Viewing rivers as an economic development tool is a fairly recent phenomenon in Maine. Towns long thought of the water that flowed through their hearts as a source of power for a mill and a means to wash away pollutants. Now, towns realize that people will come to… Read More
If you ever want to know whether your doctor has been involved in malpractice, you might want to consult a little-known federal resource: the National Practitioner Data Bank. Established by a law signed in the 1980s by President Reagan, it is supposed to list all jury awards and… Read More
It’s no secret that healthier children do better academically, but as Maine schools this week hand out forms to sign up kids for MaineCare health insurance coverage, their parents may not know how large a difference having access makes in their children’s school lives. The forms they’ll see… Read More
Does President Bush believe the war against terrorism is winnable? The answer depends on what is meant by that. Does he think Iraq and Afghanistan can build safe and stable governments to the betterment of their people? Certainly. Does he believe the United States can stop all terrorists… Read More
There have been so many land conservation deals in Maine in recent years that residents can be excused for not keeping up with what group is preserving what large swath of forest. There is one project, however, that deserves attention. Not because of its size, but because of… Read More
For the tiny slice of the American public that cares whether neoconservatives stand as one or are, to a degree, divided on the war in Iraq and its effects, the recent disagreement between neocons Charles Krauthammer and Francis Fukuyama is hot dinner-party conversation. For the other 99 percent… Read More
As members of Congress return from their summer recess this month they will consider landmark Senate-passed legislation that will give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. The FDA jurisdiction, which is tied to a tobacco grower buyout and is part of a larger corporate… Read More
Forget the idea that North Korea is a hermit dictatorship, ruled by a mysterious and invisible throwback to Stalinism, who wants nothing to do with other nations, is driving his people into famine and economic collapse and plans to blow up his neighbors even if that means his… Read More
You knew the Legislature couldn’t resist involving itself in the reform of the University of Maine System, didn’t you? With money at stake, turf to be protected, loyal allies unhappy and a chance to defend programs in the home district, the attraction for lawmakers was irresistible. Maine saw… Read More
With the presidential election only two months away, another hang-fire vote in Florida seems likely. Voting-machine problems in several swing states could throw the outcome into doubt, but the worst case seems to be Florida, where a chaotic voting system in the 2000 election kept the nation from… Read More
Now there’s even more reason to toss some blueberries onto your cereal in the morning or indulge in a piece of blueberry pie after dinner. The berries may help fight cholesterol, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study that was presented last week. It… Read More
A group charged with resolving a conflict in state rules that caused dogs to be vaccinated against rabies more often than necessary has come up with a simple fix to a decades-old problem. The group’s solution, to require that dog owners show proof that their pet is currently… Read More
It is understandable that lawmakers are concerned about mismanagement, and possibly malfeasance, within the state’s migrant education program. The over-identification of students eligible for such services is a serious matter and may cost the state millions of dollars. But to compare the Department of Education problems with those… Read More
Enthusiasm for reforming the nation’s intelligence community under a single director was replaced with caution last week, which usually means delay and gives opponents a chance to kill substantial legislation. Before that sentiment spreads, Congress would do well to consider one of the more respected experts to emerge… Read More
The streets are paved, the banners are up, the grass is green. It’s time for music and dancing. Tonight Bangor kicks off its final three-day stint as host to the National Folk Festival. If you’ve been before, you know what a great time awaits festival goers. If you… Read More
If the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency needs more evidence that a Bush administration plan to reduce mercury pollution misses the target, it got it this week with its own report on the increasing number of water bodies across the country that are contaminated with the toxic heavy metal. Read More
Two reports on the prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq come to the same conclusion: The abuses were the result of major leadership failures, not the actions of a small band of rouge soldiers, as Pentagon officials had long asserted. Both reports, released this week, have… Read More
The only real losers in the fight over whether consumer advocate Ralph Nader should appear as a presidential candidate on the ballot in Maine and other states are the voters. Democrats charge that Republicans are financing and sometimes staffing signature gathering efforts for the Nader campaign. Republicans complain… Read More
Palestinian officials have called on the Bush administration to clarify its position on the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It must. Last week, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced that it will solicit bids for the construction of 1,001… Read More
Unfortunately, false accusations sometimes stick. American officials kept calling al-Jazeera, the leading Arab television station, a mouthpiece for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network. It did broadcast the bin Laden tapes, first questioned but later judged to be authentic. But al-Jazeera is not owned or sponsored… Read More
On the presidential campaign trail much of the talk for days has been about events that happened more than 30 years ago in Vietnam. This is unfortunate for many reasons, the prime being that it is taking attention away from more critical issues, namely the economy, the war… Read More
Reconfiguring American troops in Europe and Asia is long overdue. The challenge with President Bush’s plan to withdraw up 70,000 soldiers from these regions is that it appears to be done for political reasons – to calm the criticism of the much longer than expected U.S. deployments in… Read More
Forty Maine communities, including most of the large ones, have a challenge beyond the obvious in facing the Palesky 1 percent property tax cap. They allow elected officials to approve city debt, which under the tax cap would not be exempted from the cap, as voter-approved debt is. Read More
Now that the majority of voters on the Passamaquoddy reservation at Pleasant Point have approved a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on their land, the real work begins. The small community in Washington County is the first in the state to welcome such a facility. Read More
The Maine Chamber of Commerce recently printed a handy map of the governor’s new Pine Tree Zones, with the surprising result of highlighting the fact that Maine barely has a place, outside Portland and environs, that is not a Pine Tree Zone. One hundred and three towns and… Read More
Actually, two debates have gone missing. The first is whom to blame for the intelligence failure that let a gang of radical Islamic terrorists slip into the country, hijack jetliners, destroy the World Trade Center, damage the Pentagon, and narrowly miss attacking either the Capitol or the White… Read More
Teflon, DuPont’s magical stuff that keeps frying pans from sticking and does lots of other things, is in trouble with the federal government. The fuss started with neighbors of a West Virginia plant where the big chemical company has been making Teflon for 50 years. They are suing… Read More
It was appropriate Tuesday that President Bush promoted the nation’s missile defense system at a Pennsylvania Boeing plant than manufactures the $40 billion V-22 Osprey vertical takeoff aircraft, which had design flaws that led to multiple crashes in 2000 and needed regular testing and retesting before the Pentagon… Read More
Policymakers intent on tapping into the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve or boosting production in Iraq to bring down oil prices may just as well turn their attention to changing the weather. The crude oil market is full of uncertainty – political, financial, climatological and otherwise. The result, since… Read More
With or without the Palesky 1 percent property tax cap, Maine communities are going to be scrupulous with their spending, at least while the threat of losing all that tax revenue is likely and possibly longer. Many of them have already established regional ties and cooperated with other… Read More
By any account American swimmer Michael Phelps has accomplished a lot in his 19 years – he has set 13 world records, appeared on covers of national news magazines and collected pounds of medals. So, it was disappointing that the media chose to portray the teenager as a… Read More
With or without federal regulations, companies in the United States and elsewhere are serious about the threat of global warming and are taking steps to curb or at least minimize its effects. While this is encouraging, it would be better if the U.S. government would step in with… Read More
If federal lawmakers needed further evidence that they did only part of the job in providing a Medicare drug benefit, they got is last week. First, a national survey released Tuesday found that nearly half of seniors polled had a negative view of the law and more than… Read More
Democrats accuse Republicans of helping Ralph Nader’s presidential campaign drain votes from John Kerry. Mr. Nader accuses Democrats of trying to keep him off the ballot in states where the election is close. With the outcome of the 2000 race on the minds of campaign officials, the accusations… Read More
Although summer is rapidly coming to an end the mosquito menace is not. Maine is now entering the peak season for the discovery of the West Nile virus, a sometimes fatal disease carried by mosquitoes. Maine is the only state in the Lower 48 where a human case… Read More
A fall bond package of $120 million is too high, even for legislative Democrats and the governor’s office, so over months of paring and trimming, they cut down this original proposal to $55 million. Republicans objected, saying that would still add too much debt, and a lot of… Read More
Republicans and Democrats were busy spinning the findings of a Congressional Budget Office report on the Bush administration’s tax cuts before the document was even released. Republicans are right that every segment of taxpayers got a break. Democrats are right that the wealthy fared much better under the… Read More
With a lot of help from Apple Computer Corp., ninth-graders in at least 33 Maine school districts will continue learning with the help of laptop computers this fall. It is a temporarily positive outcome to a disappointing process in the last legislative session, but it’s no way to… Read More
It was hoped by international Olympic officials that a return to Athens, where the Games began in 776 B.C. and the modern Games were reborn in 1896, would mark a return to the Olympic ideal. Instead, the realities of modern sports and world politics have replaced citius, altius… Read More
The fastest-growing segment of uninsured Americans are between 45 and 64 years old. Among the fastest-growing hospital services nationally are emergency rooms, up 25 percent from 1998 to 2002. The combination explains some of the rising cost of health care, but, more importantly, highlights the crucial role community… Read More
The preliminary permitting last week of a liquefied natural gas terminal in nearby New Brunswick should spur Maine LNG proponents to get serious about the feasibility of a similar facility here. The project next door shows that others are intent on developing LNG facilities while Maine is still… Read More
President Bush’s choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Florida Rep. Porter Goss, brings a unique blend of experiences to what has become one of the most critiqued jobs in America. While Rep. Goss’ time working for the CIA and nearly a decade of overseeing it as chair… Read More
When John Kerry presented himself as a decorated war hero based on his service in the Vietnam War, it probably became inevitable that 30-year-old conflict would emerge as an issue in the 2004 presidential campaign. Read the statements by the swarm of veterans speaking out… Read More
In the three years since President Bush tried to balance the progress of science with the belief that to destroy a human embryo was wrong, research in the field has continued and the ethical questions around it have intensified. U.S. scientists, standard bearers in demanding that ethics accompany… Read More
Candidates for office no doubt tire of filling out special-interest questionnaires asking for their opinions on myriad topics. Now, rather than filling out numerous forms from groups with a specific agenda, they can do their constituents a service by taking the National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) put together… Read More
It is only partly in jest that some refer to the world’s premier bicycle race as the “Tour de Lance.” Lance Armstrong, who won an unprecedented sixth straight Tour de France last month, brought a sense of determination, hard work and grit back to the 21-day cycling race,… Read More
The University of Maine System recently posted on its Web site more than 150 comments and criticisms of its strategic plan that should strengthen the final version, due at the end of this month. Some of the comments are praise; a few tell the chancellor to forget the… Read More
EdGE is a little-known program of the Maine Seacoast Mission that in two years of existence has already made a difference in coastal Washington county. It focuses on children in grades five to eight and works with parents, teachers, business and community leaders to provide… Read More
The proposed 1 percent property tax cap, on the ballot in November, will win easily unless business groups loudly denounce it as an understandable but irresponsible overreaction to high taxes in this state. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce may be looking for a way out of rejecting… Read More
With so much attention devoted to the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, scant attention has been paid to another greenhouse gas that is contributing to global warming – methane. That would change under an international initiative that aims to capture methane emissions from coal mines, gas fields… Read More
Under the pressure to become more efficient and the related demand to become more regional, it is understandable that Eastern Maine Healthcare would want a sleeker governing model and that its focus would be on more than just the Bangor area. But hospital members (recently known as corporators),… Read More
Not only does Maine have some of the priciest health care in the nation, the rate of increase for premiums leapt way above the national average in recent years, with premiums up 77 percent here during the last four years as incomes rose 6 percent. This says both… Read More
Though getting signatures for an initiative vote requires a lot of work, the total announced Tuesday to force a vote on where the new Bangor police station would be built wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was that the city hasn’t done more to keep this issue off the… Read More
Women and children first seems to be the pattern for this year’s political conventions. John Kerry’s daughters told about saving the hamster and other matters, and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, introduced him. John Edwards had a similar family introduction. And we can look forward to likely family… Read More
The latest measurement of Maine’s creative economy, to be released today, gives the state a reasonable baseline from which to watch how this portion of the economy is performing. But before it gets too focused on the size of the creative sector or the amount of money it… Read More
With the persuasive report from the 9-11 Commission and a fast-track Senate committee working toward reform, the position of a director of national intelligence recently became inevitable, so it was smart of President Bush yesterday to announce that he too wanted to create the job. The announcement allows… Read More
Preferably, your children will go outside to play and get some exercise. But, if the lure of video games and television is too much, at least game manufacturers and broadcasters are coming to understand the need to get kids active. Some new games require players… Read More
Although there was elation when the long-delayed 94th Military Policy Company returned to the United States last week, the unit’s longer than expected stay in Iraq highlights the deficiencies in current military planning. The case of the 94th, a National Guard unit that has been deployed overseas for… Read More
There was good reason for the absence of celebration recently when it was announced that the number of jobs in Maine has finally returned to the June 2001 level. The reason is that the thousands of high-paying jobs that have been lost in recent years have been replaced… Read More
As a means for introducing Sen. John F. Kerry to America, the final night Thursday of the Democratic National Convention was a solid success. His speech conveyed the hoped-for strength, his message on war and the U.S. role in the world were unmistakable, his delivery, if not eloquent,… Read More
If information about a person’s criminal history is not available to a judge making, in some cases, life or death decisions about jail time or bail conditions, the information may as well not exist. That’s why it is distressing to Gov. John Baldacci and others that efforts to… Read More
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson took one step in the right direction this week in reducing the price for cancer drugs under Medicare, but the step now leads naturally to two more. The lowered reimbursement should be accompanied by an overall review of costs to physicians… Read More
Powerball, the lottery game that will provide you with more millions than you could possibly spend or, perhaps, not, goes on sale today in Maine, making this state the 27th to join. Predictable doubts have emerged with the game as well, and though there are lots of reasons… Read More
Most of America’s active-duty troops pay $16.25 a month for $250,000 worth of life insurance, under a program developed by the Pentagon. That’s a neat bargain, and a break for our soldiers and sailors who face possible death in Iraq or elsewhere and want financial protection for their… Read More
The same day that the commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks warned that an outdated Cold War mentality and government structure failed to understand the looming threat of terrorist groups like al-Qaida, the first piece of a controversial missile defense shield was quietly installed in Alaska. Read More
Millions of Americans watch their cholesterol levels, confident that they measure the chance of heart troubles ahead. Thirty-six million are being advised to take pills called statins once a day, at around $3 apiece, to help reduce the level. That comes to more than $1,000 a year. Read More
A resounding conclusion of the 9-11 Commission, repeated often last week by its members, was that another terrorist attack was likely being planned and that the country did not have much time to make needed changes to its intelligence gathering and security operations. So, it was encouraging to… Read More
With the announcement last week that two research labs and seven colleges would share a $17.8 million federal grant to support biomedical research, Gov. John Baldacci observed, “the state’s investment in biomedical research is paying off.” Yes, but there was already ample evidence that this investment has been… Read More
Perhaps it’s just us, but the unusual number of bicyclists Sunday on the roads around Bangor seemed more than coincidental. Not just bicyclists, but fit-looking, swift enthusiasts wearing sleek outfits and determined mien. If they were, as we suspect, celebrating while being inspired by the record-setting performance of… Read More
With August fast approaching, it’s time for another look at the houseguest problem. They start coming just as the black flies leave. We love these fair-weather friends (except for skiers and snowmobilers, they rarely visit Maine in the winter), but our short season gets frantic and chaotic, especially… Read More
For years, Maine’s two largest cities have struggled to come up with schemes to finance construction of new civic centers that don’t overburden local taxpayers but are palatable to surrounding communities. Their efforts have been unsuccessful, leaving Bangor and Portland to try to persuade conventions and cultural and… Read More
Today is a yellow alert day at the Department of Homeland Security, meaning the threat from terrorism is elevated, or about middling – yellow is the third color on a five-color scale. The majority of federal agencies, however, are on heightened alert, as they are just about all… Read More
As officials of the Pasamaquoddy Tribe move forward with a proposal liquefied natural gas facility in Washington County, much more information is needed. Basic questions, such as the practicality of building an LNG terminal in an area of extremely high tides and difficult navigation, need to be fully… Read More
Coastal Maine has been en-veloped in fog for weeks, as you may have noticed – or even agonized over if you had hoped for a lot of sailing or seashore picnics on sparkling, crystal-clear days. Sometimes it’s there in the morning, lifts a little and creeps back in… Read More
While the 9-11 commission, which issued its final report Thursday, pinpointed specific instances of failures that enabled 19 hijackers to carry out their attack on the United States, they also made it clear that no specific person or agency is to blame. The danger in this conclusion is… Read More
Often just defining a problem helps lead to a solution. Such is the case with the announcement last week from the Department of Health and Human Services that it will now consider obesity an illness. Although the change for now only affects federal Medicare reimbursements (although private insurers… Read More
No recent phrase has gotten as much attention as the “16 words” that President Bush uttered during his 2003 State of the Union address in the runup to the Iraq war. In that speech, the president said: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant… Read More
It was bound to happen. Fox News is so popular with President Bush and his top people someone was sure to crack back. Al Frankel made one of the first stabs at it. Now comes a little-known filmmaker who has secretly put together what he calls a “guerrilla… Read More
In crafting a palatable tax bill last year, members of Congress managed to pare down its cost by allowing the most popular tax cuts to expire quickly. Now, with an increase in the child tax credit, a reduction of the marriage penalty and expansion of the lowest tax… Read More
Members of the International Whaling Commission are gathered in Italy this week for the group’s annual meeting. As they have for years, commission members will have heated debates over a long-standing, but often disregarded, moratorium on whale hunting. Although it will likely not end the yearly squabbling, IWC… Read More
The message to the Environmental Protection Agency, coming from states, members of Congress and the public, is clear: Rules proposed by the Bush administration to reduce mercury pollution fall short of what is necessary to protect human health and the environment. Instead, the agency should move forward with… Read More
If the advocates for putting Bangor’s new police station on the edge of town think the debate about its location is over the soil bearing strengths of the competing sites, they haven’t been listening. A petition exists to put the new station downtown because that’s where people assume… Read More
Leave it to the guy who sees the blood and guts in the emergency room to spell out mortality in visceral terms. The BDN’s intrepid health columnist, Dr. Erik Steele, recently urged lawmakers to pass a four-part safety bill that will save lives and save money. The next… Read More
Faced with the daunting prospect of a cap on residential property taxes and a commensurate slashing of municipal revenues, officials in Brewer wisely decided not to just whine about the dire prospects of the November referendum question. Instead, they have agreed to take steps to lower property taxes… Read More
Bangor has shown twice through the National Folk Festival that it knows how to throw a party. The top-notch entertainment, enthusiastic crowds and positive reviews made the city look at itself in a new way. Keeping this cultural and morale booster going means switching from the three-year outlook… Read More
A proposal from Republican state lawmakers to use some of the state’s unexpected surplus to reduce the size of a proposed bond issue provides opening to conversations over the borrowing package. However, rather than claiming surplus money for needed projects, lawmakers should re-evaluate what items in the bond… Read More
The short-term health of a significant portion of Maine’s logging industry will shortly be determined by the Department of Homeland Security. The financial importance of the situation requires a swift answer from Secretary Tom Ridge, who should recognize that the national security he is working to improve has… Read More
Without meaning to, the United States has converted Fallujah into a haven for insurgents and terrorists. A truce agreement negotiated after a six-week siege of the Sunni city of 285,000 handed control to a 1,200-strong force called the Fallujah Brigade, led by generals from Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard. Read More
Although Australia exports few drugs, a pending free trade agreement between the United States and its 13th largest trading partner would set a pricey precedent that runs counter to efforts to legalize prescription-drug imports. The agreement, approved by the Senate’s Finance Committee yesterday with Sen. Read More
Even without the many blacked-out sections of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s assessment of prewar intelligence, following any definite conclusion about Iraq’s capabilities is nearly impossible. The trail of seemingly conflicting evidence suggests that key elements of the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate were not supported by the facts, that… Read More
Many of the Canadian nurses and health care workers who staff hospitals in northern and eastern Maine grumbled about government regulations set to go into effect this month. The rules, on the books for nearly a decade but only recently activated, require that Canadians meet new visa requirements… Read More
Senate supporters of a constitutional ban on gay marriage are very unlikely to find the required 67 votes to pass the measure tomorrow; they may not even come close. A lack of support is usually enough reason for a senator to avoid a vote and… Read More
The polite way state officials describe soaking out-of-state visitors is to say they are “exporting taxes,” meaning they get someone besides state residents to pay for the services those residents use. Some states have become especially good at this and a few really worked over the perfect tax-paying… Read More
The embarrassment of repeated flip-flops on issues of concern to city residents is bad enough, but Bangor city councilors should see that decisions made quickly to save money or to meet someone else’s timetable are bad public policy. Rather, councilors should be willing to take the time to… Read More
A long-awaited Senate Intelligence report released yesterday concludes that the CIA gave the White House inaccurate, inadequate and generally sloppy information about the military strength of Iraq in the months leading up to the war. The report, signed and supported by Republicans and Democrats unanimously, may be the… Read More
Months of trying to persuade the Bush administration that a cap on the number of workers it allows into the country is harming the logging and mill industries here has left the Maine congressional delegation without answers and quickly running out of time. A bill that would grandfather… Read More
Mark Twain famously wrote, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” There is no advantage not only for the man, who misses out on the art of ideas and images effectively stated, but also for the larger… Read More
By this time, most people know that a sport utility vehicle has a greater chance of rolling over than a normal passenger car and that rollovers have a higher fatality rate than other crashes. The federal government tells how to find which SUVs are most likely to roll… Read More
A significant concern about expanding Maine’s health care system through the governor’s Dirigo plan is that it will encourage many more people to use and overuse the system, driving up costs and making health care less affordable for everyone. Taiwan, which transformed its health care system in the… Read More
The president wants it. The military wants it. So do shipping industry and environmental groups. The only thing standing in the way of the United States finally signing on to the Law of the Sea Convention, a United Nations treaty governing what happens on, above and under the… Read More