Letters

Published
May 14, 2015

Letter to the editor: Maine has too many trees and it’s time for some to go

Regarding the issue of cutting trees on public reserve lands: Maine has 17 million acres of public and private forestland. In his book “The Northeast’s Changing Forest,” Lloyd Irland said that half of the private landowners in Maine never intend to cut a tree, and the other half (mostly paper companies) await a market that […]
Published
May 14, 2015

Letter to the editor: Rezoning will benefit city’s future

I am writing to share my wholehearted support for the rezoning that will allow for the redevelopment of the Portland Company on Portland’s eastern waterfront. For the City Council, this is an important decision that should be based on fact, not speculation or the fear of change. Portland is poised to launch an exciting phase […]
Published
May 14, 2015

Letter to the editor: Media continue to kick around a lot of hot air

The volume of ink and media air time expended to debate the NFL deflategate scandal (“Patriots Beat: Squeaky clean no more: Probe connects Brady to dirty deeds,” Page A1, May 7; “Brady: ‘We earned everything we got’ “ and “Discipline appears on way, but severity in question,” Page D1, May 8) validates the insight of […]
Published
May 14, 2015

Letter to the editor: As air quality worsens, voices need to be raised

How disappointing to learn that our community shows worsened levels of ozone pollution, as stated in the American Lung Association’s 2015 State of the Air report card. Without healthy air, quality of life for every Maine resident and tourist suffers. Yet it’s our children, seniors and those living with lung disease who bear the greatest […]
Published
May 13, 2015

Letter to the editor: Why are veterans’ tax statuses being questioned?

Attention veterans everywhere in Maine: Has your town or city sent you a note from the tax collector letting you know after all these years of having been granted a small veteran’s exemption on your real estate taxes that they now have to re-establish your eligibility? It’s bad enough to even be sent a letter, […]

Published
May 13, 2015

Letter to the editor: ‘Proficiency-based’ diplomas are pushing a hidden agenda

Since 2011, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, born of a multibillion-dollar student loan sale to Sallie Mae, has pumped over $13 million in grants to nonprofits and public schools in Maine to promote their agenda of having all Maine schools award “proficiency-based” diplomas. The mandate, enacted in 2012, requires that all students demonstrate “proficiency” in […]
Published
May 13, 2015

Letter to the editor: Voter ID attempt would be another attack on the poor

Growing up in a small town in Maine, I believed that the differences between the well-off and the not-so-well-off were circumstantial and not a reason for discrimination. That’s not entirely true, because no society is entirely homogeneous, and there are always people who hold prejudices against people unlike themselves. But wealth wasn’t the issue. But […]
Published
May 13, 2015

Letter to the editor: Don’t overlook the power of recovery in heroin battle

Heroin overdose deaths are big news in Maine these days, and most of the stories focus on the horrors of heroin addiction and the need for law enforcement to keep drugs out of our state. But this news coverage only tells part of the story. Addiction does not always end in incarceration or death; many […]
Published
May 12, 2015

Letter to the editor: Police officers need training in how to avoid use of force

Police brutality in the United States has been a growing issue this past year. The media have taken notice of the numerous deaths of young black men by officers all over the nation. There have been widespread protests in many cities by civilians who believe that this police brutality is due to the victims’ race. […]
Published
May 12, 2015

Letter to the editor: LePage suffers amnesia on one cause of prison problems – him

Mind control aimed at us, by someone who continues to lose his: The Guvnah, once again, has opened his mouth and spoke out against something he backed. In his first term in Augusta he appointed Joseph Ponte as the commissioner of the Department of Corrections, who, I’m sure, during his appointment must have cost the […]

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Letters