Hello, and welcome to Mainewhile. “What,” you are undoubtedly asking yourself, “is ‘Mainewhile’?” Mainewhile is an every-other-week exploration of life in these parts through a series of everyday moments. Politics, social happenings, arts and culture – or just a truly transcendent cup of coffee; all of this and more will be up for consideration and […]

In her Capitol Notebook column last week, Marian McCue made a compelling case that the ongoing problems at the Department of Health and Human Services under Gov. Paul LePage should be a key issue in the gubernatorial campaign. I agree if for no other reason than that former DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew, who helped create […]

As a clinical social worker, I am deeply concerned about the delays in the progress toward MaineCare expansion and the implications for the health of our communities. I work with people daily whose lives would dramatically improve if they had health care. Without insurance, some have to choose between eating or purchasing their diabetes or […]

Let’s suppose you’re one of those voter-suppression fanatics, looking for creative ways to stop people you don’t like from casting ballots in Maine. You could try requiring photo identification, but anybody can buy a decent fake ID on the internet, so that might not work. Fingerprint checks or retinal scans? That would require expensive equipment […]

Good riddance to the prospective buyer of Saddleback ski area in Rangeley, Sebastian Monsour, who once had the whole state excited about the resort’s reopening, but has instead left us feeling like dupes and dopes. An excellent piece of reporting by WCSH Channel 6 last week revealed that Monsour, who hails from Australia, was merely […]

Students who survived the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Valentine’s Day are telling us they don’t want other students to experience what they did. They created the #NeverAgain movement to advocate for stricter gun control, resulting in the National School Walkout March 14. Portland’s high school and middle school students […]

Residents of state Senate District 30 (Scarborough, Buxton and Gorham) have an opportunity this November to vote for a Democratic candidate, Dr. Linda Sanborn, who has dedicated her life to helping others, first for 25 years as a family doctor and later by serving four terms as a state representative. I have spent many hours […]

Residents of state Senate District 30 (Scarborough, Buxton and Gorham) have an opportunity this November to vote for a Democratic candidate, Dr. Linda Sanborn, who has dedicated her life to helping others, first for 25 years as a family doctor and later by serving four terms as a state representative. I have spent many hours […]

Although Al Diamon’s latest column (“Meet the New Boss”) is accurate in pointing out the potential danger independents Alan Caron and Terry Hayes pose to the eventual Democratic nominee, he’s way off base in assessing Adam Cote. For starters, if Diamon took the time to examine Cote’s positions on the issues, he’d find a progressive […]

I drive a lot, over a half million miles in the last 20 years, and it makes me realize how lucky we are to have the Falmouth Public Works Department. When the snow is pounding down and roads are getting buried, I find myself clutching my steering wheel and chanting to myself, “I just need […]