The Boston Public School system is now participating in a federal program that allows each student to get free breakfast and lunch every school day. This is a great program, and we’re glad to hear it will be available nationwide starting in the 2014-15 school year. The program, part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act […]

Remember the Gang of Seven? It’s the House bipartisan immigration reform working group ”“ used to be the Gang of Eight before Republican Rep. Raul Labrador quit in frustration ”“ and it has been rumored for months to be on the verge of releasing a comprehensive reform bill. It still hasn’t happened. And it’s unlikely […]

This is the first in a series on our youth learning they, too, are under surveillance.    Born in 1925, I started at Boston Latin School ”“ both the first U.S. public school, founded in 1635, and also our oldest school ”“ in the late 1930s for middle school. The teachers were called ”“ and addressed […]

The question of whether or not to pay college athletes has risen again recently, but as always, the answer to this sporadic, and at times controversial proposal, is no. It’s true that college athletes who play football and men’s basketball generate a lot of money for universities that either have successful programs or play in […]

 Thumbs up to all of the grandparents who participated in Biddeford Primary School’s event in honor of National Grandparents Day. In honor of the Sept. 8 holiday, grandparents were invited to visit their grandchildren’s classrooms and partake in some of their regular school day activities. In addition, grandparents took part in an assembly during which […]

While a lot about Syria remains unsettled, one fact is clear: President Obama has failed to convince the public, and the Congress, that attacking the Assad regime is a good idea. The administration has generated a flood of briefings and hearings, speeches and interviews, tweets and texts. No platform has gone unused, no argument unmade. […]

While people in Biddeford and surrounding towns benefit from the commercial development on the outskirts of the city, it’s important that we still take all necessary precautions to protect the surrounding natural areas that can so easily be spoiled by human activity. To that end, the city is promoting an educational campaign to preserve the […]

Amid the partisan controversy in Congress, some Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives say they will try to impeach President Obama. Do they believe that Obama is guilty of what the Constitution calls “high crimes and misdemeanors?” Do they believe they can be successful? The answers to both questions is “no.” They want […]

Making a bed isn’t the most unpleasant chore in the world. That distinction would probably fall to an odious activity involving a sponge, my hands and knees, and an uncomfortably close proximity to the toilet bowl; it’s always a firm reminder that, no matter how we dress ourselves or assume airs of dignity, we’re still […]

Sometimes public/private partnerships can work out well, creating a win-win situation for both entities. That seems to be the case with the parking lot proposal for the Harmon Museum/Historical Society and the Saco and Biddeford Savings Institution branch, in Old Orchard Beach. A vote is set for Sept. 17 at which the town council will […]