Mike: Well, Bangor’s council has decided they want a national park almost 100 miles to the north. Who is next to put their thumb on the scale? Portland? Cynthia: Millinocket, the “magic city,” had better weigh in quickly before it disappears! Its population has dropped from 7,700 to 4,500 and keeps dropping. Portlanders and others […]
Call me old fashioned, but I thought that when a public institution hired someone for a big job, all qualified applicants would get the opportunity to compete for the position. If tax payers are footing the bill, shouldn’t the playing field be level and the process transparent? Not at the University of Maine, apparently. After […]
Much to the chagrin of knee-jerk Republicans who gleefully championed the repeal of the Democrats’ “tax on fun” reform law in 2009, Governor LePage rolled out a budget this year that taxes even more fun. And, for supporters of tax reform, its fun to watch haughty know-it-alls back peddle and talk out both sides of […]
Cynthia: Republicans are in charge, and all business — including the confirmation of the first black woman to be Attorney General — is on hold in the U.S. Senate until a bipartisan bill to help victims of human trafficking includes a provision about abortion. Seriously? How long must we pretend Republicans in Washington care more […]
Mike: Cynthia, why are Democrats so silent on Hillary Clinton’s avoidance of government email for official business? Cynthia: Because we’re tired of manufactured controversies, and we judge Clinton on her record of international achievement. Mike: “Manufactured controversy?” If Paul LePage had all his email stored on a privately-owned server, Democrats wouldn’t accuse him of flouting […]
Constitutional exegesis is all the rage in Washington these days, with Senate letters written explaining our system and federalism arguments flying at the Supreme Court. Yet we have our own constitutional issues playing out in Maine, with the Governor’s request to the Supreme Judicial Court for an opinion on his legal relationship with the Attorney General. […]
Cynthia: Maine’s Clean Election law is on the ropes, with battles raging in the Legislature and referendum questions expected on the ballot. Some lawmakers want to beef up publicly funded candidates’ ability to compete in races while others want outright repeal of the law that was supported overwhelmingly by the public in 1996. Maybe the […]
The “top stayer” at a Portland homeless shelter caused quite a stir this week when intrepid auditors from Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services discovered this person, likely mentally ill, had $92,424 in the bank while regularly bilking taxpayers out of a blue mat on a cold floor. This big story, to the shock […]
