Here’s a test. You are a developer looking to do a big project in Portland. Who do you talk to?

The city manager? He’s important, but he is an administrator, not a policy maker.

The mayor? You should probably give him a call, but realize that he has another full-time job and won’t be able to put much energy into your proposal. Plus, take a good look at the calendar because the mayor’s term starts in January and effectively runs out of steam around Election Day.

We do not support Question 4, which would change the city charter to allow noncitizens to vote in local races. We are sympathetic to those who say that immigrants, who make up an increasing part of the city’s population, should play a bigger role in civic life. But there are ways that they can do […]

Democrats and Republicans should learn a lesson from the recent political exchange.

Maine Mental Health Partners are creating a system where fewer will fall through the cracks.

A federal improvement grant is making the once low-performing school a model for others.

The old movie palace’s revival will complement an up-and-coming neighborhood.

Maine’s top public health official has given the green light to so-called “smart meters,” the electricity-use measuring devices that are being installed by Central Maine Power Co. as part of its grid modernization program.

But if you think that will be the end of opposition to the program, think again. In this era when every threat is magnified by someone, and every side of an argument has its own set of facts, don’t expect anything to die down quickly.

A single judge in California and a dysfunctional Congress has put the Obama administration in the bizarre position of fighting in court to maintain a law the president wants repealed.

But following a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips that orders the military to immediately end its ban on openly gay troops, the administration has little choice: Appeal to keep the ban in place while Congress and the Pentagon work through a change of policy, or let the ruling stand and let one judge make law.

The state’s investment in energy efficiency has earned it a spot in the nation’s top 10.