Author: Andre Cushing

The tax reform bill working its way through Washington is good for Maine families and small business. Here’s why: First, both versions of the tax bill double the standard deduction for middle-class families. If you are a low or mid-level earner, you will benefit from significant increases to the standard deduction. Under both tax plans, this deduction would double, meaning that individuals earning $12,000 and households earning $24,000 would no longer owe taxes to the federal government. Taxes are eliminated for Maine families at or below the poverty line.Under the current tax structure, the 12.5 percent of Maine households below the poverty level, which…

As with the rest of life, if something in the political world sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Voters always need to be aware of that when they head to the ballot box, and especially so this November with the question of creating a new fund for education before them. It will be one of many referendum questions people are asked to weigh in on, with marijuana, minimum wage, bond issues and gun background checks also requiring action. That’s why it’s important to start talking about what is truly included in the initiatives now, six months…

Imagine waking up in the night and hearing someone in your home. How would you feel, and what would you do? Last September these were the circumstances that confronted Harvey Lembo. (See the BDN article) Harvey awoke to movement in his kitchen, and he confronted the criminal. He made the intruder sit on a coffee table as he called 911, and when the intruder lunged off the table, Harvey, a former police constable, shot him in the shoulder. The burglar, a 41-year-old male, was finally found and arrested, only after putting up a struggle with police. Open and shut case of…