As headlines across our announce that schools are “closed” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine schools continue to provide educational services, social/emotional support, and nutrition, while we are unable to provide in-person classroom-based instruction during this emergency. With very little notice, leaders made extremely difficult and courageous decisions and educators stepped into new roles as […]
Times Record
Guest column: The ‘giving’ in Giving Voice
Giving Voice was the brainchild of Carolyn Russell, an active volunteer in our community. Ms. Russell was concerned that our community didn’t understand the depth of poverty and need, despite the affluence and culture that comes with being a college town. She also thought many in our community were unfamiliar with the safety net organizations […]
David Treadwell: Beating boredom with Facebook
In an effort to ease the boredom of sheltering in place, I recently put the following post on Facebook: “What have you done in your life that you think none of my other Facebook friends have done? I’ll kick it off: I drank out of ‘Coloreds Only’ drinking fountains in South Carolina and Georgia in […]
Guest column: Ruminations on COVID-19
My thumb moves to a familiar spot on my ring finger. It likes to twirl the cool metal around and around. Now instead of white gold there is just an indentation. Sudden disappointment boils up from a deep-rooted place, and I remember; I am no longer wearing my wedding band. The circular symbol of our […]
Intertidal: A chance to understand what it takes to sustain a fishery
For the last few weeks, I’ve written about ways that people can purchase local seafood. That has included everything from finfish to lobster to shellfish. Many people and organizations are working hard to create market solutions to keep those harvesters working at an increasingly productive time of year. It’s also important not to lose site […]
Guest column: Reaching out with resources
It seems everywhere we look we see another update on the virus, Maine’s response and how we should react at home. There’s an incredible amount of information out there, but I think it’s important to reiterate some of the biggest steps our state has taken and some of the resources available to you and your […]
Guest column: COVID-19’s cruelest twist
When my mother passed away, I was sleeping in the same room. We had taken her home from hospice, and her hospital bed was in the bedroom she had shared with my father for decades. The night that she died, I was able to sit with her and hold her hand and monitor her breathing, […]
Letter: No power corridor through Maine
It was recently announced that, in an attempt to steamroll Maine voters, CMP is moving forward with the construction of their destructive corridor project. This move, while bold, isn’t surprising in light of the fact they are doing everything in their power to disenfranchise the tens of thousands of Mainers who signed referendum petitions. I […]
Guest column: Brunswick students get plugged in
Students around the world are all experiencing challenges in their ability to keep up with their learning. And instructors and administrators are deftly adjusting plans and resources as best they can. Because of the restrictions on contact, this means more remote learning and that requires technology. This poses a challenge for many schools that provide […]
John Micek: Amid a pandemic, Trump still at war with government
The president’s twin dismissals last week – just days apart – of two highly respected government watchdogs (and an attack on a third) is a reminder of a fundamental truth: Donald Trump is guided by his own political self-preservation, not the well-being of the entire nation. To review, on April 3 Trump fired Michael Atkinson, […]