […]

Of all the get-out-the-vote techniques imaginable, it’s probably the simplest. On Election Day 2005, Bates College Democrats drew a chalk line on the pavement from Chase Hall on campus to the polls at the Lewiston Armory. Passers-by to the group’s table outside Chase were asked to just follow the chalk.The hot issue in that election […]

In February, the Sun Journal announced we would issue quarterly report cards on the progress of consolidation efforts by Lewiston and Auburn, in the wake of recommendations by the cities’ Joint Services Commission.At the end of the first quarter in June, the cities received a resounding F.Now, as the second quarter draws to a close, […]

According to our latest poll, almost 50 percent of the 44th percentile will spend take the next 10 to 15 seconds (+/- 5 seconds) deciding whether to finish this column. Projections say 40 percent of you will, 40 percent of you won’t, with a 10 percent margin of error. The other 10 percent is undecided.Confused […]

On Sept. 27, environmental experts, emergency responders and others gathered along the Fore River in Portland to mark a solemn anniversary. Ten years prior, the tanker Julie N slammed into the Casco Bay Bridge, gashing the vessel’s side and gushing 180,000 gallons of heating oil into the river. Officials now say the river shows no […]

The question “What should I be?” is etched on the display windows at 43 Lisbon St. in Lewiston, with a web address, 43lisbon.com, printed underneath. Online visitors can vote for one of four options:• Tear me down and build a park;• Make me retail space;• Make me a parking facility; or• “I’ve got a better […]

City officials in Lewiston preach patience and public input as integral to making wise decisions for re-use or redevelopment of properties. There’s one property in particular, however, that needs an answer sooner than later: Maple Street Park.Five years ago, the city and community groups raised $10,000 to rehabilitate the park, including the installation of new […]