Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster stood before reporters and TV cameras Monday waving a list of 206 college students who “may have conducted voter fraud here in Maine.” Then, on Thursday, Secretary of State Charlie Summers alleged that high-ranking officials in the Secretary of State’s Office and Bureau of Elections destroyed documents showing that […]
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A look back at the week’s news
Cheers to Keiser Homes for landing a $2 million contract to provide modular homes to the Maine State Housing Authority. And cheers to the authority for giving that work to a Maine company. Before awarding this contract to Keiser, the MSHA had contracted solely with a Pennsylvania company to provide low-income Mainers with mobile homes. […]
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Frenchman foresaw today’s debt limit crisis
Alexis de Tocqueville was a Frenchman who spent two years in America 180 years ago, then went home and wrote a book so insightful that Americans have been quoting it ever since. Although de Tocqueville was a “classical liberal,” the word had a far different meaning in his era. Today he might have admired the […]
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Steps toward consolidation slow in coming
Bravo to the city of Lewiston and its pending consolidation of school and municipal human resource offices. The move will save money, and it’s the type of common-sense, business-like decision we have been advocating for 10 years. But the official explanation still reminds us that saving money for taxpayers takes a back seat to preserving […]
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Trahan must choose between SAM and Senate
Maine law doesn’t address whether a state senator can also be a paid lobbyist, and there’s a good reason for that: no one has had the audacity to ask. Now that Sen. David Trahan has raised the issue, the resounding answer should be “no.” Trahan, R-Waldoboro, a longtime member of the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and […]
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ADA: A guarantee to celebrate
There are currently 36 million people living with disabilities in the United States. That’s an estimated 12 percent of the nation’s non-institutionalized population, or slightly more than the combined populations of Texas, Ohio and Florida. It’s a startling number, and one worth considering on today’s anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act […]
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Connecting with grandchildren can benefit everyone
OK, let’s put a few facts together. First, evidence shows that older adults who engage in daily brain activity retain their mental agility far into old age. Second, the most recent census shows more children living in single-parent homes, as well as more grandparents living in the same home with grandchildren. Finally, Lewiston School Superintendent […]
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A look back at the week’s news
On Tuesday, the Maine Turnpike Authority filed a civil action against its former executive director, Paul Violette. Good. The MTA is seeking the return of nearly $500,000 that it believes Violette took and used for personal expenses, including $143,000 in “abusive” credit charges on MTA-issued cards for personal and family spending, $25,000 for personal travel […]
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Prices unaffected by bottle return bill
Mainers have long suspected that their bottled beverages cost a bit more due to the state’s strict bottle bill. Not so, at least according to the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency. The Bay State is considering expanding its deposit law to a wider range of containers, but critics have argued that doing so would increase consumer […]
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A day of prayer might just do us some good
The world might be a better place if we all set aside a bit more time for prayer and personal reflection. So we see no harm in Gov. Paul LePage joining Texas Gov. Rick Perry in promoting a national religious rally to be held at a Texas football stadium. In June, LePage signed a proclamation […]