Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • My Irish Up: How to Smoke a Pipe

    Americans purchased less than five million pounds of pipe tobacco in 2004, a 91% decline from 1970. — Livestrong website By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist Since I haven’t been dying fast enough for most people’s tastes lately, I decided to take up smoking a pipe. While some may ask, Why? I boldly exclaim, Hellfire, Why […]

  • Small World: The Death and Life(?) of a Great City

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Detroit — First in the American League, Central Division. First in major city bankruptcy. I visited Detroit briefly about 20 years ago, driving through the city to its world-class art museum. I say city — it was more like an immense, rubble-strewn meadow with occasional structures left standing and a […]

  • Viewpoint: On Frank Gerrish’s passing

    By Dawn De Busk BN Columnist I saw his handiwork long before I met the man in person. Like so many people driving on the Naples Causeway, I could not help but notice the Songo River Queen — an almost 100-foot-long paddleboat moored there. The first time I met Gerrish was a few weeks before […]

  • My Irish Up: Slang-uage

    By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist The main reason I don’t hang with the cool kids is I don’t get their lingo anymore, you dig? Any phrase that came later than “groovy,” I find pretty much mystifying, leaving me “one fry short of a Happy Meal,” as the in-crowd says these days. Or, possibly not. All […]

  • My Irish Up: Fun with math

    By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist How many times have you heard this? “Why do I have to do this stupid homework? It’s not like I’ll ever use math in my real life!” And, how many times have you argued back, trying to sound reasonable for once: “Son, don’t be crazy. If you want to get […]

  • Small World: Yet another round of talks

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Here we go again. Peace talks — or talks about holding peace talks — have started between Israelis and Palestinians with Americans acting as middlemen. A few years have passed since George Bush hosted peace talks at Annapolis. Nothing was achieved then. Nothing has been achieved in the interim. Little […]

  • Krieg: Public’s opinion essential for proper planning

    By Anne Krieg, AICP Bridgton Director of Planning, Economic & Community Development Hello Bridgton residents and vacationers! I hope you are enjoying summer in between the raindrops! I am writing a guest article this week and will continue to do so every other week as a means to let you know what’s happening in planning, […]

  • My Irish Up: To swim, perchance to sink

    By Mike Corrigan BN Columnist “Is he supposed to turn blue like that?” “He’s been practicing,” my mother primly informed the concerned swim instructor, not quite answering the girl’s question. And then, to me in an aside: “Michael Thomas Corrigan, cut that out! You’re scaring the other swimmers.” I attempted to nod. I was shivering […]

  • Small World: The Not So Friendly Skies

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist I take up my pen this morning not to promote “class warfare,” please be assured, but as a war correspondent on the battlefronts between classes. Have you noticed how few and how controlled those fronts are?  How rare it is for rich and not so rich to mix and mingle […]

  • Small World: Thinking about race

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist I sniff the breeze to learn what topics are ruffling thinkers this week. One is strong and apt to be sustained for a fair time: the killing of Treyvon Martin by George Zimmerman and the not guilty verdict that the jury pronounced. Two factors receive the most attention: the legal […]