The Trump administration ruled on Friday that animals raised for food under the “USDA Organic” label need not be treated any less cruelly than those in conventional farming. The decision reverses years of U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, which held that the “organic” label should impose minimal ethical, health, and environmental standards. For the animals, […]

By Ken Frederic Monday is a special day for nearly all Americans. Seventy percent of Americans identify as Christians, but barely more than half of those attend church regularly. Even so, nearly all Americans celebrate Christmas by decorating their homes, shopping for and giving gifts, and gathering with family and friends. Christmas is a busy […]

By Don Loprieno Most of us like some kind of sports by either following them, participating in them or both. Whatever ones we prefer, we expect that players or teams be more or less evenly matched in terms of skill and equipment. We’d protest, for instance, if the tennis players we were rooting for were […]

With Congressional Republicans rushing to place a new tax bill on President’s Trump’s desk before Christmas, here comes the respected British publication, The Guardian, suggesting a new source of tax revenue – meat. Yes, a tax on meat, to beat the health and climate crises. The concept is hardly radical. We already pay taxes on […]

I am a progressive elderly white guy, recently moved to Bath, who is dismayed by many of the actions of President Trump and the Republican Congress. Here’s a partial list: • Abandoning a commitment to renewable energy and denying man-made climate change, thus endangering future generations; • Promoting income and wealth inequality through tax legislation […]

All of us here at Tri-County Literacy would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s Candy Cane Festival such a success. Thanks to the creativity and hard work of our staff, our board, and more than 100 volunteers, the Dec. 9 event enjoyed a strong turnout, despite wintry weather. We are very grateful […]

Ever wonder where certain Christmas traditions come from?

Bravo for your excellent opinion pieces last week on the morally bankrupt Republican tax bill which benefits the wealthy and the corporations at the expense of the average American tax payer. This absurd policy on top of the recent bloated Pentagon budget should be a call for action to oppose the escalating militarization of this […]

Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, a non-profit organization based at the University of Southern Maine, completed a new report that estimates the current economic value of the bay.

President Roosevelt wanted a Christmas tree from the site of America’s first Christmas, and he got one from a tiny island on the St. Croix River in Maine.