As far as Tuesdays go, last week’s was a good one, at least for the L-A economy. Affiliated Computer Services, which already employs 417 people on East Avenue in Lewiston, announced it will hire 200 more. ACS provides call-in support, mainly for the retail and health-care industries, and it needs new employees quickly. The workers […]
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A look back at the week’s news
Although Tropical Storm Irene interrupted the start of school for some local students, most are officially back in their classrooms, cracking open textbooks and getting reacquainted with friends. And, because Maine is such a rural state, thousands of these students commute to school by bus. If you haven’t already seen a bus stopped in the […]
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Redrawing lines too important for parties to prevail
Leaving the redrawing of congressional districts in the hands of partisan legislatures is an old problem that this country has not yet outgrown. The result has been several centuries of unfairness and turmoil as politicians seek advantage over one another and long-term job security for themselves. For years, the system was used to keep blacks […]
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Hurricane Irene was no real test of ‘new’ FEMA
Let’s just say it is a victory lap not worth running. Federal officials and liberal-leaning newspaper columnists were celebrating Tuesday that the federal government has regained its capacity to respond to national disasters. This, they say, was proven by the response to Hurricane Irene, which drifted up the East Coast over the weekend, at one […]
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The sound of action and of hope
At noon today, if you hear church bells ringing, pause a moment. As beautiful as the bells may sound, their pealing heralds a call to action to end domestic violence in Maine. The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and other domestic violence resource centers across the state have asked churches and other community buildings […]
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Quakes and ‘canes; what a weird week
An earthquake and a hurricane in the same week? Not even the venerable Farmers’ Almanac could have seen that coming, although it did forecast “gales” this week for New England. If the weather service is correct, it should be pouring rain at your place this morning and the winds should be picking up. You’ve probably […]
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A look back at the week’s news
Cheers to 9-year-old John Kearney and his calm assistance to his mother after she tripped during a family hike in the White Mountains, striking her head. On Wednesday, 44-year-old April Kearney was hiking along New Hampshire’s Basin Rim Trail with her son and her husband, Mike, when she tripped and fell forward, conking the left […]
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A campaign promise better left unfulfilled
It’s not news that candidates make foolish promises in the heat of a primary campaign, throwing out ideas to fire up their followers. Politifacts.com lists several dozen promises Barack Obama made on his march to the White House. Remember the one about closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center? Hasn’t happened, even three years after his […]
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Maine should seek waiver for testing standards
We move to abolish the testing provisions of No Child Left Behind. So moved. Seeing no objections, the motion passes. Bang the gavel and move on. If only it were that easy. Everyone — teachers, administrators, governors, plus Republican and Democratic lawmakers — realizes the accountability provisions of the decade-old law are not working. But […]
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Dam safety an obligation, not a choice
The basic job of government is to protect its citizens from threats to their health and safety. When it comes to protecting us from the potential danger of high-risk dams, the state of Maine is not only failing miserably but is in flagrant violation of its own law. As a story today by the Maine […]