Editorials

Published
October 8, 2010

Our View: Church should notbe silenced by courts

No law should enable protestors to prevent a grieving family from burying a loved one. But no law can tell the protestors to be quiet. That is the essence of the First Amendment of the Constitution and that is the principle that the U.S. Supreme Court should hold fast when it decides the fate of a tiny church in Kansas and its founder, the Rev. Fred W. Phelps.
Published
October 8, 2010

Our View: Unanswered questions linger about ferry service revival

Whether international ferry service resumes is a decision that will be made in Canada.
Published
October 7, 2010

Our View: The Ballpark at last is fully a ballpark again

A collegiate baseball league team is testing the former minor league field next year.
Published
October 7, 2010

Our View: Troubled bridges over dividing water finally get help

The Pine Tree and Granite states are divided in part by the Piscataqua River and, more to the point, by governing philosophies on tax and spending issues that come from different spots on the political spectrum. But the river and the governing fiscal paradigms are linked at the cross-border communities of Kittery and Portsmouth, N.H., where two bridges spanning the Piscataqua are in serious need of repair or replacement, and maintenance issues continue to be unresolved for a third one.
Published
October 6, 2010

Our View: Counties should makeall documents available

There is a reason that public records are kept in courthouses. It's not because the records belong to the courts, and it's not because county registries need a source of income. Records like deeds and wills are in courthouse because they belong to the public, and in Maine's early times, the county courthouses were the most public place they could be kept.

Published
October 6, 2010

Our View: Rural Maine needs to attract more dentists

A bond issue on the November ballot offers an opportunity to provide needed service.
Published
October 4, 2010

Our View: ‘Cutler Files’ should besubject to campaign laws

The "Cutler Files" website leads with the question, "Who is Eliot Cutler?" But a better question is "What is the Cutler Files?" Cutler is the Cape Elizabeth lawyer who is running as an independent candidate for governor, but the "Cutler Files" is harder to define. It is a website that uses research, pointed prose and computer graphics to attack Cutler. The authors, who don't identify themselves, claim that what they are doing is anonymous free speech, a cherished tradition in this country since before the founding of the republic.
Published
October 4, 2010

Another View: ‘Smart people’ at CMP are trading jobs for ‘smart meters’

In exchange for a few dollars a month for customers, 141 employees will be laid off.
Published
October 3, 2010

Our View: School money should be spent more wisely

Maine voters may be divided about who they want to see living in the governor's mansion next year, whether they want a casino in Oxford County or if the federal government should cut taxes on the wealthy, but they are united on one question. They are concerned about education, and if the recent Maine Poll, conducted by Critical Insights for MaineToday Media, is correct, they are three times as likely to believe we are underspending on education than spending too much. Considering how important education is, not only for individual success but for the state's economy as a whole, the concern is not surprising. But considering how much we spend already in both state and local tax revenue, the concept that we are not spending enough raises serious questions about our future. The question, however should be reframed. It's not an issue of how much we spend, but how we spend it. We are still spending too much on administration and small class sizes, and too little in other areas, especially in higher education. The challenge for the next era of school reform will be using resources more effectively.
Published
October 2, 2010

Our View: Flawed FEMA product sent back for more work

Sen. Collins uses her clout to get the federal agency to do what it should have done already.

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Editorials