There’s just no good reason for legislators in Augusta to oppose a bill sponsored by Senate President Beth Edmonds to increase the penalties for violent crimes committed against pregnant women.On Tuesday, the Judiciary Committee voted unanimously in favor of L.D. 844, “An Act to Protect Motherhood.” Such strong bipartisan support is a good indicator of […]

April 15. Tax Day.Worse than the Ides of March, the dog days of summer and the day after the Super Bowl all wrapped together.Federal income taxes must make it into the mailbox today, and it’s a great time to capture the ire of taxpaying folks fed up with doing paperwork and sending checks to the […]

If more evidence were necessary, the confirmation hearings of John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations have provided plenty of proof that the man is not well-suited to the job.Through testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the country has learned that Bolton is a fiery opponent of multilateralism, holds the United […]

There’s an effort afoot to completely rewrite Maine’s regulation of health insurance.Five bills will be discussed today before the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. The most comprehensive, L.D. 1496, brings together a number of conservative policy prescriptions for lowering health-care costs into one bill. While the intention of the legislation is noble – lowering the […]

Further politicization of the University of Maine System is a mistake. But it may be one the Legislature is unwilling to avoid.L.D. 1241, misnamed “An Act To Ensure Public Accountability in the Delivery of Higher Education Services,” would force university trustees and the chancellor to present any plan “to reorganize the academic or administrative structure […]

Conferees from the U.S. House and Senate could issue their report on a 2006 budget resolution as early as this week. Negotiators are working to sort out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation.There’s reason for serious concern.The Senate version of the resolution would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for […]

As if it weren’t hard enough already.The odds of winning Powerball are going to get slimmer. The 29 states that participate in the lottery game voted last week to change the odds of winning from 1 in 120.5 million to 1 in 146.1 million.Apparently, too many people – they’ve got to be kidding, right? – […]

Congress has the opportunity to fix many of the things that are wrong with the Patriot Act, a voluminous assault on American civil liberties that was hastily signed into law soon after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, by lawmakers, many of whom had not read it.As part of the debate on the bipartisan Security […]

The reflexes are rusty and the intersections remain covered in sand. It’s a bad combination for anyone taking to the roadways on a two-wheeled vehicle this week.Throw in the customary natural intoxicant of spring in the air, and we have a dangerous combination for anyone on a motorcycle.Last week, a 23-year-old Farmington man was tragically […]

Robert Levesque didn’t deserve to die.Two years ago, however, he was hit by a fast-moving snowmobile while walking on Sabattus Pond near the shore. The driver, Steven Davies, left the scene, leaving Levesque badly injured and abandoned on the ice. He died later that night after help was finally summoned.Unlike a car accident, it’s not […]