Janet Yellen was not well served by the process that culminated in her nomination Wednesday to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Quick takes on issues in the news this week in central Maine …

A growing majority of Maine’s county jail inmates have not been convicted of a crime and pose little risk to the community. So why are they sitting in a jail cell, costing taxpayers $100 a day or more?

Back in the 1990s, free-trade advocates made two predictions: Manufacturing jobs would move offshore, where labor and other costs were lower, but low prices for imported manufactured goods here would circulate money through the economy that would stimulate the growth of service jobs.

The latest news from the forefront of the Bolivarian Socialist Revolution in Venezuela is the government’s seizure of a toilet paper factory.

President Barack Obama’s phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sept. 27 was a historic ice-breaker after decades of no high-level contact with the leadership of that critical Middle East country.

Truth is, to borrow the slogan, welfare is a hand up, not a hand out, far more often than not.

DRUG ABUSE IS capitalism at its most efficient. Addicts will find the cheapest, fastest and most readily available way to get high, and they’ll respond to market changes in a flash.

As state and federal officials continue their fight over Medicaid funding for Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta, there’s one thing to remember: There are still patients there.