Editorials

Published
October 12, 2010

Our View: Waterfront conflictrevealed in e-mail trail

If you didn't understand the inherent problems with mixed use development on Portland's waterfront, the recent release of e-mails between city officials and the Pierce Atwood law firm should clear it up. The documents, revealed in response to a Freedom of Access request by The Portland Press Herald, show a law firm that was threatening to pull out of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment deal by the water because of the presence of refrigerated trailers filled with lobster bait next door.
Published
October 11, 2010

Our View: Civic Center plansdon’t sparkle at first sight

You might want to call it the "Peggy Lee Civic Center." That would name the facility for the pop chanteuse who gave the world the song "Is that all there is?" The plan for revamping the 33-year-old Cumberland County Civic Center approved Friday by a unanimous task force seems a little underwhelming, especially after months of anticipation of a report from the consultants who analyzed the market as well as the building. The most eye-catching part of the plan is the price tag, an estimated $28 million to $29 million, to upgrade the facility but not add any seats.
Published
October 11, 2010

Another View: Teachers union unfairly scapegoated in recent column

It's just not true, as Ron Bancroft wrote, that teachers are a 'major force' against reform.
Published
October 9, 2010

Our View: Counties have a future if they can change

A new report outlines ways that reorganized counties could help towns save money.
Published
October 8, 2010

Our View: Church should notbe silenced by courts

No law should enable protestors to prevent a grieving family from burying a loved one. But no law can tell the protestors to be quiet. That is the essence of the First Amendment of the Constitution and that is the principle that the U.S. Supreme Court should hold fast when it decides the fate of a tiny church in Kansas and its founder, the Rev. Fred W. Phelps.

Published
October 8, 2010

Our View: Unanswered questions linger about ferry service revival

Whether international ferry service resumes is a decision that will be made in Canada.
Published
October 7, 2010

Our View: The Ballpark at last is fully a ballpark again

A collegiate baseball league team is testing the former minor league field next year.
Published
October 7, 2010

Our View: Troubled bridges over dividing water finally get help

The Pine Tree and Granite states are divided in part by the Piscataqua River and, more to the point, by governing philosophies on tax and spending issues that come from different spots on the political spectrum. But the river and the governing fiscal paradigms are linked at the cross-border communities of Kittery and Portsmouth, N.H., where two bridges spanning the Piscataqua are in serious need of repair or replacement, and maintenance issues continue to be unresolved for a third one.
Published
October 6, 2010

Our View: Counties should makeall documents available

There is a reason that public records are kept in courthouses. It's not because the records belong to the courts, and it's not because county registries need a source of income. Records like deeds and wills are in courthouse because they belong to the public, and in Maine's early times, the county courthouses were the most public place they could be kept.
Published
October 6, 2010

Our View: Rural Maine needs to attract more dentists

A bond issue on the November ballot offers an opportunity to provide needed service.