The Maine Department of Transportation’s plan to outsource the operation and maintenance of the Casco Bay Bridge to a private, Florida-based company represents an unprecedented policy shift that could have serious implications. The department announced this major policy change suddenly during the holiday week without notice to, or oversight from, the Legislature’s Transportation Committee that […]

President Obama and members of his administration assure us we have nothing to fear when it comes to terrorism. Whether you accept this, or not — and opinion polls show a majority do not — there is another fear that in large part is behind the phenomenon known as Donald Trump. It is the fear […]

A strange thing happened the other day in Washington, D.C.: Marco Rubio actually showed up for work. Without needing MapQuest he found his way to the Senate floor. He even remembered where his seat was. These days a Rubio sighting in the Capitol is rare, the birdwatcher’s equivalent of spotting a blue-footed booby. Like all […]

WASHINGTON — At year’s end, I want to offer a word to my conservative and libertarian readers whose patience I try regularly. Perhaps you read me to have someone to yell at, or in search of evidence for how dumb liberals can be. No matter. I’m glad you’re there. I am not someone who believes […]

WASHINGTON — When the federal government’s 1980 “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” warned about the baleful effects of saturated fats, public interest activists joined the fight and managed to persuade major food companies to switch to the shiny new alternative: trans fats. Thirty-five years later, the Food and Drug Administration finally determined that trans fats are […]

There have been theories put forth about the result of the recent mayoral election in Lewiston. Some find fault with Lewiston for that result. They miss the point. The outcome no more supported the status quo of negative leadership than it rejected the possibility of positive leadership. The current political theory is that if you […]

In response to a new report by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, the debate about welfare recipients purchasing lottery with their benefits has been reignited. Last year (and the year before) proposals to implement that ban came before the Legislature. In the Senate, the bill sponsored by Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Waldo, had […]

The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View: In 2016, voters in Washington will get the chance to enact the first state carbon tax. To make sure they provide a good example for the other 49, they should adopt the smartest policy with the broadest bipartisan appeal: a revenue-neutral tax. Carbon Washington, an organization that has […]

Ask pretty much anyone and they’ll tell you: Americans are undersaving for retirement. It’s not just thought to be a few households falling through the cracks. Rather, there’s a perception that, after a “golden age” of traditional pensions that lasted from World War II until about 1970, most Americans won’t have nearly enough income in […]