This coming November, Mainers will have the opportunity to vote on Question 3, which would amend the state constitution to include a “right to food.” Unfortunately, this well-intentioned amendment has the potential to undermine state laws to protect the environment, animal welfare and even public health. This amendment’s vague phrasing includes allowing for a right […]

I read a citizen’s Oct. 16 letter to the editor regarding the proposed Portland homeless shelter. I disagree that one larger shelter would be less confusing and better serve the homeless.  The taxpayers will be paying the bill. New construction is extremely expensive. Transportation will be a nightmare. The shelter bus leaves downtown and gets […]

Those of us who have committed our professional lives to supporting our friends who are experiencing homelessness in Portland have faced a lot of disappointments over the years. We’ve been disappointed each time we have seen a section of the so-called safety net eliminated. We’ve been disappointed each time we have seen a faction respond […]

This letter is aimed at those in the state of Maine who are seriously concerned about our environment, especially our air quality. This issue concerns me as a retired civil engineer and a registered Maine Guide. The proposed Central Maine Power transmission line will bring electric power, generated by hydro facilities already constructed and producing, […]

Columnist Bill Nemitz’s apology (Oct. 15) to Portland Charter Commission member Shay Stewart-Bouley for spreading defamatory rumors was heartfelt and appropriate. His analogy to a clueless speeding ticket was almost there. More apt would be that he drove through the crosswalk and didn’t see a Black woman stepping into the road. And, it turns out, […]

To be honest, I was torn on the Central Maine Power corridor, seeing benefits and problems on both sides of the issue. But then I was bombarded with the pro-CMP project advertisements on television and the numerous lawn signs urging that I vote “no” against retroactivity. There is no reference whatsoever about what a referendum […]

These times are both sad and scary. We have a minority portion of Congress who choose to maintain their position of comfort, ease and status over the job they were voted into: being the voice of their constituents. They fear the loss of their position if they fail to please former President Donald Trump. They […]

The tens of millions of dollars spent by the opposing sides in the Central Maine Power energy corridor referendum (“Energy companies keep pouring millions into battle over power line corridor,” Oct. 5) are a textbook example of the toxic influence of unrestrained corporate spending on our elections. Ideally, the voters of Maine would debate this […]