Despite well-reasoned opposition, the Federal Communications Commission appears to be committed to reforming the way mobile communications in rural areas are subsidized. Unfortunately, the fix it is likely to choose penalizes rural areas without addressing real problems with the fund. The Universal Service Charge, usually… Read More
Just a decade ago, Maine’s public schools had among the highest scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the nation’s report card. Since then, however, the state’s ranking has slipped toward the middle, not necessarily because Maine students aren’t performing as well as they… Read More
In a letter last week to Congress, Verizon Communications gave the public a rare look at how it has cooperated with local, state and federal officials on tens of thousands of emergency occasions to supply customer records. Maine should consider that activity in light of Verizon New England’s… Read More
Senate Democrats were thrilled Wednesday to receive Attorney General-nominee Michael B. Mukasey; on Thursday, they were decidedly less thrilled, suggesting they should take their time in deciding whether to confirm the president’s nominee. On his first day of questioning, Mr. Mukasey was asked whether the… Read More
Although federal regulators have moved ahead with rules that will require many Maine lobstermen to change their gear to minimize harm to endangered whales, many unanswered questions remain. Research, some of it paid for by lobstermen, must continue to answer these questions and, perhaps, support changes in the… Read More
The growing sense in Augusta that state budget predictions for next year might not hold up is reflected in similar bad news in other states. California is bracing for an $8.6 billion shortfall. Florida lawmakers just took the first steps in closing a $1 billion gap. Arizona, after… Read More
True to its trademarked name, MoveOn.org looked at the fight it had created with Sen. Susan Collins’ campaign for re-election and decided, properly, to move on. This week it backed away from invoking its trademark protection against Google-placed ads from the campaign. That was the right decision, after… Read More
Even before President Bush warned Iran publicly on Aug. 9 of unspecified “consequences” if it continued to arm and train insurgents in Iraq, there were suspicions that he and Vice President Dick Cheney were planning and promoting war with Iran. Mainstream news reporters now are… Read More
Rather than asking for more plans, legislators could help the jail consolidation debate by determining what information is necessary to help them and the public better decide how to rein in corrections costs. The administration can help by providing such information so that lawmakers and the public can… Read More
No sooner had former Vice President Al Gore been named as this year’s recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize than critics began dissecting his work, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Certainly parts of Mr. Gore’s warnings in the movie will prove to be overstated. And just as certainly he will… Read More
As the 2008 presidential race shapes up and heats up, voters may get the impression that it is a battle between two well-financed pressure groups. They are already being bombarded with television and newspaper ads, plus segments on YouTube, telling them what to think and how to vote… Read More
Given the unrest that continues to surround the state’s school consolidation efforts, it is not unexpected that lawmakers have submitted dozens of bills to revise, or in some cases, repeal the reorganization law. It is premature, however, to make major changes to the law. All… Read More
While much state attention and resources have been devoted to K-12 and higher education as a means to improve the state’s economy and quality of life, ensuring quality care before children enter the school system is just as important. A new commission aims to develop a comprehensive plan… Read More
After seeing what a little interest, some tax credits and a lot of work could do for the former Hathaway mill in Waterville, lawmakers last year asked whether the mills that continue to sit empty in Maine could be similarly helped, and worked up a resolve to have… Read More
University of Maine President Robert Kennedy has taken an important step by increasing the penalties for athletes who violate the school’s code of conduct. Given the frequency and seriousness of infractions, however, more remains to be done to prevent abuse of university rules and to ensure the stronger… Read More
Fall colors are peaking in central and eastern Maine, and that’s only part of what this wonderful season holds for us. The state forester’s office says that plentiful leaves on the hardwood trees are making this the best season in five years, even though a warm September delayed… Read More
Soon after he took office in 2003, Rep. Mike Michaud adopted the very good idea of creating a regional economic zone along the northeast border – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York – to help economically distressed towns, much as an Appalachian zone has helped that region… Read More
After years of inaction, the melting of polar ice has added urgency to efforts to have the United States belatedly sign on to the Law of the Sea Convention. Warming seas and air have made long inaccessible deposits of oil, gas and minerals reachable. Without clarity as to… Read More
Cianbro Corp.’s decision not to seek permission to dump some of the sediment it proposes to dredge from the Penobscot River into the ocean gives the state and federal authorities an opportunity to reconsider the practice of ocean dumping. Although it is a long-standing, but diminishing, way to… Read More
Diplomacy with North Korea has reached a solid achievement, but you wouldn’t know it from most newspaper front pages or broadcast news. They are preoccupied with other matters, and the White House seems reluctant to brag about a breakthrough in relations with a country that President Bush once… Read More
By leaving the definition of torture up to the Bush administration, Congress shirked an important responsibility to ensure the treatment of detainees in the war on terror meets U.S. and international standards. The results of that misstep have now come to light in reports that the Department of… Read More
When several communities considered following Bangor’s lead in banning smoking in cars carrying children, local leaders said a statewide prohibition would be better than a patchwork of local rules. State lawmakers soon will have an opportunity to pass such a ban. They should take it. Read More
Anyone who watched the vividly and powerfully told “The War,” the latest from historical documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, has gotten to know a small-town newspaper editor named Al MacIntosh. He is a fellow with whom any contemporary journalist would love to savor a leisurely cup of coffee, relishing… Read More
President Bush’s veto of a bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program means that the White House and Congress will have to start negotiating a package both can live with. But to do that, the president will have to begin talking about SCHIP, as the program… Read More
Opposition to the idea of requiring toll payments on Maine’s interstate highway is not surprising. Opposition will also follow other ideas, such as a higher gasoline tax and a miles-driven surcharge, that lawmakers are now considering. This opposition, however, does not negate the need to find different ways… Read More
One path to a solution to Iraq for the United States could be seen in a Senate vote last week – not in the contents of the nonbinding resolution senators overwhelmingly supported, but in the fact that they could come together on a bold idea strongly opposed by… Read More
Another month at the University of Maine, another report of charges against student athletes. In what has become a depressing pattern over the last year, these young adults – and sometimes their coaches – have been caught breaking the rules, breaking the law and damaging the reputation of… Read More
Public safety officials and driving instructors may be hailing a new law banning cell phone use by young drivers as a lifesaver, but without quantifying how the new law reduced accidents, this is hollow praise. Legislators who passed the law in June should want to know if the… Read More
As troubling as the details of Blackwater USA’s record in Iraq are, members of Congress should be equally concerned about the State Department’s apparent lack of oversight of the company. Rather than investigate instances when Blackwater employees have killed Iraqis, the department has suggested paying the families to… Read More
With flu season approaching, is there a better time to add a dose of confusion to the annual public-health plea for the elderly to get vaccinated? A report in the latest issue of Lancet Infectious Diseases is just what the doctor ordered to raise more questions than there… Read More
John Baldacci has been trying to consolidate government for as long as he has been governor. But over the years he has changed tactics substantially, going from a very public and deliberative merging of human services in 2004 to the surprise declaration on county jails this year. The… Read More
Last month’s testimony from the National Park Service that global warming is irrelevant to consideration of wind power projects in Maine highlights the difficulty of balancing competing views and goals. It also shows that Maine, through its Land Use Regulation Commission, which regulates development in the state’s 10… Read More
In the four years since the Maine Technical College System became the Maine Community College System, enrollment is up 57 percent systemwide, and more students are eager to get in. Meanwhile, a legislative panel was recently told that Maine does not have enough skilled workers to fill jobs… Read More
Recent headlines touted the benefit to U.S. retailers from the rising Canadian dollar. The strong Canadian dollar presents other important opportunities to Maine’s largest industries, such as timber and paper, fisheries and seafood. With Canadian goods now more expensive, Maine industries have an opening to increase their share… Read More
While strong condemnations of the military crackdown against protesters in Burma are necessary, if predictable, the international community, including the United States, will need much more than harsh rhetoric to improve the situation. Given the chaos of recent weeks, international negotiators may have an opportunity to work with… Read More
Fundamental questions raised by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court about the state’s sex offender registry should force lawmakers to reconsider the purpose for and requirements of the registration system. At a minimum, they should eliminate the online dissemination of personal information about all registered sex offenders and ease… Read More
Over the past several years, the Department of Homeland Security has handed out billions of dollars to communities to improve security and combat terrorism. The money was sometimes given out, however, without an adequate assessment of local agencies’ ability to pay for ongoing training, maintenance and upgrades necessary… Read More
With Congress trying to reauthorize the federal education act No Child Left Behind, it’s natural that a new set of scores on what’s called the nation’s report card would be used by both sides of the debate to support their claims. But the argument is not worth making… Read More
A $12 million gift to the University of Maine, in addition to being the largest the campus has ever received, offers the School of Forestry a rare opportunity to more aggressively move in new directions to coincide with the national emphasis on alternative energy and sustainable forestry. The… Read More
Close readers of the editorial pages will have noticed that this newspaper’s masthead contains but one name, temporarily, as staff changes take place here. Earlier this week, Susan Young, the assistant editorial page editor for the last four years, was named editor of the pages. Read More
The killing last week of a dozen Iraqi civilians by a private American security firm and the Iraqi reaction underscored why thousands of contractors will remain in Iraq but also why U.S. officials must do a better job of overseeing them. Guards working for Blackwater… Read More
Difficult times show who your friends are – wanted or not – as conservative Idaho Sen. Larry Craig discovered when his Republican colleagues frog-marched him out of the Senate recently. He is scheduled to stand today before a Minnesota judge to ask that his guilty plea in a… Read More
Bangor city councilors may be forcing themselves into a false choice by trying to decide if a new civic center facility should go downtown or at Bass Park. A better way to look at the situation is to consider that the park area, across the street from the… Read More
Vulnerable candidates, multiple scandals, an unpopular war and a slate of competent opponents – congressional Republicans are in trouble for 2008, as many in their own party have pointed out. But if they have hope it is because it’s possible that Democrats will overreach, trying to score political… Read More
President Bush helped advance the debate over a children’s health insurance bill this summer by refusing to engage in support of either the House or Senate versions, thereby driving Congress to a solid compromise on expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Now he has helped out again… Read More
A review of the climate-change effects of the Moosehead Lake development proposed by Plum Creek Timber Co. is useful not for its specifics, but for the point it raises, which is that the environmental impacts of building projects go beyond the destruction of wildlife habitat and the siltation… Read More
Another Bureau of Insurance ruling on the state-subsidized health plan, another year of widely divergent views of how much the program saved the health-care system. But Dirigo Health has gone through this process enough, and endured a tough though favorable court ruling, so that the Baldacci administration and… Read More
President Bush and other administration officials have been citing Anbar Province, long one of the most violent regions of Iraq, as an encouraging success story as the war drags well into its fifth year. But like everything else in Iraq, the picture isn’t that clear. Read More
Sunday is the first day of what many Mainers consider the prettiest, loveliest and all-round best season of the year. And autumn’s Act I is special. First of all, the summer visitors, much as we love and value their time here, are mostly gone home. Read More
While a campaign heats up to stop FairPoint Communications from merging with a Verizon spinoff of its land lines in northern New England, the public would be best served if the debate remained on the company’s expected quality of service, rates and the capacity for investment. The Maine… Read More
In the absence of strong federal regulations to cut greenhouse gases from automobiles, states, including Maine, have passed their own laws. Those efforts were given an important boost recently when a federal judge ruled that state emissions laws are not overruled by federal regulations. To ensure consistency across… Read More
I am responding to your editorial “The Future of Health Care” (BDN Sept. 13). I have enjoyed reading the BDN for many reasons. Your handling of the health care issue is one of them. You have provided us with numerous viewpoints over the past four months. However, one… Read More
When it again begins consideration of a wind power project in western Maine, the Land Use Regulation Commission has an opportunity to clarify where such infrastructure is appropriate. The answer must consider the difficult balance of protecting Maine’s unique landscapes with the inevitable damage that will result if… Read More
The once purposely opaque Alan Greenspan, longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, is startlingly clear this week as he promotes his new book, “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World.” But without his immensely powerful position, Mr. Greenspan is showing himself not only to be mortal… Read More
As state financial support for higher education lags, public colleges and universities across the country have turned to student fees as a way to boost revenue – and to avoid the negative repercussions of raising tuition. The University of Maine System, where fees on some campuses have more… Read More
New information from the United States Public Health Service throws fresh light on sex education – specifically on continuing efforts to rely exclusively on encouraging sexual abstinence. It turns out that premarital sex is normal behavior for the vast majority of Americans. A study published… Read More
There have been many missteps in the country’s long transition to digital television. Still, it is too early for lawmakers to worry that a public education campaign is failing. They should, however, be concerned that the federal government has not set aside enough money for the mandated transition. Read More
With fewer Americans visiting national and state parks, Maine’s economic challenge is to encourage visitors to Acadia National Park and other outdoor venues to stay longer – and spend more money per visit. The number of visitors to Acadia National Park dropped 23 percent between… Read More
While it is good news that a Millinocket mill plans to no longer use phosphoric acid, the cause of a massive algae bloom on the Penobscot River this summer, the Department of Environmental Protection is wisely not just taking the company’s word this time and will limit phosphorus… Read More
“Virtually impotent” is the phrase the Bush administration has chosen to describe Osama bin Laden. The fact that the terrorist mastermind, on the run since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, is still issuing videos to his followers, despite their often rambling messages, says more about the impotence of… Read More
While the Bush administration concentrates this week on the war in Iraq, fresh signs of success appear in its diplomatic course in dealing with North Korea. Pyongyang has invited experts from the United States, China and Russia to inspect the nuclear sites that it has agreed to shut… Read More
For several years, the U.S. comptroller general, David Walker, has been warning that the combination of the interest on the federal debt and the rising costs of entitlement programs will soon far exceed projected tax revenues, endangering essential programs and substantially raising taxes. He has largely been ignored… Read More
Two Maine lawmakers last week picked up where the Maine Ethics Commission left off not long ago in setting rules for the circumstances under which spouses of publicly funded candidates may be paid for their work on a campaign. They couldn’t, under a bill by Democratic Reps. John… Read More
Over two days this week, Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker spelled out clearly what achieving security and transition goals in Iraq would mean: many more years of occupation, many more American lives, hundreds of billions of dollars and no guarantee of success. Whatever… Read More
Six years after terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, a plane in Pennsylvania and damaged the Pentagon, dignitaries will give speeches about honoring the heroes of that day – firefighters, airplane passengers, office workers. The public would honor the dead on this anniversary by attempting to understand… Read More
Just a year after the state first began getting a discount for the millions of gallons of heating oil it obtains for the state’s low-income residents, the Maine State Housing Authority and the Maine Oil Dealer’s Association again disagree on what that discount should be. If the rancor… Read More
As fewer people take to the Maine woods to hunt and fish and more to hike, canoe and photograph wildlife, Maine’s land and wildlife management agencies must coordinate their efforts to ensure the state’s open space is managed for multiple uses. The transition also highlights the need to… Read More
As kids head back to school, many fear that a lack of physical activity and unhealthful school lunches will contribute to the country’s obesity epidemic. A recent study, however, found that the rate of weight gain among young children is higher in the summer than during the school… Read More
The state’s Dirigo Health coverage has new opportunities to provide better care more affordably under a change in administration announced this week that ends the state’s arrangement with Anthem Blue Cross and signs on with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. The key for the state is to create a… Read More
The Department of Homeland Security began in March 2003, in a cumbersome response to the tragedies of September 2001, with the merger of 22 agencies and 170,000 workers. In the four years since and with many thousand new employees, it has remained cumbersome even as no agency has… Read More
When many people picture an opera singer they envision Luciano Pavarotti, the portly, bearded superstar who introduced millions to opera. His voice, lyrical and spanning a broad range with seemingly no effort, was said to be tinged with sunshine. That sun set Thursday when Mr. Pavarotti died at… Read More
Federal regulators have improved proposed rules aimed at preventing whales from becoming entangled in lobster gear by exempting more Maine waters from the regulations. However, they have yet to answer questions raised by government overseers about the risk of the required gear getting stuck on the rocky ocean… Read More
The latest assessment on progress in Iraq closely follows a National Intelligence Estimate in July: some military gains of uncertain durability and little or no political gains to build the peace. The Government Accountability Office, which issued its study Tuesday, is not a policymaking branch – it can’t… Read More
Behind the good news that Maine continues to have among the lowest percentage of uninsured residents of any state, the costs of keeping up this standard means that health-coverage reform is still desperately needed. With federal-level reforms years away, if they arrive at all, Maine is limited to… Read More
Hancock County holds the dismal distinction of having eight fatal traffic accidents since June 12. Police are stepping up enforcement and advising prudent driving, but there are obstacles. One trouble is the explosive increase in the number of vehicles on the highways, especially through the… Read More
Gov. John Baldacci last week presented legislators with $11 million in budget cuts, a relatively tiny percentage of the state budget but an important exercise in budget trimming. Two questions for legislators are whether the cuts are real – as opposed, for example, to merely ending phantom jobs… Read More
With the high levels of corporate and personal debt overtaking terrorism as the top concern of economists, regulators are pushing for stronger lending standards. This may help future borrowers, but will do little to help those already facing foreclosure. Ensuring lenders can negotiate repayment plans, as President Bush… Read More
Everyone connected with the Maine lobster industry seems caught as this summer winds down. The lobstermen (and women) find the current “boat price,” or what they get for their catch, too low, especially since it went down another 50 cents to $3.50 a pound. Diesel fuel and herring… Read More
This newspaper recorded the events of Labor Day 1904 with unusual enthusiasm, describing a parade of more than 2,000 union members in Bangor as “filled with good-fellowship and triumph … a potent example typified in thousands of silent, stalwart men, of the strength and force and dignity which… Read More
A large algae bloom on the Penobscot River is likely to soon recede as temperatures drop. The damage done to relations between the Penobscot Nation and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which for nearly a decade have been at odds over water quality regulation, will take longer… Read More
A recent report on obesity from a group called the Trust for Public Health could be shrugged off as just more confirmation that the United States is fatter than ever, and that Americans need to eat better, exercise more, blah, blah, blah. That would be a large mistake:… Read More
It’s still August, barely, but it’s beginning to feel like fall. The sights and sounds and smells of it are everywhere. Nights have turned chilly. The wind whistles, a sign that old timers say means they should start getting ready for winter. Some of the… Read More
Gov. John Baldacci’s county jail consolidation plan is a welcome move to try to save tax dollars. It’s too soon to say whether the plan would work or save the amount of money promised, but lawmakers should be eager to start going through its details and testing its… Read More
While President Bush was observing a moment of silence Wednesday at a New Orleans charter school to commemorate the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the city’s mayor was at a different ceremony where ringing bells signaled the time water began pouring into the city. The conflicting silence and… Read More
The Bush administration adds restricting and distracting limits to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program when it sets new standards for coverage expansions and new caps on who gets coverage. The administration’s apparent goal is to prevent privately covered children from being switched to the federally supported coverage,… Read More
Beyond being good news for Baxter State Park, the multimillion-dollar donation that follows the park’s acquisition of Katahdin Lake further emphasizes the wisdom of coupling land and easement purchases with the funds to maintain and manage the property. Last week, the park received $2.7 million… Read More
When Congress soon convenes hearings on what went wrong at the Crandall Canyon Mine where six coal miners were killed earlier this month, rather than just grilling company officials, lawmakers should look at what progress has been made in meeting the requirements of a sweeping law passed last… Read More
Recent recalls of toys coated with lead paint have raised concerns about lead poisoning. While the Chinese-made toys could pose a threat, there’s a lead threat locally that is more serious: Maine’s older homes. Still, the state aims to eliminate lead poisoning in children by 2010, a goal… Read More
Among the many arguments Maine’s congressional delegation made to the federal base-closure commission in 2005 was that the Defense Department had badly underestimated the cost of closing bases, meaning the expected savings wouldn’t be nearly as great. That seems to be exactly what has happened, and it demands… Read More
With more places to ride and more clubs to promote responsibility, all-terrain vehicles are naturally moving from being viewed mainly as nuisances to an important part of the state’s recreational economy. With continued state support the trail ahead should be less bumpy. ATV sales in… Read More
The current CIA director’s strenuous objections to the release of a report on the agency’s failings prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a former director’s denial of its conclusions shows a continuing and dangerous denial of the shortcomings of the country’s war on terror. Their reactions… Read More
The stages and tents are up. Performers have arrived. Food is cooking. Beginning this evening, it’s time for you to head down to the waterfront for the American Folk Festival. Despite its past success, the festival needs you – to go enjoy the music, food and arts, and… Read More
There are many reasons to be frustrated with Iran’s double talk about its nuclear program, its backing of Hezbollah in Lebanon and possibly arming Shiite militias in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But putting the country’s Revolutionary Guard, a branch of the Iranian military, on the United… Read More
When the Federal Bureau of Investigation questions the credibility of the attorney general, things get nasty. In the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, the FBI helped prosecute the crimes and cover-up. Attorney General John N. Mitchell was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury and spent… Read More
Energy drinks are large dollops of sugar mixed with caffeine and marketed to teens, who apparently think the result is terrific, if the growth of the industry is a measure. But the drinks must have lacked the special ingredient necessary to make them truly a nutritionist’s nightmare, which… Read More
The world has become so technologically advanced and adept that failure is no longer regarded as acceptable. When defects can be fixed before babies are born, when hearts can be restarted with a shock of electricity, when calling Mumbai is as simple as calling Boston, it is hard… Read More
If the comments on Iraq by Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are indicative of their caucus generally, the Senate could have agreement on an Iraq plan the day the lawmakers return from their August break. If only their leader, Sen. Harry… Read More
One of President Bush’s reasons for threatening to veto the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, is that it would be financed partly by a cutback in something called “Medicare Advantage.” If you don’t know about Medicare Advantage, that’s no… Read More
On the day that the Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate on loans to banks, which experts say is meant to calm the jittery stock market, the term “value investing” was in frequent use. Value investing – basically the idea that a company’s past performance is more important… Read More
President Bush’s inflammatory designation of Iraq, North Korea and Iran as an “axis of evil” in 2002 never accomplished much and now has dropped out of usage. The Iraq war is dragging into its fifth year, with growing pressure for a negotiated withdrawal; North Korea has agreed to… Read More