In the final weeks of the election, our 238-year experiment in self-governance is on display ”“ warts and all. With political signs cluttering our roadsides, advertisements filling our airwaves and glossy mailers stuffing our mailboxes, we are bombarded with messages pulling us in all directions. The radio, the TV, community centers and social media are […]

All politics is local.” Though he didn’t create that saying, the late U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill of Massachusetts made it not only popular, but a law of politics, at least when it comes to congressional campaigns. In the past, local concerns were practical concerns. Would a member of Congress bring home federal contracts creating […]

During the past months, many people have taken the opportunity to express their opinions of the candidates running for office in this coming election. Most do it by praising those they prefer to see win, stating their accomplishments. Some others feel the need to wipe their feet all over those they don’t want to win. […]

I was a truck driver for 30 years, and drug testing was a regular requirement of my job. Myself and fellow employees were randomly tested throughout our career as truck drivers, and it is a regular practice in the same field today. Drug testing was not a choice, it was a requirement, as it is […]

In this election year, with important choices on the federal and state level, we should not forget that we are also voting for our local city council as well. We are again voting for Joe Hanslip, a man who has always been dependable, and one who has always put the welfare of the City of […]

Gosh, time flies when it’s pushed along by a jet stream of greed.It seems like only yesterday that Walmart announced, with much self-congratulatory fanfare, that the super-rich retailing colossus wasn’t a scrooge after all. Indeed, while the world’s largest purveyor of stuff was not about to raise its poverty-level wages, it benevolently decided to provide […]

I consider my vote in an election sacred. I want my vote to count. I want my candidate to be known for working hard; someone who is the first one there and last to leave. Someone who listens, treats colleagues with respect and is a good problem-solver. Someone who is a go-to person for getting […]

James Booth has my vote. Let’s get a senator who listens to the citizens he serves. The people of Biddeford say that the superintendent of schools should live in our city. The current senator, David Dutremble, sponsored legislation to override the will of the people, and to say that he and Augusta know better than […]

With date number four looming, she wanted to do something mellow, which was fine by me. We had spent the previous three dates painting the town, if not red exactly, then at least a reddish mauve; my butt still hurt from the Tilt-A-Whirl, and my pride was in shambles after an experiment in candlepin bowling, […]