A college degree is supposed to give young people the wings to fly. For too many young Mainers, however, the debt that accompanies that degree has become a millstone around their necks. The average Maine college student emerges with $29,000 in debt, the third highest average debt load in the nation. And that’s the average, […]
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You beat the Dems, now fix the problems
The symbolic vote to repeal last year’s health care bill came off as scheduled Wednesday, fulfilling what Republicans feel was a central promise made to voters in November. As predicted, Democrats got another shellacking in the final tally, 245-189, with three Democrats crossing the aisle to support repeal. And, as predicted, the vote will now […]
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Whoopie pie bill doesn’t fit Maine
What would a session of the Maine Legislature be without the occasional nutty, pointless, irrelevant bill making its way through committee and into law? Well, it would be more productive, more focused and less expensive, that’s what. Despite the dire challenges the state faces, and Gov. Paul LePage’s desire to restructure state government, Rep. Paul […]
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Single-stream big step forward for Lewiston
We are happy to see the city of Lewiston switching to single-stream recycling, something we have advocated for both cities for several years. When Lewiston began its recycling program in the early 1990s, it urged residents to separate their recyclables within the container or in several containers. Some people still do, but many do not. […]
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Palin seems to have been right about ‘blood libel’
Perhaps the only thing left to be said about the Jan. 9 shootings in Tucson is that so much of the early speculation now appears to have been reckless, groundless and wrong. The strength of the 24/7 TV news networks has always been their ability to quickly focus resources on a breaking national story. That […]
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Vernal pools an obstacle but can’t be ignored
The wood frog, the blue-spotted salamander, the blanding’s turtle — how cool when we see them on our property? Unless, of course, we hope to turn that lot into a new tanning salon. Tuesday, during a red-tape audit meeting at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College, Gov. Paul LePage said he hopes to revisit […]
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Methadone clinic would be good for L-A
When the Lewiston City Council adopted a special methadone clinic ordinance in 2006, it made locating one here difficult. Difficult, but not impossible. The council set intentionally tough standards. Among them: a requirement that a clinic must be more than 1,000 feet from churches, schools, day care centers and parks. That’s about the length of […]
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No good comes from emotional outbursts
In the end, he did what he should have done in the first place — go to an ML King service and agree to meet with the state NAACP. But before we say all’s well that ends well, let’s stop and examine what happens when a governor pops off without thinking. In case you were […]
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Casino plan had phases all along
Anyone surprised that the Black Bear Entertainment casino complex will be completed in phases simply wasn’t paying close attention from the start. In January of 2010, nine months before voters decided to approve the project, Black Bear was saying its resort would be built in phases over three to five years. Last week, Oxford Planning […]
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Opponents want to drape turbines in more red tape
Don’t tell me you sold all your shares in Red Tape International, the leading producer of the red tape used in government. Sure, it made sense to sell at the top of the market, knowing every governor in the country has vowed to reduce or eliminate its use, including our own. Who knew, however, that […]