Gov. LePage’s predictable veto of the genius of home solar net-metering legislation disrespects both science and the majority vote of the Legislature. It should be overridden unanimously. Mainers who can’t afford solar will benefit in the long run, not lose money, because unlimited harvesting of solar power will make it more difficult for fossil fuel […]
Op-Eds
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Major media forget the silent majority
A few days before Bernie Sanders lost badly in the New York primary, 27,000 souls filled Washington Square Park, many wildly cheering him on. The political media consensus interpreted the scene as evidence of surging support for the senator from Vermont. It did not occur to them that: • The crowd almost certainly included many […]
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Saudi Arabia: Keep the devil you know
NEW YORK — Should the United States cut off its ties to Saudi Arabia? I’ve been a critic of Saudi Arabia for decades, but with all the problems, I think America is better off with the alliance than without. Congress might soon pass a bill that would allow individual Americans — relatives of those who […]
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Tubman an exemplary figure for the $20 bill
Harriet Tubman was literally a freedom fighter. The “Moses” of the Underground Railroad liberated herself and dozens of others from slavery over the years in a biopic-worthy life of bravery and idealism. She has now been selected to eventually replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, bumping him to the back in the worst defeat […]
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Real issue not always race-related
Dear white people: As you no doubt know, the water crisis in Flint, Mich., returned to the headlines last week with news that the state attorney general is charging three government officials for their alleged roles in the debacle. It makes this a convenient moment to deal with something that has irked me about the […]
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Poor school leadership may be fueling low teacher morale
The Auburn School Department appears to have a serious problem that goes beyond inadequate funding or aging buildings — low teacher morale. I’ll admit I don’t have rigorous empirical evidence to substantiate this hypothesis. Auburn’s school system is rather opaque to me, as I neither work for nor have children still enrolled in it, and […]
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April is Child Abuse Awareness Month
Child sexual abuse is any interaction between a child and an adult (or another child) in which the child is used for the sexual stimulation of the perpetrator or an observer. Sexual abuse can include both touching and non-touching behaviors. We can all agree that this is horrifying and most of us encourage children to […]
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Time has come to develop a new 20-year plan for Lewiston
More than 20 years ago, I wrote a three-part series for the old Lewiston Evening Journal about the development of Lewiston’s riverfront and downtown. The articles called for public theater, riverfront walkways, restaurants, galleries and quality housing on Lisbon Street. I proposed rehabilitating the old Lewiston Hardware building into a new courthouse and tearing down […]
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Ranked-choice voting for better elections
I will vote for the statewide ranked-choice voting ballot measure this November — even though, without a runoff system, I might have been elected mayor of Lewiston. I would rather lose a race in a good system, than win in a bad one. Ranked-choice voting for all of Maine is a simpler version of the […]
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Teacher contract issues can be solved
Due to the recent social media campaign by the Auburn Education Association, the Auburn School Committee feels compelled to fully inform the community regarding the ongoing teacher contract issues. Although labor negotiations are usually conducted in executive session and the School Committee has, to date, respected that process, negotiations have lasted more than a year. […]