The story of medicine’s progress against disease is told in two parallel tracks, one dealing with curing illnesses and the other with preventing them. Any public health professional will without hesitation say it is far better to prevent people from getting sick in the first place than to try to cure them afterward.

Questions about Darryl Brown’s eligibility to serve should be answered once and for all.

It’s easy enough for Gov. Paul LePage to dismiss criticism of his words and actions when the naysaying comes from the media and his political opponents.

The media are professional carpers, after all, and people who don’t like his policies can’t be expected to like anything else about him.