Legislators deserve credit for their painstaking work toward closing a $310 million budget gap and balancing the state budget, and, yesterday, reaching a compromise on a bond proposal that will be presented to voters in June. Now that lawmakers have accomplished the difficult job of sharply cutting the individual bond proposals, leaving a $57.8 million […]

Approaching the end of 34 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens has become known as an influential broker of split decisions. From 2004 to 2008, for instance, he rallied majorities to reject key elements of the Bush administration’s repressive legal tactics in the war on terror. Stevens has used salesmanship and […]

They say everything you really need to learn in life you learn while in kindergarten. Play nice with others. Wait your turn. Listen to your elders. Share. The first few I think I’ve nailed down. However I’m finding, being a parent who ”˜shares’ custody with someone, I’m no good at sharing. Apparently I missed that […]

Thumbs down to the state Appropriations Committee for voting 11 to 1 to kill the York County Jail bill that would have lowered the county’s operating expenses under the jail consolidation cap by $280,000, in perpetuity. L.D. 1745 is still awaiting Senate action, after it was passed unanimously by the Criminal Justice Committee and the […]

In the fall, voters will have another opportunity to cast a vote against expanding the gambling industry in Maine. Plans for a resort casino in Oxford County will again appear on Maine’s referendum ballot. Plans are proceding as expected by the entrepreneurs of Black Bear Entertainment. The Legislature declined to approve the company’s proposal, so […]

The Downeaster won’t make a scheduled stop in Old Orchard Beach until later this month, but some see the idea of a year-round stop as a goal worth pursuing. The ambition to make Old Orchard Beach accessible by rail year-round might seem as far-fetched as trying to sell Pier Fries in January, but the ideas […]

I went to the bank today. This wasn’t the usual swipe-my-card, make-a-withdrawal trip to the ATM. This was a visit to the bank’s inner sanctum, that vestige of old-world commerce that relies on people more than machines. Sometimes one needs banking services that exceed the capabilities of an ATM, that require an actual human in […]

One of the results of the 2010 census is likely to be a clearer idea of how many people are living as married couples in same-sex relationships. In its permissive way, the Census Bureau is allowing such couples to consider themselves married, even in states like Maine, where a referendum last year narrowly defined marriage […]

The Democratic push for health care reform has always paid deference to the faith many of us have in the health insurance policies we are paying for. The administration has assured us: “If you’re happy with your health care coverage, you’ll be able to keep it.” Many of those who enjoy both good health and […]

Thumbs up to all of those who walked or ran in the annual Mary’s Walk and Kerrymen Pub 5k on Sunday, March 28 to raise money for cancer research in Maine. Each person’s small effort can add up to make a difference in the fight against this prevalent disease and all should be commended, particularly […]