Over the past four years, Maine’s system for representing indigent defendants in criminal cases has been in crisis. But since the pandemic, and its aftermath, it’s really become two crises. Unfortunately, the agency in charge — the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (MCILS) — is only working on the system’s long-term problems, almost completely […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Tom Waddell: Far right spreads fear about transgender athletes
To keep their base angry, Christian nationalists have invented a new bogeyman.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Compass: Maine’s biotech sector shows our economy the way forward
Coping with a recent COVID uptick, lingering inflation, and tight labor market conditions, Maine’s economy keeps fighting. Employers, employees, and job-seekers alike are showing unprecedented resilience, fighting adversity in ways that should make us all optimistic about the future. Tourism is undoubtedly an important piece of Maine’s economic puzzle. Millions of people flooded the streets […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Rep. Bill Bridgeo: Proposed mine in Katahdin region would harm cherished trout, salmon fisheries
I am writing to express my strong opposition to Wolfden Resources’ proposed mine near Picket Mountain in the Katahdin region. For decades, I and many others have enjoyed the freshwater fishery of Pleasant Lake, its flowage into Mud Lake, which is the headwater of the west branch of the Mattawamkeag River, downstream to Duck Pond […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Beware the sweeping promises of Pine Tree Power
The amount of money that will be sunk into any transition concerns me – and that’s without getting into the politics of it all.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Crack down on criminals, not on gun ownership
Maine lawmakers reject gun control bills because they understand the impact they could have on their constituents.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: As elected city officials, we’re taking a united stand against hate in Maine
Condemnation is only the first step. It is time we take proactive measures to curtail such incidents in the future.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Robin Abcarian: Do what’s right for the planet or for your pocketbook? A fast-fashion dilemma
I realized I had a problem with internet shopping the day my 13-year-old niece looked at the packing slip in a box that had just arrived and yelled, “What — $200 for a pair of jeans?!” I can explain. I have never spent $200 on a pair of jeans in my life. Kirkland, after all, […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Nancy Pelosi and the protracted decay of democracy
Nancy Pelosi recently announced her intent to run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Pelosi has occupied that seat since 1987. In nearly four-decades of service, she has accumulated political power and financial resources, earned tremendous influence over Democratic policymaking, and advanced the interests of many of her constituents. She has also contributed […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
The Maine Millennial: COVID hits some of us harder than others
I could take time off from my job to recover without forgoing pay. Millions aren’t so fortunate.