THUMBS DOWN to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which recently made Kraft Singles the first product to gain permission to use the group’s “Kids Eat Right” label.

The trade organization, which represents 75,000 dieticians and other nutrition specialists, claims the seal is not an endorsement. But it is hard to see it as anything but, and parents will certainly take it as such, and be more likely to purchase Kraft Singles, a “pasteurized prepared cheese product” that is high in fat and sodium and full of additives and preservatives.

Parents raising kids in an era of unprecendented childhood obesity already have to fight against the billions of dollars that Kraft and other food giants spend on advertising and product placement. Organizations such as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics should help parents wade through all the noise and nonsense to find the best foods for their children’s long-term health, not point them toward products that are, at best, nutritionally questionable.

THUMBS UP to a proposal that would give a pay raise to future Maine governors.

The current salary, $70,000 a year, is the lowest in the country, and a ridiculously low sum for a chief executive who oversees a $6 billion-plus budget and thousands of employees. The salary hasn’t increased since 1987, and the governor’s salary has not kept up with the times — the pay of $5,000 per year in 1937 would be worth nearly $83,000 today, according to Rep. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake.

Martin is proposing the salary be increased to $120,000, matching New Hampshire but still behind other states. Pennsylvania has the highest governor salary in the country at $187,000.

We are less bullish on Martin’s plan to increase legislator pay drastically, from $24,000 for each two-year session to $41,000. Maine has a proud tradition of a citizen legislature, and while some small pay raise may be appropriate, raising it too much would threaten that tradition.

THUMBS UP to Press Herald reporter Scott Dolan, who was presented with the Sunshine Award from the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition on Monday for standing up to a judge who tried to stop the media from reporting on court proceedings.

Dolan protested the judge’s gag order, and the newspaper went ahead with the story. Soon after, the judge apologized.

This is Sunshine Week, a national initiative centered on the principles of open government and freedom information, and it is important to point out the areas in which government conspires to keep regular citizens from gathering public information, through high fees, opaque rules and slow response times.

But it is also important to stress the need for professionals such as Dolan who are well-versed in the rules of public information and constantly present in the halls of power.