Packing for a trip is like gearing up for an excursion to outer space: Forget one important item, and you spend your time stranded without the comfort of your favorite stuff. It’s the adult equivalent of missing your beloved childhood blankie, minus the crying and sucking of thumbs. Usually. In less than a month, I’ll […]

A plan to open some long-closed fishing areas off the Northeast coast seems like a useless move that was intended as a gesture rather than a viable means to help New England fishermen to make a living. The proposal, unveiled last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would allow certain fishermen back into […]

The economic outlook in America remains stable, but largely unchanged, for the second half of 2013. They say “hindsight is much more accurate than foresight” and it may be true. There are many questions that remain unanswered about the future of our economy. We don’t know if the federal debt ceiling will be maintained or […]

Anyone who’s ever been annoyed by a pot-hole ridden road, worried about structural integrity while crossing a bridge or wished they could find work in the construction industry will be displeased to know that our state leaders are continuing to play politics with transportation improvements for the state. It was last March when Gov. Paul […]

In the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the National League annually toyed with the sad excuses for teams the American League fielded for Major League Baseball’s All-Star game. At one point, the NL won 19 out of 20 midsummer classics, including 11 in a row from 1972-82. But few at the time cared to recognize […]

Many sports fans in York County will be sitting in front of their television sets tonight watching the Major League Baseball All-Star game and enjoying an evening of baseball’s stars playing what should be an exhibition game that counts for nothing but pride. Unfortunately, MLB in 2002 decided to make this annual summer game count […]

Thumbs up to the decision in Saco to put off a proposed $10.8 million construction project for a new public works building. With a property tax increase of 18 percent just last year, residents are reeling from the hit to their pocketbooks and are unlikely to support this project. Rather than waste time putting forward […]

I have served on and off in the Maine Legislature for decades now. In my experience, this has been one of the most challenging sessions, because despite the Legislature’s best efforts, the governor continued to block progress by putting politics ahead of good policy. At more than 80 vetoes, Gov. Paul LePage vetoed more bills […]

Rail transport safety is at the forefront of many minds as of late, ever since the tragic oil train derailing on Saturday, July 6 in Lac-Megantic, Quebec that claimed the lives of at least 50 people. Cleanup of the site, which was described as a “war zone” by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will be […]

In Egypt, the army toppled a democratically elected government. In a country like the United States, it may be shocking that, no matter what a government’s policies, the vote of a majority of the people should be overturned by force. President Obama seemed to say that the military coup was acceptable, because of the way […]