Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • My Irish Up: Green Revolution in my blender

    By Mike Corrigan News Columnist I have graduated from eating creatures that once ate the lawn, to eating the lawn. Mother would have been proud. Foreshadowing my nutritionist’s instructions, Mom used to urge, “Eat your vegetables, if you want to grow up big and strong, like your Daddy.” I looked at my Dad, who was […]

  • Just then my bobber dips

    August. I see that word everywhere these days: in the glance at a calendar, in the writing of a check, in a newspaper headline declaring the waning summer. And if I let it, the mere mention of the eighth month of the year will lift me and carry me back to a distant time and […]

  • Problem with acting too fast at the Legislature

     By Senator Bill Diamond The old expression “act in haste, repent at leisure” is certainly true in the legislature. It is important to be careful and thoughtful about what we do there, as our actions can impact thousands of people. There will always be, unfortunately, unforeseen results from our actions, but if we take our […]

  • Earth Notes: Let Nature Teach

      By Bridie McGreavy “Let Nature Be Your Teacher” is a much-loved refrain in the field of environmental education. The line comes from a William Wordsworth poem in which he directs readers to, “Come forth into the light of things” by letting nature teach us. What does it mean to let nature be a teacher? […]

  • On a wild Bug chase

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist Last Saturday was just an ordinary day. My daughter Amanda, a college junior, needed a car and she thought she’d found the perfect fit in an Uncle Henry’s ad: a 2002 VW Beetle, loaded, with a five-speed transmission and low mileage. If you know Amanda, you’d agree, “Yup, that […]

  • What is sexual violence

    All too often, we define violence only when there is an injury due to physical force. We define violence only by its extreme. Violence involves any injury to someone — harm is done, a wrong is done or suffered. Certainly, when sexual abuse or sexual assault is experienced, harm is done — emotional and psychological […]

  • Earth Notes: Sugar Rush

      By Frank Daggett I love my morning coffee. Well, that’s a bit of an understatement. Truth be told, I need my morning coffee! And yes, my mid-morning coffee and my cuppa after lunch, without which I’d be found face down on my desk in the late afternoon. All day long, I can take each […]

  • Bird Watch: Wild Visitor

    By Jean Preis BN Columnist Last evening, a soft breeze blew across the lake as the sun was sinking down toward the northern mountains, so hoping to see a beautiful sunset we decided to take the canoe out for a cruise. We paddled close to shore, exchanging waves and “good evening” with several vacationing families […]

  • Writing about absolutely nothing

    By Dawn De Busk BN Columnist Since the humdrums of humid heat have taken grip of the outdoor air, I seek my comfort in the quiet cool of the early morning, or the nighttime relief that arrives around midnight. Anyhow, I had hoped the coolness at these times of day would re-oxygenate my brain. But, […]

  • There’s a cat in the freezer?

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist I opened the refrigerator a few days ago and found a box of magnesium sulfate sitting snugly between the ketchup and a container of tofu (extra firm). When I confronted my other housemates, my daughter quickly confessed. “Oops. Sorry, thought it was milk,” she said. Now, this may seem […]