There are a lot more of us. Our houses are more expensive. We make the same, or a little more, money than they do. There are more professionals working here. There are more manufacturing jobs. There are more young people.Basically, the Twin Cities have more of all the good things that retail stores look for […]

It is spring.I walk into my home office ready to work. My computer is not. It seems to have smoked crack overnight and will not function, despite repeated rebooting, several sharp slaps to the CPU and curses upon the name Bill Gates.I call technical support. Technical support explains that I am in deep waste matter […]

Bangor Daily News, Dec.2Just getting those in the forest product industry, the conservation realm and outdoor recreation business to talk to one another is an accomplishment. Getting them to agree to a vision for Maine’s woods will be another matter.So, while it might not sound like much on paper, Gov. John Baldacci’s recently announced plan […]

“If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house.”Those were the immortal words of the Rev. Al Sharpton during the Crown Heights crisis in New York City in 1991. A car driven by a Hasidic Jew had run over a black child in […]

Regulations to control the mercury released into the air by power plants should not be relaxed.The Bush administration is considering just such a change. Under a plan that is being circulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the new rules would allow power plants to trade pollution credits for mercury emissions. Moves toward strict controls would […]

The “holiday” season that masquerades as Christmas has no reference to the religious event. I’m not sure it’s worth keeping Christmas anymore. Oh, it is fine for those apparently dwindling numbers of us who still believe in the “original cast” of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men and the animals. They, as any post-Thanksgiving […]

A vision from the past prompts consideration of what is old and what is new. I was “ridin’ and guidin’” my 18-wheeler through the flatlands east of Montreal recently when I saw the specter striding meaningfully along the side of AutoRoute 10, his eyes fixed straight ahead, an old duffel bag wedged under his arm. […]

It’s none of your business.That’s the message Auburn sent to its residents when the city refused to release a report that details the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Mayor Norm Guay in August.City Manager Pat Finnigan, however, was not at all reluctant to provide a scathing “summary” of the information contained in the report. In […]

Andover College is coming to downtown Lewiston.The school will make a great new neighbor and represents a major investment in the redevelopment of Lisbon Street.With plans to open in March, the school will convert the former Good Shepherd Food Bank warehouse into classrooms and laboratories. The business college will spend $500,000 to renovate the property […]

Let me make sure I’m getting this.The budget deficit is rising like blood pressure. Osama bin Laden is skipping around freely. American soldiers die in Iraq every day.So naturally, next year’s election will turn on the pressing issue of gay marriage.At least that seems to be the fondest wish of cultural conservatives. Ever since the […]