More and more these days, I feel like I’m onstage in a play where everyone else got a script and I didn’t.
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Maine Compass: The rebirth of the Kennebec
You can’t see any fish, flying as we were 900 feet above the river. But we knew they were there, moving upstream to spawn. Flying over the Kennebec River was a fascinating experience and I was grateful for the opportunity to look at the watershed from above, to see and think about the efforts that […]
Commentary: Honor, loss and perspective from a Mainer on Memorial Day
Honor. Here in Maine — especially where veterans are buried — honor means something. I recently walked Maple Cemetery in Winthrop, Mount Pleasant in Wayne, Fish in Leeds, and stopped to think about those who fell young. Memorial Day is coming, time to pause. Honor is what comes to mind too, washes over you in […]
F.D. Flam: The spike in child mortality won’t go away on its own
For Americans under 20, an epidemic much deadlier than COVID-19 has raged over the last three years. Deaths among those aged 1 to 19 surged 20% — driven by an increase in car crashes, suicide, homicide and drug overdoses. The combined toll of behavior-related deaths on children and teens hit home after a March report […]
Commentary: Maine’s new plan to keep kids safe by keeping families strong
Work on a four-pronged strategy informed by extensive public consultation can begin this year.
Commentary: No government mandate will fix the challenges Maine’s hospital nurses face
Maine Med urges lawmakers to focus on health care education funding and accountability for those who assault nurses, not rigid staffing ratios.
Commentary: PFAS contamination also has mental health impact on Maine’s farmers
Cultivemos, a network funded by the 2018 Farm Bill, is making sure that farmers have increased options for access to supportive services where they live and where they work.
Douglas Rooks: Despite what you hear, guns do not equal freedom
Since the 1970s, I’ve written editorials about what was then called “gun control.” In recent years, I largely passed over the subject. Back then, it was unthinkable elementary school kids could be gunned down in a classroom, Bible classes and synagogues profaned, or that shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants and music festivals would see mass killing […]
Commentary: Nuclear power won’t help Maine reach its clean-energy goals
The industry lobby is promoting a renewed call for investments in nuclear technology, but there are less complex, more affordable choices.
Commentary: Proposed paid family and medical leave bill unworkable for Maine
The proposal is for a new short-term disability insurance program that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and be one of the most benefit-rich programs in the country.