Alex Lear
A Maine native and Colby College graduate, Alex has been covering coastal communities since 2001. He lives in the Portland area with his wife Lauren, 4-year-old daughter Alaina, and 7-year-old bulldog Walter. He has released four CDs of original music and does occasional research work for Marvel Comics' collected editions.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Carol Pesti: Avoid tobacco industry’s deadly products
Maine in 2017 had the sixth-highest rate of tobacco-related cancer cases in the U.S., and the 11th highest rate of tobacco-related deaths nationwide. The tobacco industry has been preying on our kids, communities of color, the LGBTQ community, rural communities, and lower income humans for generations. The adult tobacco use rates in Maine are higher […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Leonard Pitts: Times these days when you simply must close your mind
I miss the days when it was possible to have a thoughtful debate on a substantive matter with a political opposite. The loss of that offers superfluous evidence that we have become a people without common goals, common facts and thus, common ground.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Bob Neal: The Countryman: Show us what you’re doing
Accountability arises from transparency. Only if we can see what government is doing for and to us can we have accountability and then justice.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Auburn Conservation Commission: Thanks for cleanup of parks, neighborhoods
The Auburn Conservation Commission would like to send a huge shout-out of thanks to the more than 40 people who showed up April 24 to help clean up parks and neighborhoods in Auburn. They gave several hours on a beautiful morning to help this community shine. They rolled up their sleeves, wrangled their pickers, thrashed […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Cal Thomas: Virginia flunks math
Instead of elevating students to standards that would help them achieve more in life, we lower those standards, sending a message that underachievement is OK.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Froma Harrop: Do population changes help red America or blue America?
Do these population changes also alter the states’ politics? In many cases, yes, and that generally does not bode well for Republicans. Texas, for example, voted for Donald Trump in 2020, but many of its urban areas did not — and those are the parts of Texas booming with transplants from outside the state.
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Harold Savage: Police need support from citizens
I assume or hope most of us are tired of the police being criticized no matter what they do or don’t do. Those who want the police defunded or eliminated should maybe move somewhere that has no law enforcement, and see how that works for them. And who will they call whenever they need what […]
Posted inLetters, Opinion
Deanne Danforth: ‘Our Republican friends have become unhinged’
I saw a sign that said “Has anyone thought to unplug America and plug it back in?” Since Trump lost the election our Republican friends have become unhinged. They’ve forgotten America’s Constitution gives people the right to assemble in protest. Some states are changing laws to take away that First Amendment right. North Dakota, North […]