On Monday, the UMaine Board of Trustees made a couple of smart decisions. Trustees approved hiring former UMF President Theo Kalikow to assume the president’s post at the University of Southern Maine. At Kalikow’s retirement party in Farmington last month, it was clear that her leadership and engagement in that community were greatly valued by […]
Our View
Posted inOur View
The rhetoric of politics and history
During Gov. Paul LePage’s weekly radio address, he over-reached when — in criticizing the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the Affordable Care Act — he compared the IRS with Nazi Germany’s secret police, the “Gestapo.” The response was strident, with Democrats immediately calling for LePage to apologize for his “intentionally offensive” comparison and to end […]
advertisement
Posted inOur View
Governor should release the bonds voters approved
The will of the people has always been respected in Augusta, if not in fact feared. Legislators and governors have typically deferred to the wisdom of voters when it is expressed by a statewide vote. Last week Gov. Paul LePage signaled he is willing to flout that precedent when he froze $25 million in community […]
Posted inOur View
Cheers for lives saved by first responders
It was hot last week, and way too hot for the many families affected by three major fires. But cheers to the many people, some of them neighbors, who made sure no lives were lost. Three teens visiting from Germany and several other passersby acted quickly early Sunday morning when they saw smoke pouring from […]
Posted inOur View
Immigrants critical to our economic future
As the presidential campaign heats up so will the debate over the role of immigrants in our economy and our communities. That has been an ongoing conversation in Lewiston-Auburn for the past 10 years and a hot-button topic in southwestern border states for decades. But the controversy will likely get louder as Mitt Romney and […]
Posted inOur View
Celebration of numbers on the Fourth
When this country was born in July 1776, an estimated 2.5 million people were living here. This year, on the Fourth of July, an estimated 313.9 million people are living in these United States. That makes 311.4 million more people invited to the birthday party, 311.4 million more people celebrating our independence, 311.4 million more […]
Posted inOur View
Maine should start planning for health law
With the long-awaited U.S. Supreme Court decision on the federal health care law behind us, Maine should resume laying the groundwork for the next step required under the law: health insurance exchanges. That, however, will require Gov. Paul LePage to put aside his aversion to the new law and make sure Maine is ready to […]
Posted inOur View
A problem of time and cost in our schools
The Auburn School Committee is considering a proposal to institute late-start Wednesdays for students in grades 7 through 12. The proposal, pitched by Superintendent Katy Grondin, means students would come to school at 9:30 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. each Wednesday. Since we’re talking about school, do you feel like doing a word problem? There […]
Posted inOur View
To DISCLOSE is an act of courage, light
It may have escaped public notice in the excitement over the long-awaited U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but we are facing a looming cloture date in the U.S. Senate on DISCLOSE. The DISCLOSE 2012 Act is a revision of a failed 2010 measure drafted after the unsettling Citizens […]
Posted inOur View
Hearings show time to rethink turnpike tolls
One way of telling that Lewiston-Auburn and Western Maine are again being shafted by a Maine Turnpike Authority rate increase is by looking closely at the three public hearings conducted thus far. The first hearing, June 19 in Auburn, drew more than 150 angry people, 45 of whom spoke against the proposal in the course […]