The 2000 election between Anita Haskell and Lara Sanborn in District 137 is identical to the 1998 election between the two except that their final positions are reversed. In 1998, Haskell lost to Sanborn by a relatively small number of votes. Haskell did not ask… Read More
I’m puzzled by the fact that Dana McGovern, the central and only figure in the latest Down East regional health care scandal, is the only one named in a gigantic scam. In a nearly $1 million rip-off, I would expect this man would have to have some help… Read More
I suppose if one were searching for that unique Christmas present for the man who, having been dead for 162 years, is a major-league pain to buy for, the gift that President Clinton has presented to William Clark would adequately fill the bill. At the… Read More
BANGOR – Angus King may be an independent governor, but when a Democratic legislator from Machias asked for a favor, he delivered it in person. He had to. Rep. Mary Bagley, D- Machias, insisted the governor, rather than the chief justice of the Maine Supreme… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Maine Board of Environmental Protection voted unanimously Thursday to repeal a provision of the state’s air quality program requiring Maine auto dealers to offer zero-emission vehicles to the public. Adopted in 1993, the Low Emission Vehicle Program included the zero-emission mandate as… Read More
Information from the state in Wednesday’s story about a $107,120 fine levied against Maine Wild Blueberry Co. gave the wrong name for the Whitneyville couple whose cropland is the disposal site for the company’s sludge. The couple are Herbert and Pam Dowling of Whitneyville. Read More
AUGUSTA – As part of the effort to provide top-quality service to America’s taxpayers, the IRS has awarded $6 million for legal assistance this year to low-income taxpayer clinics. Pine Tree Legal Assistance Inc. in Portland received a $70,000 grant to operate a clinic this… Read More
YARMOUTH, Nova Scotia – Lobster fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia are enjoying another banner season with hefty landings that were unheard of 10 years ago. “The resource I don’t think in its history has been in better shape,” fisherman Henry Surette said this week. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – The number of young cod dying in waters off the coast of Nova Scotia has doubled in the last 10 years, mystifying scientists who can’t figure out what’s happening to the fragile stock. Marine biologists suspect cooler water temperatures, natural predators… Read More
As of last Friday’s deadline, 2,340 bill titles were submitted for consideration by the 120th Maine Legislature when it convenes in January. That’s a lot of legislation, but it is considerably less than the record-breaking 3,000 the 119th started with and it is a welcome sign that incoming… Read More
There has been much written about the Florida election. I have been in Florida and there are people in some areas who do not read or speak English. It is understandable why they would be confused in the voting booth. In my opinion, if the… Read More
This letter is in response to the front page article, “Maine’s latest laptop plan” (BDN, Dec. 19). Someone should inform Gov. Angus King that the $50 million state surplus belongs to the taxpayers of Maine. The funds in the state coffers are not his personal… Read More
After witnessing the past presidential campaign, is there anyone out there who believes that George Bush or the Republican Party will compromise their agenda and work with the Democrats for the good of the American people? Think again. The Republican Party showed its stripes when… Read More
I have been a member and listener of the “family of MPBS” when I could afford it. Now, however, I doubt that I will be again. Feeling as deeply as I do about the changes inaugurated on Dec. 4, I have no other choice but… Read More
Amazing! Astounding! The king of “trash-talking” has muttered his reasons for spending $153,000 so as to earn a paltry nine grand in the Maine Legislature. That’s Tom Sawyer. He says “… ‘she’ has eight years to get the message out; I have eight weeks.” My… Read More
My wish is to see the end of the letters vilifying our (thank God almighty) president-elect, George W. Bush, a fine and decent man with strong family values and high hopes for our country. The fact is, all the votes were counted several times, and… Read More
If any lawmakers thought the switch from a regulated electricity market to what passes for a deregulated one was going to be easy, they kept the idea to themselves. But even the most dedicated realist must have been surprised by a recent federal ruling that intentionally brings electric… Read More
Much has been stated through the media and through conferences and public forums about the need for improved transportation links between Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont on the one hand, and the Atlantic provinces in Canada on the other. This focus is now moving forward to the extent… Read More
I am responding to the allegations made by Jonathan Carter and the Natural Resources Council of Maine during his most recent failed referendum campaign. The truth is that the Legislature has taken many efforts to encourage and improve forestry in Maine, through regulations, changes in statutes, as well… Read More
‘Tis the season to dispel myths about the rate at which Maine kids go to college. A new study commissioned by the Finance Authority of Maine can be added to the growing research showing Maine high school graduates go to college and obtain degrees at… Read More
JONESPORT – More than 700 people gathered at Jonesport-Beals High School on Wednesday to say goodbye to three area fishermen who drowned after their boat was swamped by a large wave during last Thursday’s storm. Tears and occasional laughter marked the three-hour memorial service for… Read More
ORONO – State police on Wednesday ruled out foul play in the shooting death of a 21-year-old University of Maine student, but stopped short of calling the woman’s death a suicide. Hannah M. Corbeil, a senior majoring in forestry, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head… Read More
They took a decade to create and stirred up a firestorm of controversy, but the first national standards for growing and processing organic food were released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The directors of Maine’s certifying agency, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association,… Read More
AUGUSTA – Ned Porter, who has served as natural resources and agriculture aide to U.S. Rep. John Baldacci for the past six years, has been appointed to serve as the deputy commissioner of agriculture in Maine. Porter, a former Bangor Daily News reporter, will begin… Read More
ORONO – Researchers at the University of Maine are cooking up something good. And depending on their success, many other people may also be able to cook it up as well. Scientists from the university’s department of food science and human nutrition are looking into… Read More
All those people saying George W. Bush stole the election should read Anne Kenniston’s commentary (BDN, Dec. 19). How do people know it was their ballots that got thrown out? I can’t tell if mine got thrown out. If a person running for president can’t… Read More
The Bangor Garden Club, organized and federated in 1954, has 56 members. The club is very active in many civic-development activities and garden-related projects. Our conservation pledge is: “I pledge to protect and to conserve the natural resources of the planet Earth, and promise to promote education so… Read More
The Democrats are still trying to mislead the American people by claiming that all the votes were not counted in Florida. Undervotes are nonvotes and, just like overvotes, where two presidential candidates are selected, are thrown out by the machines. There was no machine error, there was no… Read More
It was quite a first day in Washington for President-elect Bush. Appearing with congressional leaders of both parties, he displayed remarkable sensitivity to the deep divide in both the electorate and Congress by joking, “If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier… Read More
In the story, “Hydro customers likely to see worst rate increase” (BDN, Dec. 18), it was stated that “In August, Bangor Hydro, facing higher costs to purchase the standard offer electricity, asked the PUC for an increase to cover its expenses. Electricity supply rates went up, from about… Read More
Often, when legislation is favorable to labor or Democratic constituents, our two Republican senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, show support for it. But at the same time I know Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott will prevent it from becoming law, therefore saving them from disappointing their conservative… Read More
New England should secede from the United States for economic, moral and aesthetic reasons. The presidential election chaos merely confirms the fact that we are markedly different from the other 44 states. New England is at odds with mainstream America on a host of issues, ranging from the… Read More
Something I have been wondering about the new Maine Public Broadcasting format we are enduring: If ratings are the driving force behind them, as seems to be the case, how much longer before we have Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh and Art Bell in the afternoons? Count me among… Read More
First, think about all the hungry, starving, ill, disease-ridden and dying children all over the world whom organizations like Feed the Children, Save the Children and Christian Children’s Fund are trying to save, their funds being from donations and help given voluntarily. The money that is received is… Read More
Maine mourns and adds three more to the gravestones lining the coast that read, “Lost at sea.” Those three young mussel fishermen who went down when their trawler foundered off Jonesport were living a life that is independent, invigorating, usually rewarding and always dangerous. They… Read More
With a more realistic plan for introducing zero-emission vehicles to its market, California earlier this month set a high but achievable standard for cleaner cars nationwide. Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection, expected to meet today, should continue this state’s practice of using the California standards for both low-… Read More
If the letters to the editor a newspaper publishes provide a fair reflection of the prevailing beliefs, character and intelligence of the entire region that newspaper serves, one must conclude that the region this newspaper serves is simply packed with cultured, erudite and eloquent people. And I’m not… Read More
Nine children contracted a painful skin disorder in a Bangor hotel’s pool hot-tub complex last winter when disinfectant levels dropped perilously low. The incident has raised questions about the adequacy of the public’s knowledge about health safety at pools, and the level of monitoring conducted by state inspectors. Read More
ORONO – The medical examiner and state police Tuesday continued to investigate the shooting death of a 21-year-old University of Maine student, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police. Hannah M. Corbeil died of a gunshot wound to the head early Monday… Read More
BANGOR – The Special Committee on Opiate Addiction on Tuesday agreed in principle when and where methadone treatment for opiate addiction could be offered in the city. However, pending a new report from local law enforcement officials, the committee postponed final approval of its report… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – A course for pilot machinists at Northern Maine Technical College will become permanent following Congress’ approval last week of $850,000 for the program. The pilot project, which started on a limited basis this fall, began in response to a need in the… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine had 32 work-related deaths in 1999, the highest number since the state began keeping track in 1992, according to a report released by the state Department of Labor. In 1998, the year with the next highest number of deaths, there were 26. Read More
BIDDEFORD – A New Hampshire couple has purchased the massive Riverdam Mill yard, a 300,000-square-foot maze of connected buildings that is being used by start-up businesses. Jonathan and Nancy Morse, partners in Boulder Properties LLC of Stratham, N.H., purchased the Saco River complex last week… Read More
PORTLAND – One of Portland’s oldest hotels is getting a major face lift. The Eastland Park Hotel is undergoing a $4 million renovation, paid for by the hotel’s new owners, the Magna Hospitality Group. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
AUGUSTA – The average statewide price of home heating oil dropped 4 cents a gallon over the past week and now stands at $1.52, the State Planning Office reported Tuesday. The average price is 48 cents higher than at the same time last year, the… Read More
Coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of mercury pollution in the country. They are also unregulated when it comes to this toxin, making the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement last week that it will begin to limit mercury emissions much-needed and overdue. Supporting these restrictions beyond the… Read More
Christmas is a time for families and giving, but unfortunately today there are hundreds of Maine citizens with special needs who have no active family in their lives. Did you know that by volunteering a few hours out of your yearly schedule, you could make… Read More
It is a sad day, and it will go down in history as such, when we no longer elect our president but allow the Supreme Court, from which there is no appeal, to appoint one. This entire episode appears to have been orchestrated by the… Read More
I apologize to all your readers whose pledge of support for Maine Public Radio I collected or helped to collect over the years. I have been a volunteer and member since the station broadcast from cramped studios on the University of Maine campus. In all that time, I… Read More
On Nov. 7, we were treated to a display of media reporting unequaled in our past. The media responded so quickly in picking the winner of the presidential race that they managed to report election results incorrectly many, many times. Afterward, most of the media admitted to poor… Read More
Now that the hullabaloo of the past presidential election seems to be over and before the next election in four years, maybe all these smart politicians can put their heads together and come up with a less complicated method of voting, avoiding all these so-called “errors” that seem… Read More
Wealthy summer people and their high-priced lawyers have been struggling for months in a dispute over a large proposed dock in Somes Sound on Mount Desert Island. William P. Stewart has spent several million dollars building a showplace summer home near the mouth of the… Read More
In his first address to the nation as president-elect, George W. Bush declared himself a “uniter, not a divider” and said that after the contentious presidential election it is “time to find common ground.” Many see the appointment of a Democrat – or several – to positions of… Read More
Like most reported history concerning Native people and tribes, Eugene Conlogue’s version of the facts (BDN op-ed, Nov. 25-26) leading to the court-ordered arrests of three tribal governors varies disturbingly from reality. The federal government does encourage states to manage the Environmental Protection Agency water-pollution… Read More
There is an interesting and telling contrast between the actions of William P. Stewart and the family of Robert E. Suminsby. Stewart joined the Northeast Harbor community as a summer resident in the early 1990s after purchasing two adjacent shorefront properties, razing one of the two houses and… Read More
What part of the word no is confusing? We, the people of Maine, have said no to Maine Yankee; we didn’t want it, we got it, we wanted it closed, it stayed open. Every year the same debate: Keep Maine Yankee open and we would scream no. Read More
BANGOR – Millionaire businessman W. Tom Sawyer reached deeper into his own pockets than any candidate in the state’s history to win a seat in Augusta, according to state election filings. Sawyer, the retired president of Sawyer Environmental Services, spent $153,065.64 in the November race… Read More
PORTLAND – Faced with a shortage of dentists, some Mainers are finding it difficult to get dental care, a problem that hits hardest at the poor, children, and residents of rural parts of the state. “If you’re poor you have a huge problem,” said Kevin… Read More
The federal government is not doing enough to protect Canada lynx, a threatened species that lives in the forests of northern Maine and at least two other states, a dozen environmental groups allege in a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Read More
AUGUSTA – The task force trying to hammer a practical plan out of Gov. Angus King’s proposal to provide every seventh- through 12th-grader in the state with a laptop computer has decided to scale back his vision. In a rough draft of its recommendations Monday,… Read More
BANGOR – The $206 million merger between Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and Emera Inc. of Nova Scotia was approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission on Monday, about one month ahead of schedule. The deal was not accepted without conditions attached, something that the Canadian company… Read More
CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island – Regulators from Canada and the United States are set to meet again today to try to solve issues that have kept the border closed to Prince Edward Island potatoes. Island growers thought they had that agreement late last week until… Read More
SOUTH PORTLAND – Nine residents of Maine have been named to the advisory board for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Maine. James T. Parker, vice president and general manager of Anthem BCBS in Maine, said that the advisory board will help guide the Anthem… Read More
A Bangor group that tried to calm tensions and sort out highly conflicting views of a plan for a methadone treatment facility here could agree to a fair and reasonable compromise today, ending eight months of divisive debate. The subcommittees of the Special Committee on Opiate Addiction deserve… Read More
I am writing in regard to the article (BDN, Dec. 15) titled, “Court: Neglect cause for permanent removal of child.” It said under Maine law, the state is obligated to take every possible measure to reunite a child with the parents when a child is removed from their… Read More
Since George W. Bush is thinking of adding some Democrats to his Cabinet, he should have Bill Cohen stay on. Ron McArdle googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
We are writing in regard to the FBI’s march in Washington, D.C., to oppose clemency for Leonard Peltier. True to form, the FBI continues to spread misinformation about Peltier’s case. Hopefully, President Clinton will not succumb to their desperate attempt to distort the truth. Peltier… Read More
This year, with winter in motion, my experience with the salt being used on the roadways compared to the past years has caused me some concern, and with the safety factors involved, I realize experimentation is needed. Trying to keep the major roadways safe to… Read More
I was disgusted with the election process. We will never know who the president is supposed to be. I don’t think it’s right for the Supreme Court and the state of Florida to pick the president; they should have counted all the votes or had a new statewide… Read More
In the spirit of the holiday season, I would like to extend thanks to everyone who has supported the Maine Discovery Museum, previously known as the Eastern Maine Children’s Museum. In two months children and families will be able to shed the winter doldrums by visiting a fantastic… Read More
A valid concern voters had about candidate George W. Bush was his lack of expertise in foreign policy. It is a shortcoming common among governors who run for president and one the Texas governor readily acknowledged and promised to overcome by surrounding himself with experts. Read More
Over the past few weeks, I have read with interest the comments of letter writers and columnists regarding the inexplicable changes in programming at Maine Public Radio. I commend the Bangor Daily News for its editorial stand regarding the artlessness of both the changes and the way they’ve… Read More
According to Merriam-Webster’s on-line dictionary (www.m-w.com), an adage is “a saying often in metaphorical form that embodies a common observation.” There are three adages that describe the election mess in Florida. Adage No. 1: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. In 1996,… Read More
A year after the Seattle demonstrations, some of the corporate media reassured their viewers that those events were an aberration. Demonstrators may have briefly halted meetings on international trade, but with another holiday season in full swing, U.S. citizens are back to their real business, shopping. The media’s… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine’s four electors to the 538-member Electoral College did the “morally” right thing Monday and gave the state’s final four votes for president to Democrat Al Gore, the popular vote winner in Maine and the nation. In a well-attended State House ceremony in… Read More
LUBEC – It’s Monday morning and Maine’s only high school aquaculture laboratory is humming with activity. Debra Brown and Sara McConnell are bent over a microscope examining slides of phytoplankton they collected from the town marina. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
BANGOR – A ruling last week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could cost electricity users in Maine and throughout New England millions, possibly billions, of dollars. State energy experts are calling the decision “bizarre,” saying the only ones to benefit from the federal ruling… Read More
BANGOR – The electricity users most likely to be hit hardest by a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling last week could be those in the transmission area of Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. FERC’s ruling is expected to have a widespread impact on power rates throughout Maine,… Read More
WINTHROP – A bedspread maker whose name is synonymous with Lewiston’s industrial might is having unexpected trouble making the move 23 miles up the road to Winthrop. Bates of Maine has been granted an extension of its current lease in Lewiston while it attempts to… Read More
Following are petitions for bankruptcy filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor: Karen Whitney, shipping clerk, one dependent, Fort Kent; assets, $2,460; debts, $13,194. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – It’s the theory of supply and demand that has growers producing potatoes for the fresh market seeing red. With a lot more potatoes grown this year across the country, the price has plummeted to about $2.50 to $3 per 100 pounds of… Read More
So we finally got some serious snow. OK, not so much. But for a child, any time the ground is barely white, it’s time for the sleds, snowboards, snow tubes and discs to come out. Every winter, an average of 35,000 children 14 and under are treated in… Read More
PITTSFIELD – Dairy farmer Bernard “Bunny” Grignon said Sunday that being tied to the farm is just part of his way of life. “Whether you have one cow or 1,000 cows, you are there forever,” he said. “You don’t get too far away.” Cows are… Read More
FREEPORT – A ceremony was held last week at the Harraseeket Inn to install Joseph Koch, president of Dragon Products Co., as chairman of the board of directors of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. Koch replaces 1999-2000 board Chairman Peter Vigue, president of Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield. Read More
PORTLAND – The financial struggle for BroadcastAmerica.com has worsened to the point executives informed the Internet broadcaster’s remaining workers that there was not enough money to pay them. The announcement Friday came after a federal bankruptcy judge gave a pair of key vendors permission to… Read More
As winter closes in, take a moment to look on the bright side. The sights and sounds and smells of the season make it a time to relish, not just something to soldier through. The scraping at night of steel blades against pavement reminds us… Read More
Despite a tight state budget expected next year, Education Commissioner Duke Albanese did the right thing this week by proposing that Maine stay on track for recovering K-12 funding lost to communities in the early 1990s recession. His recommendation that General Purpose Aid to Education be increased by… Read More
It’s becoming clear from the outpouring of letters that the management at Maine Public Radio has made what may prove to be a fatal mistake (for them) by arbitrarily making programming changes that go completely counter to the precepts and raison d’etre of public radio. Read More
I am writing in response to Robert Ronco’s letter (BDN, Dec. 12) concerning the Palestinians. Ronco compares the Jewish resettlement in Palestine with “a mullah and contingent of Arabic military” coming up the Penobscot and conquering Bangor. He leaves out the fact that unlike this Arab invasion force,… Read More
It was a horrific deed these young men proceeded to do in killing Have At It and Rocket in the Pittsfield area. My heart goes out to the owners and the caravan folks. Perhaps these young men should be sentenced for two years to a… Read More
Recently there has been a lot of media coverage about neglect and abuse in long-term nursing care facilities. How about looking at the other side of the coin and writing an article titled, “The better side of nursing care.” I work in a nursing facility,… Read More
BANGOR – Plans for a methadone clinic in the city took a significant step forward Friday as members of two subcommittees studying the issue came to tentative compromises on when and where such a facility could open. The deal, which still must be approved by… Read More
JONESPORT – Searchers will return to the waters of Chandler Bay this morning in another attempt to recover the bodies of two of the three local fisherman who drowned when their mussel dragger was swamped by a large wave during Thursday’s storm. The remains… Read More
Still smarting from a divorce years ago, Tim Sinclair couldn’t have known that a parent education workshop last summer would bring him to a turning point. “When I walked out, I felt elated,” he said. “The program took away the bitterness. It helped me put… Read More
Images of William Thon’s oil, watercolor and mixed media works on Thursday’s Style page were provided courtesy of the late artist’s dealer, Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland. Read More
SKOWHEGAN – A package of federal disaster programs to be released in December and January are aimed at alleviating crop losses to Maine’s apple producers. But local growers said Friday that although federal assistance is a step in the right direction, the key to helping… Read More
Nearly two-thirds of all workers in Maine regularly use a computer on the job. That is one of the findings of a study of the Maine work force undertaken by the state Department of Economic and Community Development and a public-policy professor at the University of Southern Maine. Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – Faced with “violent” objections to allowing potentially infected potatoes from Prince Edward Island to enter the United States, the federal government reversed itself and closed the border to the Canadian spuds, local potato industry officials said Friday. Potato wart, a long-living soil… Read More
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Despite the high cost of heating oil, the fuel industry says supplies are holding up better than last year. Last year, oil trucks waited in lines at terminals for as long as five hours. Short supplies forced Sprague Energy and Irving Oil… Read More
People are characterizing the recent ruling of the United States Supreme Court as partisan, yet we should not lump partisanship in with ideology. Partisanship – cheap and paltry – is primarily concerned with the achievement and maintenance of power. Ideology, however, is concerned with ideas. Read More