Maine is losing out on an important opportunity to expand tourism in the state. Facilities for conventions and conferences are outdated and small and, as a result, large events must look elsewhere.Gov. Baldacci wants to develop a plan to help localities pay for new civic, convention and cultural facilities, and for improvements on those that […]

Look at the lines at the Michael Moore movie! Look at Bush’s approval rating slip below 50 percent! Listen to the respected Democratic congressman who, when I asked how he thought the election was shaping up, took note of these facts before snapping simply: “It’s over.”It’s scary but true: Democrats have entered The Gloating Zone. […]

A novel idea – part publicity stunt and part dare – dreamed up by the prophet of doom himself is worth a try.Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett, knighted with his dubious title by advocates of a tax cap referendum question, will ask the City Council to create an advisory committee to review the budget and […]

For each of us, there may be a different sense of when in time or space the true essence of Maine appears or reappears.For some, it is the quality of the winter air on a frigid day in January. For others, it is that magical May morning when all the buds have popped and “summer” […]

Bangor Daily News, July 13 Many of the Canadian nurses and health care workers who staff hospitals in northern and eastern Maine grumbled about government regulations set to go into effect this month. The rules, on the books for nearly a decade but only recently activated, require that Canadians meet new visa requirements and that […]

Do you remember the future?Chances are you remember it well if you came of age in the ’50s or ’60s, that era when everything was “modern,” “space age” or “new and improved” and we looked forward with awe. The future was where people would zoom around on jet packs and plan weekend getaways by lunar […]

“People of good will disagree about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq.” – Democratic platform draft languageWhat to make of a political party that doesn’t officially have a position on the biggest policy question in our politics? The Democratic platform language on Iraq is almost meaningless. People of good will disagree about […]

During his tenure as the assistant city administrator in Auburn, Mark Adams has been a lightning rod for his role in some of the city’s biggest – and most controversial – projects.While this page has been at odds with Adams on several issues, he has shown himself to be a competent, hardworking public servant for […]

University of Maine President Peter Hoff will step down on Aug. 15, ending long-standing speculation that his time as head of the state’s largest university was nearing its end.Both Hoff and University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal are playing nice. But we don’t buy it.Hoff accepted a non-tenure professorship with the university so he […]

Our question for today: Do white people matter?It’s Bill Cosby who inspires me to ask. In May, you’ll recall, he made headlines for criticizing the “lower economic people” in African America for what he saw as their ungrammatical locution and dysfunctional behavior. On July 1, he was at it again, saying in an appearance at […]