Thanks to the Legislature for considering fully funding direct care workers – who support people with disabilities – to earn at least 125 percent of the minimum wage, and thank you to the governor for accelerating direct care worker cost-of-living adjustments. But these efforts are manifestly inadequate to compete in the labor market against Walmart […]

I have devoted my career to caring for people with mental illness, a disease we don’t want to talk about. I live with this same disease. I feel the stigma rise as I name this. It’s not cool to have mental illness. Also, it’s not a choice. Of the roughly 300,000 Maine adults who live […]

I recently became active with local politics to help shape the future I hope to see in Maine, which would be less divided than it is now, and more civil, as it was when I was raising my kids. Of the many people I’ve met, I was drawn to commit my time to the campaign […]

Diane Loranger (“Letter to the editor: The state owes overtaxed Mainers a refund,” April 7) is incorrect about the reason for the state budget surplus. According to The Wall Street Journal, state surpluses are due to “… fat times fueled by booming markets, growing incomes and federal aid …” related to the pandemic. The American […]

On the surface, the University of New England medical school’s move to Portland would seem to be a slam dunk. Access to other departments would seem a great selling point to attract medical students at a time when we need more medical providers. That said, as a Deering Center resident, I am not a fan of […]

Smack. Another slap in the face. This time it wasn’t by Will Smith, but by syndicated Washington Post commentator Dana Milbank, in his April 7 column (“President Obama, your country needs you right now,” Page A7) imploring Barack Obama to lead a national effort to save our democracy. Milbank’s gratuitous “slap” was aimed at President […]

The Maine Law Court will soon decide if last year’s referendum on New England Clean Energy Connect is constitutional. I maintain hope that the court will overturn this vote. As it stands, the law allows the Legislature to revoke permits for projects that were approved, in some cases, five years ago. This retroactive loophole would […]