For weeks, I’d been seeing white wood shavings all across my tiny back yard. I’d look up into the trees wondering where it was coming from, but could see nothing. I thought I might have spilled them while lugging wood, but no, I hadn’t lugged any wood back there in a long time, not since […]

The York County Budget Committee begins its review of the plans for 2011 in a more comfortable position than it was a year ago. Last year at this time county staff had already been cut drastically to cope with an unexpected loss of $1.3 million in income. New state rules covering the operation of county […]

Thumbs down to the City of Saco’s trial to consolidate voting into one polling place at the Franklin Street Community Center. After two years and one gubernatorial election, the city should have realized that the parking and traffic problems associated with having everyone vote at one place are serious enough to impede voting. Though it […]

Congress faces divisive issues this month, but the lame duck session has a rare opportunity to achieve bipartisanship by passing a piece of legislation almost everyone believes in. The bill, aimed at improving school lunches and child nutrition programs, has already passed unanimously in the Senate. Now it deserves approval by the House of Representatives. […]

Maine’s first case of seasonal flu was confirmed last week by the Maine Center for Disease Control, which used the occasion to remind Mainers to take the usual precautions again this year. Vaccinations are recommended for all those older than six months of age, according to Dora Ann Mills, M.D., director of the agency. Immunization […]

For a few days last month, a court decision freed the military from a misguided law that has required commanders to purge their units of openly gay service members. Today, “don’t ask, don’t tell” is back in force, even though almost no one has a good word to say about the 1993 law. The president, […]

How can we fix the economy and create jobs, when people are so uncertain about the future? Sales and job reports are mixed, and businesses worry about what to do, because of the uncertainty over how new regulations or tax policies might affect the business playing field. The lack of results from the Asian meeting […]

General Motors has rebounded dramatically in the two years since it approached the brink of insolvency, and was sustained only by a government bailout of nearly $50 million. This month, the revived company posted a $2 billion profit for the quarter, and sales among its remaining brands ”“ Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC ”“ are […]

Pigeon ”¦ “2. Slang. One who is easily swindled; a dupe.”  ”“ American Heritage Dictionary The reason this definition comes to mind is that Pigeon Hill in Oxford may soon become a destination for those with an inclination to gamble. It has been chosen as the site of the western Maine casino approved by a […]

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) was an ordained Methodist minister and leading proponent of the Power of Positive thinking. He fervently believed people who hopefully or optimistically anticipated results for particular events were far more likely to obtain good or constructive outcomes than individuals less proactive in their attitude, or who habitually expected the worst. […]