The value of the announced gift to Maine last week from Electronic Data Systems, putting aside the enormous price tag for a moment, is that it takes the Maine Learning Technology Initiative far beyond the laptop program by which it is known. The gift greatly expands opportunities for… Read More
It took the most hard-fought midterm election in decades, a dramatic increase in President Bush’s clout and stunning reshaping of Congress to break months of stalemate over legislation to create a department of homeland security. Now comes the hard part. Just how hard it is… Read More
To avoid a dreaded tax-and-match Medicaid funding plan that the governor’s office sought to help close the budget gap, Maine hospitals have offered simply to give the state the amount the state hoped to pry, indirectly, from the federal government. A straightforward solution, if the shortfall would be… Read More
The U.S. Department of Justice transferred prosecution of accused snipers John Muhammed and John Lee Malvo to Virginia last week because, said Attorney General John Ashcroft, that state has “the best law, the best facts and the best range of available penalties.” In other words, Virginia has a… Read More
Suddenly the red and yellow leaves of fall are almost all gone, victims of a cold snap and high winds. The oak leaves remain, bronze and shiny, but they soon will be gone, too. But something new has been added: a frequent flash of gold… Read More
Saddam Hussein charges that the Bush administration’s real goal in its campaign to overthrow him is to seize Iraq’s oil. Not so, says the White House. “The only interest the United States has in the region is furthering the cause of peace and stability, not his ability to… Read More
Two encouraging moves by state leaders late last week suggest that the progress Maine must make in large-scale tax reform – reform that is possible only if the major political parties cooperate – is within reach this winter. Pledges from leaders to cooperate with each other often are… Read More
Maine Republican Party leaders are upset about recorded phone messages Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky made in behalf of Democratic candidates for the Legislature, claiming the partisan solicitations were a breach of trust by the state’s chief elections officer. Mr. Gwadosky, an unabashed Democrat elected to his position… Read More
Like it or not, we have entered a new era in the war against terrorism. The CIA last week used an unmanned plane to track a carload of people judged to be terrorists across the vast “Empty Quarter” of northwestern Yemen. The plane wiped them out with a… Read More
Terrorism, the war in response and the potential spread of war to Iraq give Veterans Day special urgency today. The nation is encountering new types of warfare, wondering about old enemies and, appropriately, recalling with new respect the veterans of wars past. All of this gives the origins… Read More
Two events recently, one encouraging, the other terrible, show why local leaders pushing for a greater emphasis on the arts for Bangor are doing both a good and a necessary thing for the future health of the city. And fortunately, many residents seem to feel the same way. Read More
John Baldacci soon will leave his congressional seat and move the governor’s office to immediately confront a $1 billion or more shortfall, a failing health care system, a dated tax system, a federal government intent on reducing taxes at all levels of government while municipalities are demanding more… Read More
By a ratio of nearly 2-to-1, Maine voters made clear Tuesday their objection to borrowing $25 million to complete the overhaul of Maine’s prison system. In the absence of any organized opposition, reasons for this rejection are unspecified, but they seem to be a combination of conflicting views:… Read More
IRS Chairman Charles O. Rossotti began his tenure in 1997 with Congress thoroughly enraged at his agency; he ends it this week with the White House peeved at him. In between, observers say he took care of many of the management problems that had put the ire in… Read More
In a sweeping midterm Republican victory, voters this week gave President George Bush the mandate to lead they denied him in the 2000 election. The outcome of Tuesday’s vote has the White House raising expectations for its agenda and Democrats searching yet again for a message that reaches… Read More
The U.S. Border Patrol and federal prosecutors are sending a strong message with the arrest and jailing of a Canadian duck hunter. And those who worried that government authorities were losing their capacity for misplaced priorities, overreaction and pigheadedness are greatly relieved. Michel Jalbert of… Read More
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee is expected to encounter the toughest cuts of the governor’s partial attempt at closing the budget gap today, when it considers his plan to reduce funding by as much as $9 million to providers of direct care to the mentally ill. Those providers say… Read More
Consumer confidence is at a nine-year low. Investor confidence rebounded from a 10-year low apparently only to gather momentum for a new plunge. Harvey Pitt was left with little choice but to resign last night as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. It would… Read More
Given the intensity of what was surely Maine’s longest campaign season – these races started, when, late 2000? – the pricey ballot questions and the numerous issues of local concern, no potential voter should need added incentive to get to the polls. But for those who do, consider… Read More
Two years after an election debacle that made the United States the laughingstock of the democratic world, legislation finally is in place to ensure it never happens again. The Help America Vote Act, passed by the House and Senate in recent weeks, was signed into law last week… Read More
A flurry of speculation and suspicion developed a couple of weeks ago when a search for a new superintendent of Acadia National Park was abruptly called off. The word circulated that a selection already had been made and the job would go to P. Daniel Smith, special assistant… Read More
With the shortfall in the current budget rising and deadlines for printing tax forms and making tax disbursements fast approaching, the Legislature no longer can put politics ahead of policy. It should meet directly after the election, either immediately offer an alternative to the governor’s BETR proposal or… Read More
GOVERNOR Any voter still undecided about who should be Maine’s next governor, still looking for that one quality that elevates one candidate above the others, may want to consider the composure factor. On that character trait – the ability to remain calm, focused and civil… Read More
With just a few days to go in a very long election season, voters are more and more frequently expressing their disgust for the swarm of negative advertising that has buzzed around Maine for months. This is not the only state so infested, but it feels particularly bad… Read More
There’s a movie being made about Rudolph Giuliani. The humble, working-class childhood in Brooklyn, the stellar career as a tough federal prosecutor, the rise to political power as the crime-fighting mayor of New York City, the steadfast resolve after Sept. 11 that made him America’s mayor – “Rudy”… Read More
A long with relief must come a new sense of danger. The serial snipers demonstrated that a pair of drifters, a man and a boy with a beat-up car and a powerful rifle, could terrify and largely paralyze the nation’s capital for three weeks. What far greater devastation… Read More
Voters should be offended by the latest version of negative advertising in Maine, but they should also be concerned about its indirect effects. Simply put, to understand why Maine’s current budget remains unresolved and its tax system unreformed, look to the advertising campaign against state lawmakers being undertaken… Read More
The latest blow against the Maine Clean Election law may make some people conclude the system cannot work, that politicians are simply too devious and will always find a way around the spirit or letter of the law. But that isn’t the case, and continued public interest in… Read More
Aside from everything else, with both Iraq and now North Korea in the headlines, people should learn to pronounce the word “nuclear” correctly. George W. Bush, like several other presidents, keeps saying “NEW-cular.” He did it again just recently. The mispronunciation rolls off the tongue… Read More
Any voter still undecided about who should be Maine’s next governor, still looking for that one quality that elevates one candidate above the others, may want to consider the composure factor. On that character trait – the ability to remain calm, focused and civil while under unwarranted attack… Read More
Despite the extensive government experience of both candidates in the race for the open seat in the 2nd Congressional District, voters will be making a leap of faith Nov. 5. But the surer step is toward Republican Kevin Raye, the seasoned former chief of staff for Sen. Olympia… Read More
In three terms representing Maine’s 1st Congressional District, Tom Allen has established a solid reputation as one of Congress’ more knowledgeable and thoughtful members. Those qualities, combined with dogged perseverance and a strong streak of independence, make the Portland Democrat worthy of a fourth term. Read More
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to allow the State to issue short-term debt in limited amounts that must be repaid with federal transportation funds within 12 months to facilitate the development of highways, bridges and other transportation projects? The constitution of Maine… Read More
Susan Collins deserves to be re-elected to the U.S. Senate because her extraordinary diligence has produced legislation that directly helps Maine and the rest of the nation. Her hard work, her effectiveness and her unshakable connection to this state show that the faith voters had in electing her… Read More
The ballot description of Question 2 is so long that it cannot be printed in its entirety here. The $24.1 million bond covers needed environmental and agricultural improvements with an Internet proposal tossed in to help municipalities with geographic data. Individually, the 14 proposals are worth supporting, so… Read More
Do you favor a $25,000,000 bond issue to raise funds to build a new correctional facility in Machias and to make improvements to the Maine Correctional Center in South Windham? Maine can take pride in the changes that have taken place during the last five… Read More
Something funny happened in the promised fair and open nationwide search for a new superintendent of Acadia National Park to succeed the widely respected Paul Haertel who retired at the end of September. The opening was listed on the federal government’s “USA Jobs” Internet site… Read More
Good for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Its Auditing Standards Board has issued a new guidance standard to help U.S. accountants detect fraud in the financial statements they audit. The new standard “reminds auditors that they must approach every audit with professional skepticism… Read More
The first publicly funded TV ad by Green Independent Jonathan Carter was a warm and fuzzy thing, suggesting that his ads were superior to those of the other gubernatorial contenders because they are bankrolled by $900,000 from Maine taxpayers rather than by special interests. His second publicly funded… Read More
President Bush’s welcome announcement this week to reduce through rule-making the delay of bringing generic drugs to market should help a little, but it also forcefully points to the need for further legislation. The House’s lame-duck session is the appropriate time to do this and a bill already… Read More
No one can keep smiling during hard times like a good press secretary, so cheerful remarks from White House spokesman Ari Fleischer last week weren’t surprising after Congress gave up trying to pass a budget and went home. But there should be no doubt that his words, if… Read More
No matter what new revenue forecasts look like for the next Maine Legislature, a major tax overhaul will be part of the debate in Augusta beginning January. The University of Maine last week offered an excellent way to get the debate started properly by… Read More
Despite a shaky economy and a looming state-budget deficit, Bangor finds itself now with opportunities that took years to develop – new businesses such as the wood-composite facility announced last week, arts events and a new arts museum, steady progress on the waterfront. Bangor city councilors are considering… Read More
Lobster traps can catch yachts as well as lobsters. It can happen when the helmsman runs his boat over a potwarp, the line that runs from a plastic lobster buoy down to one or more traps on the ocean bottom. The worst case is when the line wraps… Read More
News about drug addiction is nearly always bad. Most often, it’s about a rampaging epidemic, ruined lives, devastated families and communities, overwhelmed authorities. With more than 30 overdose deaths from methadone in Maine this year and now a manslaughter charge brought against a Portland man who gave his… Read More
Maine enters the final weeks of the campaign season on high fire alert, with a combustible combination of intense political races, a special legislative session, a soon-to-be vacant governor’s seat and a large structural gap to close in the next budget. That’s plenty of dry tinder, and enough… Read More
A compelling story often is a more effective motivator of public action than the slow accumulation of evidence, and it is fair to say that the sight in 1968 of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio bursting into flames from the toxic stew that smothered it did more to… Read More
Starting Wednesday with the announcement that North Korea had a nuclear weapons program in violation of a 1994 agreement, a number of experts in Washington have rushed to say what this means and how the United States should respond. But the sharp lack of consensus here and abroad… Read More
A new requirement for services in Lewiston because Somali immigrants have chosen it as a place to make new lives has created pressure on the city’s budget for lack of money and pressure on the immigrants for the abundance of malicious rumors about them. Solving the former, a… Read More
High school students may soon get telephone calls or even visits from armed services recruiting officers, telling them about the attractive features of careers in the military. A new law, the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act, lets the recruiting offices ask high schools for the names,… Read More
Jonathan Carter’s latest campaign ad takes one of the most banal ethnic stereotypes going, mixes it with irrelevance into an issue of importance to voters and flings the resulting mud at an opponent who just happens to be of that ethnic group. Who says campaign ads don’t tell… Read More
During 11 years and through numerous proposals, grants, testing, pilot and demonstration and countless hours of work, University of Maine professors and engineering students have pushed, shoved, tugged, coaxed and pulled the university’s wood-composites lab out of the realm of a good idea to the point this week… Read More
State government officials could provide a stack of studies, initiatives, programs and task force conclusions about Maine’s plans for improved energy efficiency but still would not quite get at what a coalition of Maine groups was describing last week. The groups want much stronger leadership and a lot… Read More
When Democrats brought former President Bill Clinton to Maine for rallies and fund-raisers, Republicans were outraged that this pristine landscape would be sullied by a person of such questionable character. When Republicans brought current U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert to Maine for the same purposes, Democrats had a… Read More
The arrest last week of former Enron executive Andrew S. Fastow was a masterpiece of news carefully crafted for public consumption. The widely distributed picture of the perp in pinstripes and handcuffs being brought to justice by grim-faced FBI agents was worth a thousand words of assertions that… Read More
The award of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize to former President Jimmy Carter has a special significance. This has not been a good year for peace; Mr. Carter’s accomplishments are valuable reminders of what can come from the quiet yet persistent pursuit of peaceful solutions. Read More
Democratic congressional candidate Mike Michaud has a four or five point lead in his 2nd District race and a growing communications problem. If he is to become Maine’s newest member of Congress he must find clearer responses to entirely predictable political questions. Republicans have made… Read More
In the days leading to the congressional resolution on war with Iraq, the White House persuaded many members with the argument that the greater the president’s authority to wage war, the less likely he will need to wage it. The possibility of pre-emption provides deterrence, the administration said,… Read More
When asked to suggest ways to make health care more affordable, just about all candidates this year say they want the federal government to improve reimbursement rates for Medicare. Given the amount of cost-shifting that goes on with medical payments, that’s a good idea, but not one specific… Read More
The Small Business Survival Committee used 20 measures of business friendliness – 12 of which are taxes, others are costs such as workers’ comp and state minimum wage – to announce in its annual survey this week that Maine, once again, ranks among the most the worst places… Read More
Critics of the Judiciary Committee in the Democratic-controlled Senate have concentrated on the committee’s recent rejection of two judicial nominations on strict party-line votes. It voted 10 to 9 to reject Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen and U.S. District Judge Charles W. Pickering, both for seats on… Read More
There are many good reasons one could be opposed to casino gambling in Maine, or at least valid concerns one would want addressed first. That a casino, such as the one proposed by the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes, would create too many good jobs is neither a good… Read More
President George Bush’s argument for his Iraq policy, offered in a slightly refined version Monday in Cincinnati, was a calm restatement of previous information and a reassurance that the United States would first attempt to gather allies before acting unilaterally. But, curiously, it was also almost purely defensive… Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a landmark copyright case today that could affect the ownership of decades of intellectual property from Gershwin tunes to the novels of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Not to mention Mickey Mouse. The case is a challenge to the Copyright Term Extension… Read More
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has been busy trying to justify President Bush’s drive for a preemptive attack against Iraq. Reaching back into American history for authority, she told White House reporters: “Anticipatory self-defense is not a new concept. You know, Daniel Webster actually wrote a very famous… Read More
The latest in the continuing mystery of negative advertisements from the Maine political parties this season comes from Republicans, who had Democratic congressional candidate Mike Michaud clearly in their sights and so fired at their own foot. Not a major wound, certainly, but an observer might wonder why… Read More
Plenty of communities rally round their schools in a time of need; SAD 59 towns – Madison, Athens, Starks, Brighton Plantation – can take pride that in rallying round they also embraced a new model for improving the way education is delivered in their region. They have a… Read More
Vice President Dick Cheney has been arguing constitutional law in defending himself against a lawsuit brought by David M. Walker, the U.S. comptroller general and head of the congressional General Accounting Office. Mr. Walker wants to know the name of the industry executives who helped Mr. Cheney’s energy… Read More
In the spring of 1998, Bates College was in an uproar. Rumors of sexual assault – date rape – were rampant, hundreds of students picketed the home of the college president in protest of what they viewed as a cover-up. In the end, three male students, names unknown,… Read More
The most thoughtful health care proposal to emerge this political season comes from Rep. John Baldacci, the Democratic candidate for governor. He has combined the essential principles of a compassionate coverage with an eye on the bottom line to keep the health plan affordable. The… Read More
As Sen. Jill Goldthwait strenuously pointed out at Monday’s casino task force meeting, the economic feasibility study commissioned by the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes should not have dismissed arguments about the associated costs as “absurd.” A better word – one more appropriate to the occasion and that avoids… Read More
The sometimes perverse incentives for huge corporate profits, part of the economic-system package the United States held up for the benefit of the rest of the world in the 1990s, are in trouble in ways that become more apparent by the day. Enron was only the beginning. Consider… Read More
Two alternative resolutions to grant the president authorization for war against Iraq are being wrongly portrayed as compromises of the president’s position. They are just the opposite – either would strengthen his position for attacking, and recent events show why. Saddam Hussein used dissension, especially… Read More
The length and level of dissent at the recent hearings on Wal-Mart Supercenter development in Bangor suggests the Board of Environmental Protection had a sweeping decision to make about the future of the state’s wildlife and habitat, in addition to tackling the trend of cut-rate consumerism in warehouse… Read More
Congress marked an official deadline for budgetary failure Monday at midnight, when a new fiscal year began without the House and Senate agreeing on a single appropriations bill – an achievement not seen in Washington since 1974, when the modern era of budgeting began. This is a failure… Read More
In a dramatic shift in policy, President Bush has decided to open long-delayed talks with North Korea, which he has repeatedly described as a member of an “axis of evil.” He did so after the urging of Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who had told the president about… Read More
For several years, fishermen, fisheries scientists and fish conservationists – groups not mutually exclusive – have been eyeing Oct. 1, 2002, as an epochal date. It was when the congressional moratorium on individual fishing quotas (IFQ) would expire; what came after would be the dawn of either a… Read More
Macular degeneration is an eye disease in which light-sensing cells stop functioning with the result of vision impairment or blindness. It is a leading cause of blindness among people over 65, and the number of cases, along with untreated diabetes, is rising as the senior population grows. Read More
It has been two weeks since the worst traffic accident in Maine history took the lives of 14 migrant forestry workers. The bodies have been returned to home villages in Guatemala and Honduras; family and friends there have begun the long process of coping with their heartbreaking loss. Read More
Thirteen state leaders this week have presented on the Op-ed Page their thoughts about where Maine should be going and how it should get there. They would not all agree on all the answers or even on the assumptions that shape the answers. But a pattern emerges from… Read More
Chancellor Joseph Westphal’s bold ideas to boost state funding and reshape higher education in Maine is a necessary shakeup for the university system as it tries to meet increasing demands for education on smaller and smaller slices of the state budget. The suggestions will force lawmakers to rethink… Read More
Without regard to the origin of the complaint or the closeness of the political balance in the state Senate, a state supreme court committee has concluded that a sitting judge of probate couldn’t also be a candidate for the Legislature. The Judicial Ethics Committee read the law in… Read More
President Bush has ordered a dramatic change in the way the United States will go to war. In the past, whether going after the Barbary pirates, fighting the Germans in World War I and the Germans and Japanese in World War II, or intervening in a civil war… Read More
So philosophically opposed to single- payer health insurance are the business interests lined up against it, said one speaker at a recent Augusta rally on the subject, that they will try to distract the public with questions that do not provide answers to the problem of providing access,… Read More
If Kent Inc. were just another struggling business with a product that had outlived its market, the extraordinary effort currently under way to save the company would not be worth the trouble. But Kent not only makes a product in demand, it does so with an appreciation of… Read More
At a time when the most frequently used word on the financial page seems to be “indictment,” it’s good to see news from the world of business that includes more encouraging “I” words, such as “innovation” and “investment.” You’ll find them in the October issue of Working Mother… Read More
The Bush administration put the nation on Threat Condition Orange – the second-highest stage of terrorism alert – on Sept. 10. It was the first time the level was raised since the five-stage color-coded system was set up in March; it came on the eve of that awful… Read More
Having failed over a decade to pass comprehensive tax reform, the Legislature and governor’s office badly need the discipline and deadlines imposed by a property-tax initiative announced last week. The initiative forces a state meandering toward reform to give the subject the attention it deserves. Read More
Today’s Op-ed Page is devoted to the theoretical and the practical. We’ve asked eight leaders from around Maine to briefly sketch their visions of Maine and then to offer some specific policy suggestions that would create or enhance the visions they described. We’ve received some excellent and varied… Read More
“He who cannot protect himself or his nearest and dearest or their honor by nonviolently facing death, may and ought to do so by violently dealing with the oppressor. He who can do neither of the two is a burden.” – Mahatma Gandhi googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Recent German opinion polls show that Chancellor Gerhard Schr?eder, after trailing badly in his campaign for re-election, has become the front-runner and likely will win in tomorrow’s vote. Most observers agree that what turned the vote around was his outspoken refusal to go along with President George W. Read More
Some 200 Maine citizens marched in front of the State House last Saturday, demanding that the Legislature immediately convene a special session to address the taxation and spending policies that have led to the current $240 million budget crisis. That’s more activity on the state’s budget crisis than… Read More
According to the U.S. State Department, Alia and Aisha Gheshayan, two American children abducted by their Saudi father nearly 17 years ago, now are, as adult American women (ages 20 and 23), quite happy living in a country other American women would consider a prison. So happy, in… Read More
The latest voting debacle in Florida raises two urgent questions. What are they putting in their orange juice down there? Will this Profound Embarrassment to Democracy Part II finally force Congress to reform the nation’s malfunctioning election system? The answer to the first is, “Who… Read More
Owners of oceanfront property in Maine own the beach all the way down to the low-water mark. You are trespassing if you walk, bathe, sunbathe or picnic there. A 1641 Massachusetts colonial ordinance to that effect was inherited by Maine and is still in force. It is high… Read More
If the hummingbirds hovering around your nasturtiums seem busier than usual these days, there’s a reason. They are sucking out the nectar to stock up on sugar for energy on their long flight to Central America. They like the sugar water in feeding stations even better. Read More
The Bush administration certainly should be skeptical of Iraq’s offer to allow United Nations weapons inspectors back into the county, especially – given Baghdad’s sleight-of-hand routine during the post-Gulf War inspections – the part about doing so without conditions. The Bush administration should not, however, be dismissive. Read More
A recent comment from a state official may have given the impression that all Maine needs to do to close the budget gap is go after uncollected taxes. Unfortunately for lawmakers and everyone else, it is not that easy Charles Silsby, director of the Criminal… Read More
A new opinion poll taken in another country indicates that a large majority – 69 percent – of that country’s population believes the United States bears at least some responsibility for the terrorist attacks of last Sept. 11 because of U.S. policies in the Middle East and around… Read More
The Maine Medical Association’s support last weekend for a “pluralistic system of universal coverage for all Maine citizens” can be looked at a couple of ways. Chances are the majority of members on the legislative task force looking into a single-payer system see it unhappily. The important part… Read More