Stephanie Cutter, an adviser to the Obama re-election campaign, wrote a scathing memo the other day about Mitt Romney’s experience at Bain Capital, subtitled “Profit at Any Cost.” Cutter sounded like a sworn enemy of private equity. Except a few years ago, she was a spokeswoman for J.C. Flowers, a private-equity firm. Why do work […]

The son of a textile mill worker, John Edwards rose from modest roots to become a fabulously successful trial lawyer in North Carolina. Charismatic, articulate and photogenic, he was elected to the United States Senate in 1998 at age 45. He was his party’s vice presidential nominee in 2004, and with his political star on […]

It’s been more than a month now since Rep. David Burns, who represents Maine House District 138, was found guilty of violating campaign finance laws by the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. It took this Republican representative until this past Tuesday to resign from his seat on the Alfred Board of Selectmen […]

Thumbs up to all the people who helped make a surprise homecoming extra special last weekend. During the student production “Murder at the Pie Auction” at the Old Orchard Beach High School, Richard Mariello, who returned home after serving a year in Afghanistan in the Army, popped up in a guest role to surprise his […]

Now that it finally feels like winter ”“ with near-zero temperatures and snow falling on a weekly basis ”“ we encourage York County residents to prepare for severe weather and keep an eye on their elderly neighbors and those who may need assistance when the snowflakes start piling up. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends […]

I generally make New Year’s resolutions in hopes of becoming a better person ”“ more disciplined, healthier, or, at the very least, less pathetic. Some of these resolutions last until nightfall. Some don’t. None ever sees February. This year, I’m taking a different approach. I’m going to concentrate on giving up things. Not things like […]

Distrust of the government seems to be running rampant these days, with the common perception that politicians are more concerned with their own interests and their own pocketbooks than they are with the well-being of their constituents. A recent investigative piece by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting unfortunately proved that to be true […]

Despite some major victories won for Americans with the Affordable Care Act, some lawmakers are determined to bring it down ”“ including Maine’s Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe. Snowe released a statement in January saying that she is joining 35 Republican colleagues in filing an Amicus brief with the Supreme Court calling for the repeal of […]

Earlier today, I went down the road to my neighbor’s to pick up some kindling wood she no longer needed. Her lovely house sits right on the shore of Swan Pond, and after gathering the wood, I stuck my near-frozen fingers into my pockets and walked to the pond’s edge. While there’s a good coating […]

Another Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance has come and gone, with some of those who got a day off choosing to sleep it away and others dedicating the extra time to give back to their community. The holiday seems to have varying significance, depending on your crowd and location, but here in southern Maine […]