The most harmful effect of the fiscal crisis ”“ uncertainty ”“ is taking its toll. The two-year Washington deadlock over stopping the growth in the federal debt, and then reducing, has caused serious harm to most Americans. President Obama and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have been unable to agree on more than papering over […]

In just three days, the Maine Energy Recovery Company waste incinerator will cease operations for good. No longer will trucks deposit garbage at the Lincoln Street site to fuel the flames that make that iconic plume of smoke over the city. The closure means vastly different things to different people. For many of the plant’s […]

Whenever I feel an inkling to pursue the kind of rambunctious, drunken New Year’s Eve celebrations that were common in my early-to-mid 20s, I remember the time I spent most of the night flying high on Southern Comfort and violently shaking a plastic ice cream mixer. That usually brings me back down to earth. I […]

Earlier this month, a first-time situation occurred in college basketball when 50-year-old Gabrielle Ludwig played in a game for Mission College. Ludwig’s age is not what made her appearance a first-time occurrence in college basketball ”“ her sex did. Mission College’s newest team member was born John Ludwig and lived much of her life as […]

Gun violence continues to cause horrific tragedies in America. The latest incident, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut on Dec. 14, illustrates how the occurrence of such a terrible tragedy can spread heartbreak throughout the nation.  Whose children will not feel frightened about going to school, after learning of this disaster? Which children will […]

Although the wrapping paper and ribbons are now in the waste basket, and many are already taking down their Christmas trees and decorations, we hope the spirit of the holiday season will last into the new year and beyond. York County ”“ and Mainers beyond the county’s border ”“ have shown their compassion and holiday […]

”¢ Thumbs up to Kristen Bradley, who came up with the idea to donate stuffed animals to the survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, and to all those who have joined in her effort. Locally, Heather McRee of Biddeford and Leslie Penna of Old Orchard Beach are helping to collect stuffed animals, which were […]

The University of Maine was recently awarded a highly competitive grant to develop offshore, floating wind turbines to be deployed off of the Maine coast. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced the award last week and congratulated the university on its cutting-edge work. The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center in Orono has been working […]

When voters chose members of state legislatures on Nov. 7, 2000, it’s a safe bet that none of them thought that a dozen years later their vote might affect the resolution of the major national political issue of the day. Yet the election of those legislatures has had a direct effect on the struggle between […]

What an inspiring story Sen. Olympia Snowe has. As a child, she was orphaned at age 9, and when she was widowed at 26 after her husband died in a car crash, she ran for his legislative seat and went on to become the third-longest-serving woman in congressional history. Now, with an impressive record as […]