Is saving some of Maine’s farms, preserving opens spaces and supporting our state’s long tradition of agriculture worth 32 cents a day?We think so, but the real question is whether others agree.LD 345 would require a 32-cent tax on every gallon of milk sold in Maine. It would raise about $13 million a year and […]

Just before he was put to death in 1992, Roger Coleman read a statement.“An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight,” he said. “When my innocence is proven, I hope Americans will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have.”Then a switch was thrown, the room filled with the […]

No one could ever accuse Sens. Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins of timidity in bucking their party on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.On Wednesday, Maine’s senators were on the winning side of a 52-48 Senate vote to remove language from the Republican administration’s budget that would have permitted drilling in ANWR.This isn’t the […]

In accessing penalties against landowners who violate state rules, the Land Use Regulation Commission takes into consideration whether owners had prior knowledge of the rules, whether the activity required a permit and the extent of environmental damage.While good, the penalties should also be matched to the cost of construction that results in a violation.In Sandy […]

President Bush’s 15-minute address Monday set the clock ticking on a firm 48-hour deadline for Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq, a deadline Saddam mocked Tuesday in Iraq.The United States, in signaling war, does not alone hold responsibility for this inevitability.Prolonged inaction by the United Nations and its Security Council created a world […]

A long time ago, in a country that now seems far, far away, the United States of America was feared and respected, especially by its enemies. No nation or terrorist group considered attacking America on its own soil, and most people thought twice before harming an American overseas.On the day of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in […]

Wildfireof publicopinionLast month, the National Guard provided the Maine Department of Education with some “anecdotal material” suggesting that a small number of Maine teachers may have been insensitive or cruel to children of military personnel. No names were provided and school districts were not identified.In this evidence vacuum, all Maine teachers were painted with the […]

The congressional cafeteria has renamed French fries “freedom fries” and French toast “freedom toast.” And why not? French diplomats work overtime to stymie the United States; Jacques Chirac pokes us in the eye daily; and meanwhile the French haven’t put up a single soldier or franc.Maybe this is the deal we should offer: If France […]

Tucked in with the beer, shamrocks and green clothing today is real pride in heritage, a pride that extends even beyond those who have Irish roots.This weekend, a film detailing the early lives of Francos in Lewiston will be shown at the Franco Center at St. Mary’s Church.Reminders of our ancestry are all around us, […]