John Baldacci concludes what is likely to be his final political campaign with the same focus on issues, the same attention to Maine and the same admirable work ethic he has had throughout his career. Though he has been attacked politically during his nearly four years as governor,… Read More
After years of talking about the need for more cooperation and consolidation of local government services, progress toward actual cooperation and consolidation is frustratingly slow. Earlier this month, the governor announced that 14 projects had been selected to receive state funds to support regional service… Read More
You may not have heard more about hedge funds than reports that some multimillionaires have been making returns of 25 to 30 percent a year on investments of $25,000 and up. That’s true enough, but there is more to the story, and the plot is thickening. Read More
The Department of Transportation may well take pride in its efficient use of money, as noted in a recent national report. In the long term, however, low-cost fixes will cost the state, warns the report’s author David Hartgen, a professor of transportation studies at the University of North… Read More
Sixteen years after a consent decree required major changes in the state’s mental health system, the Department of Health and Human Services has finally developed a plan that court officials find acceptable. While it is positive that the state’s plan was given initial approval last week, it shouldn’t… Read More
British Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt is being quoted worldwide for saying that his nation’s 7,200 soldiers in Iraq should be pulled out soon because “our presence exacerbates the security problems” there. This follows the partial release of an April National Intelligence Estimate that concludes, “The Iraq conflict has… Read More
Schools in Wells and Cape Elizabeth this fall banned “grinding,” a sexually blatant dance in which boys grind their pelvises against girls’ backsides, according to the Associated Press. Wells senior Erica Bouley retorted, “There are so many worse things we could be doing.” Yes, and that’s why school… Read More
The few who stayed away from the mass bridgewalk Saturday across the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge for fear of parking problems or impossible crowds missed a historic civic celebration they would have relished the rest of their lives. Those who made it in the brilliant sunshine of a… Read More
A requirement that a passport be presented to cross the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico threatened to dampen trade and tourism, while weakening cultural ties. So, it is encouraging that the Department of Homeland Security, with a push from Maine’s senators, will delay the requirement while looking… Read More
Last year, the United Way of Eastern Maine refocused its efforts on three areas where it felt it could make the biggest difference. By providing consistent funding for programs to improve the lives of children and families, senior citizens and those needing help to achieve self-sufficiency, the organization… Read More
Maine, although a small player in the defense industry, is a mirror of national trends. As defense spending has increased dramatically in recent years, as part of the war on terror, Maine has seen a doubling of military spending and a rise in defense contracts. The work has… Read More
The challenges facing small businesses in Maine are well known, as, unfortunately, are their failure rates. But a vital federal program for the last couple of years has given these businesses in distressed areas a much better chance to succeed through federal contracting preferences. This program, however, called… Read More
Before recently released food stamp rates in Maine get turned into just one more weapon in the gubernatorial race, the public should look closely at the report that produced the rates and observe that a substantial part of the increase may come from Maine doing things right. Read More
For the second time in two years, the highly regarded British medical journal The Lancet has reported that civilian deaths in Iraq far exceed official estimates. A study in the publication now estimates that more than 600,000 civilians have died in violence following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Read More
Despite the recent spate of school violence, schools are generally safe places for children to spend their days. Still, schools and communities should have plans in place to deal with crises, whether they entail violence, disease or natural disasters. In Maine, schools are required to have such plans,… Read More
The truth about who knew what when about Florida Rep. Mark Foley and his contact with congressional pages likely won’t be fully known until investigations, by the FBI and House Ethics Committee, are complete. However, as more details emerge about the extent and duration of Rep. Foley’s relationships… Read More
Although it has been in the works for years, a recent rule change, requiring a setback of 250 feet for development near shorebird habitat, is getting a lot of criticism, especially from Down East. Because of the chorus of discontent, the governor is prudent to ask the Department… Read More
Late last year, Sen. John Warner sponsored an amendment stating that 2006 should be “a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty,” of security forces taking the lead and U.S. forces able to begin a phased withdrawal. Last week, Sen. Warner, having returned from a quick trip… Read More
A recent speech by the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, deserved more attention than it received not because what he said was so startling, but because his modest suggestions on Social Security were achievable even within a highly partisan Congress. Moderates… Read More
You want to know how Maine’s median age has changed over the decades: Page 19. You want a backgrounder on Maine school costs: Page 23. You want to see how Maine compares to other states for employment, debt, gross-state product and number of prisoners: Pages 90-94. The Maine… Read More
The North Korean regime achieved its goal of getting attention and validation by presumably testing a nuclear device Monday. The difficult task now for other countries, especially members of the United Nation’s Security Council, which unanimously condemned the presumed test, is to use Pyongyang’s attention seeking as a… Read More
Long ago, pay phones had a little glassed-in room with a seat and a shelf where you could write or place your change. A call cost a nickel. Then they mostly were cut back to a little hood that offered some protection from rain and… Read More
The Baldacci administration and the Maine Hospital Association are moving toward a settlement of some $330 million owed by the state to medical facilities from the mid-1990s and through the end of the current biennium, in June 2007. The agreement reportedly would also set rates that would help… Read More
The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee has recommended two incremental improvements to the state’s sex-offender registry. One is to include on the registry as much information as authorities have on the offenders who have failed to register with the state. The other is a classification system… Read More
A recent report on New England’s air traffic found that midsize airports, like Bangor’s, play an important role in connecting local residents to the national flight network while easing congestion at Boston’s Logan Airport. This conclusion, which likely also applies to other regions, should prompt Congress to rethink… Read More
The U.S. strategy to counter North Korea’s announced intention to conduct a nuclear weapons test has been to try to muster international pressure on North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il. Most analysts seem to doubt that will work. So the Bush administration would be left in its standard position… Read More
The nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve is meant as a hedge against emergencies that cut off oil supplies. The reserve, however, is inadequate to meet several potential scenarios, according to a review of the Government Accountability Office. The GAO reinforces the importance of recently passed federal legislation requiring that… Read More
For years state police have been cracking down on garages that are too lenient in allowing vehicles to pass state safety inspections. Now, they are preparing to tackle the other half of the problem – car owners who shop around for a garage willing to put a sticker… Read More
In what is the most perceptive and ambitious review of Maine in years, the Brookings Institution has drawn on previous work, done an impressive amount of new research and added substantial analysis to create a Maine action plan based on what this state has known but has not… Read More
Most doctors are honest people and are dedicated to the classic rule of medicine: “First, do no harm.” But the case is being made that they should add another maxim: “Take no bribes.” Is bribe too harsh a word for the common practice by many… Read More
Last month, the state’s plan to acquire land around Katahdin Lake to add to Baxter State Park became more complicated when preservationist Roxanne Quimby bought adjacent land. The state quickly put the project back on track by deciding to build a road across state land to access the… Read More
As deplorable as former Rep. Mark Foley’s advances at pages are, if Congress uses the salacious details of this episode to hide its own sorry oversight record, in this and other recent situations, those teen pages would be misused again. Nothing hides other faults like possible sexual impropriety… Read More
To comply with a federal court order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year designated critical habitat for the Canada lynx. In Maine, the only state on the East Coast that is home to the wild cats, the service identified more than 10,600 square miles of northern… Read More
Maine roads are deteriorating faster than they can be fully repaired; like all states, it faces rapidly rising costs for pavement; and its fuel tax revenues, dedicated to the Highway Fund, are expected to continue a slow decline. This situation, highlighted by the recent news that the fund… Read More
If you sign up for a bank money-market account, you will find it a convenience in handling routine deposits and payments. Transactions may be limited to six per month. It pays interest if you keep the balance above, say, $2,500. But the interest rate at… Read More
While salmon fishermen are enjoying their return to the Penobscot River for the first time in seven years, a cloud hangs over the fishery. A review of the fish’s status concluded that large rivers – the Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin – should be added to the endangered species… Read More
Take a close look at the maple trees, usually by this time on the verge of a glorious scarlet display of fall coloring. Chances are you’ll see ugly black spots across most of the green leaves. The spots often have a narrow border of bright… Read More
While acknowledging that the Baldacci administration had made progress in repairing its Medicaid computer meltdown, the federal Health and Human Services inspector general nevertheless wants Maine to reprocess some 12 million claims to ensure they had been properly decided. The Office of MaineCare Services may eventually have to… Read More
School shootings, such as the one Wednesday in Colorado, are horrible tragedies. They are thankfully rare. Still, they have also distorted communities’ sense of safety as witnessed this week when four area schools were closed because a 16-year-old boy believed to have a gun was at large. This… Read More
Robert Tannenwald, director of the New England Public Policy Center, part of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, has two responses to the question of whether Maine’s tax burden is high: “Yes, but …” googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
The initial reason for the rebellion of Republican Sens. John Warner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham over the White House’s version of detainee treatment was that legislative language did not hold the Bush administration to standards set forth in the Geneva Conventions and denied basic elements of a… Read More
With the closing, bankruptcy or change in ownership of nearly every paper mill in Maine in recent years, it is clear the era of communities relying, for generations, on a single large employer for their well-being, and in many instances even their existence, is over. Now, the key… Read More
The war in Afghanistan, long pushed from the headlines by the chaos in Iraq, has recently returned to the news as conditions there deteriorate and fighting with the Taliban increases. A NATO commander two weeks ago asked for more troops to combat the growing insurgency, a request that… Read More
A new word has barged into the language, whether anyone needed it or not. Pretexting is a new term for an old scam: pretending to be someone you’re not, in order to obtain something of value. In other words, using a pretext. Private investigators had… Read More
The 1840s were a big decade for the advancement of washing your hands, particularly if you were a doctor and delivered babies. Back then, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and, independently a couple of years later, Dr. Ign?c Semmelweis of Hungary, both following Dr. Alexander Gordon, concluded that puerperal… Read More
The Army Corps of Engineers, the country’s construction branch, is better known for dredging and dam projects that serve political needs rather than public safety or environmental needs. A bill passed by the Senate, which requires independent review of Corps projects and updates its project justification guidelines, was… Read More
Where schools are built can have a major impact on the character and growth of a community. With a push from state education officials, communities are consolidating small schools and building new ones near town centers. This is a welcome change. For years, many believed… Read More
A compromise bill on chemical security would allow the federal government to shut down plants that don’t meet security requirements, but doesn’t require companies to stop using toxic chemicals. Environmental groups criticize the compromise as too weak and the chemical industry views it as too stringent. Five years… Read More
Lobbying reform emerged with the promise of spring, stalled before summer and seems now to be one of those things Congress would rather not discuss. A last-minute attempt in the Senate to rescue a piece of the reform by matching House provisions on earmarks looks similarly doomed. Read More
A group called Opportunity Maine has a good idea in the form of a proposal to build a citizen’s initiative to highlight the importance of going to college. Whether its specific proposal – a tax credit to repay tuition costs for those who remain in Maine after graduating… Read More
If a noted Maine leader dies, a natural disaster strikes Central America or a town gets a grant for a fire truck, a question you don’t need to bother asking is, What do Maine’s senators think of this turn of events? The Senate press offices, to an unusual… Read More
A report on Iran’s weapon’s capabilities by a House intelligence subcommittee helpfully points out gaps in American intelligence about Tehran. Despite recognizing these intelligence gaps, the report warns that Iran “poses a serious threat to U.S. national security.” It also questions the work of the… Read More
They are easy to hate, yet last week several sex offenders stood before a legislative committee and told their stories. Their testimony, following the killing of two registered sex offenders Easter morning, should prompt changes in the state’s on-line sex offender registry. The key to lawmakers’ deliberations is… Read More
Despite the courageous revolt by four U.S. Republican senators, Congress may still give President Bush some version of the approval he demands for his secret network of foreign “alternative” interrogation techniques and military tribunals for prosecution of suspected terrorists. It’s an open question whether a bill that emerges… Read More
Reigniting the debate over the use of the word “squaw” in place names will accomplish little, while engendering unnecessary ill will. It is understandable that Piscataquis County commissioners are upset that the squaw name has not been removed from all the state’s features, as required by law. The… Read More
Internet poker is easy and private. All it takes is a computer and a credit card. And some of the Web sites let you start playing without the credit card. It looks easy to win, so easy, in fact, that a national epidemic is sweeping the country, and… Read More
The simple part of a complaint by Green gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche is whether a television ad campaign by the Republican Governor’s Association is advocating that voters elect GOP candidate Chandler Woodcock. Of course it is – especially where the campaign, after offering its ideas about the dismal… Read More
An amusing article about the L.L. Bean store in The New York Times by one of its cleverer reporters, Alex Kuczynski, included an offhand complaint that “there’s no place colder in the world, it seems, than Maine on a late-summer evening.” Fresh from steamy New York, she found… Read More
The state’s effort to acquire land around Katahdin Lake, specifically a parcel north of the lake for hunters, has hit a snag, and hunting and snowmobiling advocates are suggesting that the whole arrangement should be reconsidered, even scuttled. This is premature and ill advised. Early… Read More
The Bush administration’s insistence that it cannot continue with its secret prisons unless it re-writes detainee protections in the Geneva Conventions has run into Republicans, who correctly believe the administration’s program, in the words of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, would cause the world to “doubt the… Read More
Getting people interested in storm water is draining. Several communities in the Bangor area have teamed up to educate people about storm water and the pollution it carries to rivers, lakes and oceans to get homeowners and others to think of the consequences before using pesticides on their… Read More
Because the Small Business Administration loaned money to ineligible companies and kept poor records for a special disaster loan program set up to help businesses hurt by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sen. Olympia Snowe has proposed creation of a private disaster loan program run by banks to… Read More
Rep. Tom Allen began pointing out the folly of war in Iraq when the nation was still in shock from 9-11 and willing to trust President Bush when his administration linked that attack to Saddam Hussein. The congressman has since called for clear end goals for the war,… Read More
Despite an attempt from Sen. Harry Reid to stop a port-security bill with a grab bag of vaguely related amendments yesterday, the bill is ready to be voted on in the Senate today. It should be strongly supported. The security of the 11 million shipping containers that enter… Read More
Buying heating oil now, when it is less expensive, makes sense so it is good news that Maine will receive $7 million in federal funds to allow low-income residents to fill up their oil tanks before cold weather sets in. This not only increases the benefit to Maine… Read More
Encouraging a well-established region to cooperate for the betterment of all seems like such a commonplace idea that it is surprising to hear the states of New England – collective image: women in cable-knit/L.L. Bean-type sweater, lobstermen in slicker, brightly colored fall leaves, church steeples – haven’t figured… Read More
Do you think Bangor needs more theater or live music? Are there enough performances but they’re too expensive? Do you think Bangor’s cultural scene is on track? No matter what your thoughts – or residence – Bangor wants to hear from you. The city is… Read More
The Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence last week presented details on what has been broadly assumed for years: Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction leading up to the 2003 war, no biological or chemical weapon stockpiles or programs and no link to 9-11. Had… Read More
What is fascism? George Orwell asked in an essay 62 years ago because he found the word flung at recklessly different kinds of groups and people, with a degrading effect on the word and confusion generally. He couldn’t answer it then and would have greater difficulty today. Read More
What’s more interesting than a rate hike in the individual health-insurance market? Nothing, apparently, as both Democrats and Republicans this week suddenly seemed fascinated by Anthem’s request for a 20.5 per-cent increase for its high-deductible insurance product. More precisely, they seem fascinated by the opportunity… Read More
Five years after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, millions of Americans have come to doubt what they saw with their own eyes and grasp for far-fetched conspiracy theories. More than one-third of them suspect that federal officials assisted in the 9-11 terrorist… Read More
It is understandable that Brewer administrators want to know how many students will be attending the city’s high school well before the school year starts. To do this, the school department recently began requiring students who live outside Brewer to apply to attend the high school. Read More
Many Republican candidates in the November congressional elections are trying to capitalize on a wave of popular resentment against illegal immigration. But there’s a catch: Both their Republican president, George W. Bush, and many business leaders who have been generous campaign contributors see immigrant labor (including the illegal… Read More
Unity08, the post-political-party campaign for the presidency, announced itself this summer with the assertion that the current polarized atmosphere was repugnant to voters, who quietly and desperately craved moderation. It’s such a cheery idea that anyone would be crazy not to support it, though it… Read More
President Bush is touring the country laying out a new strategy for combating terrorism. His talking points repeatedly single out Iran as a sponsor of terror. Worse, they sound a lot like what the president was saying to build a case for invading Iraq. Having gone down this… Read More
At a time when thousands of American soldiers are facing insurgent bombs and working to rebuild Iraq, a growing number of their colleagues are staying home, not because they object to the war or because they are needed elsewhere. Thousands of military personnel can’t be… Read More
The appeal of returning passenger rail to much more of the state has very little to do with nostalgia and a lot to do with moving Maine from the outskirts of a transportation network to a vital piece of its center. This is possibly helpful to relieving congestion… Read More
Predictions of highway congestion in Bangor may sound frightening, but some perspective is likely to dampen that concern and thoughtful planning can avoid or minimize potential problems. A report released last week warned that congestion in the Bangor area could double by 2030 and that… Read More
Americans spend more money than they make, putting the country’s personal savings rate in the red. In a move that could help reverse this trend, Congress last month allowed companies to automatically enroll workers in retirement savings plans, such as 401(k)s. Automatic enrollment has been shown to boost… Read More
This newspaper recorded the events of Labor Day 1904 with unusual enthusiasm, describing a parade of more than 2,000 union members in Bangor as “filled with good-fellowship and triumph … a potent example typified in thousands of silent, stalwart men, of the strength and force and dignity which… Read More
Vaccinations have tamed, and in some cases eliminated, many childhood illnesses. The immunizations only work, however, when people get the needed shots. Nearly all pre-schoolers in Maine and most other states get the vaccines they need, but too many teens are not getting shots to prevent diseases such… Read More
A report by the Maine Children’s Alliance takes school information that many others have examined and finds new opportunity for school districts to work together to improve the quality and variety of education without costing taxpayers more. The work, called “A Case for Cooperation,” complements another recent study… Read More
A recent report on broadband access in Maine is a welcome primer on the state’s options as it watches other states expand opportunities for residents (and potential residents) to do business, send large computer files and generally stay connected to the rest of the world. As Maine continues… Read More
Hezbollah and Iran didn’t mean to flatter the United States by imitating its Marshall Plan, they are simply using a technique that has proven to work by handing out money to Lebanese residents whose homes were ruined in the month of fighting with Israel. The perplexing thing is… Read More
As long as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indulges in confrontational politics with the West and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld equates doubters of his anti-terror strategies with Nazi appeasers, as he did this week, a conflict worse than what has already occurred in Iraq is on its way… Read More
At a time when the state is trying to collect unpaid sales tax from Maine residents and businesses and lawmakers spend endless hours fretting about property taxes, it makes no sense to allow an out-of-state business to operate here without collecting the required taxes. If outdoor retailer Cabela’s… Read More
Better documenting of oil futures trading, as proposed by some U.S. senators recently, may help restore public confidence in energy market, but it’s not likely to do anything to lower prices. If lawmakers are serious about ensuring that working people and businesses that use a lot of oil… Read More
Just in time for Labor Day, a variety of reports show American workers producing more efficiently than ever – and having less to show for it. The erosion of buying power for most workers has been a story for several years, but rarely has their decline been at… Read More
The unfinished war in Afghanistan has taken a turn with the expansion of the supposedly defeated Taliban into neighboring Pakistan. The latest expression of concern over the new threat came last weekend from Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende as 1,400 Dutch troops moved into… Read More
To remove the influence of money from politics, Maine in 1996 passed the Clean Elections Act, which this year will supply candidates for the state House and Senate and the governorship with approximately $9 million in public money so they can avoid the nasty dollars of private funders. Read More
Three-quarters of American adults want fundamental changes or complete rebuilding of the nation’s health care system. Two-fifths of them report experiencing unsafe, wasteful or poorly coordinated health care. And half of middle-income and lower-income families face stress and trouble in paying for health care and insurance… Read More
A year after the Gulf Coast was whacked by the aftermath of Katrina, the region has evolved from a riveting tragedy to a grinding experiment in public-private rebuilding. It is moving forward, slowly, but as each month passes, Americans cannot escape the feeling that no matter how much… Read More
Untangling Maine’s largest computer snarl – its semi-serviceable Medicaid reimbursement system called the Maine Claims Management System (MECMS) – is expected to take another year, longer than anyone imagined when the system went online and promptly crashed in early 2005. Nor did the state envision the cost of… Read More
Beach visitors typically aren’t concerned with what’s in the water, unless it’s a shark or jellyfish. Increasingly, however, beaches in Maine and across the country are closed because of bacterial contamination, often from overflowing or outdated sewer-treatment facilities. Although the state is working to upgrade municipal wastewater treatment… Read More
A fine example of the outlook of federal government could be seen last week, when Washington celebrated, albeit in a small way, the fact that the federal deficit for the year ending Sept. 30 would be only $260 billion, rather than the $290 billion estimated in March by… Read More
When The National Folk Festival came to Bangor, the smallest community to host the three-day event, there were doubts that the city was up to the task. The doubters were proved wrong and last year the city launched The American Folk Festival. Despite its past success, the festival… Read More
Seat belts, air bags, rollover bars are doing their jobs in coping with traffic accidents, but rear-end collisions are just beginning to get adequate attention. Here in Maine, 10,902 rear-enders were reported in 2005 – nearly one-third of the total roadway crashes, according to the… Read More
Some version of “my very educated mother just served us nine pizzas” helped generations of students remember the names and order of the nine planets orbiting the sun. Recently, scientists have tried to cancel the pizza, ending Pluto’s membership in planetary club because it is very small, orbits… Read More
The neighboring towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket have a unique opportunity to work together to solve an environmental problem while helping to spur economic development and improve an alternative heat source. They should capitalize on it. A new company, Clean Wood Heat, recently opened… Read More
In May, Verizon sent out two press releases in response to reports that it participated in a the National Security Agency warrantless program to collect phone-call records. In short, Verizon said in those press releases the reports were false. Responding to a complaint from a Verizon customer, the… Read More