Reading police stories is sometimes reading the chronicles of stupidity. You just have to shake your head. To wit: A 19-year-old Mount Desert Island man was charged with reckless conduct after someone threw a can of gasoline on a bonfire at 3 a.m. Sunday, according to a story from the Bangor Daily News. First, when […]
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Congress paralyzed as trouble looms
While Americans gradually focus on this year’s presidential race, economists are raising alarms over some critical decisions that must be made before the end of the year. With the usual Washington gridlock heightened by election-year venom, failure to act could throw the economy into a tailspin and further cement our image as a dysfunctional democracy. […]
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Motorcycles, babies and a skyscraper
It’s a crying shame that more than half of parents of Maine’s newborns are not taking advantage of the $500 gift that is the Harold Alfond College Challenge. According to a story published in the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday, only 40 percent of eligible parents have ever signed up for the Challenge, which is […]
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University hiring reflects human nature
Any time an important public position opens a familiar process follows. There’s the national search, followed by a winnowing of resumes, followed by a first interview, a second and sometimes a third. Two or three top candidates emerge and the best person is chosen. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work. That the […]
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Drug crisis may require tough choices
Maine is in the midst of an opioid explosion and our region is being rocked the hardest. As the Sun Journal reported Sunday, oxycodone sales in Oxford and Androscoggin counties were up four-fold between 2000 and 2010, the highest rate of increase among 11 zones in Maine, with retail sales going from 11,085 grams in […]
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Views from our online audience: Work for women, health care, flyovers and paging McDreamy
Letters to the editor have gained a lot of attention from our online audience in the past week. Donna Helwig’s letter titled “Stop Promoting Envy” saw 17 lively comments. Helwig, of Auburn, argued in part … “If (President) Obama really cared about women, he would be creating good jobs with higher wages so women would […]
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Life steadily improving for seniors in U.S.
We avoid writing about national celebration months because there are so darn many of them. From national Prune Breakfast Month in January to national Lasagna Awareness Month in July to National Toilet Tank Repair Month in September, there are more than 200 of the blasted things. By the way, look that toilet thing up — […]
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Accepting a higher good in overflights
We suspect the debate over the U.S. Air Force flying training missions in Maine is dominated by a vocal minority that is unwilling to occasionally part with a few seconds of silence. The U.S. Air Force filed a draft environmental impact statement two weeks ago to base its new F-35A Lightning II jet fighters at […]
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Public access and city pavers and ‘#nobull’
On Tuesday, Gov. Paul LePage signed the much-debated supplemental budget bill. The document has gained a lot of attention for cuts made to it, but not necessarily for what it contains. The budget carries funding for a part-time public access ombudsman in the Attorney General’s Office. The person who fills that position will be the […]
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We’re just busting with good news
The grass was green, the trees were flowering and the sun was shining yesterday, all of which left us with nary an editorial complaint. Just a few quibbles. Free breakfast for all At first, the announcement that Auburn schools will offer free lunches to all students, not just those who qualify by family income, raised […]