Already, it feels like the home stretch. It shouldn’t. There are two months left before the end of the year, and so it seems premature to be setting sights on Christmas and beyond; it’s a bit like looking forward to St. Patrick’s Day at the beginning of January. Of course, depending on your predilection for […]

Biddeford voters, in rejecting all the bond issues presented Tuesday, are going to have pay up ”“ not in money, of course, but in other less tangible costs. All three proposed bonds ”“ for street paving, sewer and sidewalk work, and facilities improvements ”“ were voted down by significant margins. Residents will be saving the […]

Nov. 6 was a historic day in Maine. Voters here ”“ and in Maryland and likely in Washington ”“ became the first to approve same-sex marriage at the polls. After an unsuccessful attempt in 2009, when voters repealed the Legislature-approved gay marriage law, supporters quickly organized and have been working toward this day ever since. […]

According to a survey conducted by Twentysomething, Inc., “85 percent of 2011 college graduates moved back home, at least for a while.” Many young adults have moved back home due to economic woes, unmanageable student loans and their inability to find work. I was grateful to live with my sister’s family a few years ago […]

The Thornton Academy Golden Trojans football team will have a chance at something rare when they play Cheverus on Saturday: To avenge two stinging losses. For the past two seasons, Thornton has been one of the best teams in Class A football, but Cheverus has been just a little bit better. After all, the Stags […]

During the late 1960s and early 1970s in Easton, Conn., many boys my age spent their free time playing baseball, football or basketball, walking or running, or riding a bike to somewhere where baseball, football or basketball was being played. Like the rest of us, my friend, Russell Neary, was a determined and enthusiastic athlete, […]

As the polls opened early this morning, thousands of candidates and their supporters awoke early for a day full of hand shaking and that final chance to make an impression on voters. Now, people just need to vote. Here in Maine, we have a major change before us, Question 1 asks whether to allow same-sex […]

Thumbs up to the distribution of new, electronic voting machines leased to several York County towns by the state, with funding from the federal Help America Vote Act. These machines, which have nearly 100 percent accuracy, will help to streamline the ballot counting process in Maine’s small towns and eliminate the need for multiple countings […]

As we finally approach Election Day, many people are so tired of the campaigns that they ask plaintively, “Are we there yet?” Throughout a long campaign, we have been treated to daily analyses about who’s ahead, to the point where it becomes an almost meaningless blur. We get three kinds of comments: Pundits, polls and […]

Some people are bargain hunters. They set out for the mall in search of savings. I, on the other hand, am a bargain magnet. Not that I go looking for discounts ”“ they simply find me. Last week, for instance, I went shopping for a copier machine. Weighing the merits of various models, I asked […]