The American Psychological Association has issued its first advisory on social media use in adolescence. What’s most striking in its data-based recommendations is how little we really know about how these apps affect our kids. The relative newness of platforms like Snapchat and TikTok means little research is available about their long-term effects on teen […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: This Teacher Appreciation Week, educators deserve support from lawmakers
Maine Democrats are backing a number of measures to support teachers, empower students and promote an environment where every student is valued.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: ‘Stealthing’ is sexual assault, and Maine law needs to reflect that
L.D. 1683 would make it illegal for someone to remove a condom during sex without their partner’s permission and would allow their partner to sue for damages.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Public Advocate: Legislature must act now to save ratepayers from PUC solar program
An effective utility tax of about $275 per year on every CMP and Versant ratepayer simply cannot stand.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Compass: Let’s give Maine students the upper hand financially
As Maine educators, we share a passion for personal finance education, a subject that is taking off nationally. Not only is it growing like wildfire, but those who teach it and learn it often say it is the most important course they have taken in high school. Students love this course because it is relevant […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Food stamps bill paves path to effective poverty and hunger solutions
A vote to reinstate pandemic-era public-private partnerships is a vote to stabilize Maine households.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: Maine needs bold ideas to capture the moment
If your taste runs to bold initiatives, then a call by Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Winthrop) for a constitutional commission to advance specified policy aims is just what you’re looking for. Hickman’s bill, L.D. 1824, heard by the Judiciary Committee earlier this week, is nothing if not ambitious. The commission would study sweeping changes to the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Americans’ move to identifying as ‘independent’ foretells a change in political parties
Since 2004, the number of Americans who identify as political independents has skyrocketed. In the first decade of the 21st century, nearly two-thirds of American voters affiliated with one of the two major parties. Now, this figure is less than half, and there are slightly more political “independents” than either Democrats or Republicans. “It was […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Maine lawmakers, regulators made child care as expensive as it is today
The state needs to examine regulations rather than continue to throw money at an industry that is rapidly disappearing, to the detriment of Maine’s economy.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Maine Compass: Certificate-of-need laws make Maine health care worse
In 1974, President Gerald Ford signed the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act that withheld federal funds from states that failed to adopt certificate-of-need (CON) laws regulating health care facilities. CON laws require providers who want to open or expand a health care facility to first prove to the government that the community needs […]