Congress faces difficult choices and disagreements as it winds down for the year, but a bipartisan bill passed in the House Monday, helping to maintain medical care for seniors. The legislation was only a small step toward solving a big Medicare problem. The House joined the Senate in voting to postpone a steep cut in […]

The Christmas shopping season is reportedly off to a good start ”“ a tiding of good cheer to retailers and those looking for evidence that economic recovery is indeed underway. The first reports from the malls were that shoppers had filled the parking lots and were spending freely. Retailers won’t report on sales until later […]

I took a walk yesterday to my neighbor’s pond. It’s not a large pond, taking up less than acre of space, and was dug a few years before I came to this place. An overflow pipe juts out of the water at the eastern end of it, and there’s a small dock there now, too. […]

An environment that is conducive to learning should be both pleasant and unique. That’s why the walls of my classroom at Kennebunk High School are festooned with bright and colorful posters bearing such messages as, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember what you said,” and “Stand up for what’s right, even […]

Thumbs up to the seniors at Sunset Towers in Sanford who took the initiative to start their own toy drive to donate to Toys for Tots. The residents were moved by seeing only a few gifts on the organization’s float in the Holly Daze parade and decided to take action so that all Sanford children […]

A landmark of Biddeford’s economic history will once again earn its keep, thanks the profit-making calculations of entrepreneurs, abetted by tax breaks awarded by the state and federal governments. The Mill at Saco Falls, once known as Laconia Mill No. 1, reopened last week as a 66-unit apartment complex. After a series of owners struggled […]

When the president calls a treaty “a national security imperative,” you would think rallying Republican support would not be difficult. And in fact, President Obama has gotten strong Republican backing for a new nuclear arms agreement with Russia. At a White House meeting demonstrating bipartisan support for the treaty last week, he was joined by […]

A holiday dinner is a good time to sit down after dinner and talk with family members and close friends, about what can we do to help others, and how can we help ourselves, too, at this special time of year. This is a good time to share thoughts about the good fortune we have […]

The Journal Tribune wishes all a festive holiday tomorrow, with good cheer among family and with fond thoughts for those not present. Every president since Lincoln has marked this American holiday with a Thanksgiving day address. Perhaps the best was delivered  in 1945 by President Harry S. Truman. It reminds us that even the darkest […]

This Thursday Americans traditionally give thanks for all they have. But some of us are equally grateful for what we don’t have, or what we didn’t get. When I was 10 years old I wanted to grow up to be 6 feet 6 inches tall. My reasoning at the time seemed sensible enough; being 6’6” […]