When it comes to oil prices, there are many things the U.S. can’t control – the weather and political instability in the Middle East and South America, for example. That’s why it is wise for Congress to look at areas the U.S. can affect and ensure that policies… Read More
Frank Capra was one of Hollywood’s greatest directors, creating classics like “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “It Happened One Night,” “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Mr. Capra’s films often expressed a populist philosophy, suggesting with his characters that easing the plight of “the people,”… Read More
The emphasis in solving the state’s current budget problems has been to find ways to cut ongoing costs to shrink expected future shortfalls. Gov. John Baldacci moved the state in this direction Tuesday with an executive order that will shrink, and in many cases, stop state payments across… Read More
America’s oldest symphony orchestra – and many would say its best – is planning a concert in North Korea’s capital in February. This marks a welcome opportunity for both countries to trade smiles instead of glares and for one of the world’s most isolated nations to enter the… Read More
A report issued this month by the Governor’s Council on Maine’s Quality of Place confirms what most already knew: Maine is not Anywhere, U.S.A. Somewhat new – though already noted in the 2006 Brookings Institution’s study of the state’s economy – is that Maine’s blend of pretty and… Read More
What a difference two years – and $3 per gallon gasoline – make. In 2005, when gasoline cost an average of $2.27 a gallon, the Senate rejected an increase in vehicle gas mileage standards by a vote of 67-28. Last week, it approved a 10-mile-per-gallon boost by an… Read More
Sponsors of a new bill to fix the system for public financing of presidential campaigns are right that the present system has collapsed. Their plan for fixing it deserves careful consideration but has some problems. The old system was created in 1974 to correct the… Read More
The message behind a new scholarship program funded by the late Harold Alfond may be as important as the money itself. In a state where too few students go on to college, getting parents to think about – and better yet to plan for – their children’s higher… Read More
A second report from the state controller highlights further financial mismanagement by the state’s cultural agencies. Although the amounts of money are small, the larger problem is the permissive, and sometimes deceptive, attitude set by the agencies’ management. Better accounting practices and more oversight won’t solve this underlying… Read More
The Mitchell Report on Major League Baseball’s problems with performance enhancing drugs may not be the bloodletting fans of the game hoped for. And it may not mark the end of the “asterisk era,” when records are tainted by accusations that the players who set them had a… Read More
Trying to understand Maine’s place in the ISO-New England electricity grid, and to then consider how to improve the state’s position, is like trying to think 10 moves ahead in a game of chess. But legislators would do well to make the effort as they analyze a report… Read More
Some believe environmentalists want to turn Maine’s North Woods into a vast tree museum, suitable only for Thoreaulike contemplation. Others think hunters, snowmobilers and ATV enthusiasts see the North Woods as something like an amusement park and don’t understand the fragility of the natural world. Neither statement is… Read More
A recent Securities and Exchange Commission vote to weaken shareholder rights should, as the board’s chairman has promised, soon be reconsidered to ensure that stockholders retain a needed voice. Shareholders are the owners of a corporation. Ideally they elect a board of directors to set… Read More
The letter reads: “As winter’s grip takes hold, heating costs for all Americans are going up. Seniors and low-income families are particularly vulnerable to these price increases. … [H]omes that use heating oil are likely to pay 23 percent more on average this winter than last. Such an… Read More
Today, legislators are slated to begin consideration of bills to revise the state’s school consolidation law. The standard for moving such legislation forward must be that it removes impediments or improves the process. Now is not the time for major changes to the law, especially ones that would… Read More
The Bush administration has quietly redefined its goals for Iraq. The words “victory” and “winning” are no longer heard. It has begun speaking of “reconciliation” and now has shifted to “accommodation” among the warring religious and ethnic groups. This change in language reflects the conflicting… Read More
Last session, state lawmakers punted on the issue of ethics reform. A new bill from the Speaker of the House gives them another chance to adopt clearer, tougher standards on conflicts of interest and other ethics issues. A legislative advisory committee on legislative ethics last… Read More
Tape recordings can provide decisive evidence in all sorts of investigations and prosecutions. Now a new set of tapes has gone missing. The surprising disclosure by the CIA that it had destroyed two videotapes of its interrogation in 2002 of two al-Qaida operatives inevitably recalled… Read More
Maine’s efforts to recycle half of its municipal solid waste have stalled at 36 percent. That recycling rate is actually quite impressive, given the dire days of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when many municipal landfills suddenly closed, and towns and cities had to begin shipping trash… Read More
Citigroup, America’s biggest U.S. bank, desperate for cash in the mortgage crisis, is arranging to get a $7.5 billion investment from Abu Dhabi, raising eyebrows and serious questions. For the tiny but super-rich emirate on the Persian Gulf, $7.5 billion is small change. Its “sovereign… Read More
A visit to the University of Maine Museum of Art may have been on your list of leisure options ever since it moved to downtown Bangor five years ago. But for some reason, the visit never happened. Maybe it was a priority, but other distractions intervened. Now’s the… Read More
Accounts, comments and reminiscences of that terrible morning 66 years ago give dramatic emphasis to America’s need to commemorate Pearl Harbor. Dec. 7, 1941, was a colossal lapse and failure militarily and a tragic awakening to the realities of war and eventually to a new era in international… Read More
It’s such a common phenomenon that a term has been coined for it: institutional creep. It’s the propensity of nonprofit organizations – hospitals, museums, colleges and charitable organizations – to gradually grow in a community, by acquiring existing buildings or constructing new ones, until a tipping point comes… Read More
Despite a predicted $95 million state budget shortfall in the next two years, lawmakers are likely to consider scores of bills asking them to spend money to expand existing or create new programs. The budget constraints require new responsibility from lawmakers. That demand could be met with a… Read More
Given the Bush administration’s strong rhetoric directed at Iran and its suspected nuclear weapons program, this week’s report from the American intelligence community that Iran stopped work on military nuclear weapons in 2003 is a significant turnaround. It shows that diplomacy and sanctions can alter Iran’s behavior, but… Read More
Planning for a new version of the Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center is an exciting opportunity for the city, one which could include the larger opportunity to create a new vision for Bangor as a regional cultural and entertainment service center. The site that has… Read More
While international attention is focused on Bali, where the successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol is being discussed, action in the Senate could be more important in determining the United States’ course in addressing climate change. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is finalizing a bill, co-sponsored… Read More
It was just standard operating procedure in Corea Harbor recently when Walter Moore Jr. broke his leg trying to get aboard his boat and the other lobstermen pitched in to help him and his family. His wife, Phyllis, told The Ellsworth American: “When there’s a… Read More
While President George W. Bush has been fond of saying that Iraq has become the central front in the war on terrorism, there is another country that figures much more largely into making the Middle East a powder keg. Israel, whose leaders last week met with their Palestinian… Read More
Encouraging state government to make more information available electronically is a good idea. Forbidding alternatives, such as public notices in newspapers, is not. A bill that would outlaw such newspapers notices, LD 1878, was improved slightly with an amendment phasing in through July 2009 the… Read More
By building a new, centralized K-8 school, Brewer will improve education and save taxpayers money. A yes vote by Brewer residents on a set of referendum questions on Dec. 4 will move this needed project forward. Currently, elementary-age children are spread among three smaller schools… Read More
As the Land Use Regulation Commission begins public hearings this weekend on Plum Creek Timber Co.’s development plan for the Moosehead Lake area, three big questions should guide the comments: Is the proposed development appropriate for the region? Is it in the right places? Is it appropriately offset… Read More
It’s easy to dismiss two recent incidents of apparent racism in Maine as aberrations, perhaps perpetrated by disturbed people. But dismissing them is akin to ignoring a problem and hoping for the best. In late November a Brewer man, according to staff at the Togus… Read More
Much has been made in recent days of the state’s “loss” of $20 million in risky investments. Further examination shows that the state treasurer followed the state’s investment protocol, which allows participation in only top-rated investments and requires purchases to undergo several layers of review. If they are… Read More
A proposal to raise Maine’s hourly minimum wage from $7 to $8.40 by 2009 will be the center of heated debate in coming months. But a dispassionate examination of the proposal, with attention to the reason a minimum wage exists in the first place, ought to lead legislators… Read More
Imagine getting a raise at work, but pretending it never happened. Imagine that instead of seeing the raise in your take-home pay, your employer directed the extra money into a savings account. And that piggy bank could be cracked open just once a year, only after you first… Read More
The Bush administration has long touted the concept of cooperative conservation. With federal funding and a successful $10 million private fundraising campaign, the Penobscot River Restoration Project is a real example of this idea. The Penobscot River Restoration Trust announced last week that it had… Read More
Just when Republicans appeared to be narrowing in on a choice between a former New York City mayor and a former Massachusetts governor for their party’s nomination for president, along comes a man from Hope. Hope, Ark., that is. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee can’t build a campaign… Read More
FairPoint Communications’ proposed takeover of Maine’s telephone service is too risky and should be rejected, the staff of the Public Utilities Commission recommended this week. The staff was especially critical of FairPoint’s financial assumptions and warned the company may not have the wherewithal to maintain services without raising… Read More
It is not unexpected that Maine’s revenues projections are down. The latest estimate – that revenue will be $95 million lower than anticipated in the next two years – means, however, that lawmakers must look at the state’s budget in a new way. Trimming here and there at… Read More
Energy security, not security from terrorism, may soon emerge as the dominant issue of our time, if it isn’t already. Consider the countless policy challenges that radiate from the central matter of the fuels used for transportation, heating, electricity generation and manufacturing. Chief among them… Read More
The Downeaster, Maine’s Amtrak connection to Boston and the rest of the U.S., is an unequivocal success, with passenger numbers exceeding the projections of even its most ardent boosters. In just six years of service, the train is approaching boarding its 2 millionth passenger, a milestone that was… Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court rarely stirs the passions of ordinary Americans the way a president or Congress does. Yet the nine robed justices, each with guaranteed lifetime employment, have the power to peek into your bedroom, reach into a woman’s womb, escort God into your children’s classroom and… Read More
The release this week of a digital reader that can hold 200 books’ worth of text was hailed by technology writers as a breakthrough in reading that would put a bookcase full of novels in a handheld device. According to a sobering report this week from the National… Read More
A federal court last week rejected the Bush administration’s minimal increase in fuel economy standards for passenger trucks and sport utility vehicles because the government had not shown why these vehicles should be allowed to meet lower standards than cars. A week earlier California sued the Bush administration… Read More
Defining the creative economy, as a step toward advocating for its importance to Maine, is a difficult proposition. It’s far easier to say what it is not than to say what it is. The creative economy is not a painter, shivering and starving in a garret or loft,… Read More
What do you do when you are abroad, face a lot of people who dislike President George W. Bush, and, like many other Americans, you disapprove of Mr. Bush? Some women representing the United States at world bridge championships in Shanghai last month held up a sign at… Read More
Harriet Beecher Stowe moved to Maine in 1850 with her husband, Calvin Ellis Stowe, a professor at Bowdoin College. In Brunswick, she wrote her famous “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and many stories about New England life, including “The Pearl of Orr’s Island” (1862) and “Oldtown Folks” (1869). The latter… Read More
Changes pending in Congress would expand special federal assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of trade. Providing help to more laid-off workers is a positive move. Easing the distinctions between those who lost their jobs because of trade, as determined by the federal government, and those… Read More
Playing cribbage is a lot of harmless fun all over Maine, especially in American Legion posts, as the state police and Legislature now know if they didn’t before. The current trouble began just before Veterans Day, when a Maine State Police inspector shut down the… Read More
A windfall implies an unexpected gain. Collecting Social Security benefits – money employees have paid into the federal system – during retirement hardly qualifies as a windfall. That’s why Congress needs to revise laws that unfairly penalize some public sector workers, especially those in states like Maine that… Read More
Interested voters have more opportunity than ever to get to know the presidential candidates. They can turn to their favorite cable TV news network, read newspapers and news magazines, review candidate Web sites, and even see videos of candidate stump speeches, thanks to the Internet. Of course, a… Read More
Bothered by people who blab away loudly on cell phones in public places? A newly publicized device could help, but it’s illegal. The New York Times reported on Nov. 4 that phonejammer.com, in London, says it is shipping 400 of the pocket-size devices a month… Read More
The surprising endorsement of Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani by Christian conservative Pat Robertson may have more to do with friendship than with any guidance from God. But it reveals what is inherently inappropriate about trying to spiritually anoint a candidate who, if elected, will have to wrestle… Read More
Speaking to teenagers who said the older man’s financial support turned their lives around, Harold Alfond offered three points of advice: respect their parents, take care of their bodies and get an education. The latter two were the focal points of Mr. Alfond’s philanthropy, which spanned decades and… Read More
Anger, frustration, bitterness and resignation are among the reactions from those in Washington County to the defeat of the racino referendum on Nov. 6. The gambling, resort and conference facility, as proposed by the Passamaquoddy Tribe for Calais, would not have turned the tide on the county’s economic… Read More
Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives are correct in bringing the Iraq war back into the spotlight. What remains to be seen is whether the congressional debate over funding the war will become a replay of this summer’s political theater, which ended with no change in direction… Read More
Now that President Bush has lectured Congress about fiscal discipline, his next lesson could be on hypocrisy. This is, after all, the president who has turned a large budget surplus into an even bigger deficit and who signed nearly two dozen funding bills that exceeded his spending limits… Read More
A container port on Sears Island in Searsport would be well-positioned to catch the rising tide of cargo being shipped to U.S. markets from Asia and elsewhere, according to a study commissioned by the Department of Transportation. That is good news for the region, and for the ongoing… Read More
Legislation, recently unanimously endorsed by the Senate, would ensure that government contracts are scrutinized and bids solicited and reviewed – and that federal personnel are trained and available to do this work – before disasters strike and before billions of federal dollars are spent. These common-sense changes are… Read More
Maine marked a dubious milestone last week as home heating oil for the first time topped $3 per gallon. Even adjusted for inflation, that price is higher than the previous peak in 1981. If prices hold at that level or rise further, many Maine households will either shiver… Read More
As a result of ongoing investigation of the finances of the state’s arts agencies, the state’s financial overseers have taken a good first step in taking over the agencies’ accounting work. After lawmakers hear more this week about whether the problems are isolated or more widespread, they should… Read More
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is underfunded and understaffed and, according to a recent Washington Post article, too cozy with the industries it is meant to oversee. The result has been a string of recalls of toys and other products, costing companies millions of dollars and a drop… Read More
A recent ruling in Waldo County Superior Court in Belfast effectively overturned a ban on the use of personal watercraft – which are sold under brands such as Jet Ski and Sea-Doo – on Liberty’s Lake St. George. The decision undermines similar bans adopted several years ago for… Read More
The next time a president wants to send American troops into action, Congress ought to require a projection of the cost of caring for the veterans of that action over the course of their lives. As Americans remember their military veterans – those who served… Read More
Like seat belts, the success of recycling relies on personal commitment. Recycling – removing certain commodities like newspapers, magazines, cans, cardboard and plastic from the waste stream – was pushed by state and municipal officials in the late 1980s and early 1990s when landfills were closed. With steady… Read More
Terrorism, the war in response and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan give Veterans Day special urgency. The nation is encountering new types of warfare, wondering about old enemies and, appropriately, recalling with new respect the veterans of wars past and present. All of this gives the… Read More
Like other states, Maine has chronically underfunded higher education. Repeatedly turning to the Legislature for more money is not the solution to this problem, however. Nationally, state support for public higher education, as a share of total spending, has declined in recent decades. In Maine,… Read More
The votes on Tuesday’s referendum on a tribal racino in Washington County had barely been counted before opponents of the project celebrated by suggesting the Passamaquoddy Tribe join them in eliminating slot machines from Maine. Turning around the tribe’s argument that it is unfair for only one entity… Read More
Were you at the Woodstock music festival in 1969? Many baby boomers who attended that seminal ’60s event are happy to brag about it. In fact, if as many people who claim to have attended were actually there, Max Yasgur’s muddy farm fields would have sunk under the… Read More
The slim passage of bonds to support research and development and to upgrade educational facilities, along with the narrow defeat of a proposal to build a racino in Washington County, highlight the fact that Mainers remain skeptical of economic development proposals when they don’t personally see the benefit. Read More
Community outcry, coupled with Eastern Maine Medical Center’s willingness to reconsider its options, may save the historic but deteriorating State Street homes that the hospital planned to tear down. Much depends on tonight’s meeting of the Bangor Historical Preservation Commission at Bangor City Hall. Preservationists… Read More
As America stumbles through the early years of the 21st century, it is increasingly difficult to achieve a comfortable balance between asserting the nation’s core values and principles while respecting the divergent beliefs of our increasingly pluralistic society. Factor in the slippery concept of free speech, and the… Read More
In Pakistan, one more American effort to spread democracy throughout the world has gone sour. Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s suspension of constitutional rights and mass arrests in what amounts to imposition of martial law have triggered disorder and confusion over his future. The Bush administration had… Read More
The colder weather got to you? Lost the old pep? Can’t get motivated? Try voting! There’s no better way to reinvigorate the democratic republic in you than to cast a vote for a worthy candidate or bond or against one that didn’t impress. Want another reason? Your neighbor,… Read More
The federal compensation program for the victims of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is a remarkable example of thoughtful government analysis and action. An important question is whether it should be a model for future disasters. A group of… Read More
Diplomacy seems to have fallen out of favor in the post Sept. 11 climate, yet it remains as essential a tool as ever for dealing with the hostile and friendly corners of the world. It can be seen as part of an arsenal that includes a powerful military,… Read More
Yes on Question 1 The success of the slots facility in Bangor makes the question of expanding gambling one of equity. A yes vote on Question 1 would allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a gaming facility in Washington County. Expanding gambling to the state’s… Read More
When a lawyer is disbarred or a doctor’s license is revoked by the state, the public can easily find out. If a teacher’s certification is revoked or surrendered, however, this information is kept confidential. The public has a right to know when a teacher’s certification – akin to… Read More
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has joined ranks to oppose an ill-advised and shortsighted Bush administration plan to slash federal funding for home health care. A bill to turn back a scheduled cut of $6.2 billion in the next four years has been introduced by… Read More
Michael B. Mukasey has a well-earned reputation for straight talking, but his nomination for United States attorney general is in trouble unless he flatly acknowledges that waterboarding is torture and rejects it. In his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he began with a clear… Read More
Voters approved the $131 million transportation bond in June, but Maine’s road and bridge system remains woefully under-funded. Revenue from the state’s fuel tax continues to decline as people drive less or buy more fuel-efficient vehicles, and elected officials are leery of creating any new revenue source that… Read More
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is required to ensure that transactions it approves do not adversely affect ratepayers and the companies’ shareholders. Assuming that FairPoint Communications and Verizon, which propose to merge their landline operations here, have taken care of shareholder concerns, the PUC has rightly focused on… Read More
The ultimate cost of war is, of course, the untimely death of young men and women serving their country, and of civilians who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But war also costs in dollar terms – another $46 billion, in fact, which President Bush… Read More
With the Red Sox World Series win, there is – and will continue to be – much rejoicing in New England. But after the beer goes flat and the chips are stale, when the bumper stickers begin to peel and the newspaper clippings yellow, fans will find themselves… Read More
Instead of chiding Congress for “wasting time” by passing a pared down version of a children’s health care bill, President Bush should consult with members of his own party to understand why this measure is needed. After the House passed an amended version of a… Read More
Downeast Transportation Inc., a private nonprofit organization that started 25 years ago with a single bus, now has nine modern buses in operation. After a major route expansion, it serves commuters as well as shoppers and medical patients in Bangor and Down East communities offering a low-cost and… Read More
Fall is extra beautiful and extra long this year, warm weather having promoted both the brilliance and the persistence of the bright reds and oranges and yellows. But now it is time for the last act. The maples, which have brought us the striking scarlet,… Read More
Do you favor extending term limits for legislators from 4 to 6 terms? Term limits have shifted power away from the Legislature to lobbyists and the executive branch, ensured that lawmakers repeatedly debate the same issues, and reduced the power of rural areas. Extending the… Read More
It turns out that Angus King and the few longtime proponents of the state’s laptop initiative were right. Or make that “write.” A study completed by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute at the University of Southern Maine confirmed what educators have already observed for… Read More
Do you favor a $35,500,000 bond issue to invest in land conservation, water access, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, including hunting and fishing, farmland and working waterfront and to invest in state parks, historic sites and riverfront, community and farm infrastructure to be matched by at least $21,875,000… Read More
Do you favor a $43,500,000 bond issue for interior and exterior building renovations, improvements and additions at all campuses of the Maine Community College System, the Maine Maritime Academy and the University of Maine System; to replenish the School Revolving Renovation Fund for school repairs and renovations; and… Read More
Do you favor a bond issue to stimulate economic development and job creation that would provide $5,000,000 in loans and grant funds and would provide $50,000,000 in research, development and commercialization funds for targeted technology sectors, awarded after a competitive process administered by the Maine Technology Institute, and… Read More
Do you want to allow a Maine tribe to run a harness racing track with slot machines and high-stakes beano games in Washington County? The success of the slots facility in Bangor makes the question of expanding gambling one of equity. A yes vote on… Read More
When millions of Americans put their phone numbers on the national do-not-call list they likely assumed the dinnertime telephonic interruptions were a thing of the past. They aren’t, and the unwanted calls could start coming again this spring. They shouldn’t. Without congressional action, the list… Read More
The proposal by a Connecticut-based company to build a coal gasification plant at the site of the former Maine Yankee nuclear power facility in Wiscasset turns debate on energy policy in the midcoast area from the hypothetical to the tangible, just as wind turbines did for Mars Hill… Read More
David Walker has made himself the nation’s fiscal Cassandra, a fitting pursuit for the comptroller general of the United States. But even as he warned again last week about the budgetary doom the Congress and White House seem to prefer the public not consider too closely, Washington tries… Read More
It took longer than it should, but another offensive name has been removed from the Maine landscape. With the decision last week to rename Squaw Point in Stockton Springs after the sunken ship Defence, the mandate of a 2001 state law to banish “squaw” from public places was… Read More
A Portland middle school has been the focus of news stories for more than a week because a health center there received permission from school officials to offer birth-control prescriptions. But the focus on that action misses the more important story, which is the process by which children… Read More
Repeatedly in recent years, the White House has convinced lawmakers that preventing terrorist attacks is more important than legal rights and clear oversight. That was the case when Congress hastily passed the Protect America Act, which broadened the government’s authority to eavesdrop on electronic communications. Rather than make… Read More