Letters

Published
March 24, 2014

Letter to the editor: USM’s American and New England Studies Department fills national niche

Regarding the Portland Press Herald’s front-page report “USM president proposes deep, ‘painful and disruptive’ cuts” (March 15): The Department of American and New England Studies looks slated for elimination. I received a doctorate in American Studies in 2010 from the University of Maryland, placing my cultural study of women and aging in Maine (where better […]
Published
March 24, 2014

Letter to the editor: Gambling legislation will receive careful evaluation

Based on recent coverage, readers could infer that as the state senators representing Scarborough in the Maine Legislature, we strongly support L.D. 1111, a bill that would allow slot machines at harness racetracks. Any suggestion that we have taken a position on L.D. 1111, however, is inaccurate and premature. Given the fluidity of events – […]
Published
March 24, 2014

Letter to the editor: USM cuts hitting home

I am a sophomore at the University of Southern Maine, majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies, with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation, so I am concerned for our department’s future (“USM president proposes deep, ‘painful and disruptive’ cuts,” March 15). This year, our program grew 54 percent and has the highest enrollment rate it has […]
Published
March 23, 2014

Letter to the editor: Beloved pope’s a Jesuit and that’s no coincidence

For many years, I told my wife, Judy, that we needed a Jesuit pope to bring about necessary changes in the Catholic Church. When I studied at Boston College, one of 30 such institutions in the United States, I soon realized what it means to be a Jesuit. The Society of Jesus is Jesus-like in […]
Published
March 23, 2014

Letter to the editor: Virtual education giant offers tremendous potential

Thank you for Tom Bell’s thorough and balanced piece in the Sunday Telegram on virtual schools (“Multinational giant set to run first virtual school in Maine,” March 16). Pearson and K12, the two companies behind these charter applications, are indeed large and perhaps a little scary, but the opportunities far outweigh the risks. Both companies […]

Published
March 23, 2014

Letter to the editor: Virtual money better spent on local schools

Whatever one thinks about the educational virtues or drawbacks of a virtual school, one cannot but wonder if the recent decision to establish the Maine Connections Academy is a legitimate investment of taxpayers’ money. As noted in your article of March 16 (“Multinational giant set to run first virtual school in Maine”), Connections Education LLC, […]
Published
March 23, 2014

Letter to the editor: Homeless advocate an amazing person

I am responding to the article in the Sunday Telegram about Don Gean, who, for many years, made it his life’s work to help the homeless people in York County (“Maine visionary, advocate for the homeless retires,” March 16). He is an amazing man and should receive some kind of award for his work. During […]
Published
March 23, 2014

Letter to the editor: Public access to beaches protected in other states

The recent Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling regarding the interpretation of the historic Colonial Ordinance appears to take precedent over the original Public Trust Doctrine established many years before and recognized throughout the U.S. as the established rule of law. The Public Trust Doctrine holds that all coastal states as sovereigns hold the submerged lands […]
Published
March 22, 2014

Letter to the editor: Neighbors have no right to restrict gun club

What is happening to people’s judgment and common sense? When did an irrational sense of entitlement take precedent over the rights of others? These questions come to mind, yet again, after recent news about the circumstances in Cape Elizabeth between the local gun club and a neighboring housing development (“Cape Elizabeth council approves shooting range […]
Published
March 22, 2014

Letter to the editor: USM graduate program benefits state and should be saved

Maine needs graduate programs that draw people here, programs that challenge our minds and programs that promote Maine’s identity and regional significance. In the University of Southern Maine’s American and New England Studies program, the state has all of these things. This is not something the state can afford to throw away. As a graduate […]

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Letters