Excerpts from recent editorial in newspapers in the United States and abroad: Seattle Times on how D.C. needs to do more to free Kenneth Bae: American prisoner Kenneth Bae wants the U.S. government to help get him out of North Korea. The former Lynnwood resident issued his plea recently in a news conference, the first […]

Scams are running rampant these days ”“ from Internet and email scams to landline and cellphone scams. The latest local scam involves phony calls from the court system. The caller says they are calling from a court, and tells the person they owe a fine or there’s an outstanding warrant for their arrest. The caller […]

Hashtag” used to be a word used solely by computer programmers and pale men with really bad acne. The tiny club of people who knew what it meant could have fit inside one of Shaquille O’Neal’s shoes. Now, it’s a prominent member of the English lexicon, and we’ve got stupid Twitter to blame. Not that […]

A hearing was held before the Legislature last week on a bill that would outlaw realistic-looking toy guns on school grounds. If it’s passed, students and others who brought such a non-lethal weapon to the school campus would face a charge of a Class E crime ”“ a misdemeanor. The legislation was proposed by Sen. […]

“The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others.” — Homer The Saco Food Pantry’s view of this phrase could be said as follows: The extended hand of those mentioned here offering a can of beans may mean a meal to the one receiving it. Those extended hands of help belong […]

Do you like surprises? I have two surprises for you: At least 19 states already in 2014, nearly half, are posting budget surpluses. Yes, surpluses. The other surprise: Since Obama took office, the national deficit has been reduced by one-half. The media are not missing these stories. We’ve heard so little about them because the […]

After mulling over a farm bill for years, the U.S. House and Senate have both approved the measure, which has been sent to the president for his signature. Although there were cuts to the food stamp program, there were some definite gains in this compromise bill ”“ hopefully a sign that legislators are getting to […]

At the last Saco City Council meeting, councilors again brought to the agenda the much-controversial fire boat. It was voted to buy this boat at the cost of $108,000. After insurance received on the last boat that sunk, and the Waterfront Commission’s donation toward the new boat, the price came down to around $85,000. This […]