I encourage everyone to go to mainegunsafety.org and sign up to receive notes about the progress of gun safety laws in the Maine Legislature. Those who do so will be notified regarding bills being discussed by legislative committees and will be asked to submit online written testimony and/or to testify in person. Legislators have told […]

I ask you, Sens. King and Collins, to go on record, in these pages, calling for the outlawing of assault weapons. Yes or no. It is a simple request. If your answer is no, I ask readers to vote for your ouster. Harley Marshall Portland

The gun violence massacre in Lewiston is soul-sickening. It’s a horror; Mainers can’t respond to this tragedy with the same indifference that follows other mass shootings in America. According to the Giffords Law Center, Maine ranks 27th in the United States for restrictiveness of its gun laws. Maine does not require waiting periods for weapon […]

The nation of Israel has a right to exist and has a right and duty of self-defense. These same two pillars support our own nation, the United States. Russia does not recognize Ukraine’s right to exist. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and many others do not recognize Israel’s right to exist. In fact, they want to wipe […]

Contrary to a recent letter to the editor (Nov. 15), I applaud Bowdoin President Zaki’s refusal to issue a formal statement about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Such statements have achieved nothing for either the victims of Hamas terrorism or the innocent killed in Gaza. Rather, they reduce complex issues to one of two types of “statements”: […]

It was gratifying to see (“Bowdoin inaugurates its first woman president” Oct. 16) the names of the three women who taught at Bowdoin College in 1943. My mother, Marion Holmes, was one of them. My father, Cecil Holmes, was a professor of math at Bowdoin and my mother had been a high school math teacher. […]

Rent control appeals to renters. So would free housing. Renters outnumber landlords in Portland, so promising cheaper rent wins elections. However, rent is not cheaper since rent control started. My tenants pay more now because I impose an annual increase to protect my property value. This is because I cannot raise rent to market value […]

Regarding the Oct. 25 letter “Election road signs contribute nothing to Maine,” Maine statute gives the state Department of Transportation authority over roadside advertising and defines officially licensed state signposts and interstate “guide signs” to businesses. The statute allows temporary political signs (and apparently others, including commercial advertising) without permit, but requires they include a […]