Although the odds of success are long, Gov. John Baldacci and the Education Department are right to continue to look for ways to expand the successful laptop computer program to the state’s high schools. Lawmakers failed to find money to fund the expansion, leaving little hope that next… Read More
Another cleanup drive has left the approaches to Acadia National Park restored temporarily to their pristine state. A record crew of 375 red-jacketed volunteers spent a strenuous three hours recently picking up trash and litter along 60 miles of state roads on Mount Desert Island and Trenton. Read More
Mercenaries or “soldiers of fortune” have gotten a bad name through the centuries. Yet, many Americans were not aware of the extent of the Bush administration’s use of mercenaries in the war in Iraq until four contract security guards employed by Blackwater Security Consulting of North Carolina were… Read More
Under the guise of help to U.S. soldiers, the Department of Defense succeeded late last year in mostly exempting itself from laws that protect endangered species and marine mammals. Now the department is again before Congress asking that it not have to adhere to three federal laws aimed… Read More
Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross is right that he shouldn’t have to call the governor’s office to get help for a prisoner who has repeatedly tried to commit suicide. As mental hospitals have downsized, jails have been left to handle more people with psychiatric and substance-abuse problems. The… Read More
It may be an encouraging sign that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to collect more information before proceeding with mercury-emission rules for stationary sources such as power plants. The agency has asserted that these facilities could not meet mercury-emissions standards in the Clean Air Act, although… Read More
Another long commute to work, a long day at Morgan Guaranty Trust on Wall Street and another track fire on the New Haven line further delaying his long, crowded train ride home to Darien, Conn., and suddenly an offer of a job in Maine made a lot of… Read More
Properly, the Bush administration is moving to punish officers who supervised the abuse and humiliation at Abu Ghraib detention center, west of Baghdad, the place where not long ago many thousands of Iraqis were taken during the rule of Saddam Hussein and never seen again. But it should… Read More
It is odd that a few months after Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton touted the importance of restoring the Penobscot River – in part to provide habitat to Atlantic salmon – a service she oversees now wants to cut $70,000 out of Maine hatchery budgets, meaning fewer… Read More
Maine has had 35 studies over two decades to find out what keeps students from going to college. Any student who had been given that many chances to solve a problem and failed would be looking at summer school. Maine, unfortunately, suffers a worse purgatory:… Read More
In a recent column, Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times offered a helpful, step-by-step approach for improving the situation in Iraq. Chief among his suggestions were to add 25,000 soldiers to the U.S. forces already stationed in Iraq and to not invade Fallujah and Najaf, thereby inflaming… Read More
With a complicated tax-relief plan of his own and a lack of organization within his Democratic Party to pass an alternative, Gov. John Baldacci bade farewell to the Legislature yesterday without enacting new property tax relief, leaving the possibility stronger that one or both of two poorly made… Read More
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the recent report by the Bush-appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy is that environmental groups around the country have rallied around it. Since it is rare for such groups to support anything that comes from the Bush administration, this good will should… Read More
A strange coincidence and a Pentagon slip-up have resulted in an unexpected breach of a Bush administration ban on photographs of the flag-draped coffins coming back from Iraq. American casualties have been reported almost daily, but photographs of the returning coffins were off-limits until last week. Then suddenly… Read More
Electronic voting machines, spreading through the country, are attractive and easy to operate, but they still have flaws. LD 1759, which Gov. Baldacci signed into law as the legislative session drew to a close, provides powerful protection for Maine voters. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
Supporters and opponents of a Maine Woods National Park have long been engaged in a battle to dispute one another’s data. Instead, they should work together to collect data to help shape the future of the region. Moving this discussion forward is long overdue, but… Read More
Some of the best ideas on just about any topic have come through our letters to the editor section. Also some of the most pointed, in which a writer neatly punctures in just a couple of sentences an extravagantly wrong editorial concocted here or a commentary on the… Read More
Most scientists have long concurred that it is happening. The Pentagon has begun planning for its consequences and insurance companies are already paying for it. Yet, most companies do not acknowledge climate change as a cost of doing business. Several state treasurers, including Maine’s Dale… Read More
President Bush’s first threat of a veto, on the transportation bill, looked serious enough for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert to pass an extension on the current funding to give the House time to develop a smaller bill. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers last week warned… Read More
Legislators hope to accomplish today what they have failed to do over the last 20 years: reform the state’s tax system while providing relief especially to property taxpayers. Their success will depend on their ability to think over the long-term and to understand that they really are debating… Read More
Feeling ill but convinced your co-workers will be lost without you? Forget about trying to be a hero. Instead, stay home and your boss will thank you for it later. According to a recent Cornell University study, workers who come in sick cost their employers… Read More
Most Mainers know by this time that far too many of us are overweight or obese. And they know that these conditions can shorten life and lead to various diseases as well as costing us all in bearing a public health burden. What many have yet to realize… Read More
Some pitfalls lie ahead as the Legislature prepares this week to finish up the enactment of a bill to authorize the placement and operation of 1,500 slot machines at the Bangor Raceway. LD 1820 is essentially a good bill, far better than the original proposition approved in a… Read More
It is ironic that while many lawmakers in Augusta are working to kill a bill aimed at encouraging school consolidation, education officials from across the state are clamoring for state help to do the very thing their elected representatives are trying to save them from. Read More
Potentially facing legal action for building a road on land they do not own, it would behoove Bangor officials to be cautious when again considering construction through wetlands that they don’t own. This is not the case, however. With little objection, city councilors and planning board members have… Read More
If lawmakers doubt the value of environmental bond money, they should consider how quickly more than $1 million was snapped up to pay for work at the closed Lincoln and Brewer paper mills. Fortunately, that money was available to secure toxic chemicals and other hazards at the abandoned… Read More
A new warning has come forth that “natural” dietary supplements, readily available on the Internet and displayed attractively in health food stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, are not always as safe as they sound. Consumer Reports, in its May issue, concedes that most supplements are… Read More
President Bush will mark Earth Day in Maine, a state known to many visitors for its picturesque landscape and relatively unspoiled environment, by touting the partnerships that have preserved land across the state. Today, the president will visit the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farm, a… Read More
The Law of the Sea Convention has a 19th-century-sounding name and a crucial role in the 21st. If the Bush administration had its way, the United States would have passed this important agreement by now, including this nation in the international discussions and debates over ocean navigation, use… Read More
Presidents often try to shape history’s view of themselves. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon relied on secret tape recordings, tapes that eventually became public with disastrous effect. Bill Clinton is finishing up his memoirs, probably realizing that most readers will turn first to the part about Monica Lewinsky. Read More
A recently released plan to overhaul the University of Maine System is long overdue. In its present form, the plan, which includes merging the three smallest campuses into a University of Northern Maine, is far from perfect. However, when system officials began traveling around the state last week… Read More
As complicated as it is to re-write the tax law at the federal level, the need for doing so is simple locally. Though Maine’s unemployment rate remains a relatively modest 5 percent, the shift in the kinds of jobs beneath this number has been substantial and damaging to… Read More
The dramatic loss of manufacturing jobs to countries with lower labor costs gives the demand for higher barriers new emphasis. But if the United States is to continue trading with other nations it has no choice but to honor trade agreements, a responsibility that is not easy, as… Read More
Listen, my children, and give a pause for the midnight ride of William Dawes… All right, so Longfellow knew he could get a better rhyme out of “hear” and “Revere,” but the result of his famous poem from “Tales of a Wayside Inn” is that… Read More
As spring finally makes its way to Maine and children can venture outdoors without layers of clothing, here’s a sad statistic to consider: Maine children spend more time watching television and sitting in front of a computer playing games than they do playing outdoors. This “screen time” leads… Read More
Feeling guilty for eating the ears off your child’s chocolate Easter bunny or maybe you devoured the whole critter while no one was looking? If you’re pregnant – or even if you’re not – don’t worry about it. A recent study in New Scientist magazine… Read More
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency appeared to make great strides this week when it announced new requirements to improve air quality in 474 counties, including eight in Maine. This encouraging step forward, however, will be quickly undone if the agency does not reverse its pattern of giving highly… Read More
Those lawmakers opposed to a bond question to replenish the Land for Maine’s Future coffer know that if the question goes to voters it would be supported by the same enthusiastic margins that passed two previous measures. The question the public should have is why the Legislature would… Read More
More than two weeks of insurgent turmoil in Iraq, the worst since American-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein a year ago, resulted largely from the U.S. suppression of a newspaper. Al Hawsa, a weekly paper run by the Shiite Muslim cleric Moktada al-Sadr, had been printing… Read More
With tax day upon us, Newsweek’s Wall Street editor, Allan Sloan, posits a notion worth pondering: Most people who filed federal tax returns by today’s deadline didn’t pay income tax, but rather a “salary tax.” There is merit to his observation, which provides additional evidence that recent tax… Read More
President Bush didn’t have his most eloquent outing Tuesday evening at a press conference, but he was firm in his conviction that U.S. troops will remain in Iraq to bring security to that nation. “Sovereignty involves more than a date and a ceremony,” he said. “It requires Iraqis… Read More
The Washington-based Tax Foundation had a little trouble getting Maine’s property taxes right – for a brief time this week it listed them among the lowest in the nation before issuing a correction – but it got a more important point right: The trend of the overall burden… Read More
Soldiers from Maine, reportedly due to leave the region within hours, have been ordered to stay in the Middle East indefinitely due to last week’s escalation of violence in Iraq. Many of the U.S. troops now in limbo are members of reserve and National Guard units, not full-time… Read More
The Aug. 6, 2001, president’s daily brief helps the nation’s understanding of what President Bush was being told a month before the 9-11 attacks. The memo on its own – one, short document among thousands – shows that the president knew al-Qaida cells were operating in the United… Read More
If it is an insurance company’s goal to keep more money than it pays out, Swiss Re’s announcement last week was less political than self-interested. The world’s second-largest reinsurer announced that it expects environmental disasters – from storms, drought, flooding, hurricanes, etc. – to leap to $150 billion… Read More
Before the attractive chickadee replaced the boiled lobster on Maine license plates nearly five years ago, it was noted by the far-seeing that the new plate would reduce the number of people who then were avoiding the lobster by paying an extra $15 for the also attractive loon… Read More
Any doubts that the Bush administration was working harder to protect the energy industry rather than the environment should have been laid to rest by a lengthy expos? published in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. By focusing on “new source review,” the now eviscerated portion of the… Read More
A commission charged with improving Maine’s corrections system to reduce prison overcrowding and the burden on the probation system faced the nearly impossible task of balancing public safety with prisoners’ rights to rehabilitate themselves. After only a few months, the commission, a diverse group of prosecutors, judges, sheriffs,… Read More
To ensure that the public and media have access to public documents and meetings while also cutting down on requests meant just to harass public officials, a diverse commission has revised Maine’s Freedom of Access laws. Their changes include provisions requiring that copying fees be reasonable and that… Read More
Gov. Baldacci’s first choices for seats on the University of Maine System board of trustees were criticized for not including a woman. The governor went back and chose another group of nominees, which included two women. These choices were criticized, however, because they did not include representatives from… Read More
To watch the good work of the 9-11 commission is to see a vigorous inquiry mixed with wishful thinking, as if its members are hoping that by reviewing the past they will somehow change it, either to find that the attacks did not occur as perceived or that… Read More
For weeks the Bush administration has been beating back criticism that it was focused on toppling Saddam Hussein, not fighting terrorism prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. Now comes evidence that another administration pet project, a missile defense system, also took precedence over terrorism. On… Read More
When it first came to light, it was hard to find anything positive about the city’s building an allegedly unauthorized road across private property bordering the City Forest. The situation, however, may provide an opportunity for the landowners, the city and conservation groups to work together to protect… Read More
As Maine prepares to reintroduce slot-machine gambling – up to 1,500 of the one-armed bandits at the Bangor Harness Raceway – legislators should recall the public revulsion that ended an earlier experience with the slots back in 1980. A so-called nickel-and-dime gambling law was passed… Read More
Despite what appears to be increasingly organized militia attacks on U.S. troops, President Bush says he will stick with the June 30 deadline to hand over power in Iraq while reducing the number of troops there. But the lack of a plan for how the handover will occur… Read More
The departments of Marine Resources and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife deserve credit for ingenuity in the face of a tight state budget for finding creative ways to get the federal government to buy them new boats. Such ingenuity comes with a price – albeit delayed – to the… Read More
With last week’s Fallujah ambush and mutilation of four Americans and the outburst of violence in Baghdad and southern Iraq this week, the United States suddenly confronts a whole new threat. The American-led occupation faces a spreading insurgency by both the die-hard Sunni supporters of the toppled Saddam… Read More
With their nominee for president all but chosen and nothing better to do before their convention in July, Democrats have been speculating about who would make a good pick for vice president. The popular choice for the idly speculative is Republican Sen. John McCain because … well, because… Read More
Coal-fueled power plants are the nation’s largest contributor of airborne mercury, a toxin so potent that relatively small amounts can damage the nervous system, the heart, kidneys and liver in adults as well as cause serious brain-development damage in a fetus or young child. Removing this toxin, however,… Read More
The Legislature got partway toward serious tax reform this week when a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the Maine Municipal Association agreed to property-tax relief and, possibly, spending restraint. The plan, an outline, really, is not yet complete, but the absence of a means for paying for the… Read More
The new U.S. chief weapons inspector reported to Congress this week that he lacked sufficient information to make judgments about Saddam Hussein’s weapons capabilities. Further, he said he does not know what the Iraqi dictator was planning to do or ordered his ministers to do with regard to… Read More
Just in time for mud season, the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee should be commended for moving ahead with new restrictions on all-terrain vehicles. The Legislature would be wise to follow the committee’s lead. According to deputy IF&W Commissioner Paul Jacques, in the wrong hands… Read More
Twenty years after Charlie Howard was murdered in Bangor for being gay, Maine citizens can look back on numerous debates about what discrimination means, what sorts of rights are special and whether this is a place prone to committing violent acts against certain groups because they are unlike… Read More
Last year, lawmakers passed a law making it illegal starting in 2006 to dispose of cathode ray tubes from television and computer monitors in landfills and incinerators. It then fell to the Department of Environmental Protection to develop an alternative disposal system. With improvements by the Legislature’s Natural… Read More
Last year, after years of refusal, the Legislature did not simply reject the Maine Education Association’s bill requiring that teachers gain more control of local education policy by making the policies part of negotiations at contract time. It assembled a task force to find out more about teacher… Read More
Now that the White House has acceded to mounting pressure and let Condoleezza Rice testify under oath and in public, she can help the 10-member investigating commission and the American people get to the bottom of what went wrong on Sept. 11, 2001. The nation… Read More
About 95 million Americans invest part of their paychecks in mutual funds, sending off checks often on trust that their money will be invested fairly and that no hidden costs will drain the value of their investments. This relatively new class of investing has been watched closely by… Read More
With a catchy name, colorful logo and lots of enthusiasm, the Bangor folk festival committee unveiled plans for a continuing arts festival on the waterfront when the city’s stint as host of the National Folk Festival comes to an end this summer. Without missing a beat, the American… Read More
An additional $6 billion over five years for child care is a lot even for Congress, but it is not the only number the Senate should study as it considers reauthorizing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It should look also at the numbers in studies that show how… Read More
The best thing that could happen to the strategic planning initiative issued late last week by the University of Maine System is for lawmakers and members of the Baldacci administration to note that such a plan is overdue and that a thorough debate about it should begin. Not… Read More
While new rules from the Maine Forest Service aimed at ending liquidation harvesting are well-intentioned and may put a dent in the problem, they are weakened by attempting to appease everyone. It is notable that 10 exemptions to the rules come before a listing of… Read More
Many people in Old Town and beyond are newly concerned about out-of-state waste. Opponents of a proposed expansion of the former Georgia-Pacific landfill in West Old Town cite importation of trash as a reason to stop those plans. Although there may be reasons for the state to re-think… Read More
With seven of nine members gone, the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission is not operating currently, a serious loss as the tribes and the state have several difficult issues to solve together. Gov. Baldacci, who is due to name three new members to the commission, can help revive this… Read More
Sometimes a newspaper story seems too good to be true. When that happens, a wise editor sends out a backup team to check the details. Several times in recent years, the story turns out to have been a fake. Take the case of Jack Kelley, a 20-year veteran… Read More
No wonder Richard A. Clarke’s new insider book about the war on terrorism has created a political sensation. It hit the bookstores just as a special presidential commission opened public hearings on the Sept. 11 attacks. And no wonder that the Bush administration promptly accused… Read More
Medicare is facing serious financial problems in the next decade, exacerbated by the recent passage of a prescription drug benefit the price of which now appears to have been grossly underestimated by its advocates, an annual report of the program’s trustees concluded this week. Social Security is also… Read More
Faced with a growing problem with personal watercraft, a legislative task force several years ago heard hours of contentious debate and produced the Great Ponds Act. The act gave municipalities a way to petition the Legislature for local bans of the craft. The act worked fine for five… Read More
It is too early to know the effect of Israel’s killing Monday of the leader of the terrorist group Hamas. Chances are excellent that they will not be good. Just as the Bush administration has found with the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, capturing… Read More
The debate over the Maine Learning Technology Initiative – laptops in schools – began several years ago with widespread doubt about the value of the technology, proceeded to limited acceptance of the technology but doubts about the specific Maine initiative, thence to a reworking of the plan and… Read More
Why the wildly successful Internet needs what is, in effect, a government subsidy is anyone’s guess. But compromise legislation on the Internet’s special tax moratorium gives those who dislike all taxes two more years of bliss and those who think taxes should be raised for government programs the… Read More
Immigrants have been blamed, mostly incorrectly, for many of the countries woes – the shortage of jobs, increasing crime rates, the growth in welfare. Now, as part of a battle for control of the Sierra Club, arrivals from other countries are being blamed for the degradation of the… Read More
The recent criticism of a plan to build energy-generating wind turbines on Mars Hill is unfortunate but not unexpected. Last week, the Audubon Society and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife raised concerns that the 400-foot-tall wind power towers proposed for the Aroostook County mountaintop could pose a… Read More
Where does the finessing of a state budget stop? New revenues on sin – alcohol, gambling, tobacco – spending cuts systemwide (but not on K-12 education), transfers from rainy day accounts and trust funds, cuts to municipalities and higher education and further shortfalls brought about by Medicaid costs. Read More
The United States invaded Iraq a year ago amid a mix of support and suspicion at home, outrage abroad, objections at the United Nations, with a single substantial ally and the apparent belief that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators. Even the small majority of support from… Read More
F lexibility, like balance, is a bureaucratic buzzword used by politicians to justify an unpopular program or policy. But, the Bush administration has lived up to its commitment to be flexible when it comes to states meeting some aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act. Read More
The early weeks of spring arrive with their cherished events: Crocuses lift through the thawing earth on the sunny sides of buildings, children begin searching for the baseball gloves they left somewhere – under the bed, maybe – and the Bangor Daily News appeals to scofflaws of Bangor’s… Read More
Residents of Searsport are conflicted. Some believe that a terminal for ships carrying liquefied natural gas would ruin their community and keep much-needed tourists away. Others believe the area desperately needs jobs and that any type of economic development would be helpful. Some individuals harbor both these sentiments… Read More
Everyone knows how Florida’s defective paper-ballot voting machines threw the 2000 presidential election into limbo for weeks. But election officials have not agreed what to do about it. The paperless, touch-screen machines being pushed by manufacturers can mess up, too, and they make recounts difficult if not impossible… Read More
The idea 12 years ago behind a new Workers’ Compensation Board was that four representatives of labor and four of management would work together to agree on policy and appoint hearing officers. Because the system was so important, the usually opposing sides would be forced to reach consensus,… Read More
Don’t let the snow and the low temperatures fool you. Spring is coming. The signs are everywhere, if you just know where to look, how to listen and even how to smell. The birds know before we do that spring is on its way. Chickadees… Read More
The Newport area school district is considering an unprecedented seventh vote on its budget, with the school committee deciding tonight whether to put the $16.8 million budget out to yet another referendum. It shouldn’t. Instead of clinging to what in this case has been a failed process, the… Read More
The terrorist attacks on Madrid should help the Bush administration and the Europeans patch up their differences and resume a concerted campaign against global terrorism. This is especially true if Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network turns out to have helped plan and execute the disaster. Read More
For years, scientists have been predicting a decline in Maine’s lobster population, but each year, the lobster catch rises to a new level. Such a seeming disconnect between what scientists think will happen and what lobstermen are experiencing has caused fishermen to distrust scientists and the government regulations… Read More
A novel proposal for John Kerry’s presidential campaign already has stirred up the usual mixed reviews. The idea is that he would appoint a “shadow cabinet” to lead a national debate on major issues during the long eight-month presidential campaign that has already begun. The… Read More
Gov. Baldacci has found Maine in such a tough financial fix that he felt he had to suspend his principles and support Powerball. But he is caught between a present culture in which most states and most people find gambling acceptable and P.T. Barnum’s still-current truism that, “There’s… Read More
With a $138 million shortfall in the state’s Medicaid budget and, absent the possibility of a tax increase to fill it, it was expected that Gov. John Baldacci would propose broad cuts to the health care service for at least the remainder of the ’04-’05 biennium. The cuts… Read More
Legislators would have read the bill for themselves, but when they heard the leader behind the 1 percent tax cap initiative Monday they must have wondered whether they were all talking about the same legislation. Though they heard assurances that LD 1893 would cause barely a ripple of… Read More
Good for the Senate, and Maine’s senators in particular, for returning fiscal discipline to the federal budget debate. By voting for two amendments to the budget resolution this week, Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe brought back pay-as-you-go restraints to the process and kept Medicaid from being set… Read More
It didn’t take long for Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League, to issue a mea culpa for his ill-conceived plan to solicit and share information about the sexual orientation of Maine’s legislators and their staffs. Less than 24 hours after his intent, first revealed in… Read More
Mark McClellan, the FDA chief who warned of dire consequences from importing lower-cost drugs from Canada, appears to have undergone a conversion. That is encouraging for the millions of Americans, especially senior citizens, who would benefit from cheaper prescription drugs. However, senators who are now poised to consider… Read More