Letters

Published
August 4, 2017

Letter to the editor: Federal cuts in nutrition aid would harm kids and their futures

With the Maine Department of Labor announcing that unemployment recently rose (“Maine unemployment ticked up in June,” July 22), I started to think, as I often do, about the future of our state. The lack of growth in Maine continues to cause me concern for what the state will look like in the decades to […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Strimling misuses office, should work within city charter

The issues surrounding Portland City Hall, the Portland City Council, City Manager Jon Jennings and Mayor Ethan Strimling are solely the creation and responsibility of one person: Mr. Strimling. He uses political office to his own selfish, power-hungry ends. He seems to have no interest in serving the citizens of Portland or working within the […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Wasteful, friction-causing position of Portland mayor should be abolished

It appears that what we are now witnessing at Portland City Hall is a governance train wreck that was easily foreseen when the position of full-time mayor was created in 2010. A city should not have a mayor in a city manager form of government. A mayor is not necessary to “develop policies” because policy […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Councilors wrong to bemoan public access to Jennings, Strimling session

At Monday night’s City Council workshop regarding issues between City Manager Jon Jennings, Mayor Ethan Strimling and the council, I was flabbergasted by the boldness of several councilors complaining that the meeting was in public and not behind closed doors in executive session. We’ve seen time and time again that when public transparency is missing, […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Councilor hurts constituents with affordable housing vote

I want to publicly express my disappointment that City Councilor Jill Duson would take the irresponsible action last week of trying to suppress affordable housing in Portland, by voting against having the council’s Housing Committee take up a proposed increase in the number of affordable housing units required in larger developments. (The majority of councilors […]

Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Single-payer health care is superior to our private system in U.S.

On Christmas Eve 2009, my 90-year-old grandfather fell in a parking lot. The ambulance was called and, within minutes, he was brought to the hospital. The next day at 7 a.m., he was being prepped for hip replacement surgery. After surgery, he went to rehabilitation in a step-down care center outside the city, where he […]
Published
August 3, 2017

Letter to the editor: Another round of applause for Sens. Collins and King on health care

Sen. Susan Collins deserves our thanks for putting people above politics. By bucking her political party and voting along with Sen. Angus King to oppose the “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act, she showed that our two senators are committed to providing health care to Mainers who are the most vulnerable – the poor, […]
Published
August 2, 2017

Letter to the editor: Maine needs to capitalize on benefits of clean energy

Maine is at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to energy. Without any fossil fuel resources in the state, most of the money spent on gasoline, diesel, heating oil, propane, natural gas and kerosene leaves the state to support corporations and extraction jobs thousands of miles away. In 2015, more than $4.4 billion left Maine’s […]
Published
August 2, 2017

Letter to the editor: Want a good health care system? Look at how other countries do it

A recent letter (“Don’t let government make mess of health care system,” Aug. 1) illustrates the fact that many Americans simply don’t know what good health care should be. While it may be true that we have “the best health care in the world,” for those who have access to high-quality health plans, millions of […]
Published
August 2, 2017

Letter to the editor: Solar energy bill falls short in balancing needs, costs

Energy markets throughout Maine are in the midst of a massive transformation powered by the popularity and growth of solar energy. Per a recent Consumer Energy Alliance poll of voters statewide, at least 60 percent said they view solar favorably, while over 90 percent said it was the way to go environmentally. More than half […]

Sign In:

Letters