The Maine Department of Education released the governor’s “school grades,” last week, labeling schools in Maine with an A to F letter grade. However, these “grades” are hardly worth talking about. What is important to understand is where they come from and what they tell us about our schools. First, these grades were created without […]

Thumbs up to the students and staff at Old Orchard Beach High School who have come together to raise money for the victims and people affected by the recent Boston Marathon bombings. The bombs exploded on the first day of school vacation for students here in Maine, so after the break, school officials decided to […]

Some Sanford residents had been advocating for the city to back down on its trash disposal proposal, which will go before voters June 11. We’re glad to see the council held its ground. The council agreed April 2 to put two options before voters for waste disposal and recycling, with no option to keep the […]

The obstacles to Maine tax reform illustrate almost perfectly the seeming impossibility of achieving bipartisan political solutions. People say they want political cooperation to produce positive results, but then refuse to support compromise and insist on keeping their positions. When it comes to tax reform in Maine, such positions may be based on opinion rather […]

Local lawyers spent some time recently speaking with area residents about the legal system. More than 40 libraries across the state hosted lawyers during Maine’s first Law Day, and locally, McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, Wells Public Library, Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport and the Kennebunk Free Library participated. Attorney Jennifer Hayden, from the Biddeford […]

There are people who play mini-golf professionally. This blows my mind. Mini-golf ”“ in case you’ve been captive in a Sri Lankan dungeon since the age of steam power ”“ is a putting game based on the premise that people won’t become murderously enraged by having their balls swatted back to them by spinning windmill […]

Unemployment can happen at any time to anyone in America; to young men and women, to baby boomers, senior citizens and anyone in between. In March 2013, Maine had 7.1 percent unemployment, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job hiring has picked up this past year, yet still has a long way […]

Women’s reproductive rights are being threatened once again, with three new bills proposed that would lead to taking decisions out of the hands of individual patients and their doctors. These bills are set to be heard on May 16. Two of them would seek to place roadblocks between women and access to abortion, while a […]

Most York County school administrators were displeased with their school district’s “grades,” released late last week by the governor and education commissioner. The A-F scale was based mostly on test scores, and the average for schools statewide was a C, while 31 percent of the state’s high schools received a D or an F, according […]

Rules exist to give people, society and organizations guidelines within which to live and act. Sometimes, however, rules can be too arbitrary or lack sense. Never has this been more evident than in the situation in Columbus, Texas recently where a high school track and field 4×100-meter relay team was banned from competing in the […]