Nelson Mandela’s passing earlier this month prompted tributes from virtually every major world leader. It’s hard to recall the last time an individual was eulogized so eloquently by such a variety of people from around the globe. The justifiably revered former president of South Africa helped his nation escape the shackles of apartheid, both through […]

In the spirit of the holiday season and to help wish our readers a very Merry Christmas, we share the following letter and response that appeared in 1897 in the New York Sun. The unsigned editorial was the work of Francis P. Church. Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends […]

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” — Henry David Thoreau In November, many of us gathered with […]

Thumbs up to the success so far at the Pepperell Mill Campus, which is welcoming several new tenants in building 13, across from the Happy Dragon Chinese restaurant. It’s an exciting time for downtown Biddeford, with plans for a 150-seat restaurant, mortgage processing center, expansion of Hyperlite Mountain Gear, and new businesses such as Banded […]

Welfare reform in Maine has been a goal of Gov. Paul LePage’s since before he took office, and while we’re glad to see he is taking action on a review of this program, his approach is unfortunate. The governor recently hired an outside consultant, Alexander Group, to conduct a $1 million review of Medicaid in […]

Has Congress finally come to its senses? Only 10 percent of voters approve of the job it is doing, according to one new national poll. And another survey reports only 26 percent have a positive view of Republicans, who control the U.S. House of Representatives and can block votes in the Senate. More than half […]

In mere days ”“ days! ”“ I’ll be sitting on a carpeted living room floor, surrounded by a dizzying kaleidoscope of torn wrapping paper and flung bows, one of which will invariably be stuck atop the head of a confused housecat. Buried beneath this festive camouflage will lie boxes filled with Christmas gifts, and although […]

The holidays are a time of joy for many people, with family gatherings, the spirit of giving and hope for a new year abounding. For others, however, the expectations of the season are overwhelming and can lead to depression, especially for those who feel they cannot live up to the image of the season that […]

There are two very serious problems facing the American economy. One is the high level of unemployment. The other is the fact that too many of the new jobs in the marketplace pay very low wages. It does not seem fair or right to have people work a full-time job, but earn too little to […]

The federal Food and Drug Administration has taken a step toward reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock intended to be processed for meat, but its proposal does not go nearly far enough. The FDA is asking pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily stop labeling drugs that are used to treat humans as acceptable for those uses […]