Props out to the Maine Public Utility Commission for drawing a line to preserve our collective right to privacy in rejecting Versant Power’s recent offer to turn over electric usage records as a way for police to target illegal marijuana farms. The offer makes a sort of sense, I suppose. Illegal pot farms have been […]
Mainewhile
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Civic Center fare top notch; aesthetics, not so much
Maybe it was a concert, or a convention, or a trade show – for a lot of us it’s a sports event (especially tournament time for basketball) – but for a lot of us who live in Maine, the Augusta Civic Center has been the site of a lot of memories. The thing is, and […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Letting the horses decide and reflections on connection
The Olympics are on – but it’s taken me a while to warm up to it. My own favorite event, the equestrians, has come in under a dark cloud. Did you hear about this? A British equestrian was eliminated for cruelty to a horse. This made me angry, and sad, but not surprised. In fact, […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Campaign season a good time to remember shared humanity
What a crazy couple of days it has been in the news cycle, eh? I was sitting with my thoughts, sifting through how things “felt” and – stick with me here – I kept thinking about choosing a lunch spot with co-workers. OK, I am betting that might make literally no sense to some of […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: What we choose to emphasize determines our lives
Upon occasion, I have been accused of being “a Pollyanna.” Which, by the way, is an insult. I could get into the oddness of how being compared to a character who tries to spread joy is an insult, but meh, I get it. Relentless cheerfulness in the face of real stressors is annoying. It would […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: When it comes to spam calls and scammers, just hang up
Where I live, there is zero cell service. I mean, I can text people because we have the internet, but if I want to take or make a call? Then I have to wander outside and walk around with my phone held in the air until I find the one spot, approximately four inches square, […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Celebrating the Fourth with Maine-made ice cream
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! This holiday is such an interesting one. It doesn’t follow the holiday norms. I mean, it’s not connected to a religious faith like Christmas, Rosh Hashanah or Eid. It isn’t tied to the seasons like a solstice or Thanksgiving. It is not connected with a national identity, like St. Patrick’s […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry
Mainewhile: Rent-a-cat business may be answer to mouse problem
Built in the year 1818, my parents’ home is an utterly charming little post-and-beam Cape, set on the corner of two tiny roads in a rural Maine town. Surrounded by trees and meadow, it paints an idyllic picture and has welcomed, nurtured and cocooned the family for years now. Sit in it quietly, though, and […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: My mother’s deliberate life, and gender roles
I write to you all this week from my mother’s bedside. She’s in hospice care. These are our last few days together. I know. That’s a lot. I’m sorry I sprung that on you. As you might imagine, though, this is what I am thinking about right now, so this is the conversation. Well, sort […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, Scarborough Leader, South Portland Sentry, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: School’s out and I’ve got a summer syllabus
Lazy days and fishing holes, summer camp and cookouts. I grew up “knowing” this tradition dated back to the beginnings of our nation so kids could work the family farm. Alas, as with so many “truths” from my youth, that’s not quite it. In fact, our current school calendar is more of a hybrid compromise […]