I know what it’s like to wait for someone lost at sea. When I was 20 years old, working at a music cafe in Charleston, South Carolina, I got the call that my mother’s boat was lost in a massive storm during a sailing race to Bermuda. I was assured that the powers that be […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
J.P. Devine: These days it’s worth asking that old Johnny Carson refrain, ‘How hot was it?’
The longtime ‘Tonight Show’ host would use the bit in his opening monologue, and these days, with blistering heat descending on many parts of the world, there are plenty of ways to respond, writes J.P. Devine.
Community Compass: Sturgeon’s return show power of river restoration work
The city of Gardiner witnessed a river restoration miracle this summer. Atlantic sturgeon, once rare in the Kennebec, showed up in force at the mouth of Cobbosseecontee Stream to spawn just a few weeks ago. These giant fish, which have inhabited our planet since the time of the dinosaurs, are spectacular to see. People who […]
Jim Fossel: Bipartisan 2024 White House ticket? Forget it.
It’s true that voters aren’t enthusiastic about a Biden-Trump rematch, but there’s little evidence that they want No Labels’ vague alternative.
Commentary: The farm bill is about more than farmers
Each time Congress debates its priorities for the farm bill every five years, as it is doing this year, it faces legislation that profoundly affects the economic well-being of Americans nationwide. From managing natural resources to rural development to funding labs and researchers at institutions across America, the farm bill is the most important tool […]
Commentary: Medical debt is making Americans angry. Doctors and hospitals ignore this at their peril.
For Emily Boller, it was a $5,000 hospital bill for a simple case of pink eye that took four years to pay off. For Mary Curley, it was the threatening collection letters from a lab that arrived more than 2½ years later, just as her husband lost his job and the family was fighting to […]
Commentary: Actors are striking because we’ve long been in crisis. It’s not just streaming or AI
In late 2014 I was hired to play friend #3 in a new commercial for Garnier Nutrisse, the at-home hair color line. The company offered me a payout of $100 for my likeness, which they would use online and elsewhere. I spent that paycheck on a cab to and from the shooting location in a […]
Commentary: How we got endless summer breaks from school – and what we can do about it
Our kids went to school in the summer when the nation was young. With the right approach – and the right people to teach them – they can do so again.
Douglas Rooks: Get ready for referendum madness
Before Mainers vote on a question, we should make sure it’s legal.
Commentary: Congress needs to rein in ‘swipe fees’ to protect Maine consumers
The Credit Card Competition Act would stop Visa and Mastercard from hurting small business operators by reining in predatory swipe fees that are among the highest in the world.