Maine has the worst rate of child maltreatment in the nation. We can’t stand for this. Despite historic investment in recent years, key indicators on child welfare aren’t improving. Improvements haven’t come fast enough for the thousands of children without permanent homes, the burnt-out case workers watching children fall asleep in hotel rooms overnight, the foster parents […]
Ben Bragdon
Staff Writer
Ben Bragdon is managing editor of the Sun Journal. Prior to that, he was deputy managing editor for news at the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. Ben was previously editorial page editor for those newspapers and Central Maine Sunday for more than 10 years. Before that, he was managing editor for weekly newspapers at Current Publishing in Westbrook. He began his career as a reporter at the Piscataquis Observer in Dover-Foxcroft and editor at the Moosehead Messenger in Greenville. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston University.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Compass: National Coming Out Day is a reminder of our history, strength
We also gather with hope, determination, and a fierce commitment to protecting what we’ve created together.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Will voter turnout in November repeat the historic numbers of 2020?
As we race to Election Day, one polling question will gain enormous importance in our understanding of the race — who are the actual voters? Using likely-voter screens, pollsters are now trying to figure out who will vote and who will sit this one out. In most polls, there is usually a small difference in […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: How much will the Supreme Court matter in the 2024 election?
What role, if any, will the Supreme Court play in the November presidential election? That is the crucial, unknowable question, as the court returns from its summer recess. Will this be an election like 2000, when the Supreme Court in effect decided the outcome with its decision in Bush v. Gore? Or will this be […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: It’s too late for Kamala Harris to play tough on immigration
Vice President Kamala Harris ticked off her presidential campaign checklist with a visit to the southern border last week. She talked with members of the Border Patrol and made boilerplate promises of getting tough on immigration. Sorry, Kamala, you don’t get points for promising to close the barn door after the horses have escaped. Harris, […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Instagram teen accounts — Just one front in the fight for mental health
It’s good news that Instagram has launched stricter controls for teen accounts, strengthening privacy settings for those under 18. Underage users’ accounts are now automatically set to private mode. The platform is also implementing tighter restrictions on the type of content teens can browse and blocking material deemed sensitive, such as posts related to cosmetic […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Helene’s 500 miles of wreckage and devastation should bring howls of fury at leaders’ folly
The storms speak and their voices are growing more violent, more vehement. This storm — Helene — may be the most furious yet. It raked glancing blows through the Caribbean and along Mexico’s coast before slamming into Florida’s Big Bend at Category 4, with 140 mph sustained winds that tore buildings into scraps of wood […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Roger Katz: Why this longtime Republican is voting for Kamala Harris
Stopping Donald Trump and the risk he poses to our country is more important than party politics, writes the former four-term Republican state senator from Augusta.
Posted inUncategorized
Don’t know your state legislative district? Click here
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Maine voters will elect a new Legislature. We sent a questionnaire to each candidate who is running for Senate and House of Representatives in our readership area. Their responses will be available at centralmaine.com as they are received. Don’t know your district? Find your House District and Senate District. Are you […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Who’s really keeping Ozempic and Wegovy prices so high?
On Tuesday, congressional leaders spent two hours taking to task Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen over the high price of the company’s diabetes and obesity drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Now the question is whether those prices will change. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate health committee, focused his sights not […]