In a March 6 commentary, Sarah Leighton of Sierra Club Maine advocated for the electrification of our heating systems to reduce the use of fossil fuel, which is fine. However, this is the same Sierra Club chapter that is working side by side with the fossil fuel industry to stop New England Clean Energy Connect, […]

I would like to respond to Jim Fossel’s March 7 column, “Don’t use federal aid to grow state government” (Page D1). Mr. Fossel summarizes his argument by stating “that Janet Mills’ first biennial budget was unsustainable,” yet he provides no explanation or evidence for this statement. He further asserts that “it will be up to […]

When COVID first reached our state, and severe restrictions were set into place to control the spread of the pandemic, our fourth-generation family business, the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, was hit incredibly hard, and we were forced to lay off 90 percent of our staff to stay afloat. We were heartbroken to have to take […]

I’m a minister and organizer for De-ICE Maine, a grassroots coalition working to end the inhumane treatment of immigrants. Our efforts are focused on stopping the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility under construction in Scarborough. ICE has a history of abuse. Detainees are subject to physical and verbal assaults, unsanitary conditions and, according to a […]

Re: March 10 letter by Anne Manganello opposing the historic district: Portland’s property tax revaluation, with values driven by high-end developers, will force many Munjoy Hill landlords to raise rents. A historic district would cool development fervor and the escalating prices that threaten to displace more residents than any gently-enforced historic designation ever could. Affordable […]

Now that the dust of insurrection is settling in the courts, Americans are more aware than ever that our election system needs fixing. Today, more than 40 states are considering changes to their voting laws, most of them unfair and unique to their state. Discrepancies among the states prove that Americans do not have an […]

Samuel Rosenthal’s recent letter to the editor (“Making Portland a more affordable place to live,” March 12) promoted a false notion of how Portland property owners would be affected by the city’s revaluation. Mr. Rosenthal uses a hypothetical example of an increase in a property assessment from $200,000 to $300,000 and asserts that the property […]

I read, with amusement, the Briefcase report in the Business section March 11 concerning inflation (“Consumer prices enjoy biggest gain in 6 months,” Page A8). Food and energy are two of the most expensive items that most citizens of this country face every month. So, to say that core inflation excluding these two items was […]