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The potential of TEDxDirigo

Spreading Ideas
There were several impressive, stick-in-your-mind talks at the TEDxDirigo: Engage conference, held last Saturday at the University of Southern Maine.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 23, 2012

Lemonade: it’s not just a lark anymore

Starting Young
If you remember when a lemonade stand involved a folding table, pitcher, lemons, and a parent who was tired of hearing "I'm bored!" you'll find those lazy summer days are over.

By: | May 23, 2012

Transport Revolution
Electric cars — ones that are completely rechargeable and use no gasoline — are now available in Maine, in addition to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and traditional hybrids, both of which boast higher fuel-efficiency than conventional cars.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 16, 2012

Grad students get the knife

Student Loan Cuts
On July 1 graduate and professional students will no longer be eligible for federally subsidized Stafford loans.

By: MELISSA NELSON | May 16, 2012

‘30,000 drones’ over America and other stories

Conventionland
"You are now being watched by 30,000 drones," Second District congressional primary candidate Blaine Richardson dramatically told the 3000 people assembled at the Republican State Convention in Augusta on May 5.

By: LANCE TAPLEY | May 09, 2012

Play: Beware what lies beneath

Disaster Preparation
The US Bureau of Land Management estimates that 90 percent of existing natural-gas wells in this country use hydraulic fracturing techniques — commonly known as "fracking" — that inject pressurized water and toxic chemicals into the ground.

By: MEGAN GRUMBLING | May 09, 2012

What’s really behind high gas prices

Priming the Pump
Fingers crossed that we've seen the worst of it — analysts say gas prices won't go any higher than the April 6 peak of $3.94 per gallon — but filling up your tank this summer is still going to cost a big chunk of change.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | May 02, 2012

In Yemen

Toontime
The CIA is seeking authority to expand its covert drone campaign in Yemen ...

By: MATT BORS | May 02, 2012

GOP legislators stick with ALEC

After Trayvon
Faced with a campaign asking him and seven other Republican legislators to quit the controversial conservative lobbyist-legislator coalition ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — House assistant majority leader Andre Cushing, of Hampden, says: "If they can give me a reason why this is harmful to the state, I'll consider it."

By: LANCE TAPLEY | April 25, 2012

Small cities poised to thrive

Seeing the future
The future of America can be found not in its largest cities nor its deepest wilds, but in the small cities dotting its landscape, recovering from decades of neglect and economic ravaging.

By: JEFF INGLIS | April 25, 2012

Russian protesters can use your help

Eastern movement
Back on February 21, Pussy Riot, a group of Russian artist-activists, staged a "punk prayer" to the Virgin Mary, dancing, singing, and chanting at the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, in an effort to promote human rights in Russia, which are severely curtailed under the leadership of Vladimir Putin.

By: CHRIS STIEGLER | April 25, 2012

Politicos like the East-West highway; how about the public?

Pothole Patrol
Peter Vigue, CEO of Maine's big construction company Cianbro, has recently been successful in promoting to the state's politicians his plan for a 220-mile, limited-access, privately owned toll highway bisecting Maine from New Brunswick to Quebec.

By: LANCE TAPLEY | April 18, 2012

King-BIW deal resurfaces during tax-incentive scrutiny

Corporate Welfare Watch
Bath Iron Works staff subsidize their own jobs as a result of a 15-year-old deal now coming under criticism from a national watchdog group.

By: JEFF INGLIS | April 20, 2012

Female Dems could help take back the State House

Political Machinery
More than 25 alumnae and board members of Emerge Maine, the political training program for Democratic women in the state, are running for office in 2012. This is good news for both women and Democrats in Maine.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | April 18, 2012

Big top on the small screen

Kids on film
Circus Smirkus, the Vermont-based youth circus that visits Maine every summer, will appear on Maine televisions in a documentary highlighting both the performances and the struggles — physical and financial — of a small traveling show.

By: JEFF INGLIS | April 04, 2012

Progressives rally against rushed GOP agenda

Legislative threats
As the rush to late-April legislative adjournment begins, much is at stake for people who want to help the needy (or are needy), or value a fair tax system, or treasure Maine's unspoiled woods and shores, or want government to be run openly — in short, for many people who these days are often called progressives.

By: LANCE TAPLEY | April 04, 2012

Youth-led projects generate excitement around the state

Launching Maine
Five community projects are vying for a $500 grand prize that will be awarded to one finalist at the League of Young Voters' Launch Maine party this Friday evening.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | April 04, 2012

Countering troubling online queries

Viral videos
If you haven't seen the videos haunting Facebook, Twitter, and the news, then search for "Am I Ugly?" on YouTube.

By: KIRAH LYNN BROUILLETTE | March 28, 2012

Gov’s proposal: punish needy and local taxpayers

Helping hands?
Proposed cuts to the state-mandated General Assistance program, which serves as an emergency resource for individuals who have exhausted all other options (applicants must demonstrate need and have liquidated all accounts in order to qualify), threaten to shift costs to Portland taxpayers and increase the city's "service center" burden, according to Mayor Michael Brennan.

By: DEIRDRE FULTON | March 28, 2012

Occupier fined for trespass

Blaine House 9
In a stiff sentence for an act of nonviolent civil disobedience, a judge on March 23 slapped a $400 fine plus $90 in court costs on the first of the "Blaine House 9" to go on trial. Diane Messer, 59, of Liberty, had been convicted of criminal trespass by a Kennebec County Superior Court jury in Augusta.

By: LANCE TAPLEY | March 28, 2012