Three hundred thirty United States coal plants have, thankfully, closed, with more to come.  Mainers should celebrate that, as pollution from burning coal has worsened lung diseases here for decades.  But using a law called the Defense Production Act, President Trump and his Energy Department have just repurposed the money Congress originally passed to clean […]

During the past week Donald Trump continued his unauthorized war on Iran, proposed a nearly $2 billion slush fund for his cronies and urged the Senate to give him $70 billion so ICE can evict a million more immigrants, the great majority of whom have committed no crime. Mainers should be outraged. Meanwhile, he and […]

This is in response to a letter (“If you want positive change in Maine, vote red”), published on June 6, that concluded: “Vote red and see the real changes.” Vote red and see: If we really “see” what “red” has actually done for “the people,” it’s bound to make us blue. Joanne D’UngerLeeds

Anyone who has ever seen a sunset on the West Coast knows that the sun looks like it is sinking into the ocean. I would sometimes joke that this proves the Earth is flat. All we had to do was look at what was in front of our eyes.  Of course, astronomers have long proven […]

I know many of us have gotten this text, “I just hit a deer.” We know the ensuing worry and string of questions: Are you OK? Did anyone get injured? Did the deer survive? Do you need me to come pick you up? And I don’t know about other people, but once the initial concerns […]

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) went into effect in 1983 and 1977, respectively. These federal laws reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for certain public servants, including teachers, firefighters, police officers and their families, despite years of service and contributions. Sen. Susan Collins first brought national attention to these […]