Maine is not living up to the state law that requires regular inspections of the nearly 100 dams in the state classified as hazardous for their potential to take lives or sweep away buildings, roads and bridges. The state has 93 such dams from Limestone to Sanford. Of those, the state classifies 24 as “high […]
Maine
Posted inOur View
Dam safety an obligation, not a choice
The basic job of government is to protect its citizens from threats to their health and safety. When it comes to protecting us from the potential danger of high-risk dams, the state of Maine is not only failing miserably but is in flagrant violation of its own law. As a story today by the Maine […]
advertisement
Posted inOur View
Unemployment came, stayed and just won’t leave
For millions of Americans it is, indeed, a summer of discontent. Sinking stocks, stalled housing, a slowing economy and a Congress paralyzed by partisanship and radically different visions of the future. But the real toll of this recession is heard in the anguished voices of unemployed Americans, people who want to work but are simply […]
Posted inMaine
Audit finds nonprofit unprepared for energy grant
AUGUSTA — A state audit has found that the agency in charge of all of the state’s energy programs gave a $3 million grant to a startup nonprofit that was incapable of taking on the responsibility of the contract. And while the audit found no misuse of funds, it concluded that Efficiency Maine Trust should […]
Posted inMaine
Committee delays leak probe
Last week, lawmakers on the Government Oversight Committee were outraged to learn that information from a draft audit on the Maine Green Energy Alliance had been leaked to the press. At the committee’s Monday meeting, lawmakers decided to postpone any further action on the leak until they question Maine Green Energy Alliance and Efficiency Maine […]
Posted inLocal Sports
College football: Nash getting in line
ORONO — Doug Nash was finding the concepts and theories of chemical engineering difficult to grasp, so he switched his major at the University of Maine to a no less complicated but more hands-on major, mechanical engineering. Nash switched majors on the football field last year, too, moving from the defensive line to the offensive […]
Posted inLocal Sports
College football: Pellerin where he always wanted to be
ORONO —While he was terrorizing opponents on both sides of the ball and leading Leavitt to a state championship in 2009, Matt Pellerin attracted the attention of a number of Division II and III schools, including Bates, Plymouth State and Maine Maritime. Pellerin wanted desperately to catch the eye of the University of Maine, but […]
Posted inLocal Sports
It’s tricky business managing salmon
Most Maine fisheries biologists concede that there is a social/political dimension to managing sport fish. They often walk a fine line between doing what they think is right and trying to please sport fishermen. Managing the ever-popular landlocked salmon, for example, is tricky business. Everything is not always as it seems. In trying to please […]
Posted inOur View
Open-carry puts shoppers on edge
Shoppers at Best Buy in Auburn Sunday may have seen a young man in a black T-shirt, hat, sunglasses and camouflage pants. But what really set him apart from other shoppers was the large handgun strapped to his hip. As Mainers, of course, we realize citizens have the right to carry their firearms openly in […]
Posted inOp-Eds
We have to pay up if we want safe roads, bridges
There are many issues concerning Maine’s substandard transportation system, but it mostly comes down to money. Maine struggles with a large network of state roads, at least a quarter of which have never been brought up to standard. David Bernhardt, a career engineer at the Department of Transportation, was Gov. Paul LePage’s surprise choice as […]