At least 17 Republicans are running for president. I believe the last time either major political party had that many candidates was the Democrats in 1976. Their winner was a long shot from Plains, Georgia, named Jimmy Carter. Can the GOP race get any weirder? I’m waiting for Little Richard, Ariana Grande and Tom Brady […]

While many of us are enjoying our summer vacations and sitting by the pool or camping and hiking in the woods, there is a fox in the hen house, so to speak, as Congress has been busy passing legislation this summer removing many of the protections that we as consumers of food products now enjoy. […]

The future success of our state relies on what we do today for our children. They will soon be our community and business leaders, educators, professionals, and parents of another generation. As a father of five kiddos myself, I care about their future and want to make sure they have all the tools they need […]

[Editor’s note: Gene Lyons is on vacation this week. This column is being provided as a substitute. It originally ran on Oct. 23, 2013.] Not every fundamentalist is a right-winger. Crackpot utopianism and black-and-white thinking infect all social, political and religious movements. Indeed, it often appears that abandoning common sense for dogma is one of […]

Biddeford is in the midst of protracted contract negotiations with unions representing members of its police, fire and public works departments. With negotiations dragging on for more than six months, union members are getting a bit testy and have recently been picketing City Council meetings to protest proposed cuts to their current contracts. The city […]

Thumbs up for the grant in Wells that funds a research project called “Who Owns the Beach?” The study of historical beach access and deeds could bolster the legal case for public access to private beaches. The public needs all the advocacy and historical context it can get in order to expand access to arguably […]

Brattleboro Reformer (Vt.), July 22: If you haven’t seen the video yet of the traffic stop that resulted in the arrest of Sandra Bland, it’s easy to criticize her for not following the commands of the Texas State Trooper who stopped her for failing to use her turn signal on July 10. After all, we […]

Three wishes. That’s all you ever get. Why is that, I wonder? At some point, the genie just up and decided that three was his limit. Maybe that’s all he’s capable of before he loses his mojo; in that way, he’s sort of like Alanis Morisette, a few big hits and then silence for decades. […]