The Maine Turnpike Authority recently announced it is dropping its plans for a 5-mile, four-lane, elevated toll highway that would run from I-95 with multiple interchanges paving over local landowners who are opposed to MTA taking their land, including Smiling Hill Farm. The limited support for MTA’s plan was based on grossly exaggerated benefits and […]
American Journal Opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Farm-to-farm trails – let’s make it happen
Hello to all of you. Well. Here we are. To paraphrase one of my all-time favorite literary works, we have turned another page… and have come to the end. In this, our last column together, I was sorely tempted to try and pack all my ideas in here as a last hurrah. But, oi. It […]
advertisement
Posted inAmerican Journal
Letter: Stopping the connector project harms Gorham
In 2017, the state Legislature enacted L.D. 905, which authorized the MTA to construct a turnpike connector to Gorham. A memorandum of agreement was signed by all involved municipalities in 2022, which obligated each one to support the MTA in completing the project. As of today, the Legislature has not rescinded this order, but the […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Be authentically yourself – communities are built on it
Well, hello everyone. How are you all doing? As a starting point for this space, that question from me to you is not at all unusual. This time, though, it is a little different. This is the hello at the start of our goodbye. The fiscal realities of our current climate mean changes for the […]
Posted inAmerican Journal
Letter: Dissent is more important now than ever before
So far, Trump and Project 2025 are doing a bang-up job. Many feel mentally bombarded by the barrage of wildly unproven lies coming out of this White House. This jarring alt-reality is precisely where they want us. When there’s too much to handle, what slips into our psyche is dangerous: acquiescence. By failing to speak […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Safeguarding historical records should be above partisanship
Museums, libraries and archives – these are my happy places. True, I love a long walk in the great outdoors, but there is something about these hallowed spaces where history, questions and curiosity combine that just makes me fundamentally happy. Casually mention John Cotton Dana or Ennigaldi-Nanna (fun research tangent for you all) to me, […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Administration has Maine in its crosshairs and it’s illegal
Our beloved state is currently embroiled in a loud and fractious feud. I wish we weren’t, but we are. A disclaimer: If you have questions, or are genuinely engaged in sorting your way through this issue, I welcome your conversation and I promise to engage in it without rancor. If, however, you are inclined to […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Susan Blanchard Russwurm and standing up for what’s right
This week holds an interesting spot on the calendar – the bridge space between Black History Month and Women’s History Month, two celebrations to which our current president has said, “Nyet!” But which I shall continue to celebrate anyway. I urge everyone to go biography diving on their own, while I take a moment to […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Getting back to the roots of the Presidents Day holiday
Happy Presidents Day! I hope that wherever you are you stayed safe during the recent spate of storms, and were able to use the long weekend to rest up. It’s been a heck of a week. A quick note about this holiday; it started out as the celebration of one president, our first. That, of […]
Posted inAmerican Journal
Letter: Cuts to Medicare hurt Mainers, don’t make sense
When do these cuts stop? I think about living in a state like Maine, where we are the oldest state in the country, the impact these cuts have every year in a world with increased cost of labor, equipment, and overhead. Where does it end? At what point does private practice, especially, have to close […]