The Associated Press, in the Nov. 29 Portland Press Herald (“Baldacci remembers meeting with Castro as comically ‘surreal,’ ” Page B2), quotes former Gov. John Baldacci referring to Fidel Castro as being responsible for “reprehensible, atrocious and tragic actions.” I wonder how Baldacci would compare all of Castro’s “actions” with, say, the needless dropping by […]

On Nov. 23, Bob Walker, President-elect Donald Trump’s senior adviser on issues relating to NASA, said the new administration would eliminate all climate change research conducted by NASA as part of a crackdown on “politicized science.” The $1.1 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, passed by the Republican-dominated 114th Congress, had already taken steps to […]

Since the election, I know that at least some Donald Trump supporters have resented being called “racist,” “bigoted,” “misogynist,” “bullies,” “homophobic,” etc., saying that they did not support those parts of Trump’s platform. For those of you who fall into that category, I have a request: Please join us in taking action. By “us,” I […]

I have to echo Mayor Ethan Strimling’s concern about the Portland City Council’s proposal (which was recently approved) to sell a lot to CPB2 for $400,000, rather than the $900,000 it’s appraised at. As a longtime Realtor, I’m used to properties selling at a discount because there is work that needs to be done. But […]

Whatever the merits of the discord over City Council process, Mayor Ethan Strimling is correct that the city of Portland could have gotten a better price for the sale of its lot to the developers of the Portland Co. project next door. Consider the following example: Suppose you own a 10-acre parcel of farmland. Farms […]