Dear Sally: I know you’re literally just a (big) puppy, don’t respond when called, and can’t read. But please sniff out something for your owner: the Fort Williams Park unleashed dog area map that’s on the town website. This morning we were near the overlook where the lobster food truck is located in the summer. […]

Brunswick students joined other young Mainers on March 15, to demonstrate their support for prompt action on climate change that threatens their present as well as their futures. This was their way of showing their political will, asking their local, state and national governments to work towards a solution. Those of us long past those […]

Bath has a Special Election April 2 for state representative. It’s important to get out and vote for Democrat Sean Paulhus. A native of Bath, Sean has served as the Ward 2 City Councilor since November 2008, and as the council’s vice chairman the last three years. Sean’s experience at the Statehouse includes sergeant-at-arms for […]

Donald Trump and his followers are all “fascists” and all Democrats are “socialists.” Neither is true, but in post-truth America just saying so makes it so. “America was founded on liberty and independence,” Trump said in his State of the Union address, “and not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free and we […]

If you’re considering committing a murder in Maine, you should act quickly. Pulling the trigger before the state decides to hire a new chief medical examiner means your case will be investigated by Maine’s current M.E., Dr. Mark Flomenbaum, whose resume is something of a defense attorney’s dream. Flomenbaum has been in the news lately […]

This year, the long-anticipated spring season comes in with a bang. After a winter of discontent, as Shakespeare might have described the all-around miserable Maine winter of 2018-2019, the spring equinox finally bursts forth March 20, with a full moon no less. Not only that, it’s a rare super moon, with the moon appearing larger […]

This week, I watched the tragedy in New Zealand unfold; yet more violence committed in the name of “white supremacy.” I watched the tally update the statistics of mass shootings, showing yet again the plain reality that the overwhelming majority are carried out by white men. Here at home, I heard some ugly, ugly words […]

Three people overdosed in the last 30 days. Two of them died and one will have lifelong effects. They were all connected to Falmouth in some way. That’s how Falmouth Town Manager Nathan Poore introduced a public forum last week on addiction and opioid misuse. The drug crisis has reached epic proportions in the state […]

Over the last couple of years, Falmouth has experienced an intensified period of dealing with issues brought on by residential growth and large commercial projects. These topics, which can be contentious anywhere, have proved very concerning to Falmouth residents and to the Town Council. Recognizing all parties’ dissatisfaction with the process and outcomes of decisions […]

This is the final column in the series I’ve been writing with Melea Nalli, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, about the Portland Public Schools’ seven Core Beliefs about Learning. To recap, our first six Learning Beliefs are: • All learners can rise to high expectations. • Learners have different strengths, needs and starting points, […]