Gov. Baldacci said the right things last week about energy.Now, will he back that up with support for specific projects – some of them controversial – that could help reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels?On Wednesday, the governor introduced an energy plan that places greater emphasis on alternative sources of energy: wind power and […]

A bipartisan task force has devised a plan to close an estimated $130 million gap in state transportation funding. The proposal’s reliance on borrowing, however, puts it at risk.Despite statewide support for investment in roads and bridges, the plan could be a nonstarter this year because it contains $60 million in new borrowing.There appears to […]

Parents, students and teachers have stepped up to make Sabattus Central School safer.It’s time for the Board of Selectmen and the school system to do the same.Four bomb threats this year have forced the school to hire bathroom monitors as a deterrent to anonymous threats left in the privy. The threats disrupted the school days […]

News out of Orono that the book “Girl, Interrupted” was reinstated into the ninth-grade high school curriculum is welcome.The book was challenged because it contains references to suicide, incest and descriptions of sex. Some parents say its content is inappropriate.A committee including a principal, a teacher, a librarian and a member of the community decided, […]

The state Legislature is trying to pick up the pieces of the bungled Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.No matter how hard it tries or how innovative its ideas, the biggest hurdle remains the same. To fix the problems created by the new federal program will cost money. Lots of money. And, every year, it […]

There are a lot of people who deserve credit for the economic development that has helped to lift Lewiston into a model for growth.One of them is Greg Mitchell, who was the city’s economic development director for more than seven years.Mitchell was involved in attracting more than $300 million of new development to the city, […]

Maine’s courts are woefully underfunded and it shows.Security is lax, and long waits and crowded dockets delay justice, especially for businesses.According to Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, the state ranks last in the country for per capita spending on the judiciary.Imagine sitting in court every day, witnessing as lives unravel. Emotions often run high. We’ve been […]

Commercial drivers shouldn’t be allowed on the road if their licenses are suspended.What could be more straightforward than that?Yet, Rep. Walter Ash’s effort to require shippers to check the driving records of their truck drivers met with little support when it came before the Transportation Committee along with Tina’s Law, a bill that would toughen […]

State governments are ill-equipped for foreign policy.They don’t have embassies, ambassadors or navies, and their actions are governed by the laws and treaties approved on the national level.They are not, however, powerless.Legislation that will be discussed Thursday by the Labor Committee would require that the Maine State Retirement System divest itself of companies that do […]

What are you going to do with that money?That’s the question Auburn must answer as its leaders craft a city and schools budget for 2007.Last week, the state said it would provide $79 million in additional school funding for the 2006-07 budget year. The new dollars brings the state’s level of education funding to about […]