There are lot of things that have come out of Washington over the past few years that have done more harm than good. Partisan divisions have hardened to the point it’s almost impossible to reach across the aisle. One place progress had been made, happily, was in reforming the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, some people […]
opinion
David Tyree: Ready for history’s Valentine Hall of Shame?
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree Not everyone does Valentine’s Day well. A significant number of people are too unromantic, lazy, cheap or unimaginative to make the best of the occasion. Don’t despair if you fall into one of those categories. Some of the most prominent people in history have been romantic duds. For instance… Philosopher René […]
Your Land: Sunspots and shadowy thoughts
Some years ago, I began searching for an antidote to February. For a short month, given, occasionally, to odd leaps, it gets talked down a lot. It turned out to be a short search; not long into it I was sun struck. Here’s the short story: It’s a cloudy February day in the aftermath of […]
Just a Little Old: Real diaries of real boys
While browsing through the bookcase on our wall, I came across “The Real Diary of a Real Boy,” published in 1902. It is, in fact, the real diary that the author (Henry Shute) kept when he was an 11-year-old growing up in Exeter, New Hampshire. My dear mother, who also grew up in Exeter, gave […]
Giving Voice: Homeless prevention in Lincoln County
Joyce was expecting her third child. She had endured trauma at her workplace and was unable to return to work. The family eventually fell behind in rent and was on the verge of losing their housing. As winter set in, Debra lived in a mobile home in Waldoboro with no heat, running water or electricity. […]
Gordon L. Weil: Equal justice requires equal legal protection
The start of a sensational murder trial was almost lost in an avalanche of last week’s news from Memphis to Moscow. Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina lawyer, is standing trial for the murder of his wife and one of his sons. Facing charges of stealing large sums from clients and under investigation in connection […]
Tom Purcell: Grateful for National Freedom Day
It’s one of the best days of the year and we owe our gratitude to the remarkable man who made it possible. Feb. 1 is National Freedom Day and its origin is as wonderful as is freedom itself. The creation of this day dates back to 1863, during the thick of the Civil War, when […]
The Maine Idea: An alternative to the Referendum Wars
The signatures are in, and the questions have been certified, so it’s official: Mainers will be making momentous decisions in November 2023 about whether to buy out its two largest electric utilities, Central Maine Power and Versant, for somewhere between $9 billion and $13.5 billion in borrowing. Those are the range of estimates between backers […]
Maine Voices: What volunteer firefighting taught me about community building
The dozens of volunteer firefighters I worked with at the end of January all had different strengths to share – and those strengths add up.
Commentary: Republican tax proposals aren’t as bonkers as they sound
Abolishing the IRS is not a good idea, but a flat levy on consumption is a good starting point if the goal is to shrink the budget deficit.