It is reassuring to know the Maine Legislature can act swiftly in the face of an imminent crisis. Like when we can’t get a drink before 9 on St. Patrick’s Day morning. In order to preserve the “public peace, health and safety,” Rep. Barry Hobbins would move happy hour back to 6 a.m. when St. […]
Our View
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Lewiston best served by redistricting
The Lewiston School Department is responsible for providing an equally excellent education for all students. It can best do that by approving a redistricting plan to balance the number of English Language Learners among its elementary schools. That plan is scheduled to be discussed and voted upon Monday evening by the Lewiston School Committee. That […]
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Selecting facts to fit our own preconceptions
OK, we’re calling it: Time of death, 8:35 a.m., Monday, Feb. 18, for that small noun known as the “fact.” That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. We are getting close to losing the basis for rational decision-making and debate, the unassailable truth. Even the truth can be assailed, often successfully. […]
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Guarding our right to public access
Every document and every meeting at all levels of Maine government — state, county and municipal — are public unless there is a specific exception written in statute that shields the document or makes a meeting confidential. If there’s no exception, the public has access. Period. So, what’s in a sampling of the millions of […]
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Refereeing the tug of war of spending
Members of Maine’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee have done it again. They have, and unanimously so, repaired a gaping hole in the state’s budget by passing a $153 million supplemental budget package. On Wednesday, just after the committee passed the budget, Sen. President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, issued a statement thankful “for the committee’s tireless […]
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Permitting a standard of secrecy
Maine’s Legislature is set to consider emergency legislation to “ensure the confidentiality of concealed weapons permit holder information.” Or, in plain language, the draft bill is seeking to conceal the identities of anyone who holds a state-issued concealed weapon permit. The legislation, presented by Rep. Corey Wilson, R-Augusta, is co-sponsored by 57 Republican lawmakers and […]
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Pragmatism, compromise of budget talks
Norway Town Manager David Holt is a pragmatist. Always has been, and it’s a trait he’s putting to good use while staring at the possibility of significantly reduced revenue sharing under Gov. Paul LePage’s budget proposal for the coming biennium. If LePage’s plan to s…Norway Town Manager David Holt is a pragmatist. Always has been, […]
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Immigration reform: Old is new again
When a tentative compromise on immigration reform emerged after the last election we were pleasantly surprised. Sure, Republicans seemed transparently motivated by the flight of Hispanic voters to the Democratic column. But that’s OK. The real surprise was seeing Republicans and Democrats agreeing on anything of substance. Having looked more closely at the plan, however, […]
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Don’t play politics with our politics
As lovers of words, we are obligated to step in when we see a poor word being abused. Not that we don’t regularly mess up ourselves. An indignant reader recently pointed out that calling an event the “first annual” is a misnomer. Rather, it should be the “inaugural” Portland Skee-Ball Championship. Thank you. But the […]
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Putting zip in Rumford’s urban revival
People often say we need to think outside the box. So we give credit to Rumford for coming up with a unique idea designed to bring outsiders into the community. It’s a proposed attraction called “Threading the Needle” and it involves constructing zip lines above the town’s famous waterfalls and running them beneath the Memorial […]