Thank you for the the June 1 Maine Sunday Telegram article about Margaret Chase Smith’s legacy: her “Declaration of Conscience.” I’ve read that Sen. Susan Collins looked up to Smith. I’m asking Collins to look into her heart and find her own “Declaration of Conscience.” Smith took a risk and stuck to her principles. I […]

I was appalled to read about the death of Baxter, the Maine Department of Public Safety’s “official comfort dog” after he was left in a closed-up vehicle. The news announcement made it sound like the department was blaming the vehicle rather than Baxter’s handler. Every responsible dog owner knows, or should know, never to leave […]

Rachel Ohm’s June 1 article, “Legacy of Margaret Chase Smith’s ‘Declaration of Conscience’ speech lives on 75 years later,” offered such an on-point message in today’s political world. Would that today’s Republicans demonstrated Sen. Smith’s courage. There was an editorial cartoon years ago in which a lemming questions aloud the group’s leadership as he rushes […]

In the pages of this newspaper, I read with dismay of school budgets rejected and of schools closed — budget after budget, school after school. What is this madness, that sweeps our state with the scythe of destruction? Our schools are: • Support systems and safety nets for parents, families and future heads of families. […]

Mental health. Two words that have been brushed aside in the athletic community. Two words with which almost every athlete struggles. Two words that need to be acknowledged in a community that’s supposed to be tough. The athlete who’s winning is supposed to be tough, the athlete who’s losing is supposed to be tough. But […]

I get that there are many people in our country who feel strongly that the U.S. has changed for the worse in the last generation. I understand how they might feel left behind, ignored, even victimized, while at the same time it seems we have bent over backward to help others, especially immigrants, people of […]

I am a fourth-generation Mainer. My parents are from the heavily forested regions of Maine: Rumford and East Millinocket. As a nurse practitioner, I’ve spent decades caring for human beings with health issues. I believe, as Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “all flourishing is mutual.” Unfortunately, the “Fix Our Forests Act” does the opposite. It will […]

In President Trump’s efforts to put aside the Constitution of the United States, he has targeted transgender people, with a particular focus on trans athletes. Our state legislators are now caught up in this argument. Let’s put this debate to rest with the following facts: • Trans athletes, especially trans women, have been playing in women’s […]

I’ve been visiting Popham Beach for summer vacation on and off since 1973. As a result, I have many fond memories of this bucolic spot at the mouth of the Kennebec River. Of course, it was hard when we lost Percy’s a few years back. Visitors have since had to find another place to shop […]