Untold amounts of money and time are devoted to the perplexing problem of motivating students, especially in Maine, where a student aspiration organization at the University of Maine had studied ways to train student attention spans on the future.The National Center for Student Aspirations departed the university June 30, the school said. Though the center […]

In the hierarchy of persons who shouldn’t have an ILOVENY license plate, the director of the Maine Office of Tourism is up there with Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona. Though his professed intentions are noble, having that plate is a plain embarrassment to Dann Lewis and his agency.The plate’s discovery is the latest twist […]

Through the early 19th century, police would toss debtors into the local gulag for failing to make repayments. Though “debtors’ prisons” are now long gone, college students in Maine say the crushing debt for education is the fiscal equivalent of wrist shackles and leg irons.Freeing students from financial bondage is the goal of Opportunity Maine, […]

While Auburn fumed, Mayor Normand Guay baked in the Florida sunshine. It’s far from Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned, but Guay’s extended tropical absence has certainly overheated relationships among city councilors left to manage Auburn’s business.On Monday, the Auburn City Council spent the bulk of its workshop arguing about selection of an interim mayor […]

Before being moved into the general population at the Oxford County Jail, jail officials ensured accused killer Christian Nielsen would not pose a danger to himself. A suicide screening showed “no red flags,” the jail administrator said, and Nielsen, after 24 hours, was allowed to mingle with other inmates.It seemed trusting for a man accused […]

In our business, it’s called basic reporting. Over six days this summer, two Sun Journal staffers spent six days and about 40 hours poring through three years’ worth of Maine Emergency Management Agency grant requests and rewards.Their mission? To figure out whether Mainers are safer than we were before that fateful day five years ago […]

Educators deserve as much praise and encouragement as we can muster, but not at any cost.Maine will witness, on Oct. 18, a colossal waste of the public’s money.The Augusta Civic Center will be the site of a two-hour party, with music, food and prizes, organized to “lift the spirits of school people.”The day of the […]

Aaron Fuda is an activist. He’s also a frequent visitor to the courthouse, cited in recent years for junkyard violations and charged with furnishing liquor to a minor earlier this year. That liquor charge has since been dismissed and the junkyard violations have been addressed, but Fuda’s free spirit remains just a little too freewheeling […]

The people of Waterford have spoken. They want Whizzer Wheeler – as cantankerous as he is – to represent their interests in town governance.Wheeler was elected selectman Wednesday, an election that sets him right back in the seat he resigned in July, enabling him to serve out his original term through March.The Whizzer wasn’t even […]