Blind adherence to some perceived rule has tarnished several graduations around the state, leaving students and parents feeling as if they’re mere accessories to the ceremony, decorations to highlight the success of strict conformity.Three cases with starkly different details have received public attention. In each case, people have been excluded, at least initially, from graduation […]

New efforts to find a way around borrowing in the state budget are worthwhile, but it’s also important to remember exactly how the state got here to begin with.Nobody in the budget process wanted to balance the budget on the back of borrowing. It’s an unpopular idea that’s proven susceptible to effective political criticism. Borrowing […]

The Pentagon is continuing to stonewall Congress on efforts to close or realign U.S. military bases.Hiding behind a curtain of secrecy and the claim of protecting national security, the Pentagon refuses to release the methodology and data used to target three facilities in Maine.Sens. Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., have been forced to subpoena […]

It’s no wonder that Mainers are worried about the economy.A Critical Insights survey released last week says that 50 percent of those asked think the economy is in worse shape now than it was a year ago. Only 10 percent of respondents said it’s better. The survey also showed a major increase in pessimism, with […]

Add Rep. Tom Saviello to the list of legislators willing to do the right thing.On Monday, Saviello refused to accept pay for last year’s “special” session in the Legislature. The pay issue arose after Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver to pass a budget with just a simple majority. Republicans in the Legislature sued, accurately claiming […]

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal law supersedes state law on the medical use of marijuana and that federal authorities can prosecute patients even in the 11 states, including Maine, that have passed medicinal marijuana statutes. As difficult as it is for a sick person who might need marijuana to hear, the decision was […]

The little rover that could is back on the job exploring Mars.Opportunity, as the machine is called, had been mired in a pile of sand for more than a month while NASA engineers worked with models to figure out a way to free it. Finally on Saturday, they succeeded. Opportunity sent back photographs and data […]

For 40 years, Head Start has lived up to its name.It’s given kids, many from economically distressed families, a head start on good health, social growth and learning.Head Start began life as an eight-week summer program in 1965. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program today, it “was […]

Can you imagine the horror of hearing a splash and seeing your 4-year-old daughter sinking into a cold lake? Or seeing your 6-year-old son jump in after her?Jim Prue can. His family was visiting their camp on Rangeley Lake in mid-May. The ice had just gone out. Jude and Jenny Prue were playing on the […]

Republicans scored a legal – and political – victory when they challenged a Democratic trick last year to call a less-than-emergency, emergency session of the Legislature.Democrats, needing to pass a budget without two-thirds support and significant Republican support, adjourned the Legislature after passing the financial framework. By law, legislators were entitled to paychecks for the […]