It’s a first step, but a major one in my journey in utilizing the “kidney” I never thought I had. Peritoneal dialysis in simple terms uses the peritoneal membrane as a blood filter, and uses dialystate ”“ a special fluid ”“ to remove waste filtered from the blood. Treatments are done daily or nightly at […]

The U.S. Census Bureau has begun a 100-day tour of New England to encourage people to complete census forms when they are mailed later this year. Other regional tours will be spreading the word throughout the nation. The message of the national $300 million campaign is that participating in the head count is both advantageous […]

With just about every state in the nation facing record-breaking budget shortfalls, no-one really knows what the “new normal” will be in state fiscal policy. With tax revenues substantially down and unemployment up, fiscal coffers are not going to fill up anytime soon. The economic heyday of the last few decades is over. Treading water […]

As the pictures in Monday’s newspaper showed, York County has plenty of men and women willing and able to brave the bleak Atlantic in January to help a good cause. At noon on Jan. 1, more than 300 bathers splashed into the calm but frigid water at Old Orchard Beach during the Lobster Dip ”“ […]

It is good news that Hannaford (and parent company Delhaize) will be able to take advantage of the work and investments by Stop & Shop that established a supermarket on the outskirts of Kennebunk. Stop & Shop shuttered the store last October, less than 18 months after it opened, complaining of poor sales. But Hannaford, […]

A U.S. federal judge has thrown out charges arising from the killing of scores of civilians in a notorious incident in Baghdad two years ago, saying that prosecutors violated the rights of the five U.S. defendants. Like any defendants, the accused Blackwater contractors have constitutional rights that must be respected, and U.S. District Judge Ricardo […]

Sometimes stories just land in your lap, unsolicited, waiting to be told. So it’s been these last few weeks leading up to the holidays. First was the unusual gift of bacon that a friend sent me, featured in a well-known upscale catalog. This was no ordinary, store-bought bacon primed with chemicals and hormones. This bacon […]

Thumbs down to the loss of Cumberland and York Aviation as fixed-based operator of the Biddeford Airport. With the city taking over operations there, the flight school will be lost and private contracts for aerial work, such as photography, will no longer be available. The airport is an asset to the city, but if a […]

In some markets, it’s apparently a difficult time to be a landlord. Biddeford’s code enforcement office is coming upon an increasing number of empty apartment buildings ”“ some in foreclosure, others simply abandoned. The trend shows how high unemployment can deflate the value of rental housing. Anyone who loses a job has an immediate incentive […]

We haven’t heard much about the drivers license plan known as Real ID lately, but the 2005 law moving us a step closer to national ID cards is still on the books. Fortunately, this month the Department of Homeland Security extended a deadline that was facing Maine and scores of other states. By the end […]