This is the best time of year for a parent to lie to their child. I say that with absolutely zero attempt at being facetious. Generally speaking, I’m not a proponent of lying to toddlers ”“ unless they ask where babies come from, in which case the old stork bromide might get a good dusting-off. […]

The York County Advocacy Group, made up of local councilors, selectmen, county commissioners, town managers and a city administrator, recently held a meeting with the county’s legislators, at which members laid out their legislative goals for the region. We’re pleased to see this group getting together and coming up with ways to improve life for […]

Growing up, my family had simple traditions for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We’d drive down Route 1 from Portland singing Christmas carols along the way to my paternal grandparent’s house on Promenade Ave. in Saco, first driving past the bright decorations of the fire station. Then we made our way up an icy driveway […]

When tragedies occur, it’s natural to look for someone to blame. The danger, however, is in compounding the tragedy by fingering the wrong culprit. Last Friday, an unspeakable tragedy took place in Connecticut when a lone gunman murdered 26 people ”“ 20 of them children at a school ”“ before committing suicide. The loss that […]

An interesting legal battle is brewing in New Hampshire that could have a significant impact on boys and girls high school athletics. Shelby Herrington, a hockey player at Bishop Brady High School in Concord, N.H., has played on the boys team for the past few seasons, but the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association is telling […]

The high point of my long-ago coaching career came one afternoon 26 autumns ago, when the junior varsity boys soccer team I was running defeated a squad from a neighboring high school 1-0. It was the visitors’ first loss in five years. That game came to mind last Friday when I learned of the horrific […]

Thumbs up to Fiber Materials, Inc. for its role in creating materials for an upcoming NASA mission. The Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, mission is scheduled to launch in 2016 and is designed to bring back a sample of an asteroid. FMI has assisted in such missions before, creating thermal protection materials for NASA’s […]

If there’s anything all Americans revere, it is the Constitution. From raw recruits to the president of the United States, virtually all who hold public office pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” it. This venerable document, adopted in 1789, is the nation’s civic bible. Yet, despite all the respect for the Constitution, Congress informally amends […]

The tension between some town councilors and the town manager came to a head earlier this week in Old Orchard Beach. Council Chairwoman Sharri MacDonald called for an executive session at Wednesday night’s meeting due to her ”“ and other councilors’ ”“ concerns with Town Manager Mark Pearson’s performance. However, MacDonald could not garner enough […]

Christmas is a time when many people feel the pain of loss more acutely, as they miss sharing annual traditions with those who have passed. That makes it an ideal time to remember those people, and while many families may place wreaths of their own on gravesites and memorials, one Maine-based group has taken it […]