NEW YORK (AP) — One day, finding an oven that just cooks food may be as tough as buying a TV that merely lets you change channels. Internet-connected “smarts” are creeping into cars, refrigerators, thermostats, toys and just about everything else in your home. CES 2019, the gadget show opening Tuesday in Las Vegas, will […]
Perspective
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
Sports betting isn't as easy as you think it is
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Wanna bet on sports? First, make sure you know what you’re doing — and the odds against you. Seven U.S. states now offer legal sports gambling, and as many as 30 more will consider jumping on board in 2019. So here are some of the basics — as well as […]
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Posted inPerspective, sj-web
The 11 most consequential political trends of 2018
President Donald Trump again dominated 2018 politics, but the year was also notable for what happened, what didn’t happen and what it could all mean in 2019. Here’s The Washington Post’s list of the political trends that defined the year in politics: 1) Trump’s mounting falsehoods Trump’s false or misleading claims more than tripled during […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
The 'New' and 'Old' of the New Year’s Holiday
Mention the name “Maine” and there’s a lot that sets us apart. We’re the state closest to Europe. We’re the only one among the lower 48 that rubs elbows with only one other. In recent months we have been showered daily reminders that we are the only jurisdiction to use Ranked Choice Voting on either […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Perspective, sj-web
Donald Trump 'dynamited the institution of the presidency' in 2018
President Donald Trump crosses his arms after speaking with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the phone about a trade agreement between the United States and Mexico, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON — Mr. Trump went to Washington. And he changed it. […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
At Olive Garden's parent, wage costs crash the party
An upbeat U.S. economy has been good to the restaurant industry in many ways. Strong consumer sentiment has helped keep average checks growing, as diners shrug off price increases and splurge on bigger orders, and prevented industrywide traffic from falling off a cliff. But the healthy economic environment comes with a downside for dining behemoths […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
Analysis: Politicians caused pay 'collapse' for bottom 90 percent of workers
Political decisions by elected officials are largely responsible for a “collapse in pay for the bottom 90 percent” of the labor market since 1979, according to a new analysis of wage stagnation by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. While many economists pin much of the blame for wage stagnation on impersonal market […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
Internet ecosystem needs a complete overhaul to be cybersecure
WASHINGTON — It will take a very long time and a gargantuan effort before the technology Americans rely on is safe from hackers, according to a report from a congressional panel that has spent five years in the cybersecurity trenches. The strategy document released Dec. 7 from the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations panel […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
Five myths about climate change
The Fourth National Climate Assessment- the work of 13 federal agencies and more than 350 scientists, including myself – is clear: The Earth is warming faster than at any time in human history, and we’re the ones causing it. Climate change is already affecting people, and the more carbon we produce, the more dangerous the […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
Climate change needs action not denial
The federal government’s Fourth National Climate Assessment, released the day after Thanksgiving, puts an exclamation point to what most of us already knew. This country (not to mention the rest of the world) faces an existential threat from climate change that is far more grave than North Korean nukes, unfair Chinese trade practices, Russian-cyber meddling […]