While reading the Jan. 8 ice storm reminiscences, I began to think about a guide to urban gardening that will guide you through plant selection, assigning space based on potential yield and unique crop needs. I have seven beds and three stacks of used tires. One bed is mostly lettuces, interspersed with spinach and several […]

Jim Fossel rightly complains, in his Jan. 8 column, about the way Republicans worked with Democrats and the Mills administration on the heating aid bill, but he fails to note that it was their insistence on expanding eligibility to higher-earning recipients that is blowing a hole in the capacity of the state to deal with […]

Concerning George Santos and his questionable route to gain a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (“N.Y. Republicans: Santos disgraced House, should resign,” Jan. 12, Page A2): All Mainers, and all U.S. taxpayers, may want to set aside the talking points debate for a moment and consider the nitty-gritty that the salaries and allowances […]

It’s been sad to read about so many highway deaths in Maine (and the nation), often caused by distracted or otherwise dysfunctional drivers. I lost a sister to just such an occurrence when a heavily medicated individual fell asleep and crossed the centerline in a large SUV, hitting my sister’s car head on. This type […]

A political ideology that was derived from many previous sources, including systematic racism, but that did not emerge as a coherent, operational and dangerous belief system until the 20th century begins with a mythic narrative. The narrative has many variations but goes something like this: There is within a country an authentic core nation that […]

A little research is, I know, a dangerous thing. But a little research tells us of the demise of at least eight political parties in U.S. history. The first party to die was the once-potent Federalist Party (not to be confused with the Federalist Society), led by luminaries like Alexander Hamilton. It was founded in […]

As we enter the new year, Americans watch the ugly side of choice as Republicans barely control Congress. The chaos that will rain from the speaker selection fallout will get us all drenched in hate for the next two years. It is easy to predict a Republican-controlled future. More dysfunction within the party at all […]

Here’s how Pine Tree Power will shake out if it’s passed by voters in November: Maine taxpayers will be forced to borrow billions of dollars to seize our existing utilities. A new utility, run by politicians who believe they’re smarter than those of us doing the job now, will be established from scratch. They’ll make […]