Re: “Maine legislative agenda could chip away at lawsuit’s gripes against indigent defense system” (June 26): Reporter Emily Allen’s excellent coverage of the June 23 hearing before Justice Michaela Murphy omitted a critical point: Unless the necessary funding is allocated by the state to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, we can expect that […]

There’s been much commentary recently on the increasing stress that nurses are suffering. A number of remedies have been suggested, including legislation mandating nurse-patient ratios in hospitals in 32 specific clinical scenarios. How, I’ve wondered, would this issue be dealt with in a publicly funded universal health care system (“single-payer”)? One example of such a […]

A recent front-page story about Sen. Susan Collins’ voting record for federal judges amounted to nothing more than “clickbait” once you actually read the story. Here was the headline: “Sen. Susan Collins’ ‘no’ votes on judicial nominees have risen sharply under Biden” (June 25). I clicked, thinking I would read a story about Collins’ flip-flopping […]

The fact that so many Republicans are less concerned about former President Donald Trump’s hiding, bragging about and sharing of national security documents and secrets than they are about drag queens and gender-affirming care for young Americans is baffling. Trump lied about having documents revealing U.S. and allied defense information. He knew he had this […]

One possible means of housing the 300 newcomers to America soon to be displaced from the Portland Expo might be to incentivize homeowners and apartment renters in Greater Portland and throughout the state to take newcomers into their homes for a designated period of time. Along with providing shelter for people in need, the program […]

Regarding the failure of the Maine Senate to vote in favor of the proposed background checks on “private” gun sales, I believe a one-word response is sufficient: Pathetic. The Republicans, with the help of nine Democrats, caved in – once again – to the guns-at-any-price cultists. Using the same worn-out catchphrase excuses, they argued that […]

Maine’s asylum seekers need quicker access to day-to-day needs, especially jobs. On June 28, this paper reported (happy) news that South Portland had secured funding for 367 asylum seekers to stay at the Howard Johnson hotel. For a year, this will cost the state around $4.5 million to $5 million. The same day, it printed […]