I encourage all South Portland residents to vote in favor of the high school bond on Nov. 2. This critical issue is at the forefront with good reason — never has so much rested on one vote. Please vote “yes.”

The high school is at risk of losing its accreditation and the city cannot delay renovations any longer; we are in the 11th hour and this is it. A main reason we pay taxes is to educate our children so they can get a good job in the future.

It is a waste of all taxpayers’ money if students cannot use their education to get a good job. Not only is this the right thing to do, but the best way to ensure that home values stop falling. Home prices will continue to fall without an accredited high school.

If you don’t think this is true, review recent housing prices alongside employment prospects for high school graduates.

It is very hard to get a good job without a college education, and nearly impossible to get a college education without graduating from an accredited high school.

The conversation at this late date is not about whether this is the right plan (given low interest rates and construction costs), but whether we are about to doom a generation of students to a life with fewer options.

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Never in our history would a South Portland education or our home values be worth less if this does not pass. Every South Portland resident who votes “no” on this issue is denying a generation the right to a valuable education — a value that all other South Portland graduates have.

Many Maine schools have spent too long on probation or lost their accreditation. Don’t fool yourself into believing it couldn’t happen to us.

Erin O’Connor Jones

South Portland

 

The time is now to support the South Portland High School!

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I do not want the value of our house to decrease because we have not maintained our schools. I would rather pay a tax increase than see a 5 percent or 10 percent devaluation in our property values. That much reduction in my house value is a much larger amount of money than the actual tax increase.

People move to communities because they are strong and vibrant. Strong schools build these strong communities. Whether you have children or not, we all want to feel proud of where we live.

Look at our wonderful elementary schools. They are now full because families chose to move to these strong neighborhood communities.

I love seeing all these children walking to school each day. People will continue to move here when they see that South Portland citizens care about the high school as well.

We build this community one family at a time. Have pride in our great city.

Vote “yes” on the high school bond question on Nov. 2.

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Margaret Donahue

South Portland

 

Columnist stuck on theme he applies to everything

 

I enjoy your selection of syndicated columnists on your Commentary page. And I am pleased to see someone else has an opinion of Leonard Pitts that agrees with mine.

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Donna Fenton was right on the ball when she wrote that Mr. Pitts was an angry liberal black man. His column seems to be continually criticizing anything he thinks is racist, and he thinks a lot of things meet that definition.

He can make just about any subject have a theme he perceives as evidence of racism. It is quite a talent that he has. I wish he would put his talent toward better ideas that would promote peace and harmony.

Richard G. Lamb

Springvale

 

Mick Devin would do well on coastal issues in Augusta

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Having read in the local press about the deterioration of the Wiscasset waterfront, and living in Edgecomb, which has no public access at all to either of the two rivers, one of my most pressing political issues is not just the preservation but the restoration of working waterfronts along our 3,500 miles of saltwater coastline.

Therefore, I am writing in praise and encouragement of the Democratic candidate for state House District 51, Mick Devin.

He has been career Navy and is at present a commander in the Naval Reserves. He has experience in the seafood processing/marketing industries, serves on several boards devoted to aquaculture and is currently a marine biologist on the staff of the Darling Institute.

He takes a keen interest in the many issues involving the Maine fishing industry and the environmental health of our rivers, coves and bays.

He has the expertise to draft sensible, seriously considered legislation on behalf of these and other problems concerning Maine’s well-being. For instance, with sons who have or are passing through Lincoln Academy, he has deep concerns about the quality of Maine education at all levels.

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To that end, he is a coordinator for admissions from Maine to the U.S. Naval Academy and he mentors high schoolers applying to the academies.

With Mick Devin representing us, the midcoast region can expect to see solid progress on the economic and social matters that concern us all. Please vote for Mick Devin in the coming November election.

Jo Cameron

Edgecomb

 

President has a Cabinet, so why name all those czars?

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The Obama administration has a Cabinet of 15 secretaries who are subject to senatorial confirmation.

Among other duties, their responsibility to conduct activities within their department and to keep the president informed and carry out his policies.

What I do not understand is why there must be some 35-plus czars who are not subject to confirmation but apparently have substantial authority duplicating most, if not all, functions of the official Cabinet.

I am certain each of these czars also has assistants as well as secretarial help. It appears that the czars are a very expensive advisory duplication that should be terminated.

John Barritt

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Cape Elizabeth

 

Not building a megaberth continues string of failures

 

Regarding the megaberth: Here Portland goes again, doing things in half measures that almost always ensure their failure.

A pier that can be used to supply and make repairs on ships and afford access for first responders is a no-brainer. It seems that the decision-makers for Portland will make the wrong decision yet again.

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Everything should not be just about bringing people into the Old Port, as important as that is.

James Bruni

Portland

 


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