Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • A family history of toil

    According to the vast collective mind of the Internet, we Americans work a lot: more than we used to, more than most other countries, and, according to the National Sleep Foundation, a staggering 38% of us work over 50 hours each week. In our family, we call that slacking — endless toil (occasionally even productive) […]

  • Republicans raiding state retirement again

    Back in 1990 the McKernan administration balanced the state budget by “borrowing” $73 million from state retirement funds. Even worse, the amount the state contributes to employees’ retirement was reduced to 5.5% from 7.65%. Employees’ contributions remained at 7.65%. Fast forward to 2011 — the unfunded deficit has grown to $4.3 billion as subsequent administrations […]

  • Common redpolls

    In the early morning, we like to sit in front of the living room window with a cup of tea and watch the day begin. In the depth of winter, we look at starstwinkling overhead in a dark sky, and then see the first light of dawn. Before the sun comes over the hill, we […]

  • So where do we go from here?

    We chuckled along with the rest of the crowd at the Feb. 8 public hearing, when Scott Finlayson said that one good thing that came from his petitions to ban big box stores and fast food restaurants in Bridgton was that “The Bridgton News has sold a lot of papers.” It’s true that folks have […]

  • Poll for out-of-state property owners

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  • Do you want flies with that?

    I’ve spent much of my adult life earning my keep by moving my 10 fingers across a computer keyboard as fast as I can. As in many endeavors involving repetition, limited choices, and too much caffeine, with enough practice, you can get pretty quick. A few years ago (as many regular readers of this column […]

  • Straw Bale Home Building As Education

    By Joyce White Special to The News The McKeith family in Sweden seems to have found a way to live well by living simply. On their 70 acres, the family has built a distinctive, solar-powered home for five humans, two dogs and Hubert the cat. The house is small with beautiful, simple lines and white […]

  • Hungering For Spring

    The sky is clear blue, the sun is shining, and a brief snow shower this morning left everything looking refreshed, clean and white. It is late February, when days are suddenly longer and there is warmth in the sunshine, but even though this is one of my favorite times of year I find myself looking […]

  • Clutching doorknobs in the fog

    Order. Familiarity. Clarity. Stability. These are things I like. I’m not a fan of chaos, mystery and shaky ground. Perhaps it’s just an advancing age thing, but I like to know where I am, what’s in front of me, and what’s coming next. At three in the morning, the doorknob to the bathroom is always in […]

  • Maine’s Priority Chemicals

    By Sally Chappell Guest Columnist It’s a chemical found in the bodies of 93% of Americans. Used as a hormone replacement drug starting in the 1930s, it was applied to other purposes in later decades until today it is one of the most widely used chemicals. Six billion pounds a year is produced for making […]