Two female Somali students were suspended from Lewiston High School for 10 days for fighting. Reading about this in the paper, I was struck by its importance to our community. It is not significant that the students were Somali or even that they were female. What must be important is that they were separated from […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
Preserving public lands for Maine Fit for life
Monday’s announcement that the state has purchased 3,800 acres of pristine land in Weld, including the summit of Tumbledown Mountain, is exciting because it makes one of the most beautiful spots in the state public property.Hancock Lumber Co., which sold the land, sweetened the deal by granting an easement to 7,800 additional acres, guaranteeing public […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
My choice
I am writing in response to the article called “”Preacher in a cutting mood”” in the Nov. 15 Sun Journal. It just so happens that in my seventh grade language arts class we are reading “”Fahrenheit 451.”” This article made me think of that. This man, Doug Taylor, wants to cut up the book “Harry […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
After affirmative action, what next?
The strongest argument against affirmative action I’ve ever heard was only one sentence long.The setting was a room full of black journalists in Seattle in the summer of 1999, the year after Washingtonians voted their state out of the affirmative-action business. The speaker was Shelby Steele, the conservative black author. And the argument – a […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
‘Post’poning Scarborough construction
Mention the U.S. Postal Service distribution center to anyone in Lewiston and watch for a scowl. Folks here are still plenty mad, angry that the Postal Service broke its promise to bring 800 jobs and a $55 million payroll to this community.In retrospect, that broken promise might have been good fortune. In fact, if the […]
Posted inAdvocate
To Kill a Mockingbird and the Somalis
By Emily Lewandowski • St. Joseph’s SchoolOur class recently finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird’by Harper Lee. We were astonished by the prejudice we encountered. We found some similarities between the mistreatment of blacks in the late 20’s and the recent treatment of local Somalis. Here is some of what we noticed:Many whites are and […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Real respect
After reading the Nov. 15 column by Mr. Kalle Oakes and attending the pre-game dinner, I have to respond.That night I had one fantastic history lesson in the Lewiston/Edward Little rivalry, and then I heard two great coaches promoting sportsmanship. But, Edward Little Principal Jim Miller’s tip for the athletes might have been the best […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
Christmas traditions endangered
The desire not to offend has stripped “the reason for the season” of all meaning. Advertisers and store employees have substituted the joyful and heartfelt wishes of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Hanukkah” with the diluted and mushy greeting “Happy Holidays. “The stripping away of America’s heritage continues as certain legal and cultural relativists pursue their […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
The science of living technology
Last Wednesday, an afternoon seminar was held in Portland to consider biotechnology in the global marketplace. It was free and, of the 73 attendees, only one person was from Lewiston and one from western Maine.If businesses don’t show active interest in learning about global opportunities, how can they possibly expect to expand their markets?Of those […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
Democrats: Time for a ‘fourth way’
As Democratic presidential aspirants clear their throats and seek their voices, the lesson they need to take from the 2002 election isn’t that America needs a better left; it’s that it needs a better center. When “new” Democratic positioning can be blurred by a president whose “compassion” masks a deeply conservative agenda, it is the […]