The deal struck by the Gang of 14 senators last week doesn’t resolve the conflict over the judicial filibuster. But it does delay the showdown until President Bush gets an opportunity to appoint a justice to the Supreme Court.That’s good enough for now.The parliamentary fighting had left Congress in a state of virtual frozen animation. […]

Opposition to a bill that would allow a racino in Washington County may be about a lot of things, but it’s not about racism. Such an attack is unfair and distracts from the real debate about whether slot machine gambling should be allowed to expand beyond Bangor.Donna Loring, an advocate for the Penobscot Nation, told […]

Accolades are nothing new for the University of Maine at Farmington.For eight straight years, U.S. News & World Reports has listed the school among America’s best, small, public colleges.With the publication in March of “Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter,” UMF takes its place as one of 20 institutions that are models for […]

The Hartford Board of Selectmen is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting at 8 a.m. today to discuss the problems with last week’s municipal election.It’s possible the meeting could be derailed by a single selectman, who refused to help call a similar meeting to order on Monday. Even worse, the meeting could be held in […]

There’s been a Peoples bank – of one sort or another – in Maine since 1875. On Monday, it began its disappearance from the financial landscape.Peoples is no more.Peoples Heritage Bank officially changed its name to TD Banknorth, one of the side effects of a merger between the Portland-based Banknorth Group and Canada-based TD Bank […]

As negotiations continue in Augusta over the Part II budget, lawmakers have been delivered an opportunity from an unlikely source.News that three military facilities in Maine – accounting for about 7,000 jobs – are on the Pentagon’s list for closure or reduction. The potential loss, which would deal the state a significant financial blow, creates […]

Much of the state has not enjoyed the economic growth and low unemployment found in Southern Maine. Washington County, particularly, has been left behind.Two separate proposals hope to breathe life into the struggling Down East region. One would bring a harness racing track and slot machines to the county. The other would allow the construction […]

How is it that a controversial amendment – understood apparently only by the International Paper lobbyist who wrote it and the company’s closest supporters on the Natural Resources Committee – can pass unanimously with little significant debate?Last week, the amendment to legislation setting water quality standards for the Androscoggin River went straight from a lobbyist […]

For the first time, students in the University of Maine System next year will pay more of the cost for their education than will the state.Last week, Chancellor Joseph Westphal announced the system’s intention to increase tuition 7.8 percent on average. Out-of-state students would see their tuition increase 9.3 percent. The plan must still be […]

Former Maine State Senate President Richard Bennett has been appointed to the Commission on White House Fellowships.The commission is responsible for selecting participants in the White House Fellows program, which was founded in 1964. It is one of the country’s most prestigious, nonpartisan programs for leadership and public service and provides its participants with experience […]