Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in Saturday and although she won’t begin work for a month, her tenure is already noteworthy. She is the court’s first Hispanic justice and only the third woman to serve. Her confirmation last week was front page news in Puerto Rican newspapers, and Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony was widely […]

Thumbs up to those who minister to inmates at the York County Jail, particularly Pastor Trent Boyd, who is the part-time chaplain there. Offering spiritual support in a time of adversity can help people get their lives back on track, and Boyd seems particularly concerned with helping convicts after they are released ”“ a key […]

Construction is set to begin on a new residence hall for the University of New England, since the Biddeford Planning Board approved the project Wednesday. The undertaking marks a new era for the college, the first major step of a vast expansion plan that is expected to accommodate the living needs of the ever-growing number […]

Biddeford High School needs renovations, without a doubt. Among other issues, the front stairs are cracked, classrooms are often either too hot or too cold, some classes are overcrowded, and the building is not energy efficient.  On Tuesday, the City Council took the first step in placing a $34 million dollar high school renovation bond […]

A federal incentive program has  brought car buyers back to dealer showroom by offering big rebates designed to take gas guzzlers of the road. Now the U.S. Senate must decide whether to raise another $2 billion to keep the program in business. We hope someone is keeping track of the vehicles being traded in under […]

Walter Cronkite died last week. Good. At the end he was ill, enfeebled and suffering from dementia. He was far too fine a man for that. He was 92, after all, and he’d had a hell of a run. By accident of birth and circumstance and talent, he was front-row center for virtually every major […]

Wood Island Light continues to warn mariners approaching Biddeford Pool of the hazards to navigation along the southern shore of Saco Bay. In the last 200 years there have been many wrecks in these waters, and without the lighthouse at Wood Island, there would have been many more. Lighthouse keepers have only recently been displaced […]

With the lure of $5 billion in grants, the Obama administration is putting the federal government in a strong position to influence the direction of education. The new grant program takes a positive approach toward school reform. Called Race to the Top, it seeks to encourage states to embrace current trends in education reform, like […]

Thumbs up to Sanford Police Officers Mike “Tipper” Thornton and Mike Gordon for running the Junior Police Academy for Sanford students. The opportunity to understand police work and the challenges that law enforcement officers face, is priceless for any of us, but particularly for youth. The program seems to have already inspired several young people […]

More than 100 farms all across Maine will welcome visitors this Sunday ”“ Open Farm Day. It’s the 20th year for this annual summer event organized by the Maine Department of Agriculture. Most farms that participate in this midsummer event probably hope to profit from it, and also to educate the public about agriculture. For […]