To the Editor: It has been said that most citizens vote “with their wallet”. It’s also well known that Mainers tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Balancing those objectives is probably very tricky at best. How can we provide for our citizens and not spend more? If you take one look at the […]

To the Editor: If you smoke, dip, vape, or like a cigar or pipe now and then, get ready for some big changes if politicians have their way in Augusta. Lawmakers are proposing a ban on tobacco with flavors. That means people who like their wintergreen snuff, menthol cigarettes, vanilla pipe tobacco, or flavored vapes […]

To the Editor: With utility rates skyrocketing, many Mainers are struggling to keep the heat and lights on. Unfortunately, LD 318, “An Act to Provide More Options to Maine Electric Service Customers and Support Maine’s Climate Goals,” passed through the Maine Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee and will be voted on this week. The bill […]

To the Editor: Governor Mills is standing up for the middle class and businesses when she uses the budget surplus to provide 850-dollar checks to about 800,000 Mainers.  The effect on Maine’s economy will be much more than that original 680-million-dollar boost, calculated using an economic multiplier effect model. Governor Mills sends that 680 million […]

To the Editor: Today, tobacco-related diseases are the number one cause of death in the African American community. With nearly nine in ten African American smokers using menthol cigarettes, it is clear that Big Tobacco designed this addiction. For decades big tobacco companies have aggressively targeted minorities with menthol cigarettes. Identifying and profiling African American […]

To the Editor: We are aware of the recent court decision regarding the suppression of evidence in a traffic stop conducted by Cpl. John Darcy in 2019. It is with great disappointment we learn of how this has been interpreted by some as a ruling that Cpl. Darcy engaged in racial profiling or that we […]

To the Editor: I’m a Maine voter and a resident of Auburn. I’m urging Rep. Jared Golden to support the Build Back Better legislation through the reconciliation process. Rep. Golden has stated Medicare expansion with coverage for dental, vision and hearing “has merit” but “relies on budget gimmicks” that might endanger Medicare. This is the […]

To the Editor: To prevent further spread of the coronavirus, we should require everyone to get fully vaccinated, (including a possible third dose,)–unless exempted by a sincerely held religious belief or medical condition.  We should write to our legislators and executives at all levels of government. Alvin Blake Bangor

To the Editor: Two recent columns poorly misrepresent both the science and the global consensus that wood bioenergy is a key part of the solution to achieving net-zero carbon emissions, and addressing the climate crisis. Contrary to the authors’ claims, leading climate science authorities and government bodies such as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate […]