“If you’re talking about people needing housing, it’s a lot cheaper to help pay their utilities so they can stay in the place they already have, than to find them a new place,” said Sallie Smith. This was the rationale behind the creation of Warm Thy Neighbor, an emergency heating assistance program Sallie launched in […]

Part of the population seems to live in another country. It has a different history, a different culture and, as the annual additions to the dictionary reveal, a different language. It is composed of generations known as Gen X and Millennials. It may be joining the political process at a pace unusual for younger people […]

When I read about the “silent book club” trend, it filled me with instant calm and hope. As it goes, in 2012, two friends in San Francisco came up with the idea for a non-formal social event in which book lovers can gather at a coffee house or pub, then read together in silence for […]

With Tuesday’s announcement that the state intends to locate a port on Sears Island to support offshore wind construction, Gov. Janet Mills’ administration provides hope that, at long last, Maine can build something big. The recent track record has not been encouraging. Voters in a 2021 referendum canceled a $1 billion power line to Canada […]

  Redistricting — the process of determining the boundaries of election districts in which people vote — is a key element of politics that has more of an effect than people might realize. One Republican political consultant called it an election in reverse: “Usually the voters get to pick the politicians. In redistricting, the politicians […]

THE CONVERSATION — Fresh U.S. intelligence circulating in Congress reportedly indicates that Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon in space with a nuclear component. News reports speculating about what the weapon could be abounded after Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, released a cryptic but alarming statement on Feb. 14, 2024, regarding the information, which he framed […]