And another thing …

Bill Bradley’s stop in Portland the other day was quick and, admits his campaign manager, basically calculated to get media coverage in New Hampshire. Still, Maine Democrats liked what they saw in the former senator/basketball star, with several commenting on his sincere, caring style. Wes Fraser of Biddeford Pool was quoted thusly: ” gets underneath the covers and warms us all up.” But isn’t that the kind of presidential behavior we’re trying to discourage?

The benefits the Granite State enjoys from hosting the first primary seem boundless. The day after Bill Bradley’s neighborly visit, VP Al Gore was in the region to announce a federal aid package for the hard-hit New England fishing industry. Under the $5 million program, assistance will be offered to struggling fishermen in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and New Hampshire.

A mere 20 months after Maine shivered in the dark, the compassionate folks at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have approved some $20 million for Ice Storm ’98 relief. At that pace, Maine can expect whatever HUD assistance might come its way from Y2K problems to arrive ’round about Y3K.

Scientists at Princeton University have genetically engineered smarter mice, a stunning breakthrough they say someday could lead to the production of smarter people. That’s great, but in the meantime shouldn’t somebody get cracking on that better mousetrap?

In the belief that there’s already too much ugliness in the world, the state motor vehicles bureau has a wonderful new plan in the works to allow Mainers to choose the photo that goes on their driver’s licenses. Dibs on Brad Pitt.

Poor Fairfield has been hit with triple whammy in just the last couple of weeks: the police chief is caught misusing his town credit card; a fire department volunteer is charged with stealing more than $10,000 residents and businesses had donated toward the purchase of an infra-red camera that can locate people in smoke-filled buildings; a technicality forces the fire department to return a government-surplus Jeep. On the plus side of the ledger are Stephen LaVerdiere, former owner of the drugstore chain, who’s donating $18,400 for the life-saving camera and New Sharon auto dealer Al Tuttle, who’s chipping in a replacement Jeep. Though contrary to the laws of mathematics, sometimes two is greater than three.