“There is a lesson here for Americans,”writes Columnist Marvin Ott this week. “Brexit is the product of inept government and a populace animated by illusions, division and diminished self-confidence. None of this was necessary or inevitable; it is a self-inflicted wound.”
The editorial board weighs in on the search for city manager: According to the city charter, a city manager “must be appointed solely on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications” and that, with council consent, the city manager may serve as the head of one or more departments “provided there is no incompatibility of office.” Should the city police chief report to his or herself as city manager? Are the positions compatible? Can they effectively be performed at the same time long-term?
Those are questions that demand thorough public vetting. The council should initiate the discussion before negotiating to hire someone for a role the community has not indicated it wants.
Dear Editor: The latest political fiasco when 18 Republican states presented a petition to the Supreme Court to overthrow a certified election ended when the Supreme Court voted 9-0 to throw it out. Once again the rule of law wins, and it must infuriate Trump that the justices he added to the court did not …
Dear Editor: It is not so much the name of a fort or base as it is the place of honor where so many veterans served and either later died in battle, or the place that holds special meaning as it does to me. The survivors of those who went before such as the 82nd …
Dear Editor: I thought we were done with the 2021 presidential election, but apparently not. Of course, none of the current mythological absurdities occurred to overturn the 2016 presidential election, which Hilary [Clinton] lost in the Electoral College vote but not the popular vote. But now, despite many voting recounts (Georgia had three, others had …
Dear Editor: Tired of complaining about your internet? It’s time to do something about it! The Maine Broadband Coalition, in partnership with AARP Maine and others, has launched the “Get Up to Speed” initiative to aid broadband expansion efforts in Maine. Did you know that Maine is ranked as the 43rd state in the United …
Dear Editor: The craziness surrounding the presidential election can lead us to make a clear choice between accepting our divided nation (as it is at present) or we can resist this and make our voices heard through writing, phone calls and by being informed citizens — by educating ourselves surrounding the challenges our country faces. …
Dear Editor: In the weeks that have followed the November presidential election, we have watched and listened as an astonishing array of Republican members of the United States Senate and House have demonstrated their remarkable — but oh so predictable — lack of courage in supporting Donald Trump’s ongoing demands to find some way to …
Dear Editor: As the pandemic continues to ravage the country, now is the time for Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to support federal funding for cultured-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultured meat is grown from cells. Since animals are removed from the process, the risk of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 making the …
Dear Editor: I assumed that the headline “President Trump’s positive impact on America should not be overlooked” promised satire. Instead, I found a wrong-headed, unintentionally comic essay that made me wonder what planet Phil Grant has been living on. He is, of course, entitled to his own opinions but not to his own facts. He …
By Durin Chappe Recently, while superintending my daughter’s remote schooling from our sunroom, I glanced over her shoulder at the adjacent blueberry field as two bright orange-clad figures ambled across it and into the woods. These were my parents, beginning a walk that they had announced to me earlier. In addition to blueberries, the land …
Dear Editor: The debate has started again as to whether the U.S. Constitution should be amended in order to change the presidential election process. Some promote eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a direct popular vote for president while others believe the Electoral College should remain unchanged. Just as compromise solved the initial problems …
