Maine may never be known for its diversity, but former State Planning director, Evan Richert, recently described the details of a potential culture clash that has been the source here of anecdotes, misunderstandings and some excruciatingly long planning-board meetings for decades. Mr. Richert’s catalog of values differences between… Read More
Because they use less electricity and last for years, compact fluorescent light bulbs reduce pollution and save money. Some were leery of the bulbs, however, because they contain mercury and can’t simply be thrown in the trash. That problem has been minimized in Maine, with the country’s first… Read More
It sounded like a good idea when legislators passed the law in 2004: Motorists who canceled their insurance would get a letter from the secretary of state’s office notifying them that driving without insurance is against the law. Instead of cracking down on uninsured motorists, however, the law… Read More
In the 13 years of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that has banned gays and lesbians from service in the armed forces, more than 11,000 gays have been discharged, including 58 Arabic linguists and other needed specialists, at a cost of more than $300 million. It is… Read More
While federal regulators have yet to react to problems in the subprime mortgage market, Gov. John Baldacci recently signed a law strengthening Maine’s predatory lending laws. This will help borrowers in the future, but not those facing ballooning mortgage payments at a time when home prices are falling. Read More
A federal fund that subsidizes telephone service in high-cost rural areas needs revamping, but capping only payments to cellular carriers won’t solve the problem and, worse, could delay mobile phone service in some areas. Instead, the Federal Communications Commission should look for better ways to collect and distribute… Read More
Amid worries about budget cuts and raising academic standards, the University of Maine has done better than its peers in complying with Title IX, the 1972 law requiring publicly funded schools and colleges to offer women equal access to sports. Especially given the university’s limited resources, this is… Read More
At the center of a tax-reform package being picked apart by lobbyists in Augusta is an unmovable fact: Dropping Maine’s income tax rate from 8.5 percent to 6 percent, as the reform would do, is the most important improvement lawmakers can make to business attraction in Maine. Read More
Charles Bragg II had a straightforward philosophy that guided his service in Bangor. It roughly translates to this: If you want a better community, do something about it. For decades, Mr. Bragg, who died Tuesday at the age of 96, turned that philosophy into action, serving on numerous… Read More
The Fourth of July is America’s birthday; today, June 14, is the birthday of the American flag. It was on this date in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted Betsy Ross’ design for a national flag. “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate… Read More
Bangor is rated first in the nation in minimizing a somewhat controversial surgical procedure called lumbar fusion. Nationally, surgeons perform the operation five times as often as Bangor. In Idaho Falls, Idaho, tops in the country, they do it 20 times as often. The data,… Read More
Wisely, the federal government offers tax incentives in the form of credits to help reduce the burden of college costs. Unfortunately, the credits are most effective only for families with incomes high enough to owe at least as much in taxes as they can offset with higher-education bills. Read More
By lowering the Maine income tax rate from 8.5 to 6 percent and expanding the reach of the state sales tax, the Legislature’s Taxation Committee would reduce the burden on Maine taxpayers by about $140 million a year, saving middle-income taxpayers about $200 each. But that is only… Read More
With no races for governor or Congress, this off-year election is not likely to bring a lot of people to the polls. But the two bond questions on the statewide ballot will decide the fate of numerous road and water construction projects. Many municipalities have local offices and… Read More
With a major energy bill expected to be before the Senate in the next couple of weeks, a counter proposal introduced Wednesday by Sens. Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman moves the debate from a fossil-fuels policy to a cleaner, more affordable energy future. Senate Majority… Read More
A book-length federal government report tackles a major question of our time: how to get information effectively from unwilling prisoners to defend against terrorism. The short answer is that no one really knows. The authors, a group of experts advising intelligence agencies, agree that interrogation… Read More
The Millinocket area, like much of Maine, lacks the type of accommodations and amenities that many tourists seek, costing the region and state valuable tourism dollars. A resort plan, which cleared its first regulatory hurdle this week, could begin to solve this problem. If, as the developer and… Read More
Maine businesses are again concerned they will not have the workers they need this summer because the U.S. Labor Department is slow to process the necessary visas. While the immigration debates concerned about letting terrorists into the country are valid, long delays that leave businesses scrambling are unacceptable. Read More
The new budget for Maine, like the Legislature itself, represents a substantial and welcome shift in policy away from heavy-handed politics and toward more effective policies. It demonstrated that lawmakers could use their differences of opinion to produce a stronger document rather than simply produce greater division. Read More
Economic sanctions against Sudan, as President Bush recently announced, will, by themselves, do little to end the killings in the Darfur region. But, as part of a policy that includes building support for an international peacekeeping force, they are a necessary way of ratcheting up pressure on the… Read More
Two trains traveled 15 miles in May and made significant, if limited, history. The point was that they crossed the Demilitarized Zone that has divided North and South Korea for 56 years, ever since the Korean War ended without a treaty but only a cease-fire. Read More
First District congressional candidates Michael Brennan and Chellie Pingree must be disappointed with the Christian Civic League for not denouncing them as it had Democratic primary challenger Ethan Strimling. The league last week sent an alert to its members that received lots of attention because it included in… Read More
President Bush’s proposal to double U.S. financial support to combat AIDS around the world is welcome. For the additional money to save more lives and prevent more infections, however, Congress should lift restrictions that a third of the money go toward abstinence programs. Last week,… Read More
Now that lawmakers are poised to make it illegal for teenagers to use cell phones while driving, they should ensure a follow-up study is done to see whether the ban makes a difference. If they find it does, they should extend it to drivers of all ages. If… Read More
The excellent news that Cianbro Corp. has advanced plans to build a manufacturing plant at the former Eastern Fine Paper site in Brewer is particularly welcome because of its scale – 500 jobs expected at the beginning stages – and because the type of work could lead to… Read More
The proposed state budget before lawmakers is the most important policy document many of them have faced. The budget makes the assertion, finally, that Maine can responsibly control costs on two of its major expenses, health care and education, and it can make state government itself more efficient. Read More
Presented with a scaled-back version of a wind farm project that its staff has already extensively reviewed, the Land Use Regulation Commission would best use its limited time and resources to continue to evaluate Maine Mountain Power’s application rather than beginning the process anew. In… Read More
With the outline of a health-care plan announced in Iowa City last week, Barack Obama joins John Edwards and Hillary Clinton in the Democratic chase to remake the nation’s health-care coverage, which is more expensive than comparative coverage elsewhere and leaves 45 million Americans without insurance at all. Read More
A Supreme Court ruling and its dissent this week cleanly illuminated one of the most contentious issues of the Baldacci administration’s Dirigo Health plan. And while the court sided with the state, it left no doubt about its dismay over the way the Dirigo law was written. The… Read More
A report released this week by The Island Institute provides important data on Maine’s working waterfront enabling state and local officials to make better informed decisions about preserving access to coastal waters. While a sense of crisis has surrounded discussions of preserving the state’s working… Read More
The best that can be said of lawmakers’ mishandling of a legislative ethics bill is that at least they kept the issue alive. By voting to review the issue – which was the subject of an extensive examination last year – lawmakers showed they are incapable of passing… Read More
For years Lilly Ledbetter was paid less than her male co-workers at a Goodyear tire plant where she worked. She brought charges of sex discrimination. A jury awarded her more than $3 million in back pay and damages. The judge cut the award to $360,000. A federal appeals… Read More
Maine has dozens of disused mill buildings, each in a community with high hopes for the future of these mostly empty structures. To fulfill those hopes, lawmakers are wise to get better information about what types of assistance are needed and what policies will ensure that mill redevelopment… Read More
After a couple of years of political disagreement over the state’s bonding capacity, lawmakers this session overwhelmingly supported a $295 million bond package, of which $131 million will be before voters June 12. The bonds, on highway and water-quality improvement, deserve voter support because they make nuts-and-bolts investments… Read More
As regulators struggle to find a better way to manage the region’s fish stocks, a Maine group offers a potential solution that should be included in any study of alternative management plans. Area management, which empowers local groups to set rules for a small area of the coast,… Read More
Maine and other states appear poised to set up a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. Working regionally, in the absence of a national policy, is necessary, as is starting with energy before moving on to other sectors. Lawmakers should approve the compromise bill that… Read More
The Grand, Ellsworth’s Main Street cultural center with its art deco marquee, was the recent scene of a memorable tribute to its longtime director of community musicals. With Mr. Stack sitting in front row center, 37 citizen performers of musical productions of the past 17… Read More
Long before sales and sports and the three-day weekend, Memorial Day was a day of mourning. Turning grim Civil War battle experiences into something lasting and inspiring, Gen. John Alexander Logan set aside May 30, 1868, “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves… Read More
For the first time, Congress has put conditions on its approval of funding for the war in Iraq. Although the president has leeway in meeting these conditions, this is an important step in better assessing progress in Iraq, which in turn should lead to a clearer understanding of… Read More
The University of Maine System’s chronic money shortages are well known, as are the limitations of the state budget as a remedy to them. But this year, lawmakers who would like to see both that Maine’s public universities are adequately funded and efficiently run have an opportunity to… Read More
Facing votes on gas tax indexing, Republican lawmakers are already finding it hard to support a tax increase, even a tiny one. Perhaps they should take a page from their colleagues in the Midwest where gas tax increases are being touted as good for business. Read More
Last September, President Bush persuaded Congress to rush through a law that deprived prisoners at Guantanamo of habeas corpus, a right dating back to the British Magna Carta and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Bills to restore that right are pending in the Senate and House, but their… Read More
In commentary Wednesday on the OpEd Page, UMaine journalism professor Shannon Martin expertly dismantled a proposal alleged to save $1.5 million in state funding by canceling public notices in newspapers. She did this by describing its negative effect on open government, its lack of accountability, difficulties with accessing… Read More
Three years after debating school closures as a reaction to declining statewide student population and a demand for property tax relief, two years after the first report on the unusually small and numerous school districts in Maine, nearly a year after consolidation studies by the State Board of… Read More
A year ago, President Bush outlined his plans for revamping the country’s immigration policy. At the time he said: “We are a nation of laws. We’re also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways. These are… Read More
With inmates sleeping on floors and others being sent out of state, Maine’s corrections system is amid a crisis. One answer may lie in a proposal to build a new prison in Washington County. Although numerous details need to be worked out, this proposal holds promise. Read More
A dramatic account of Alberto Gonzales’ nighttime visit to John Ashcroft’s sick bed may well be the last straw for Mr. Gonzales as he struggles to hold his job as U.S. attorney general. The riveting testimony about his visit three years ago was described by… Read More
Local planning boards often know more about the number of parking spaces a large new retail store would produce than they do about the net number of jobs it would bring. But learning about the broad economic effects of a development is crucial to any community trying to… Read More
For a leader who frowns on analysis and scientific reviews, President Bush is oddly eager to deeply analyze any issue related to climate change. Last week, the president announced that several department heads will examine raising fuel economy standards. By asking for rules by the end of his… Read More
Rather than resist expected federal rules aimed at protecting endangered right whales, more than 100 fishermen are expected in Scarborough this week to voluntarily turn in their floating rope in exchange for line that is more whale-friendly. University of Maine researchers already are at work looking for uses… Read More
Having demonstrated that it can play Maine like James Bond at a baccarat table, Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Slots at Bangor, is now asking lawmakers to change the statutory formula used to collect taxes from the racino. There’s not a thing wrong with that. Read More
The Universal Service Fund, money collected by the federal government to subsidize rural telephone service, needs to be revised to reflect the increasing use of electronic communications. Capping payments to wireless carriers for a year while the Federal Communications Commission looks for solutions to a problem it has… Read More
With Maine’s high health insurance prices hurting family, business and state government budgets, the best path for the state’s Medicaid program is the most economically conservative – to spend the fewest dollars to the greatest effect. That means, foremost, providing coverage for the poor, which Maine can do… Read More
The latest issue of AARP’s monthly publication, The Bulletin, announces that it’s time for another try at strengthening Social Security, and lists eight possible ways – raise taxes, raise the retirement age, lower annual increases, etc. – to achieve it. One proposal it could have made was for… Read More
A legislative committee has crafted a good compromise to lower dangerous pollution from outdoor wood boilers, an increasingly popular source of heat and hot water. The compromise is a mixture of federal rules and common sense that should offer relief in the short term and produce cleaner-burning stoves… Read More
The official title of a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 3 is “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” but everyone knows that it would make it a federal crime to assault a homosexual. That accounts for its importance, but also for a… Read More
A committee created last year has already improved access to public records, but a bill based on the group’s recommendations and another from the Senate minority leader would go even further toward ensuring that public documents are readily available. LD 1822, based on the Right… Read More
In December 1990, the Maine Select Commission on Comprehensive Tax Reform, headed by state Sen. John E. Baldacci of Bangor, was on the cusp of proposing to lower the state sales tax by extending it to entertainment, such as movie tickets and sporting events, adding a tax credit… Read More
A research project at the Jackson Laboratory, financed by a $15.1 million federal grant, could lead to new insights about the chief killer diseases – cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke – perhaps as well as Alzheimer’s disease and such “orphan” diseases as A.L.S. or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Read More
A bill before the Utilities Committee by Bangor Democratic Sen. Joe Perry explains itself as a means to help towns develop computer systems that provide “free or low-cost access to information and services through a centrally managed network or intranet or Internet connection.” Useful but dull. What the… Read More
The Army Corps of Engineers, the country’s construction branch, is known for dredging and dam projects that serve political needs rather than public safety or environmental needs. A reform bill now before the Senate would change this by requiring independent review of Corps projects and, if an amendment… Read More
Forsythia and daffodils at last are giving us bursts of yellow to relieve the somber grays left over from winter. But another visitor is about to appear on the scene, a small black pest: the black fly. Most Mainers know from bitter experience that these… Read More
Maine legislators turn out to be a sentimental lot, full of embracing thoughts and kind feelings toward fellow residents. Give them an opportunity to express that sentiment in official form and they will do it over and over, about 1,500 times a year, and each time Maine’s overworked… Read More
The rejection earlier this year of a wind power project in western Maine highlighted the need for a better way to evaluate the benefits and negative consequences of installing turbines on mountaintops and in other areas. A task force, created this week by the governor, should help but… Read More
A bill that provides more transparency, clear standards and a public complaint process will fix major shortcomings in state ethics rules. These are needed changes, and lawmakers should support LD 1008. Following the recommendations of a legislative advisory committee on ethics, the bill’s lead sponsors,… Read More
Last week’s tornado in Kansas reignited concerns that the National Guard does not have enough troops and equipment to adequately respond to domestic disasters. Beyond the debate over funding the war in Iraq, Congress must ensure that the military has the trained personnel and equipment it needs not… Read More
For more than a month, President Bush has been trying to find someone who can run the four-year-old wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terror. He wants someone to take charge and report to him personally every day. Appointing a war czar is a bad… Read More
Helping as many qualified buyers as possible get homes is laudable. Burdening them with debts they can’t pay is not. Tougher regulations, which Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings has proposed in his Homeowner Protection Act, will help restore the balance. Millions of people, some… Read More
Raising targeted taxes, such as the racino levy, is often easier than eliminating or shrinking programs. But, given Maine’s economic outlook, which calls for continuing diminished revenue, significant cuts are necessary. The governor proposed a $1 increase in the state’s cigarette tax, which would bring… Read More
While raising revenue by taking a larger share of gambling income from the Bangor racino, which the Democratic budget proposal would do, appears attractive because it will raise a lot of money, this is a shortsighted approach. Without reducing spending, the state will run out of fees to… Read More
Just after Labor Day last year, Republican candidate Chandler Woodcock still had a chance in the race for governor. Then a series of ads digitally altered to show him walking backwards ran and he no longer had a chance. The digital tweaking wasn’t the only problem with the… Read More
The cost of including hunting access in a deal to preserve the land around Katahdin Lake continues to rise. Part of the complex transaction involved the state trying to buy a nearby 8,000-acre parcel. That is now in jeopardy after the owners rebuffed the state’s offer. If ensuring… Read More
Now that the Democrats control Congress, chair its committees and can issue subpoenas when necessary, they are making progress in ferreting out secrets of the past six years. But some of the biggest ones still need exposure. For example: ? If not George Tenet’s “slam… Read More
At a time when legislators are contemplating how to deal with overcrowded jails, incarceration alternatives like the Hancock County Deferred Sentencing Project that have proven their value deserve further support. Jesse Kovacs described the Hancock County drug court as “the most enduring and difficult thing… Read More
Two major criticisms of Plum Creek Timber Co.’s plans for the Moosehead Lake region have long been that the development was too scattered and too much of it was on shorefronts. In the third revision of its plans, submitted to the Land Use Regulation Commission last week, the… Read More
Legislators in support of increasing research and development funding at the University of Maine got about two-thirds of the way there with a bill, LD 1064, sponsored by Rep. Sean Faircloth of Bangor and co-sponsored by Republicans and Democrats. But in difficult budget times, it is not enough… Read More
Although abortion is politically divisive and emotionally charged, it is legal. The federal and state low-income health program covers hundreds of medical procedures, but only some abortions. LD 1309 would end this artificial divide in Maine and should be supported by lawmakers. After abortion became… Read More
Deregulation of Maine’s utilities has not worked out entirely as planned. But, before lawmakers consider reworking or even undoing the current system, as several bills before the Utilities and Energy Committee today would do, they should want to know what worked and went wrong and why. Without this… Read More
Even as Maine is sorting out whether the benefits of its public campaign funding has been worth the cost, advocates at the federal level are trying to bring the system to Congress. They are, at best, about a decade too soon. The benefits of public… Read More
After reports from Germany and Sweden last winter concluded regular cell-phone use over many years increases the risk of certain types of brain cancers, the first reaction anyone might have was to wait – surely, the next peer-reviewed, highly respected study would conclude just the opposite. But subsequent… Read More
As they have with term limits, lawmakers are likely to be quick to dismiss a bill that would lengthen their terms of office. That would be a mistake for the Senate. LD 1238 as written would amend the constitution to extend to four years the… Read More
After more than four years into the war in Iraq, the public should note the congressional relief last week that comments offered by Gen. David Petraeus, the new commander of American forces there, were remarkable for their forthrightness. Certainly other military leaders have been candid and few shared… Read More
Suggesting limits on how many pieces of toilet paper people use – as singer Sheryl Crow has infamously done, perhaps in jest – is dangerous because it deflects attention from more serious steps. Producing toilet paper does have environmental consequences, but these pale when compared to the effects… Read More
In what will become only one of many government reports about the cost of climate change, the Government Accountability Office looked at public insurance programs and found they were not adequately assessing the risks of more severe weather. As studies such as this accumulate, a responsible calculation for… Read More
Children used to chant a poem that went, “Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children will burn.” Compassionate parents later changed the ending to “your children are gone.” Whichever sounds best, we are in the midst of a major ladybug infestation and… Read More
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has the near-impossible job of making the state budget balance while meeting the many obligations Maine has imposed on itself. The committee is wondering whether the state’s publicly funded gubernatorial campaign, approved by voters through referendum, really needs the money allocated to it. That… Read More
As members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee turn their attention to the perennial issue of dealing with sex offenders, they should define the scope of the problem and decide what solutions work and are available in Maine before voting for tougher sentences or housing restrictions that could… Read More
Two of President Bush’s descriptions of the current conflict – “war on terror” and “long war” – have come into question. Along with the language issue, the new controversy can lead to useful reconsideration of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and continuing terrorist threats. Read More
After more than a year’s work, the outline of a plan for Sears Island is scheduled to be presented today to the community members, environmentalists, marine resource advocates and government officials who have contributed to its making. The future of the island has been in dispute for decades,… Read More
The Senate has two unattractive options as it contemplates the Employee Free Choice Act, a pro-labor measure that primarily changes the way potential unions may organize. The choices are to do nothing or accept an imperfect corrective to rising job insecurity and falling benefits that coincide with the… Read More
A $625,000 bathroom wasn’t needed after all to ensure travelers along Route 9 between Brewer and Calais had a place to stop. Instead, the Department of Transportation is working with a Township 22 restaurant to provide bathroom facilities. Failing that, a privy could be installed. Both are better… Read More
Catching fish in Maine’s fresh water has long required a license, but fishing in salt water does not. LD 1811 would eliminate this arbitrary discrepancy while ensuring the state’s anglers meet new federal requirements. It will also give researchers more money and data to assess the condition of… Read More
Multiple mistakes have come to light as the “scandal” unfolds over Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, and the favors he granted to a bank employee who has been his longtime companion. Mr. Wolfowitz himself made some of the missteps that have provided ammunition… Read More
In the 1990s, Boris Yeltsin, perhaps best known for standing atop a tank to urge his countrymen to resist a hard-line attempted coup, was the face of democratic reform in Russia. Built on a shaky foundation, that reform has naturally stumbled as it progressed. That progress and some… Read More
Sen. Olympia Snowe last week concluded, as many political leaders who support President George Bush have, that the current White House strategy in Iraq is inadequate. That is not news to the majority of Americans, who have been doubtful about the war for years, but unlike most of… Read More
Being stuck on an airplane on the tarmac is about the loss of control. If airlines want to help passengers feel less helpless – and less angry – they can ensure passengers have food, water and bathroom facilities when planes are stuck for an hour or more. If… Read More
Television ads warning Maine residents that their homes could go up in flames if a fire retardant chemical is banned are over the top. So, too, however, are claims that banning a flame retardant called deca is one of the most important issues facing lawmakers this year. The… Read More
Given the enormity of the problems associated with global warming, lawnmower emissions may seem like a small issue. As the cliche goes, however, changing policy usually begins by picking the low-hanging fruit. Lawnmowers are such fruit, but the rules proposed this week by the Environmental Protection Agency would… Read More
By upholding a federal ban on an abortion procedure without reducing the number of abortions and by removing the court protection of a woman’s health while asserting that its ruling is in part justified to guard women from doing something they would “come to regret,” the Supreme Court… Read More
Maine spends more than $200 million a year in business incentives and tax credits without a clear sense of the overall benefits of this effort. After a state study of this situation last year, the Legislature and administration have offered ways to solve this deficiency. The ideas are… Read More