When oil was still spewing uncontrollably from the Deepwater Horizon well last summer, philanthropist Wendy Schmidt and the X Prize Foundation issued a $1.4 million challenge calling for better technologies to clean up oil spills. Aside from Schmidt’s concern for the environment, the need for innovation in this arena was dire.

Since announcing on Friday my departure at year’s end from MaineToday Media, the company I founded, there comes the inevitable question:

Meet Ava Allen. She is a bright, energetic toddler from Winslow. She is also the daughter of one of this column’s authors.

You’ve got your Mexican standoff, your Russian roulette, your Chinese water torture. And now, your Libyan crossfire. That’s when a pistol is applied to the head, and a bullet crosses from one temple to the other.

Justin Bieber’s line of perfume — for women — recently made its debut. He seems to know his market.

It is time to state the case against Texas, and politely ask for its withdrawal from the United States.