On a recent Saturday, I had occasion to visit the Maine Medical Center Emergency Room at 11 p.m. It had been a couple of years since I had been there — and never on a Saturday night.

I was unprepared for a standing-room-only waiting room, bursting at the seams with folks from many cultures and different walks of life. The ER is a great equalizer; in that room there was no differentiation based on race or class.

Additional Photos

Maine Medical Center’'s 2009 expansion included the East Tower, at left, and a new Emergency Room, entrance shown at right. A reader says the ER is still too small. 2009 Press Herald file

We were united in our fear and pain. As people waited for hours, unlikely fleeting bonds developed between folks who under different circumstances would never have met.

My worry is that our city is urban and growing; this “new” emergency room is woefully inadequate for the numbers served.

There are simply not enough rooms for the number of sick or injured people, who are instead left in the waiting room unattended and in visible pain.

Because there was no room available, my episodes of tachycardia were not recorded, a potentially life-threatening situation.

MMC needs to once again expand its ER in order to care for us adequately.

Kathy Card

Portland

Defeat of Fort Williams fee a gift to all who love the park

I want to thank the residents of Cape Elizabeth for your extraordinary generousity in voting to keep the Portand Head Light and Fort Williams Park free to all.

You have a national treasure that delights your neighbors from surrounding communities as well as visitors from all over the world.

I gather that your lighthouse is visited by more people than any other lighthouse in the country!

Thank you for continuing to allow all of us to freely enjoy this very special place.

Gordon Clark

Yarmouth

Paul LePage’s candidacy viewed from two sides

Many political pundits view the current gubernatorial race as a contest between an extreme conservative and an extreme liberal, with an independent centrist in the mix.

But each candidate’s stand on issues is not always etched in black and white; there are shades of gray to be considered that should influence our vote.

I am convinced that Paul LePage has established a clear identity. He is running ostensibly as a conservative Republican, but his candidacy was made possible by the endorsement and efforts of the tea party movement. One has only to examine the Maine Republican Party platform to come to the conclusion that this extreme element’s bewildering values have tainted the present Republican Party.

If elected governor, LePage is committed to bringing the tea party’s self-absorbed agenda to the Blaine House with no prospect for compromise.

On the other hand, Libby Mitchell is unquestionably a liberal Democrat candidate, but her past record suggests that she has the fortitude and moral toughness to resist any pressure from extreme elements of her party. With Mitchell as governor, compromise is not only possible, but a certainty.

Eliot Cutler, a serious independent candidate, brings a formidable resume to the gubernatorial contest, but I question whether he would be able to govern effectively from the center with little or no support from a deeply divided Legislature.

Viewing this election strictly from an objective perspective, disregarding party affiliation and self-interests, it can only benefit all the people of Maine to elect Libby Mitchell as our next governor. In her capable hands lies the best hope for our future.

Sam Kamin

Cumberland

I wish to respond to Paul C. Trahan’s letter published June 19. He mentions three reasons why Paul LePage “scares” him. I wish to take issue with his view.

First, Paul LePage is a businessman. Who better than a successful businessman to run this state and make it profitable and encourage new businesses?

Maine’s tax structure does not encourage new businesses, and has driven many out of the state and out of the country. For example, pulp and paper industries, shoe industries and woolen mills. I could go on and on.

Second, LePage is a tea partier. What does Mr. Trahan have against the tea party movement? The tea partiers are only against big government and for lower taxes and fiscal responsibility.

Third, Paul LePage is a “creationist” — in other words, he is frightened of him because he is a Christian. I am proud to be a Christian.

Our country was founded on Christian principles. Our Constitution is based on freedom from the establishment of a particular religion.

I respect Mr. Trahan’s personal beliefs; however, apparently Mr. Trahan does not respect Paul LePage’s beliefs.

Paul LePage would make an honest governor.

Jack McLaughlin

Ocean Park

Online paper a blessing to former Portland resident

I am a former resident of Portland; all of my four children were born there and my family still lives within a 30- to 40-mile radius of the city.

Each morning I bring my coffee to my computer and read the Press Herald online. This is my “me time” to reflect back on the years that I lived in the city.

Both of my sons went to school there, the oldest as far as high school and the youngest to King Junior High.

My children are scattered all over the country now, with families of their own, but when we chat on the computer or on the phone we never fail to do some reflecting on their time in Portland and how they miss their friends and family.

It is such a blessing to have the Press Herald available online. It keeps me in touch with life at home and my family.

Jeane Fox

Summerville, S.C.

Weather Pets on website should be in paper, too

I think that the pets with the weather should be also in the paper daily, not just on the Internet. A lot of people would love it as much as seeing the children on the front page.

Dianne Tardy

Cape Elizabeth

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