By Mikael Roenes Maine’s coastal communities were built on balancing the needs of those who make their living on the water and the need to protect that resource. For decades, those working waterfronts have bolstered both the economy and the environment. As we look to Maine’s future, successful aquaculture development is the next generation of …
A few weeks ago, Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) met with several dozen concerned citizens in Ellsworth for updates on Maine’s offshore wind proposals. The man facing that audience was grim-faced, fatigued and struggling for the proper words to express his apparent anxiety. A husband, a father of three and a longtime lobsterman out …
By V. Paul Reynolds Most of us who hunt in Maine are gun owners. Guns are a hunter’s tool, like a hoe for a gardener, or 7-iron for a golfer. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in my view, is the only shield that has kept the political left in this country from dispossessing …
By Todd R. Nelson It was 1871. Lincoln had been gone for six years. His youngest son, Tad, died that July. Yes, the Civil War was over, with 550,000 Americans dead, but the long fight to determine who won had begun. Sometimes it feels ongoing. Reconstruction is mid-stride. Ulysses S. Grant is president and will …
By Sen. Marianne Moore In a very unusual occurrence, there is almost more money in Augusta these days than anyone knows what to do with. Between federal stimulus and state surpluses, we have had more than $3 billion in extra funding available. What is more, forecasts show revenue growth of 3 percent to 4.5 percent …
By Durin Chappe I invite everyone to go out and bump into a stranger. And if you keep the damage to under $1,000, you won’t have to report it to the authorities. What I’m really advocating for is contact – physical contact with other people. Because when I did actually have a little fender-bender the …
By Margaret Cruikshank Critical race theory has been around since the 1970s. Why have Republicans recently been attacking it? One explanation is that since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, racism has been talked about in ways the majority may find surprising. The media run many more stories about racism than before; images …
By Phil Grant The civil rights legislation of 1962-64 was landmark legislation — perhaps some of the most valuable and successful legislation ever passed in the U.S. Congress. A key component of that legislation was the Equal Employment Opportunity law that went a long way toward assuring that no employee would be discriminated against in …
By Hugh Bowden Given that opinion pieces should not be considered assertions of fact, let it be known that, in the opinion of this writer, Maine’s Susan Collins has evolved into a senator with neither courage nor integrity. Collins’ transformation began when Donald Trump tragically assumed office as the 45th president. After first proclaiming that …
By Bill McWeeny The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) claims that NOAA’s rulemaking efforts to address entanglement threats are an overreach because right whales no longer come to the Gulf of Maine, and over many decades, only one right whale has been found in Maine lobster gear. I feel it is important to correct MLA on …
By Durin Chappe At my daughter’s most recent birthday party — outdoors and more exclusive than any in Hollywood Hills — a new friend and I were speaking of our fathers. My own father had put in a brief appearance and in his wake, my new friend observed that he seems like a good guy. …
By Todd R. Nelson Some days, being an elementary school principal gets complicated. Like the day, as code enforcement officer of Schoolsville, I realized that the merchants and construction companies in the playground sandbox had not applied for the required permits. I visited corporate headquarters. “We can’t have retail stores doing business, and large-scale public …
