Using many of the same tired tropes that the NRA and gun enthusiasts use as straw men arguments, John Balentine doesn’t propose anything new, but rehashes the same arguments that have enabled mass shooters to easily acquire the weapon of choice of mass shooters everywhere. Unfortunately “everywhere” pretty much only applies to the U.S., as […]

Maine has become a foodie Mecca, so it is no surprise that once again a large contingent of Maine chefs and restaurants have been nominated for James Beard Foundation Awards, the Pulitzer Prize of the culinary world. Last year there were nine nominees, this year 11. My favorite among this year’s candidates is Cara Stadler, […]

David Creech, the beloved principal of Scarborough High School, has recently announced his resignation, although many believe it was against his will. After five years of supporting his students, teachers, parents, and community, it is completely unlike him to voluntarily say goodbye to a school and community he cares so much about. Creech’s hiring was […]

Senseless acts of violence are difficult for everyone to understand. Our schools in the United States have experienced shootings for far too long. I remember the University of Texas tower shooting on Aug. 1, 1966, that resulted in the deaths of 17 people. Now another 17 lives have been lost in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. […]

As a proud graduate of School Administrative District 51, I implore my alma mater to be quick to stand for the coming marches for support of gun control. Far too many lives have been lost to mass shootings targeting schools not unlike Greely High School. Greely, however, unlike many schools, is one with a student […]

Senseless acts of violence are difficult for everyone to understand. Our schools in the United States have experienced shootings for far too long. I remember the University of Texas tower shooting on Aug. 1, 1966, that resulted in the deaths of 17 people. Now another 17 lives have been lost in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. […]

Last week I was so exercised that I wrote three entire Universal Notebook columns and could have written six. So to get a few things off my chest and clear my desktop, I have decided to combine them into one concentrated gripe session. Gripe 1: While watching the PyeongChang Olympics I saw an interview with […]

“For every complex problem,” H.L. Mencken wrote, “there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” Take property taxes. They’re too high because the state has never adequately addressed education funding, because homeowners must bear most of the cost of county government, and because, since the current administration took office in Augusta, municipal revenue […]

Gone are the days when the biggest worry a school kid had was getting beat up by a big, bad school bully. Today’s kids face worse than a black eye or sucker punch; they face death at the hands of a school shooter. Attackers, usually students themselves, are the ultimate school bully. And it’s not […]