With each passing storm, the severity of the damage and erosion seem to be getting worse. It’s becoming a very common occurrence to hear about disaster declarations being called for our county. This trend is headed in the wrong direction. We must do everything we can, everything at our disposal, to protect homes, businesses, and […]
Courier Opinion
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier
Ruralist Lament: Rascals in robes, honesty in rags
The Maine Legislature has recently adjourned. Having “lost” one-third of Maine’s commercial dairy farms since 2020 and reportedly inclined to keep the remaining 145 outfits in-operation, the Legislature voted to “set up a task force that will study the challenges facing the state’s commercial dairy farmers and recommend ways to support the long-term sustainability of […]
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Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier
From Augusta: Maine’s future depends on us saying “yes” to forward-thinking climate projects
In March, the Associated Press reported that Maine’s lobster catch was the lowest it has been since 2009, and the fishing industry catch for 2023 has declined five percent from the previous year. In a vacuum, these numbers might not mean much — there are good years and bad years. However, two alarming trends are […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
From Augusta: Affording medical, veterinary, and dental school
Due to an aging population and a retired workforce, Maine urgently needs more doctors, dentists and veterinarians. As the Senate chair of the Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services Committee, I often hear about health care worker shortages. Although many people have health insurance, they may still have to wait months or travel long distances […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ruralist Lament: Still sucking
Spring brings many things. With March waning our small greenhouse coaxes 400 tomato seedlings and three flats of sprouting lettuce along. If the recent growing seasons are any indication, they will face what are called “challenges,” in the neutered and anesthetic lingo of the day — seared by heat and drought, drowned by deluge. March […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
From Augusta: Working to reduce the property tax burden on Mainers
The arrival of spring brings visions of milder weather, blooming flowers and additional sunlight to our days – but it also undoubtedly reminds us about taxes. Taxes, of course, are important and are a collective investment in our society. They are how we fund vital government services that cannot be effectively delivered through the private […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Kennebunk Post, Southern Maine Weeklies
From Augusta – Let’s end child hunger in Maine
Child poverty and food insecurity are connected, persistent issues that continue to impact far too many Mainers day to day. Now is the time to use every tool at our disposal to confront the challenge of poverty and childhood food insecurity. I want to take the time to tell you about a couple of things […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
From Augusta: Defending women’s health care in Maine
Last month, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered children and that people can be held liable for destroying them. The Alabama court decision — similar to the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade — is an attack on women, particularly their access to comprehensive health care, including reproductive care. […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
From Augusta: Doing more to support Mainers’ mental health care
According to Maine’s Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Maine), one out of every five adults in the United States experience mental illness each year. For youth ages six through 17, it is one out of every six. When you factor in family members, friends, colleagues and others, this means that just […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ruralist Lament: You don’t need a weatherman 2 know …
Taking a brief break from felling and working up next year’s cordwood (and a couple weeks beyond Punxsutawney Phil’s prognostication) a mid-winter musing intrudes. Ruralist wisdom has long held that “Half your wood and half your hay, you should have at Candlemas Day” — Candlemas Day being what we now call “Groundhog Day.” That’s still […]