Maine is one of four states with a billboard law that passed in 1979 and survived significant court challenges. In fact, Maine was second after Vermont to enact such legislation with the intent to protect Maine’s scenic character, highway safety, support the economic benefits of tourism and the unique culture of the state. Unfortunately, there […]

The time is now to support the South Portland High School. I do not want the value of our house to decrease because we have not maintained our schools. I would rather pay a tax increase than see a 5 percent to 10 percent devaluation in our property values – a much larger amount of money […]

Liberal and conservative politicians have spent the last 12-plus months blaming each other for the economic woes our nation is currently facing. Overlapping power/majority rule gives each group the ability make the same general argument on a national level. This is not true in the state of Maine. For the last eight-plus years, fiscally liberal […]

I would like to applaud the efforts of Sen. Larry Bliss in help overcoming a major issue with the state liquor laws. After taking over ownership of The Thomas Room, now called Events on Broadway, due to a limited category of licensing available for caterers and banquet facilities, the one license that best suited our […]

Now that news has become a form of satirical entertainment, it’s not surprising to find some of the most profound insights into world affairs turning up as jokes on “The Colbert Report,” “The Daily Show” and “Weekend Update” on “Saturday Night Live.” On SNL last week, for instance, faux-news anchor Seth Meyer reported that Iranian […]

I wasn’t particularly unhappy with the way that we have been voting in Portland. I was comfortable with the idea of each person having one vote. It is a relatively simple, straightforward, workable way to express a preference. One that has stood the test of time. I was unhappy that our directly elected, supposedly nonpartisan […]

The other day, I got a call from the high school nurse. My daughter, Ophelia, needed to be picked up. Apparently, her symptoms indicated that she may have suffered a concussion. Nausea, lightheadedness, trouble focusing on her work. How might this have happened, the school nurse inquired? It was a reach, but I interjected that […]

When I became a member of Congress a little over two years ago, our country faced some massive challenges: the worst economic recession in our lifetime, a federal budget that had gone from surplus to historic deficit in the previous eight years, two wars and soaring health-care costs. It has been a challenging time to […]

I urge the voters to bring more new faces to the Scarborough Town Council. I’m a strong advocate of recycling – except when we’re talking about town councilors. Consequently, Kerry Corthell and Iver Carlsen are going to receive my votes. If you want a more transparent town government, then vote for people who listen well, […]

It’s well known that Maine is in the highest tier for tax burden, and the lowest tier for business friendliness. Clearly, we face an unsustainable future. This is the consequence of the stifling policies and over-regulation of a Democrat majority that has ruled the state for 35 years. They have overburdened a vibrant resource based […]