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 […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
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 […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
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.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: Get ready for referendum madness
Before Mainers vote on a question, we should make sure it’s legal.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
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.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
View from Away: Hoping fossil fuel giants will see the light on climate hasn’t worked. Change only comes with mandates and force
One of the most demoralizing things about the world’s response to the climate crisis is the fossil fuel industry’s continued success in blocking the pollution-cutting actions that are in the interest of all of humanity. The solution to our predicament couldn’t be clearer: We need to stop burning fossil fuels and pumping pollution into the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Compass: Let’s get the facts right in the solar debate
In the legitimate debate about how to best incentivize, value and price electricity from solar farms, I would have thought we had left the period of half-truths and completely busted myths behind. Yet, the recent op-ed piece by Gerry Chasse (“Solar program raising rates,” May 22) shows that common sense and good economic policy requires […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Scholars Strategy Network: In turbulent times, Maine makes investments in its people
The times in which we live are, and have been, difficult. Turbulence confronts us at every corner, upon every turn. Around us things are constantly changing — economically, politically, medically, socially. There is too often too little upon which to rely to attain and maintain a degree of certainty in one’s life. As we emerge […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Federal program backing online access is key to Maine’s future
The Affordable Connectivity Program supports access to education – and much, much more.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Lawsuit against Gov. Mills, legislative leaders is about more than politics
I’ve been frustrated and angry with Maine politics. I was lucky to meet people who feel the same. We talked ourselves into being bold enough to take action. We’re not insiders, and we are too stubborn to accept being unable to change “the way things are done.” After watching the Legislature unravel in March, we […]