Letters

Published
January 17, 2011

Our View: It isn’t ‘Candid Camera,’ but you might be on it anyway

A council order to a city bar to install sidewalk cameras is unusual for Maine, but not illegal.
Published
January 17, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 17, 2011Scarborough Beach versus cars

This surfer largely disagrees with the proposed Scarborough Beach parking expansion, even if it means repeated long walks to reach the beach's end. The plan is an insult to the residents abutting the farmland and dunes and disregards the key reason so many people love Jordan's Beach: the relative emptiness of the north end, which is available to everyone that walks there. Development here would eliminate this solitude for all.
Published
January 16, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 16, 2011Alfred Nobel no ‘monster’

Letter writer Tony Hammond excoriates Alfred Nobel as a “monster” (“Wrong to name peace prize after inventor of dynamite,” Jan. 2). The truth is a bit more nuanced. Nobel did not discover nitroglycerin (Ascanio Sobrero did in 1847). While Nobel invented dynamite and was an arms manufacturer, a premature obituary (“The merchant of death is […]
Published
January 15, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 15, 2011The selling of the waterfront?

“Profit is not a dirty word. In fact, it is the direct and indirect solution to our challenges,” Gov. LePage has said. Profit is the central issue in Portland’s waterfront zoning debate, pitting marine and fishing industries against property owners and businesses. The political climate appears to be leaning toward a more free-market economy, where […]
Published
January 14, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 14, 2011Immigration queries now OK

Hallelujah! I was so happy to read the paper on Jan. 7 to see that our newly elected governor had issued an executive order that would allow officials in state agencies to question people about their immigration status. Common sense is having its day in the sun. Social services paid for by the taxpayers of […]

Published
January 14, 2011

Our View: New administration still finding its way in Augusta

A budget fix proposal looks ripe for quick progress, while a gag order raises concern.
Published
January 13, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 13, 2011: Ponder shootings’ causes, reactions

If we can agree that prayer is a loving and helpful action to benefit Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of this horrendous tragedy, perhaps we can begin to wonder about the effect of our hatred on others as well. Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik noted several times the “vitriol” in our society as a […]
Published
January 12, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 12, 2011More ethanol is not an energy solution

The Environmental Protection Agency recently approved an increase in the ethanol content of gasoline from the current 10 percent to 15 percent, initially on a voluntary basis (but you just know that it won’t be long before it’s mandatory). An increase of 50 percent in the ethanol content of gasoline will result in significantly more […]
Published
January 11, 2011

Letters to the Editor:It’s cruel to delay retirement

We notice that those who want to raise the Social Security retirement age tend to work in offices. Masons, carpenters, fishermen, loggers, mill workers, all who work at hard labor, look at things differently. Many find their bodies start to give out around 50 years of age, rheumatoid arthritis sets in, their joints become painful, […]
Published
January 10, 2011

Letters to the editor, Jan. 10, 2011Governor’s pardon was courageous

Gov. John Baldacci ended his term in office with an act of courage and compassion by pardoning Touch Rin Svay.<br ><br >Svay was born in a Thai refugee camp and came to the U.S. as a child. After attending Portland schools, he served his adopted country by enlisting in the Marines. But through a bad stroke of fate, he never became a U.S. citizen, though he was eligible to do so.<br ><br >As a 21-year-old, Svay made a terrible mistake. He drove while drunk, crashed a car and killed his sister. He served a jail term, put his life back together and began earning money to help support her children. He has contributed in other ways to his family and his community.

Sign In:

Letters