Each year, the holidays are barely over before I am already looking forward to spring and to what new gardening adventures I will be able to embark upon. My first spring here in these woods was in 2000, and the snow was barely off the ground in March before I was assembling the frames for […]

Thumbs up to the newly formed York County Renewable Energy Initiative, which is seeking to spread the word about conservation and help change people’s behaviors. The group is taking a strong approach to their efforts, with hands-on training for solar panel installations and plans to set up a cooperative labor pool for energy efficiency improvements […]

Opponents of the death penalty are working to clear the name of Cameron Todd Willingham even though he is long dead, executed more than six years ago. Willingham was convicted of setting the fire that killed his three young children in 1991. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of a deputy fire marshal, who […]

The Food and Drug Administration for the first time can order the recall of tainted foods and will soon be in a position to undertake regular inspections of food processing plants. These and other provisions were enacted by Congress with broad bipartisan support last month, and the Food Safety Act was signed Tuesday by the […]

Are we heading for political party compromises or detrimental gridlock in government this year? We live in a real world, where fast and loose spending beyond one’s means doesn’t fly very well, in today’s economy. Many of us are sick and tired of hearing the class war syndrome of poor against rich, espoused by far […]

Supporters of health care reform are ready for the challenge of defending it during the coming year, but they are entering the public relations battlefield of 2011 with a handicap. As the Washington Post recently pointed out, supporters are saddled with with the law’s unwieldy title, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The legislation […]

It was eye-opening to learn that the backers of the proposed Biddeford Downs Racino spent almost $37 per vote last year as they took the first step toward approval of a slot machine, harness racing and hotel complex. The $171,000 investment resulted in a high turnout at the polls and a 4,636-3,244 endorsement by the […]

I must admit that I was quite surprised when Governor-elect Paul LePage’s camp announced that no poetry would be read at his gubernatorial inauguration. As the executive director of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance ”“ a 35-year-old nonprofit devoted to enriching the cultural life of Maine by supporting the literary arts ”“ I paused […]

Due in part to the fact that I share this wooded place with a variety of rodents, I own three cats. Don’t be fooled into thinking that cats are naturally just waiting to become your household’s rodent terminators, because nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who owns, or has owned, a cat can […]

As 2011 begins, there is wide agreement that economic recovery, though measurable by economists, has not restored U.S. economic confidence. Business investment remains weak and unemployment is high. The goal for the year ahead should be to restore faith in the American dream. The American worker as productive as ever, so prosperity will return once […]