Scott is a natural speaker in contrast to Biden’s often forced and condescending rhetoric. Scott believes in putting people, not government first. While he dazzled many in his address to the virtual Republican National Convention last summer, his response to the president’s speech has likely vaulted him to the top tier of national leadership. The African American community should especially take notice and follow his lead.

LD 1550, sponsored by Rep. Michele Meyer of Eliot, will finally end the sale of flavored tobacco products in Maine. It takes a giant step toward eliminating health disparities among Black and brown, indigenous, LGBTQ, and other marginalized communities. Getting flavored tobacco off the store shelves will give all Maine kids a fair shot at a healthy, productive future, free from tobacco addiction.

Evidence mounts that masks — plus hand-washing, plus social distancing — have slashed the flu death toll. In the 2019-2020 flu season, the U.S. saw 24,000 to 62,000 deaths from influenza. By contrast, the number of flu deaths this time was 500 as of April 1, and the season will be over at the end of the month. Thus, there may be a case for continuing to wear face masks in densely packed crowds, say, in airports or on public transportation.

I and many other Mainers have relatives and friends in countries around the world, and we can’t disconnect from those people. But when it comes to this pandemic, we’re all connected — and not just by our common humanity. None of us are safe until we’ve reached a worldwide critical mass of vaccination.

Requiring people to have a vaccination passport in order to travel, enter buildings, or move freely could restrict our constitutional rights to privacy, assembly, worship, and commerce. I have concerns about big government and big corporations that put their interests ahead of our own individual liberties.

City government, industry and environmentalists have worked for 50 years to improve the river’s quality. We are now petitioning the Department of Environmental Protection and Legislature to reclassify the river from the lowest class, C, up to Class B.

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.

Accountability arises from transparency. Only if we can see what government is doing for and to us can we have accountability and then justice.