By Todd R. Nelson “We used to come from Moose River,” I’m fond of saying. “Were away for a few generations, and now we’re back.” Sort of. Maine ancestry is a point of pride and privilege. When my Holden, Colby and Churchill ancestors came to the Moose River Valley in the early 1700s, it took …
By Gary Friedmann At the United Nations, Governor Janet Mills pledged that Maine will have a carbon-neutral economy by 2045. And she signed an executive order directing the new Maine Climate Council to deliver recommendations to make this transition in 25 years. Sounds good, right? It’s one of the most ambitious pronouncements by any governor …
By Linda Napier “I was sitting on the steps of the rehab waiting for my daughter,” Jen began, “and felt this sense of defeat: this place of desperation. I saw my little girl getting out of the car, holding her foster mother’s hand and calling her Mommy. It wasn’t a control thing but my kids …
By Rep. Larry Lockman Why is Maine’s K-12 education establishment so hostile to giving students more and better opportunities to learn a trade? This entrenched opposition to the industrial arts — “shop class” — is hard to understand, given the obvious benefits of having more career options for Maine students. Learning a trade that’s in …
By Sen. Angus S. King Jr. This week, we celebrate one of Maine’s most famous residents — and no, I’m not talking about Stephen King or the couple who say “buttery flaky crust” in the Dysart’s commercial. Actually, this week marks National Lobster Day, when we celebrate not only our favorite crustacean, but all the …
By Rep. Nicole Grohoski Last Friday, Sept. 20, people of all ages took to the streets worldwide to call for immediate and significant action to curb our climate change crisis. Right here in Hancock County, we had three climate strikes, including one on the Union River Bridge in Ellsworth. Around 70 people stood together here …
By Sen. Angus S. King Jr. This week, we celebrate one of Maine’s most famous residents — and no, I’m not talking about Stephen King or the couple who say “buttery flaky crust” in the Dysart’s commercial. Actually, this week marks National Lobster Day, when we celebrate not only our favorite crustacean, but all the …
By Sen. Susan M. Collins Earlier this year, The Jackson Laboratory announced it will increase wages and hire 300 more workers by 2020. This exciting plan by the Bar Harbor-based scientific institution demonstrates the tremendous benefits of biomedical research in both improving human health and growing Maine’s economy. Biomedical research has the power to transform …
A recent survey done by The Wall Street Journal and NBC revealed some very disheartening statistics regarding our millennial generation. They apparently lack an understanding of our history and it is exhibited in their values or in the lack of them. Let me explain the outlook of two age groups and a perspective of their …
Governor Mills called a special session last month to consider bond issues. The four bond proposals she submitted were largely a rework of a single $239-million package that we considered last June. Bonds approved by the Legislature would then be considered by voters in November, with voter-approved bonds to be sold in June of 2020. …
I was on my hands and knees in the dirt with a trowel in my hand when it happened. While upending newly sprouted weeds with unknown names in the flower garden bed, I looked beside me at the lawn just out of its winter torpor. All at once, I saw what I’d never seen before: …
I’ve read a lot about Maine, but the book that taught me most about the state is “Liberty Men and Great Proprietors: The Revolutionary Settlement on the Maine Frontier, 1760-1820.” It was written by Alan Taylor, a prominent historian of early America and the Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia, with two Pulitzers …
