Sen. Susan Collins is doing what Maine needs right now: standing up for science. In her powerful remarks at a recent Senate hearing on biomedical research, she warned that cutting federal science funding weakens not just our health and economy, but our national security. She’s right and Maine has a lot at stake. Federal agencies […]
letter to the editor
Rep. Libby’s rhetoric spoils high school running | Letter
Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, recently used my second-place finish in the 1,600-meter run, and that of my teammate in the 800-meter run, to malign Soren Stark-Chessa, the trans-identified athlete who finished first. One of the reasons I chose to run cross-country and track is the community: Teammates cheering each other on, athletes from different schools […]
Protesting Trump is tiring but necessary | Letter
There’s so much to protest with the current administration’s eagerness to ruin the country with catastrophic decisions for business, education, health, law and the arts. Not to mention everyone’s pocketbook. But I’ll just focus on the arts today, as arts organizations across the country just had their National Endowment for the Arts funding withdrawn or […]
Maine’s leaders must stand up for public media | Letter
This week, I reached out to our Maine representatives regarding President Trump’s proposed budget cuts to public media. These cuts, along with all the other drastic, destructive and completely unnecessary hits to vital programs and departments of our government, they amount to war. A war waged by the Have-More-Than-Enoughs against the Have-Less-Thans. These cuts are […]
The sad irony of Trump’s military parade | Letter
I can’t reconcile the planned show of power with our president’s record.
Missing Herb & Jamaal | Letter
I join my voice to a writer’s May 4 letter about bringing back the comic strip Herb & Jamaal. This is one of the better comics in the paper. Why would you delete this one instead of, say, Hagar the Horrible? Please don’t follow the racism of our current federal administration. Carol Riley Cumberland Center
Care about climate change? Join your fellow Mainers. | Letter
I was happy to read Bowdoin student Violet Apodaca’s May 5 op-ed urging Mainers who are concerned about climate change to get out and protest. I agree with Violet’s comment that it indeed does “seem that we’ve lost our appetite for climate activism.” I also agree, as Violet wrote, that “protests can achieve radical policy […]
Why I decided to show up at protests | Letter
In the 1960s, there were ample opportunities to join citizen-led protests, but I was a little young for the civil rights struggles and too naïve to realize what was happening in Vietnam. That changed in May 1970. I witnessed somber marchers carrying four coffins down Waterville’s Mayflower Hill, symbolizing the murder of four students at […]
Maine has had more than enough time to meet Real ID deadline | Letter
Regarding the May 2 headline “Maine seeks delayed enforcement of Real ID as deadline approaches,” I am stunned that we have the audacity to ask for yet more time. The law was first introduced in 2005. Two decades ago! And yet we need more time? Twelve states have compliance rates of 96% or higher, yet […]
Grateful for Sen. King’s speech | Letter
I’m writing to convey my deep appreciation for Sen. Angus King’s speech honoring the legacy of Sen. Margaret Chase Smith’s courageous opposition to McCarthyism 75 years ago next month. In today’s politics, her ascension to the Senate might be considered a DEI hire. King’s address calls to mind the powerful warning issued by Martin Niemöller […]