I was pleased to see coverage of the ongoing child care crisis here in Maine with the March 14 PPH article, “Child care providers say industry needs consistent financial support to survive.” As an early child care educator and parent to a young child, I have seen the issues from both sides of the coin. […]

In 1934, Karl Barth and other German theologians released the Barmen Declaration to condemn the capitulation of the German Church to Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church adopted the declaration as part of their statement of faith. Those courageous Christians understood clearly what it meant for the church to align itself with Hitler. A […]

In this country, five people on the Supreme Court decide what the Constitution says and, by extension, what the law is. That’s a five times better ratio than in a country like Russia, where one man decides. But when one of those five people is ethically compromised, like Justice Clarence Thomas, the credibility of our […]

In an age where so many issues divide us, there is one thing on which we can all agree: Life is better with pets. It’s not just anecdotal – scientific evidence confirms that having a pet is good for your physical and mental health. Unfortunately, breed restrictions prevent many families from having certain types of […]

I live in Waldo County, whose proud agricultural heritage has seen a resurgence of diversified farms over the last 20 years, and that has significantly contributed to the local economy with producers, distributers and value-added products. Since the beginning of the year, Waldo County has also seen a growing list of farms impacted by PFAS […]

I commend leaders like Jeremy Fischer, who work arduously to publicly fund pre-K for Maine families. My organization, the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children, is working toward the vision Jeremy shared in his column, where state funding is conditioned on partnerships between school districts and child care programs. His experience in Head […]

On March 11, my older brother went into cardiac arrest just outside the TD Bank. He never made it inside. To the strangers who assisted him and rushed just next door to the North Deering Fire Department – to the firefighters, paramedics, to the nurses and doctors in ICU at Maine Medical Center, we say […]

My husband recently passed away after having eight months of care with Hospice of Southern Maine. How do you begin to thank people who spend their working time comforting and caring for a loved one in pain? It is our good fortune to have this service available to all. I want to say “Thank You” […]

Johanna and Adam, owners and operators of Songbird Farm, discovered their water, soil, produce and blood tested high for PFAS chemicals. Should they be concerned? Biosolids (sludge from municipal sewage and industrial waste) were spread on their land about 20 years before they purchased the farm. Their blood tests came back showing levels of PFAS […]