News

Maine Women’s Fund awardees are building a new world

Change-makers in our midst
On the surface, they have little in common: An unassuming entrepreneur in her late 50s, an accomplished 38-year-old photojournalist, and a trio of energetic teenagers. But these women do exhibit several shared traits. They are plucky and passionate, clever and unpretentious. They are Mainers. And all five will be honored next Thursday, May 23, at the Maine Women's Fund's annual Leadership Luncheon, which honors those who are making life better for women and girls in this state and beyond.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 16, 2013

Watch your backs, useless people

Poll numbers
Poll numbers

By: JEFF INGLIS | May 16, 2013

Immigration by the numbers

One Cent's Worth
After many false starts, a convergence of public sentiment and political will has sped the country to the brink of comprehensive immigration reform. In purely economic terms, it's a no-brainer — one of those rare instances where a moral imperative neatly aligns with our national self-interest.

By: MARC MEWSHAW | May 16, 2013

Change for the better

Politics + other mistakes
The trouble with tax reform is that almost everybody not named Warren Buffett believes it should result in their personal tax bill going down.

By: AL DIAMON | May 16, 2013

Union comments

Letters
The State Theatre and a CWA member respond to recent coverage of unions.

By: LETTERS TO THE PORTLAND EDITOR | May 16, 2013

Union battles continue

Organized labor
An update on the state employees' union's dispute with the governor, plus union organizers' plans for medical-marijuana workers.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 16, 2013

Laptop program change sets schools back 10 years

Learning works
The webinar started with a five-minute effort to ensure the screen-and-audio sharing technology was actually working, punctuated by uncertainty about which representatives of which companies would be making remarks. Not an auspicious start.

By: JEFF INGLIS | May 09, 2013

Maine’s environmental movement reinvents itself for a new era of challenges

Blooming Activists
Maine's cherished environment may be threatened as never before by the gargantuan forces of economic globalization. In reaction, the state's environmental movement is coalescing into a force stronger than ever. There are new players in the game — including Occupy — augmenting the old guard

By: LANCE TAPLEY | May 10, 2013

I don't know where I stand

Politics + other mistakes
When it comes to sex, there's something ambivalent about Michael Michaud. No, not that. I mean Michaud's position on abortion.

By: AL DIAMON | May 09, 2013

Let it grow

Going green
In addition to its ecological value, the abundant marine resource is also worth money — millions of pounds of rockweed are harvested every year.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 09, 2013

Legislature wades through hundreds of proposals

From silly to serious
Want to know what your elected officials are mulling over? Here is a subjective selection of bills that piqued our interest.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 09, 2013

Laborers may have a bright future

Unions in Maine
Even as the organized-labor movement continues to falter on the national level, union leaders here in Maine are optimistic about a potential resurgence — or if not that, at least a stanching of the bleeding and an opportunity to prove that pro-union policies are best for local workers and communities.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 03, 2013

No choice

Letter
Kudos to the Penobscot County Commissioners for hosting an informational public forum concerning the proposed East West Utility Corridor.

By: LETTERS TO THE PORTLAND EDITOR | May 03, 2013

The price you pay(1)

Politics + other mistakes
Politics + other mistakes

By: AL DIAMON | May 03, 2013

Can I get a witness?

Press Releases
Remember when public appearances by elected officials were things daily-newspaper reporters went to? Times have changed.

By: JEFF INGLIS | May 03, 2013

When silence speaks volumes

Words off the Page
On her deathbed, Terry Tempest Williams's mother left her daughter three shelves of cloth-bound journals. When Williams opened them, hoping to find solace as well as perhaps some insight into her mother's soul, all she found was blank pages.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 03, 2013

Dancing? You'll need a license

Papers, Please
Papers, Please

By: SAM PFEIFLE | April 24, 2013

Addicted to bad ideas(1)

Politics + Other Mistakes
Due process isn't pretty. Or convenient. Or even fair. All those rules that are supposed to assure both employers and employees they'll be getting an unbiased hearing can easily result in businesses losing some they probably should have won.

By: AL DIAMON | April 24, 2013

Never Saw 'Em Coming

Diverse City
Wasn't it so uncomfortable when we found out two white men set off bombs at the Boston Marathon last week, and people started looking suspiciously at white guys? Oh, wait . . . they didn't.

By: SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | April 24, 2013