The 1978 Independent Counsel Act was spawned in the post-Watergate era of reform. It came of age with Iran-Contra. If Congress chooses, it may die with Whitewater. Now that independent counsels have poked, prodded and embarassed Republican and Democrat administrations alike, there is a widespread,… Read More
Legislators wondering why they will consider a half dozen bills this session on extending prescription-drug benefits to the elderly need only read a report prepared for U.S. Rep. Tom Allen to understand the problem. The lack of Medicare drug coverage affects seniors nationally, but reform in Washington could… Read More
Edward Loughran did a fine job assessing the shortcomings of the Maine Youth Center and outlining remedies. The former Massachusetts juvenile corrections chief was very thorough in his review, he no doubt earned every bit of his $21,100 consulting fee. So thorough, in fact, that… Read More
Lawmakers last week must have felt odd working on a proposed law that that would prevent the state from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to anyone on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. At least half the bill already is on the books… Read More
Some of the best work the Legislature will do this session likely happened this week. The bipartisian — or, better, nonpartisan — search to improve the quality and breadth of programs to promote early child development could eventually return benefits to Maine for generations to come. Read More
It’s been 16 years since President Ronald Reagan gave birth to “Star Wars,” the program to build a massive defense of the United States against nuclear attack. Even the parents of the most difficult teen-ager cannot imagine such an acquisitive, uncooperative child. Nearly $50 billion… Read More
Imagine how surprised Gov. Angus King would have been if, when he told President Clinton this week that the state needs full funding for special education from the federal government, the president turned around and said, “Yeah, and Maine municipalities need you to fully fund the state’s General… Read More
Let those with an infallible internal lie detector decide whether Juanita Broaddrick, Kenneth Starr’s Jane Doe 5, is telling the truth in claiming she was raped by Arkansas Attorney General Bill Clinton in a Little Rock motel room in 1978. Let those with the ability to see into… Read More
Smoke-free workplaces have become so commonplace that the exceptions stand out as uncomfortable places for the approximately 75 percent of Mainers who don’t smoke. But a bill that would take smoking out of restaurants has an even better reason to snuff out cigarettes: the health of restaurant workers. Read More
It towers over Bethel, a 113-foot monument to what can be accomplished with 6 million pounds of artificial snow, several heavy cranes and one clearcut-worth of lumber. They call it the World’s Largest Snowman, but the shape isn’t quite right. Too tapered. Can’t call it the World’s Largest… Read More
The word “loophole” conjures up an image of high-priced lawyers twisting, turning and massaging the law, producing an arcane break for powerful clients and outrage among everyone else. Such as the real-estate transfer tax, the outrage of the day in Augusta. When average citizens deal… Read More
Supporters of a ban on certain types of abortion will present the Legislature with petitions bearing an impressive 82,372 verified signatures, twice the number necessary to send the issue to a public vote. Considering that a prime argument by opponents is that the ban is unconstitutional, however, lawmakers… Read More
Congress returns to work this week for its first session since the impeachment trial. The fundamental question facing the 106th is whether its will choose as its legacy healing or spite. By happy coincidence, the week also brings to Washington the National Governors’ Association. Although… Read More
Children’s Week in the Legislature, so named because of the number of bills being heard this week on child care, early devlopment and parental instruction, etc., features several ambitious and worthy ideas. Here is a modest one that might otherwise get overlooked: breakfast. “The most… Read More
Washington County has an image problem. From within, all one sees is the hard work, dedication and perseverance it takes to build an economy one job at a time. From without, it looks more like persistent poverty and chronic unemployment. From Augusta, a lost cause. Read More
The debate over the cost of prescription drugs usually focuses upon the research and development aspect of the pharmaceutical industry, on the extent to which the high cost of inventing a drug and bringing it to market justifies the high profits that can follow. Lawsuits recently filed by… Read More
If the six-month investigation of Togus Veterans Affairs hospital proves nothing else, it is that the vets who raised serious issues about service at the hospital weren’t crazy. In fact, they had it just right: Physicians and staff at Togus generally provide excellent care, but there aren’t enough… Read More
There must be a way to close the growing rift between the Land Use Regulation Commission and the unorganized territories it oversees. Building “the world’s largest town” isn’t it, but is a useful idea anyway. If nothing else, the proposal by Rep. Henry Joy of… Read More
Maine’s school-funding formula is complicated, but the idea behind it is not: Distribute state tax money, mostly to poor communities, so that every student in Maine has the opportunity to earn a proper education. All towns and cities also must make a tax effort to contribute to their… Read More
Just as Maine voters supported research and development funding for the university system last fall, they should back two bills expected to be heard today in the Legislature. The pair — one for bricks and mortar, the other to leverage grant money — continue the encouraging steps the… Read More
Countless rounds of legislative debate over the years have taught supporters of a local-option sales tax that a simple proposal to add a penny for the local coffers will never fly in Augusta. If they wanted the option to pass, they would need something in it for rural… Read More
Term limits are often compared to turning over a garden — regular tilling loosens things up, lets the sun shine in, allows the fresh air to circulate. With the Maine Legislature now in its second term-limited edition, it may be time to rethink the growing season. Read More
Sometime in the not-too-distant world of dentistry, mercury fillings will seem as old fashioned as drilling without Novocain or hygenists without latex gloves. Until then, patients can do what they’ve always done — listen to the options presented by their dentists and know that these fillings have been… Read More
The Legislature last year ignored a commendable public-private scholarship plan in favor of a proposal by retiring Speaker Elizabeth Mitchell. Yet only a sliver of the speaker’s bill survived the session, so the hurdle of affording college stands as high as ever for Maine students. Fortunately, lawmakers will… Read More
Just as the U.S. military is reconsidering its goal of being prepared to fight wars on two fronts simultaneously, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should consider whether terrorism and small-scale despotism now pose larger threats to the regions it protects. As Secretary of State Madeleine… Read More
At 2,500 individuals to the pound, the spaghetti-thin, inches-long elver is the smallest of Maine’s commercial marine species. Even at an eye-popping $200 per pound, the total value of the landings last year was barely good enough to crack the state’s top 20. Overall, a… Read More
If the sole purpose of the 1995 Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement law was to cut the cost of doing business in Maine, BETR is the best. Since the advent of BETR, more than 1,200 companies have been repaid by he state for the personal property… Read More
Imagine a government program that is supposed to help the unemployed but actually reaches only four of 10 jobless workers. Imagine one that provides only enough support to ensure poverty, a step or two up from destitution. Imagine that despite this poor performance, the system not only is… Read More
With an acquittal that became increasingly inevitable as events unfolded, the trial of President Clinton is over. Now, the White House and Congress are stuck with each other for two more years. Now, another sort of trial begins. As Washington lurched toward this conclusion, the… Read More
The findings of an review panel formed by the Salt Lake City Olympic organizers to assess the extent of the corruption and bribery surrounding the 2002 Winter Games are devastating: At least $4 million in cash, gifts and favors were handed out to 24 International Olympic Committee members… Read More
The Legislature’s strongest advocates for education are expected today to largely remove themselves from the debate over K-12 funding a mere six weeks into the session. Before the Education Committee takes this step by presenting a budget recommendation to the Appropriations Committee, its members should consider the number… Read More
With his land-bond proposal last week, Gov. Angus King set the other half of the debate over acquiring public land in Maine. His proposal is a serious, reasoned position that, held against the major Democratic plan, promises to offer Maine a substantial debate on the direction it will… Read More
Barring the unforseen, such as an urgent need to bomb Iraq or a last-minute intern eruption, the Senate may reach a verdict today on the articles of impeachment against the president. With acquittal almost certain and lest this long national nightmare be for naught, it is time to… Read More
The Public Utilities Commission today is expected to begin discussions in a complex, nuanced and arcane corner of electric-utility rate design that would be worth ignoring if it did not, unfortunately, promise to affect residential bills. The PUC’s conclusion should be based on providing the most protection the… Read More
They held a birthday party Monday for the Telecommunications Act of 1996, age 3. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s present to the cable television industry was an announcement that it will not stop next month’s scheduled elimination of price controls on rates. It was one… Read More
When Jordan’s King Abdullah was assassinated in Jerusalem in July 1951, the 15-year-old grandson at his side escaped death only because a medal on his chest deflected a bullet meant for him. A year later, the boy’s father was deposed due to mental illness and Hussein bin Talal… Read More
You will notice that relatively few of the fistful of legislative bills addressing health care in Maine are actually concerned with the practices and procedures of helping people get well. Instead, they often are about who pays for the care. The long answer to that… Read More
Coaxing tourists to fly into Bangor International Airport, then hop a train in Brewer to the coast is a fine idea, and it sounds even better when the federal government says it is willing to pay for 80 percent of the $21 million cost. But the second, more… Read More
Thorn Apple Valley, meat processors in Arkansas, recently recalled hot dogs sent to South Korea and Russia, but Maine consumers didn’t have to go far to understand the difficulty food-safety inspectors have keeping up with international businesses because the company also recalled meat here. None of the hot… Read More
It was just a year ago that lawmakers toured the Maine Youth Center and came away appalled. How, they asked, could the state hope to help troubled kids if it warehouses them in such a depressing, dilapidated, understaffed place? Those tours, along with strong advocacy… Read More
It’s a great time to be an airline. Fuel prices are at historic lows. Profits are sky-high. Wall Street loves you. So does Congress. Thanks to deregulation, you fly where you want, when you want, the public — which ultimately pays for your airports and air-traffic controllers —… Read More
Here’s one way to look at the just-released Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs report in which the management practices of the 50 state governments were evaulated and report cards were issued: Maine got a C. Not great, but not bad. It’s… Read More
The painfully extended exit strategy for the impeachment hearings may seem like child’s play to the Senate compared with devising an exit strategy for Saddam Hussein. President Clinton’s current strategy of damaging Iraqi defenses bit by bit demands a thorough congressional review before the United States gets into… Read More
Hardly a dry eye in the Judiciary Committee chamber the other day when Maine motorcycle clubs — Hell’s Angels, Exiles, Saracens and others — asked for protection under the state Human Rights Act, claiming they are victims of discrimination by restaurants and bars. Up next: The No Shirt/No… Read More
Pity Ron Lovaglio, the commissioner of the Department of Conservation. The first management plan in the history of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway; seven rewrites of the plan over three years; 130 separate strategies in nine areas and all anyone wants to know is whether John’s Bridge is going… Read More
You know the state has an uphill fight against the Endangered Species Act when it has more environmentalists suing it than salmon returning to some of its rivers. But Maine and two environmental groups at least are taking the proper steps to put the fish ahead of the… Read More
To the extent that optimism and the Balkans can ever be used in the same sentence, there were reasons for the world to look toward the upcoming peace talks between Serbia and the Kosovo rebels with some measure of hope. NATO — not just the… Read More
Corrections Commissioner Martin Magnusson says he almost spit his morning coffee across the room when he read that this Legislature may undo the prison restructuring plan approved by the last legislature. Commissioner Magnusson’s restraint is admirable. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Sen. Susan Collins recently lamented the hard choices senior citizens have to make when it comes to prescription drugs: Blood pressure medication or heating oil? she asked. Angina medication or food? Medicare doesn’t cover these drugs, and she, like many others who have recognized this growing problem, is… Read More
The biggest argument Gov. Angus King and the Legislature make against fully funding Maine’s education formula is that Maine can’t afford it. They ignore the fact that Maine mostly does afford it. Lawmakers must marvel that they can underfund the formula for General Purpose Aid… Read More
Scan the titles of the 2,950 bills clogging the Legislature’s hopper and one subtle message emerges: the sales tax is for chumps. Definitions are in order. The sales tax is the largest source of state revenue. Chumps are those without enough sense to have a… Read More
Now that the Senate has demonstrated it does not have the votes to remove President Clinton from office and has limited testimony to the taped depositions of three who already have been thoroughly interrogated, the most esteemed legislative body in the nation — nay, the world — can… Read More
Nothing better illustrates the reason the Legislature has overwhelmed itself with nearly 3,000 bills than Rep. Tom Shields’ “English First” proposal, which sounds fine until anyone gives it a scintilla of thought. Then it sounds terrible: a divisive, ill-informed, misdirected idea that makes Maine, a state built in… Read More
The death Tuesday of Justice David G. Roberts, Maine’s senior judge, was a severe loss not just to his family, friends and admirers and not just to the state’s courts, but to Maine’s sense of dignity and fairness. Justice Roberts exemplified as few can the best aspects of… Read More
Inspired by the success states had against Big Tobacco, New Orleans, Chicago and other cities are readying liability lawsuits against the handgun industry. A new federal court decision, however, suggests that Big Firearms will be a more elusive target. The Brooklyn, N.Y., case seeks to… Read More
When the impeachment of President Clinton moved from the House to the Senate, the American public was told it now would see some real statesmanship, the majesty of representative democracy gloriously steeped in dignity, honor and tradition. Maybe it’s there; it’s just kind of hard… Read More
Leave it to Gov. King, the killjoy. No sooner do state legislators begin celebrating their bipartisan spirit of cooperation than the governor tosses them a surefire inter-party-splitter. His proposal to try for the third time to get the state out of the liquor business, however, is on target… Read More
Maine’s Legislature, if its bills and less formal proposals are an indication, is ready to spend the state’s settlement with the tobacco industry. Though much of the legislation is thoughtful and well-intentioned, the amount of the industry settlement was based on the health costs produced by the cigarette… Read More
The International Olympic Committee thoroughly investigated itself and found six poor souls who have greater value as scapegoats than as committee members. The Salt Lake organizers had their own internal inquiry; there’s no point in naming names, but it has been acknowledged that mistakes were made. Actions that… Read More
Perhaps the most significant early reaction to President Clinton’s plan to save Social Security came from Rep. Bill Archer: “If you thought a government take-over of health care was bad, just wait until the government becomes an owner of America’s private-sector comnpanies.” This is an… Read More
As a building, the planned University of Maine alumni house is somewhat in the small potatoes category. It’s the idea and the support behind the project that makes it much more than two stories of brick and glass. The idea is that the university has… Read More
The dismal forecast recently about the future of Maine’s representation in Congress should make all of Maine, particularly this half, worried. If residents feel ignored by Washington now, the loss of a seat in the House will make the connection between here and there seem even more distant. Read More
Protesting the public-lands proposals before the Legislature, property-rights activists split open a watermelon in the State House to illustrate the connection between the environmental movement and the international Communist conspiracy (Green on the outside, Red on the inside — get it?). It’s the old domino theory; you start… Read More
Freshman lawmaker Kevin Glynn ran right at Augusta’s legislative machinery during his first week in office, and it’s hard to say who got the better of the encounter. The South Portland Republican wanted all final votes to be taken by roll call, so that a record of who… Read More
Still wondering how so many people can love a president who did so wrong and lied so long? Rewind the tape of Tuesday night’s “State of the Union Show.” It’s not that President Clinton’s that good; his persecutors are that bad. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
In the coming debate this winter over Maine’s referendum process, there should be plenty of room for defenders of this expression of direct democracy and plenty of room for defenders of the representative form of government. But there should be no room for the unfortunate comments aimed this… Read More
When President Clinton announces that federal education dollars would, under a new proposal, flow to only those states that meet federal standards, local education leaders could be excused for thinking, “What federal standards?” The president last night presented a message that has tested positively with any number of… Read More
Boris Yeltsin’s latest health crisis — a bleeding ulcer — has critics of the Russian president once again demanding his resignation. Yeltsin supporters say he’s as capable of running the county as anyone. There can be no better indication of just how dire conditions are… Read More
Defense Secretary William Cohen toured Japan and South Korea last week, reaffirming alliances with Tokyo and Seoul, reiterating U.S. resolve that North Korea will not become a nuclear power. The extent to which Cohen’s trip pays off may be seen this week, as diplomats from… Read More
The Supreme Court last week rejected limits Colorado tried to place on its process for initiating referendums in a case that will be important in Maine if current trends hold. The court in this decision continues its well-known assertion from Buckley v. Valeo that money equals speech, despite… Read More
The date was Aug. 28, 1963; the place, the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. turned his eyes from a prepared speech delivered at the epic March on Washington to offer the following improvised words culled from bits and pieces of his past… Read More
In the 1997 referendum campaign on widening the Maine Turnpike, voters were told the $128 million needed to make the state’s premier highway safer, smoother and faster would come from toll increases. The fury with which motorists and legislators greeted the Maine Turnpike Authority’s initial… Read More
Cheers to the three busloads of people from Maine who went to Boston this week to picket in front of the federal building that is home to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Their protest about the loss of HUD grants to help Maine’s homeless was… Read More
That Maine officials or, for that matter, Vice President Al Gore, can consider the effects of development sprawl, as the vice president did this week in Washington, is a positive sign for the state and nation. Only in years absent crisis would anyone take the time to raise… Read More
The Indiana bat is a tiny critter, an inch or two in length, an ounce or two in weight; a mouse with wings. It’s a cave dweller, although dead trees will do in a pinch. The scientific name is myotis sodalis and, but for its pink lips, it… Read More
President Bill Clinton’s plan to provide $1 billion for land purchases comes at a terrific time for Maine. Residents could profit from the state taking advantage of this funding if it, first, ensures that the feds simply pass along the money and, second, if it can be given… Read More
Most married-with-children Americans skip right past page 34 in the IRS tax booklet, the one regarding the alternative minimum tax. After all, AMT is for rich folks, a way to make them pay something resembling a fair share. Skip no more. As the well-off dig… Read More
A group of Bangor citizens is doing what almost no one ever does: recognizing that local elected officials are a valuable commodity, one worth reimbursing — if not for the tremendous amount of time they dedicate to their communities, then at least for their out-of-pocket expenses. Read More
Gov. Angus King will meet with plenty of opposition to his proposed 5-cent increase in the gas tax, which is to be expected. Politicians are aware that no one likes a tax increase of any kind, so when one is offered there’s certain to be lawmakers who will… Read More
When Congress passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, it required the Federal Communications Commission to issue an annual report on the extent to which the legislation it wrote and promoted lived up to its noble goals. The FCC’s 1998 version,… Read More
Because Maine took the extraordinary step of testing nearly 1,000 public and private wells last year, it has the luxury of considering the problem of the gasoline additive MTBE in drinking water long before it becomes a crisis. The time could be profitably spent in three ways: lobbying… Read More
Given the basis for his ruling, it seems that the Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Thomas Humphrey had no choice but to squash the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s plans for a high-stakes bingo parlor in Albany Township. After all, the land, by state law, had to be placed in federal… Read More
Gov. Angus King used his inauguration Thursday night for a bit of indulgence, and he seemed to enjoy himself: He bantered, joked, swaggered and strutted about the stage at the Augusta Civic Center, exhorting Maine and Mainers to take control of their own futures, their own destinies. Read More
When former Maine conservation commissioner Richard Barringer agreed to become the environmental overseer for Holtrachem Manufacturing Co. in Orrington last year he promised that he would not “advocate for or against the company. I am simply a public fact-finder, charged with the responsibility to help our environment and… Read More
Scattered throughout the multiple volumes of Maine statutes are laws pertaining to the benefits the state affords its veterans, from property tax breaks to burial in a veterans’ cemetery. Scattered throughout Maine are veterans who fall through the loopholes in these laws, confused and sometimes… Read More
There’s an old saying that the two things you don’t want to watch being made are sausage and laws. Here, harvested from just the first 38 of the 2,900 bills filed by Maine legislators this session, are some of the choicest snouts and tails: An… Read More
This is going to require your patience, but there’s a point here, so hold on, please. Part of the reason William Cohen left the Senate in 1996, he said in his farewell address, was because of “a growing frustration with the decline of civil discourse… Read More
The euro, the new unified currency of the European Monetary Union, got off to just the kind of start the 11 member nations hoped for this week: It was greeted with enthusiasm, but not frenzy, on world financial markets; it settled in at $1.18 U.S., right where experts… Read More
Taking his turn at the microphone for the Republican weekly radio address Saturday, Rep. Jerry Weller of Illinois broadcast the news that eliminating the so-called marriage tax penalty will be his party’s top priority this year. Just as it was last year and for every year back to… Read More
If tragedy strikes and family members are seriously hurt in an auto accident, remind them as they are being rushed to the emergency room to authorize in writing the release of information about themselves, specifying who is to receive the information. At least that’s the way the Legislature… Read More
The Department of Human Services’ recent happy announcement that Maine has the lowest infant-mortality rate in the nation came, it turns out, with a quiet “however.” For those concerned with the health of Maine people, this second half of the message is worth considering. Maine’s… Read More
Nothing better demonstrates the problem of leaving politics to politicians than the increasing number of Americans who lack health insurance. Ever since President Clinton’s failed reforms in his first term, Congress and the White House have been afraid to offer a comprehensive overhaul of this broken system. As… Read More
The loss next year of federal grant money for Maine’s homeless is disturbing news both for the programs directly affected and all organizations statewide that help this population. The rejection should spur Maine to improve its applications, but, more importantly, raises questions about a bureaucratic process that places… Read More
Once again, just like clockwork, it’s New Year’s Day. Once again, in a wave sweeping across time zones, the world has counted backward from 10. Celebrants have wished each other the best and meant it, at least for as long as the cup of kindness brims. Parades march… Read More
Michael Dumond, a paramedic for the Fort Kent Ambulance Service, has a working view of New Year’s Eve and the drunken drivers who overcelebrate it. And judging from a recent submission to the editorial pages, he doesn’t much like what he sees. In the holiday’s spirit of counting… Read More
When the city of Bangor voted in September 1997 to stay in the nursing-home business by appropriating $400,000 to renovate the City Nursing Facility and add residential care beds to meet changing state policies, it did so out of compassion for city residents needing care and based on… Read More
Through persistence and creativity, the health insurance industry has again found a novel way to avoid doing what it was established to do: cover sick policy holders. Insurers this time are counting on the widespread stigma against mental illness to allow it to offer lesser coverage to diseases… Read More
The recent failure of three extraordinarily rich men to pilot their spacecraft/balloon around the world has received international interest for reasons that are not exactly clear. The men were rescued in the Pacific last week by the Coast Guard after having attracted some attention for their voyage over… Read More
The public and lawmakers should encourage the further development of a community-college system in Maine, recognizing that the proposed collaboration between the University of Maine System and the technical-college system still has a long way to go. The immediate value of a community-college system is… Read More
Even if you think there is nothing left that Washington could do to shock you; even if you don’t care about campaign-finance reform, take a moment to consider an excerpt from a letter this fall by Rep. Phil Crane, R-Ill., to Speaker Newt Gingrich: “I… Read More