The 2011 high school football season will begin on Friday, with hundreds of players representing scores of teams throughout Maine as they embark on that annual quest to win either a Class A, B or C state championship. Teams from Millinocket to York will play every weekend in fall battles that define long-time rivalries and […]

Thumbs up to Lyman selectmen for getting one thing right this week. The board voted to lower the property tax rate from $11.65 per $1,000 of property to $11.50. This move will give a little relief to property owners, while keeping the town’s fund balance at a healthy rate. Assessor Regina Merry presented selectmen with […]

The saga continues. In Lyman this week, Selectmen Leo Ruel and Norman Hutchins voted to advertise for a transfer station manager, and Ruel said if the current operator and Selectman Steve Marble wants the job, he is welcome to apply. In June, Marble was elected to the board by a narrow margin despite his position […]

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. Countless campaigns during the past few decades, along with news stories and those ubiquitous warning labels on every cigarette advertisement and the packs themselves, have done their job of spreading the word. Anyone who thinks they can be a smoker and get through life without any negative […]

Tim Pawlenty, erstwhile governor of Minnesota, gave up his bid for the presidency after finishing third in Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll, shocking the vast majority of Americans who didn’t know he was running. I don’t know whether it was a wise move or not, but it doesn’t speak well of his perseverance. Getting knocked out […]

President Barack Obama has announced several new rules for fuel efficiency standards this month. The first of which is a deal with automakers to double overall fuel economy to 54.5 mpg by 2025, starting in model year 2017. Cars and light trucks now on the road average 27 mpg. Just last week, Obama also announced […]

Some nights I have trouble falling asleep, and it has nothing to do with not being tired enough or having too much on my mind. I can’t sleep because I don’t want to miss a single thing that is going on out there in the dark woods just beyond my bedroom window. It’s particularly bad […]

While the National Basketball Association’s lockout is in full swing, it is refreshing to see some of the league’s younger stars taking their education and future seriously. John Wall, who played one stellar season for the University of Kentucky and earned the No. 1 draft pick in the 2010 NBA draft, announced last week that […]

Listening to the aspirants for the Republican presidential nomination vie for the right to run against President Barack Obama next year makes one wonder which group is more willfully obtuse: The right-wing base to which each of the self-proclaimed, socially conservative, anti-tax zealots is pandering or the candidates themselves. The script is all too familiar; […]

Thumbs up to all those who planted gardens for the greater good this season, or who are participating in community gardens, from Saco to Kennebunk. Many of these plots are being used to teach youth about healthy eating, while others are for private use and still others send their bounty to help the hungry. Planting […]