The arrival of a second recycling bin in Old Orchard Beach this week was  greeted with fanfare ”“ a sign that the town is determined to improve its  recycling rate.  Maine has always held high hopes for recycling; since 1989 it has  been the state’s official goal to achieve a recycling rate of 50 percent. […]

In one more sign that health insurance companies are under pressure to change the way they do business, a Maine judge last week said state regulators have no obligation to guarantee Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield a profit. The case concerned the market for individual policies ”“ a sector that shows how dysfunctional the […]

Popular support for financial reform makes it likely that a bill will pass in the U.S. Senate, so it raises the interesting question of how Democrats and Republicans will attempt the unfamiliar maneuver known as compromise. Let’s hope they can accomplish it. The economic crisis of the past two years has shown us that the […]

Pope Benedict XVI spoke directly to priests and bishops Sunday, telling them they must defend children from evil. As the Roman Catholic Church addresses accusations that it failed to protect children from sexual abuse by priests, such long-awaited statements of responsibility are essential. The Vatican’s failure to respond adequately to public outrage in Europe and […]

A line snaked around Sullivan Gym at the University of Southern Maine as hundreds of people waited Sunday for the doors to open at the Great Portland Bike Swap. When they did, it was a mad scramble for the hundreds of used bicycles on sale at the annual event sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of […]

Over the past decade of my life just about everything has changed. Friends and relationships have come and gone, I’ve gotten married twice, divorced once, become a mother and moved more times than I’d like to try and count. Lines have etched their permanent mark on my face. I’ve grown older. But through those 10 […]

Thumbs up to the board of the La Kermesse Franco-Americaine festival for doing their best to continue the annual celebration of French-Canadian culture, despite the obstacles they face with finances and location. An announcement is expected today on the future of the festival. We say that even if the festival is scaled back dramatically, something […]

Mainers hauled in a record-setting 75.6 million pounds of lobster last year, but it’s likely that landings will rise, thanks to the Legislature’s decision to end the state’s prohibition against lobster processing. By this summer, rules will allow knuckles, claws and tails to be processed and preserved as specialty food items. Those licensed to fish […]

It may take a leap of faith to believe that NASA can successfully change course toward realistic goals for space exploration ”“ the same kind of faith that inspired the moon landings of a generation ago. At Cape Canaveral last week, the agency was told that U.S. space exploration must pursue new goals and challenges. […]

Yahoo income nearly triples from first quarter of 2009 Yahoo Inc.’s first-quarter earnings nearly tripled as the Internet company’s revenue edged up for the first time in 18 months. The results released Tuesday represented Yahoo’s best quarterly performance since it hired CEO Carol Bartz to engineer a turnaround early last year. Display advertising, a category […]