Letters

Published
December 10, 2016

Letter to the editor: Too many Americans don’t appreciate power of voting

The right to vote is a privilege that is taken for granted by many Americans. Women were fighting for the right to vote in the 1840s but were not allowed to until 1920. Some states banned Native Americans from voting until 1957. The Voting Rights Act, which protected the right of African-Americans to vote, was […]
Published
December 10, 2016

Letter to the editor: Speak up to ensure Question 2 taxes are spent where intended

Whether or not you supported Question 2 this year, it appears it will go into effect. I’m writing this letter to make sure that people understand that sometimes tax revenue is directed into a general fund. This happens at all levels of government and is very common. The reason I raise this is that the […]
Published
December 10, 2016

Letter to the editor: Article on pipeline fight lacked link to contribute

Thank you for using the front page to bring attention to South Portland’s desperate attempt to fight our own local pipeline issue and our attempt to keep tar sands out of Casco Bay (“Funds sought to fight oil pipeline’s suit,” Dec. 7). I only wished you could have mentioned the link to the crowdfunding site […]
Published
December 9, 2016

Letter to the editor: New Portland city councilors should note that market, not government, will ease rent costs

Portland’s historically supply-constrained rental housing market has loosened up for only one reason: New supply has been built in quantity for the first time since the 1930s. To economically justify new construction, market rents had to increase. That they increased as much as they have was an unequivocal sign that the city was woefully undersupplied. […]
Published
December 9, 2016

Letter to the editor: Portland City Hall seems to tell developer Americold, ‘Whatever you want!’

Why must Portland’s City Hall always buckle under to the demands of developers at the expense of her citizens? Word seems to have gotten out that any developer that wants to violate Portland’s building codes just needs to ask and it shall be given. One of the latest: the shameless bait-and-switch by Americold, which made […]

Published
December 9, 2016

Letter to the editor: Carrier jobs deal is not a win

Are our expectations so low that we accept a loss as a win? Do we not know what a win is anymore? Bottom line: Carrier Corp. has a plant in Mexico, 600 jobs are still going there and the good people of Indiana are going to have to deal with $700,000 a year in lost […]
Published
December 9, 2016

Letter to the editor: Trump supporter denigrates our youth with broad brush

I would like to respond to Rosemarie Lawrence’s Dec. 5 letter (“Pampered young people prove to be real deplorables”). I am of her generation and agree somewhat that some young people are “spoiled,” as she says, but on the other hand, many are amazingly hardworking, socially aware and committed to social change. What I object […]
Published
December 9, 2016

Letter to the editor: The young are our best hope for the future

I write in response to a Dec. 5 letter from Rosemarie Lawrence of Bailey Island. Like her, I am a 70-year-old, privileged to live on an island in Casco Bay. Unlike her, I am inspired, not distressed, by many younger adults. Yes, some are passive and somewhat pampered, although they face college debt and a […]
Published
December 8, 2016

Letter to the editor: More walkable spaces are important to older residents

Throughout its history, AARP has had a vision of an America whose towns and cities nurture the mobility, safety and engagement of citizens throughout their lives. In 2012, AARP implemented a program, the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, to support cities, towns and neighborhoods across the country. More than any other state, Maine cities and […]
Published
December 8, 2016

Letter to the editor: Children hear meanings that adults might have missed

One recent evening, we received a call from our granddaughter, who is a teacher at a charter school in Springfield, Massachusetts, and whose fifth-graders are predominantly Hispanic and black. She said that the children, the students, were afraid and very upset, because the next president of the United States is a man who thinks he […]

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Letters