Nineteenth-century preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, “A lie will go ’round the world while the truth is pulling its boots on.” That was more than 100 years ago. Today, misinformation travels even faster while the truth seems to have a hard time getting out of bed. A recent rumor had the U.S. Environmental Protection […]
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A directive to reinvent the wheel
Last week, without any input from Maine’s 27 community health coalitions, the Department of Health and Human Services and the state’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dismantled and reorganized the coalition network funded by Healthy Maine Partnerships. The DHHS and CDC split the 27 coalitions, naming nine as “lead” agencies and the remaining 18 […]
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Neighborhood disturbance or celebration?
The Fourth of July is still more than a week away, but fireworks and noise complaints have already arrived. At Thursday’s meeting of selectmen in Norway, the board heard an impassioned complaint from Pikes Hill Road resident Trina Cray about the now-legal fireworks going off “day and night” in her neighborhood. For those who aren’t […]
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Support of clean air, safe streets
Cheers to the 2,100 cyclists who pedaled 180 miles from Newry to Belfast last weekend and raised $1.8 million in support of the American Lung Association of Maine. Cheers, too, to the 700 volunteers who helped guide cyclists to camping and dining areas, and who stood for hours on street corners directing traffic to ensure […]
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A responsible and vibrant city nightlife
Sigh. More than three decades of problems with rowdy bars on Lower Park Street continue, a seemingly perpetual nuisance for neighbors and a continuing need for police to monitor employee and patron activity more than they might at other downtown clubs. On Tuesday, the Lewiston City Council put Club Karma at Altera on probation. Police […]
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The question: To renovate or not to renovate
On Thursday, there will be an open house at Lewiston Middle School on Central Avenue, from 4 to 7 p.m. There’s no art show, school play or parent-teacher conference. This event is for taxpayers to look at the school before they go to the polls on July 10 to consider a $9.17 million referendum to […]
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Drugs driving crime rates up in Maine
Crime in Maine is up. So is the cost of fighting crime as Maine grapples with technology-savvy crooks and increased investigative costs, according to Public Safety Commissioner John Morris. The Department of Public Safety released 2011 crime statistics on Tuesday, reporting a 5.4 percent increase in crime compared to 2010. That’s the biggest single-year jump […]
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At school: Summer in the city
Longley Elementary School, located deep in Lewiston’s downtown, has been a place of significant change in recent years. Adopting a year-round school calendar is the latest step in its march toward excellence. An elementary school in the poorest Census tract in the city, Longley’s student population has long been what the federal government calls “economically […]
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Marriage trends don’t bode well for children
The Sun Journal recently reported on the increasing number of unwed mothers in Maine. Forty percent of the children born here are now born to single mothers. For women under 30, the youngest group, 51 percent of babies are now born to unmarried mothers, which signals the trend will continue. But on this Father’s Day, […]
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Horses, cars safely sharing Maine roads
On May 13, Cathy Pressey took herself for what she calls her “Mother’s Day Road Ride.” A horse owner living in Mechanic Falls, she usually takes her ride on wooded trails, but this year the trails were too wet so she and her horse ventured out for a ride along Route 124. Large traffic signs […]