February 2012
License to drive
PORTLAND If teenagers think it’s tough to get a driver’s license now, just wait. Maine’s secretary of state is developing new rules that would make it harder and more time- consuming for young drivers to get their licenses. Some of the rules could be in place by the end of March. Drivers between 16 and […]
Cody Swiger Wells
BATH — Cody Swiger Wells, 17, of South Street died Sunday, February 19. He was born in Portland on February 9, 1995, a son of Cynthia J. Swiger and Michael E. Wells. He attended Lisbon schools and Morse High School. He enjoyed drawing, spending time with his girlfriend Mariah and looked forward to enlisting in […]
Patrick J. Vaillancourt
BOWDOINHAM — Patrick J. Vaillancourt, 78, of Post Road died Monday, February 20, 2012 at his grandson’s home. He was born in Fort Fairfield on June 26, 1933, a son of Anthony Smart and Clara Vaillancourt. He attended North Primary and Morse High School. He served in the U. S. Army and in 1948 his […]
Doris May Bailey
BRUNSWICK — Doris Mary Bailey, 83, passed away Saturday, February 18, 2012 at Horizons Living Center. She was born in Greenville on November 26, 1928, the daughter of George and Gertrude Raymond Libby. She graduated from Greenville High School in the class of 1946 and from Maine General School of Nursing in Portland, Maine in […]
Wisdom From the Dept. of Words Better Left Unsaid
Ten entries from the Department of Words Better Left Unsaid, uttered by recent presidents, vice presidents, spouses and White House wannabes. —“My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” President Ronald Reagan, joking in 1984 about bombing the Soviet […]
Time to level the unlevel playing field
Local businesses have a hard time competing with online retailers, and not all of that competition is fair. Online companies like Amazon have built-in advantages that come with high volumes and can negotiate better prices with wholesale suppliers. But they also don’t have to collect sales tax in states in which they don’t have a […]
The welfare rhetoric paradox
First Atlas shrugged. Then he scratched his head in befuddlement. Modern Republicans are very, very conservative; you might even (if you were Mitt Romney) say, severely conservative. Political scientists who use congressional votes to measure such things find that the current GOP majority is the most conservative since 1879, which is as far back as […]