Imagine a trail from Augusta to Brunswick, offering rare and breathtaking views as it traces the Kennebec, Cathance, and Androscoggin rivers. Running along an inactive state-owned railroad corridor, it would attract tourists from around the country, benefit small businesses in our town centers, and provide opportunities for exercise, alternative transportation, and connection to people of […]
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
Commentary: Why Donald Trump’s federal indictment is as breathtaking as it was inevitable
In one sense, it was breathtaking: the first ever indictment of a former president by the Department of Justice he once oversaw — and therefore the most important federal charge in U.S. history. In another, it was expected. Once Donald Trump had received a formal target letter from the department, his fate was effectively sealed. […]
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Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Maine families need lawmakers to support child care industry
A new report shows that most Mainers have trouble finding affordable, high-quality child care. It’s hurting everyone.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Biden, Feinstein, Trump — how do we know when our leaders are too old?
In politics, as in life, it’s all too easy to write off old people, especially when they are frail or disabled. President Joe Biden’s fall on stage during the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on Thursday immediately raised questions of fitness. Even I, a geriatrician and anti-ageism advocate, looked at Dianne Feinstein’s recent return to […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Martin Schram: The making of MAGA
Today we will be exploring why Donald Trump’s little-understood MAGA Republican base has seemed so stunningly shatterproof – despite being pounded by nonstop news revelations of potential prosecutions, more unsavory conduct and eruptions that sound unpatriotic to outsiders’ ears. Now this: The 2024 presidential campaign attacks are just getting started. Former Trump endorsers are now […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Protecting vital US wetlands must remain a federal priority
Back in the 1970s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed an enormous functioning hydraulic model of the Chesapeake Bay. Although long ago replaced by much more accurate computer simulations, there was one extremely valuable lesson passed along to the busloads of schoolchildren who would visit the 14.5-acre indoor facility on Kent Island: How shallow […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Congress should freeze Pentagon spending
The debt ceiling deal reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has now been passed into law, and the winner is – the Pentagon! While the rest of the federal discretionary budget is slated to be frozen at roughly this year’s level, the Pentagon and related spending on nuclear weapons at the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Hilary Koch: Hats off to the parents
With graduation season upon us, let’s honor Mama Bears and Hot Messes.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Pride Month arrives amid coordinated attack on LGBTQ Americans
As it tries to roll back civil rights and freedoms, the Republican Party is now almost wholly focused on smearing the LGBTQ community.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Title 42 is done. Is the US ready to get serious about managing migration at the border?
U.S. border policy is stuck in the past. The expiration of Title 42 gives the U.S. government another chance to effectively manage migration and border security, but it will be successful only if it addresses the reality of Western Hemisphere migration. Our deterrence policies and enforcement infrastructure were built decades ago for single adult men […]