Nick Murray
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Coronavirus
What happened to natural immunity?
On September 9th, President Joe Biden ordered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a...
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Commentary
Governor’s gamble: Weighing the potential costs of Mills’ healthcare worker vaccine mandate
On August 12, Maine Governor Janet Mills issued an emergency rule change through the state...
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Coronavirus
Kids caught in the crossfire in debate over masks in schools
At the end of July, Governor Mills and the Maine CDC issued a...
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Commentary
BDN Editorial Board confuses terms regarding Delta variant
In its July 5 piece, the editorial board of the Bangor Daily News...
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Taxes
Systemic tax reform is better than one-time gimmicks
This week, Maine lawmakers will vote on LD 221, Governor Janet Mills’ supplemental...
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lockdowns
Lockdowns devastated the poor, not the virus
A new Harvard analysis of various data points throughout the pandemic shows that...
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Regulations
Legislators missed the mark on child care reform this session
A prominent refrain in the pandemic recession-recovery story has been the persistent labor...
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Tech Policy
There’s no need for a government-owned network in Knox County
Many advocates in Maine and around the nation have highlighted the need for...
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Commentary
It’s time to reopen the US-Canada border
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that at least 50% of...
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Commentary
Mask rules persist for children in Maine schools. Why?
On Monday, May 24, nearly eight months after it was first ordered, Maine Gov....
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Energy Policy
State takeover of CMP, Versant Power a boondoggle in the making
Lawmakers on Maine’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee held a public hearing last...
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Coronavirus
Starting today, Maine businesses are no longer Gov. Mills’ COVID police
Last week, Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community...
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Commentary
New Hampshire the beneficiary of New England’s misguided tobacco policies
Last week, Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing on...
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In Depth
Population growth in Maine trails region and nation
On Monday, the US Census Bureau released its first estimate of state and...
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Energy & Environment
Mainers, not Governor Mills, should decide Maine’s participation in the TCI
Maine’s Committee on State and Local Government held public hearings last Friday on...
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Education
Should Mainers be fined $500 for recording their child’s virtual learning?
Lawmakers on Maine’s Judiciary Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on LD 864,...
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Coronavirus
New England governors are lifting pandemic mandates, but not Governor Mills
On Tuesday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that he will lift all business...
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Commentary
Governor Mills thinks her emergency power should be even more expansive
On Wednesday afternoon, Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public...
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Commentary
In 2020, New Hampshire’s opioid issues got better while Maine’s got worse
So-called “deaths of despair,” those involving drug abuse, alcohol, or suicide, have been...
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Healthcare
It’s time to scrap certificate of need in Maine
Members of Maine’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee will hold public...
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Coronavirus
Maine localities set to receive nearly $500 million from federal government
On March 11, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan...
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Coronavirus
Data from around the country affirm schools are safe to reopen
Over the last few weeks, a central pillar of pandemic-era decision making crumbled....
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Commentary
Breaking down the bills to reform Maine’s emergency powers law
As many Mainers question the appropriateness of a year-long state of emergency, in...
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Transportation
After suspension in 2020, it’s time to repeal vehicle inspections in Maine
Lawmakers on Maine’s Transportation Committee held virtual public hearings Thursday on five bills...
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Inside Augusta
Will Maine make it easier for skilled professionals to relocate here?
On Tuesday, lawmakers on Maine’s Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement, and Business Committee held...
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Tech Policy
Satellite internet panned after only a few months in Maine
The internet is a critical service — everyone can agree on that —...
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Healthcare
Certificate of Need hurts health outcomes in rural Maine
In Maine, medical providers like hospitals, out-patient facilities and nursing homes must obtain...
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Commentary
Time to pull back on emergency powers for governors
Last Friday, Democratic state senator John Mannion of New York called for an end to...
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Inside Augusta
How would banning flavored tobacco products impact Maine’s budget?
This week, the anti-tobacco organization “Flavors Hook Kids” held an online news conference...
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Inside Augusta
Adding insult to injury: Governor Mills and the PPP
The Paycheck Protection Program, part of the federal CARES Act passed last year,...
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Daily Catch
How to reform emergency executive power, in Maine and the nation
At the peak of state-ordered lockdowns in response to COVID-19, 316 million Americans across 42...
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Coronavirus
WHO urges ‘careful interpretation’ of positive COVID-19 test results
On January 20, the World Health organization (WHO) issued an advisory for labs...
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Welfare
Maine’s food stamp error blues
As I dig deeper into the recent supplemental and biennial budget proposals from...
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Inside Augusta
Governor Mills’ budget sleight of hand
Maine Governor Janet Mills released the details of her second proposed biennial budget last Friday...
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Economy
Understanding the economic cost of 2020 pandemic policy
The economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, exacerbated by the response...
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Coronavirus
The myth of widespread asymptomatic transmission
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)...
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Energy Policy
Maine’s climate action plan heavy on spending, light on specifics
Earlier this month, the Maine Climate Council released its four-year plan titled, “Maine...
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Coronavirus
New studies on COVID-19 testing underscore need for greater transparency in Maine
Maine Policy Institute has previously noted the potential pitfalls of relying on a single health...
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News
SCOTUS rebukes NY pandemic orders targeting religious services
In a decision handed down late Thanksgiving Eve, a five-Justice majority of the...
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Coronavirus
PCR tests and the prickly partnership between science and state
As COVID-19 case counts rise across the United States and Europe, it is...
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Education
Biden advisor notes incoming administration’s plan to neuter charter schools
Last year, the Maine Legislature and Governor Janet Mills enacted a pair of...
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Coronavirus
Governor Mills’ coronavirus narrative is crumbling
Governor Janet Mills’ latest batch of doomsday rhetoric is an admission that her...
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Election Center
Massachusetts voters reject RCV in surprise Election Day upset
With more than 90% of the votes counted in Massachusetts, it appears that...
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Coronavirus
Gov. Mills stokes fear while doubling down on economic restrictions
Last Friday, Lindsey Crete, spokesperson for Governor Janet Mills, hinted to the Maine...
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Election Center
New Poll: RCV ballot question a dead heat in Massachusetts
A poll released Monday by UMass Amherst and WCVB is showing a tightening...
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Election Center
Despite massive fundraising disparity, RCV still a close contest in Massachusetts
A recent Ipsos poll asked 1,001 Massachusetts adults about a number of issues,...
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Coronavirus
Scott Atlas a vital voice of reason on White House Coronavirus Task Force
In a recent interview on Lockdown TV, Dr. Scott Atlas, a healthcare policy...
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Coronavirus
Maine artists continue to struggle under Gov. Mills’ economic restrictions
Our relationship with the arts has been severely and permanently altered this year....
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Coronavirus
Michigan Supreme Court rules governor’s emergency extension unconstitutional
Late last week, the Michigan Supreme Court in a 4-3 vote ruled that...
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Coronavirus
Maine CDC stalling release of coronavirus testing data
When we hear about the challenge of testing for the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), we...
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Inside Augusta
Mills’ curtailment order balances the budget for now, but tough choices remain in the future
Last week, Governor Janet Mills issued a “curtailment order,” a tool Maine governors...
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Taxes
BDN Editorial Board tells Mainers to pay up for Gov. Mills’ mistakes
The BDN editorial board’s recent commentary on the state budget shortfall reminds us...
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Economy
CBO projects highest rate of US debt-to-GDP since 1945
My colleagues and I have previously written on the State of Maine’s impending...
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Coronavirus
Understanding the CDC’s new data on COVID-19 deaths
Recently, some on social media have shared a misrepresentation of an August 26...
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Education
Waterville-area school district plans to bring students back to school full-time
In mid-August, the board of directors of Regional School Unit 18, a school...
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Coronavirus
Coronavirus found in Brazil sewage samples months before first cases reported
Researchers studying sewage samples from southern Brazil found remnants of the novel coronavirus,...
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Coronavirus
New CDC report highlights mental health costs of the pandemic
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released a report...
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Biennial Budget
Maine’s current economic forecast should prompt substantial spending cuts
The latest report from Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC), published earlier this month,...
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Daily Catch
‘Defund the police’ is not a real reform strategy
The last few months have been tense, marked by social distancing and physical...
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Child Care
Pediatric medical experts agree: Send kids back to school
These days, in states across the nation, public health officials are discovering more...
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Coronavirus
Sanford-area charities rally to urge Gov. Mills to let them open
Yesterday, a few dozen people gathered in the parking lot of American Legion...
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Daily Catch
Maine Brewers Guild urges Gov. Mills to relax reopening rules
On Tuesday, Scott Sullivan, head of the Maine Brewers Guild, a nonprofit trade...
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Judiciary
‘How is this constitutional?’ Understanding the limits of emergency executive power
On Thursday, May 14, Maine Policy Institute hosted an online panel discussion with...
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National
Modest meat reforms would help Americans stay fed during the pandemic
Recent stories of farmers euthanizing livestock and dumping milk have startled many Americans,...
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Commentary
How similar are the recovery plans in Maine and New Hampshire?
Last Friday, Maine Governor Janet Mills released a revision to her phased reopening...
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Education
Homeschooling experts highlight the varied paths to gaining an education
On Thursday, April 9, Maine Policy Institute hosted a panel of veteran homeschoolers...
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Daily Catch
New documentary ‘America Lost’ explores America’s forgotten cities
With recent reports of staggering numbers of new U.S. unemployment claims–including over 21,000...
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Commentary
SEIU pledges $150 million to defeat President Trump in 2020
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision in June of 2018,...
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Daily Catch
What you need to know to participate in next week’s election
This upcoming Tuesday will be Maine’s first primary election for president since 2000,...
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Energy Policy
New report highlights the downfalls of establishing a state-owned utility
A recent report by London Economics International (LEI), a Boston-based financial advisory firm...
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Judiciary
Maine’s high court strikes down warrantless blood tests
On Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court struck down a law requiring police...
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Commentary
Want a new mobile phone? First, give the state your face
Last week, the government of China initiated a mandate that every new SIM...
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Daily Catch
How unworkable government rules separate man from his bacon
Farmer Randy Canarr of Souder Station Farm has been farming and raising livestock...
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Tech Policy
Calls to break up ‘Big Tech’ are misguided
In recent weeks, Americans have heard much about the problems with “Big Tech.”...
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Labor
CMS finalizes rule to end dues skimming of in-home caregivers
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule...
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Labor
What’s next for workplace freedom?
Three employees of Kent State University on Monday, April 29 filed suit against...
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Tech Policy
There’s no need to neuter the net in Maine
This week, the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology held a...
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Education
New bill creates unnecessary burden for special needs students and their families
On Thursday, Feb. 14 the legislature’s education committee held a public hearing on...
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Education
Don’t close the book on virtual charter schools
State Representative Michael Brennan of Portland recently introduced a pair of bills concerning...
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Daily Catch
Lessons in disruption from the 19th Century
Today’s world is in many ways at a crossroads, especially as technology and...
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National
Open markets for internet providers can bridge the digital divide
Many would agree that consistent access to the internet is an important part...
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Commentary
Portland City Council chasing opportunity into oblivion
Recently, the Housing Committee of Portland’s City Council met to discuss the possibility...
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Daily Catch
Microsoft’s ‘Airband Initiative’ serves rural Maine without government’s clumsy hand
Twenty-three million Americans–about 39 percent of the population–do not have access to broadband...
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Daily Catch
Portland City Council considers burdensome paid sick leave mandate
On Tuesday, April 24, the Portland City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee...
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Education
Maine can build on the success of its chartered schools
When conservatives in Augusta pushed to implement the law enabling charter schools in...
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Commentary
Sanford City Council needs a Constitutional Reality Check
On Tuesday, the Sanford City Council met to take public comment on a...
