Portland residents, please vote “no” on referendum questions A and B. Increasing affordable housing is desirable, but blocking short-term rentals will result only in higher hotel rates, fewer tourists and reduced economic activity. Our family of teachers purchased on Peaks Island in 1975 because it was affordable and near the ocean; we started renting part-time […]

Inflation is literally the price we are paying for protecting democracy while trying to save our planet. Unfortunately, the poor, the disadvantaged and those of color are the ones who suffer the most, as always. During World War II, there were shortages of many goods, food and fuel were rationed, people raised victory gardens and […]

I am a student at South Portland High School. I support the proposed ordinance to end the sale of flavored tobacco in South Portland. When I walk into the bathroom at school, I am bombarded with the scent of cotton candy, peach or blue raspberry, the types of scents somebody might associate with sugar-crazed children […]

I support Democrat Henry Ingwersen in his run for Maine Senate. I’ve witnessed Henry’s proactive work from a distance and personally. Four years ago, after suffering a work-related concussion, I was diagnosed with leukemia and reaching exhaustion from chronic depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Henry, then a state representative, reached out within the month, supported […]

Gov. Mills, a Democrat, has said that she would veto any bill that increases restrictions on abortion in Maine. When asked where he stands, Republican Paul LePage said he “didn’t understand the question.” As a public servant with executive power, the governor is responsible for knowing exactly how potential changes to state laws would impact […]

It appears obvious to me, after reading the Oct. 25 letter from Mark Seibel complaining about the increase in the standard deduction (“Where’s the outrage over higher standard tax deductions?”), that he does not understand increasing the standard deduction reduces one’s taxes. Additionally, I do not think the Portland Press Herald realizes this either – […]

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy promises if he becomes speaker to delay a vote to increase the debt ceiling until Democrats and President Biden agree to cut Social Security. Why do Republicans want to cut Social Security? Social Security has operated under a bipartisan agreement signed in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. The legislation gradually […]

Re: “After trying to overturn his election loss in 2018, Poliquin won’t say if he’ll respect the results this year” (Oct. 9): With the midterms looming and polls showing Republican candidates closing the gap in states where Democrats have led all summer, it appears that Democrats have pivoted from a single-issue strategy – women’s reproductive […]

A recent letter by Richard Williams (“Democrats hypocritical on Saudi oil,” Oct. 16) relies on false assumptions to support the utter fabrication that Democrats have cut the amount of oil produced in the United States. Since President Biden’s first full month in office, U.S. oil production has increased 18 percent through July 2022 (the last […]