At its January 28th meeting, Portland’s Charter Commission voted 9-1 to let Portland residents consider revising the City Charter to employ Instant Runoff Voting, also called Rank Choice Voting, for mayor. With IRV, voters rank each candidate in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, then the candidate with the […]

Few would dispute that the labor movement in the United States has helped deliver safer working conditions, higher wages and generous benefits. Along with the GI Bill that enabled tens of thousands of veterans to pursue higher education, the unions have helped build the middle class. Despite that success, the union movement of today has […]

In these dire economic times, it’s easy for politicians to take the No New Taxes pledge. How could you possibly raise taxes when people are hurting, right? Wrong. A refusal to raise taxes when needed is political cowardice, plain and simple. Fiscal responsibility doesn’t just mean cutting the cost of government, it means making sure […]

Updated 10:05 p.m. About 42,800 customers in Maine remain without power as utility crews continue to work to restore electric service in the wake of the heavy rain and high winds that hit Thursday night. Updated 8:45 p.m. About 47,000 customers in Maine remain without power as utility crews continue to work to restore electric […]

For many of us a dictionary or interpreter is needed to translate Falmouth’s 84-page resource conservation report into something we can all understand. What is the clear evidence that these animals are in danger of significant loss of habitat in Falmouth? Preserving nature is indeed important, and there are responsible methods of doing so. However, […]

Kids can be cruel. As Indiana Faithfull stepped to the line to shoot foul shots in last week’s high school basketball tournament, the Windham High School student section broke into chants of “Chea-ter! Chea-ter!” and “USA! USA!” The long, lanky point guard, an Australian, had been ruled ineligible to play at the start of the […]

A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but most of us have discovered that when it comes to communication, not everyone opts for the most direct route. Some people simply have difficulty getting to the point. Others prefer to couch their communications in nuance and subtlety. Still others deliberately take a […]

Scarborough Cub Scout Pack 47 Den 11 meets at the Pleasant Hill Station of the Fire Department on a regular basis. For the past two meetings, Cub Scouts have been interacting with the call company and per diem members of that station to become more aware of fire safety and what actions they should take […]

I was quite shocked to read about Byron Watson’s ridiculously unprofessional e-mail to Speaker Hannah Pingree and his disrespectful comments about our legislative delegation. I understand that he may be upset with the state’s proposed cut in school funding – we all are – but his actions are far from helpful. Rather than personally demean […]