On this Earth Day weekend, Mainers should take a moment to study the New England Clean Energy Connect corridor project for themselves. If they do so, they’ll realize that it’s a boon for the state, region and Mother Nature herself. They’ll also quickly realize that Maine environmentalist groups are being shortsighted and ridiculous by continuing […]
Lakes Region Weekly opinion
Life Unwound: How do we reflect on ourselves and others?
It’s like this. You walk to the mirror feeling like yourself, your True Self, from the inside. Not 18, though maybe 18 if certain music is playing or certain memories woke up with you. But you, smiling you. You feel life moving in you. You stare in the mirror and your view of yourself flips. […]
Through My Lens: Black mental health and the Derek Chauvin trial
The televised trial of Derek Chauvin is yet another mental anguish for the Black men in this country. The videos played during the court proceedings included George Floyd’s last minutes of his life as he struggled under Chauvin’s knee. Every Black American that gathered the courage to watch this trial felt the traumatizing fear and […]
Mainewhile: Should 16-year-olds vote?
Usually when I write my thoughts here to share with you I live up to the “Opinion” title of the section. I come in with an experience, or a memory, or an idea, and I mold it and shape it until at the end: ta-da! There it is, my formed little notion. This week is […]
Guest column: Royal River Conservation Trust has lost its way
Royal River Conservation Trust is on the brink of compromising its impressive history in land acquisition and preservation by partnering with Gray-New Gloucester Little League on a large urban-scale development in New Gloucester’s iconic Intervale landscape. Through a generous offer by a private landowner, RRCT has an option on a 180-acre tract that connects Royal […]
Mainewhile: High school sports should be open to all kids
I did not play sports in school. In fact, I hated them. I was the kid who always dropped the ball; I was the one picked last. So it is odd for me to do what I am about to do: advocate passionately for more inclusive school sports teams with opportunities for all to play. […]
Life Unwound: Quieting the monkey in your mind
On a sunrise walk, I strolled along a path beside a golf course. The sky radiated stripes of pinks and purple before the orb rose huge and round. Billowy clouds in pillowy shapes dotted the pastel expanse above. Birds chatted, echoes of their calls bouncing off the mirror-like water nearby. Squirrels scurried about, chasing each […]
Here’s Something: View virus stats with a raised eyebrow
During coronavirus, Mainers have been inundated with statistics of every kind. We hear them every day, in every way, often with a sense of alarm by newscasters that are quoting the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, which logs the data. We hear the latest death count, confirmed case count, probable case count, hospitalizations […]
Through My Lens: Observing Ramadan during a pandemic is challenging
The countdown has begun for Muslims throughout the world. Ramadan, which is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, is coming in April. The exact day to begin fasting is decided by the sighting of the crescent moon. Prophet Mohamed was quoted as saying, “Fast after you have seen (the crescent moon) and end the […]
Mainewhile: A healthy state of mind
Before I moved down the coast to this part of the state I was a trifle spoiled. I had Acadia National Park pretty much in my backyard. In fact, in one house I lived in, that was the literal truth. I hiked a lot. Leaving all that behind was the hardest adjustment of the move. […]