As reported on this week’s Waterfront page, a Stonington-based lobster buyer and shipper is building a good-sized processing plant in Bucksport. That operation will create many new jobs in a town that could use such a boost. Greenhead Lobster owner Hugh Reynolds is expanding the processing side of the business, which should be up and …
Ellsworth State Sen. Louie Luchini has submitted a bill, LD 245, to establish presidential primaries in Maine. It’s a good idea, though not a new one. A bill to replace party caucuses with presidential primaries was approved by both houses of the Legislature three years ago and signed by Governor Paul LePage. But that Legislature, …
The first round of testimony for and against the relicensing of Ellsworth’s hydroelectric dam at the base of Leonard Lake downtown and the storage dam at Graham Lake concluded in November. Additional filings and responses highlight the competing interests wishing to weigh in on the license that Black Bear Hydro Partners needs to continue operating …
Three years ago, $15 million in bonds was secured for senior housing and weatherization projects in rural Maine. Politics got in the way of releasing the money — which stood to be matched by federal funds of up to $22 million. But there’s a new sheriff in town. Governor Mills is releasing these funds. Developers …
Mainers traditionally have been high-ratio participants in local and national elections. Maybe it’s our small town roots and the ritual of annual town meetings. Maybe its plain civic pride — pride in citizenship and an embrace of our responsibility to participate in one of our most hallowed rights under the Constitution. A tri-partisan group of …
Falling enrollment in Maine high schools has had a predictable, but still upsetting, impact on team sports. Last fall, the coach of the Old Orchard Beach field hockey team announced the cancellation of the season. The reason: too few students had come out to play. Throughout Maine, high schools have been forced to drop or …
The rural nature of much of Maine remains one of its siren songs. Those woods and wide open spaces define Maine as a place for all to share and enjoy. A large portion of Hancock County lies within one of these undeveloped areas — the unorganized territories stretching along Route 9 to Washington County on …
It’s early days, way too soon to evaluate the performance of newly elected or re-elected legislators and members of Congress. So let us just say that it’s encouraging to have a former member of the armed forces representing our half of the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. Military veterans made up the majority …
A drive through rural Maine is relaxing and a little frightening. Relaxing because of the wealth of our state’s scenery inland and along the coast. Scary because of the number of older homes and farms sitting empty. The trend has accelerated over the past decade. The urban sprawl of the 1970s and ’80s — the …
Governor Janet Mills lost no time implementing the expansion of Medicaid. The week after assuming office, more than 500 low-income Mainers had been approved for health care coverage. The alacrity and decisiveness of her action at the very outset of her term bring to mind the legendary first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. …
