The Dec. 17 Business section article “U.S. corporations paid 11.3 percent tax rate last year” (Page C1) gave me brain cramps. “The 91 profitable Fortune 500 corporations that paid no federal tax in 2018 earned a combined $101 billion last year,” reported Jeff Stein and Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post. Our debt for this […]

William Vaughan’s assertion that illnesses are caused by personal behaviors oversimplifies a complex problem. Our decisions impact our health, but so does our environment. The social determinants of health are increasingly recognized as having a profound impact on a person’s well-being. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, social determinants are factors such as “the conditions […]

I thought you might enjoy a little break from all the contentious issues that often fill these pages. I’d like to compliment your columnist Josh Christie for his beautiful article on “The scent of a ski lodge” in the Dec. 15 paper. What a great piece of writing, with vivid sensory images that every skier […]

I get so upset when I hear Republicans complain about the unfair impeachment process. They need to be reminded they didn’t like the last impeachment process (Clinton). They proposed changes to the process. They submitted rules changes in the process that received wide bipartisan support and were adopted by Congress. So, they are complaining about […]

Sen. Collins has assured her constituents that she must maintain neutrality in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial in order to be a fair juror. But a jurist can only be as fair as the trial itself. Therefore, Ms. Collins must demand to Senate leadership that a proper trial take place, with both sides permitted to […]

In  Dec. 11 letter titled “Respect should never go out of style,”  reader D. Washburn states, and rightly so, that politicians, (in this case the president) owe it to both the citizens and the electorate to be both civil and respectful in all their verbal and written dealings. Sadly, this is no longer common in […]

At a time when we are struggling to attract workers, retain young Mainers, maximize tourism, and help older Mainers stay healthy, it is utter insanity to padlock the state’s greatest treasures. Closing our beaches to vehicles (how much could plowing half of the parking lots cost?) must be weighed against the benefits of year-round access. […]