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Why high gas prices are a signal of (more) inflation to come
Where I grew up in northern Minnesota, it’s easy to see the impact...
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Maine DOE hiring for MOOSE online learning program
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) recently announced it is looking to hire...
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University of Maine System disregards policy in Chancellor Malloy’s temporary contract extension
During a June 16 meeting of the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Education and...
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SCOTUS overturns Roe v. Wade, ending federal abortion rights
In a 6-3 majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the U.S. Supreme...
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Blame high gas prices on red tape
Several factors contribute to soaring gasoline prices, but the greed of oil barons...
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Why isn’t Maine’s preferred K-12 gender identity curriculum more accessible to parents?
In the aftermath of widespread pandemic-era learning disruptions, many parents and community members...
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Understanding the importance of sunset provisions
According to the American Legislative Exchange Council Center for State Fiscal Reform, Maine is...
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Maine Supreme Court denies challenge to state’s ‘yellow flag’ law
In a decision released June 21, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled against...
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Halsey Frank: Little hymn to the Republic
On June 17, I attended the COVID-delayed swearing-in ceremony for my successor as...
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Supreme Court strikes down sectarian exclusion in Maine’s town tuitioning program
On June 21, the United States Supreme Court ruled Maine’s prohibition on sectarian...
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Protecting our children, both in body and in mind
In recent weeks, our hearts have been broken and our consciences racked by...
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College enrollment drops as students seek alternatives
The past two years have been marked by major education disruption at the...
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Recent court filings renew debate on Sunday hunting in Maine
For decades, Mainers have debated the State’s more-than-a-century-old prohibition against hunting on Sundays....
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Why Biden’s claim of cutting the deficit is false, in a single chart
Since President Joe Biden took office office early last year, America’s long-term budget...
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Maine unemployment rate hits 26-month low in May
Maine’s unemployment rate fell slightly in May, to 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent...
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Waterville doctor who wrote COVID-19 vaccine exemptions has license reinstated
The Board of Osteopathic Licensure restored Paul Gosselin’s license to practice medicine on...
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Malloy, UMS Board of Trustees chair address controversies during education committee meeting
A decision about University of Maine System (UMS) Chancellor Dannel Malloy’s contract will...
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Halsey Frank: Democrats’ detrimental DA decision
In what appears to have been little more than a political litmus test...
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Poliquin tops Caruso, Sartoris defeats Sarhbeck in Maine’s June primary elections
Republican Bruce Poliquin defeated Elizabeth Caruso in the June 14 primary for the...
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Maine DOE announces public comment period for new waiver requests
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is currently seeking comments related to a...
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Yes, the products you’re buying are getting smaller—even though prices are not
The rise in consumer prices has rightly received a great deal of attention,...
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DSA ballot initiatives would add insult to injury for Portland businesses
Last week, the Maine Democratic Socialists of America rushed to file paperwork with...
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Federal watchdog finds 20% of pandemic unemployment funds wasted on fraudulent or ineligible claims
At least 20 percent of federal dollars paid out through pandemic-related unemployment programs...
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Subcommittee of Gov. Mills’ Climate Council recommends payments, transportation and childcare for Mainers who attend meetings
As part of Maine’s Climate Council, which is working to implement a four-year...
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New report pegs Maine’s economy as 8th weakest in 2022
According to a report recently released by WalletHub, Maine has the eighth weakest...
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Lockdowners are still unwilling to recognize harms they brought on youth
Is it possible that despite the mounting evidence against them, some lockdown enthusiasts...
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Halsey Frank: Reservations about the DOJ’s new use-of-force policy
It is illegal and unacceptable for law enforcement officers to use excessive force....
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Hybrid learning during pandemic cements Cape Elizabeth parent’s support for school choice
For John Lewis, his local school district’s decision to enact hybrid learning during...
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Maine DSA pushing four ballot questions in Portland, including $18 minimum wage
The Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) recently announced it...
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Do we really need 100 different federal programs to fund broadband?
President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill apportioned $1.2 trillion for such projects as roads, bridges,...
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The New York Times explains why mask mandates don’t work
Throughout the pandemic, few things incited more discord than the mandated use of...
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Portland reverses course on food truck lottery, grants permits to all applicants
Days after announcing the results of a lottery for a new pilot program...
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What the ReCode Portland effort can learn from the city of Auburn
Now that LD 2003, the housing bill sponsored by Speaker of the House...
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Maine’s $850 checks to start hitting mailboxes by next week
The $850 checks passed as part of the most recent supplemental budget deal...
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Halsey Frank: Actionable intelligence regarding mass shootings
The recent mass shootings at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York and...
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Tobacco harm reduction–not prohibition–is the path forward for Maine
Last month, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is developing...
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Mainers faced among the highest gas prices in the nation over Memorial Day weekend
According to The Hill, Maine’s average price of gas per gallon was 10th...
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Government greed caused inflation, for the record
Government policies fail and create problems in the real world every day. But...
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Portland Charter Commission’s initial report calls for noncitizen voting, clean elections and a strong mayor
If passed as currently written, a recently submitted draft proposal of reforms to...
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Halsey Frank: Shame has been getting a bad name
Shame used to be a relatively simple thing. You did something wrong. You...
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Empowerment, exit and entrepreneurship will continue to transform education
Over the past two years of social and economic disruption, U.S. education has...
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What a SCOTUS ruling in favor of Maine families would mean for school choice, town tuitioning
Before the Supreme Court issues its final opinion for the October 2021 term...
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Chancellor Malloy receives fourth no-confidence vote, Laliberte withdraws from UMA post
University of Maine System (UMS) Chancellor Dannel Malloy has now received four votes...
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Opinion: NECEC provides once-in-a-generation training opportunities for trades
There are a lot of benefits to the New England Clean Energy Connect...
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Maine’s unemployment situation ‘essentially unchanged’ in April
Following an upward revision to March’s jobs numbers, Maine’s unemployment rate was “essentially...
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Halsey Frank: The CDC and trying to make sense of firearms homicides
On May 14, 18-year-old Payton Gendron traveled more than 200 miles from his...
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Opinion: Let’s save Maine’s lobster industry from death by regulation
If you’ve ever been to the state of Oregon – home of the...
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UMS chancellor Malloy under fire for hiring practices at UMA, retrenchment at UMF
After failing to disclose a vote of no confidence in the incoming University...
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Report questions the information collection, retention and auditing practices of the MIAC
As a result of its information retention practices related to privacy and the...
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Biden just single-handedly made the gas crisis worse
Americans are already struggling under the weight of crippling inflation, from skyrocketing gas...
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Halsey Frank: Thoughts on voting rights
It wasn’t long ago that Democrats were claiming that the For the People Act,...
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Lawmakers spar over hemp regulations on final day of session
Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) would write new rules to...
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Lawmakers sustain all five of Gov. Mills’ vetoes
When the legislature returned to Augusta for veto day on May 9, lawmakers...
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No increase in flight cancellations after CDC mask mandate lifted, data show
It’s been two week since a federal court threw out the CDC’s transport...
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Secretary of State’s Office can consult Urban Dictionary in review, approval of vanity license plates
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office released draft rules on May 5 detailing...
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The FDA uses new authority to close off last remaining legal option for vapers who like flavors
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving fast to close off what...
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Small business advocates worry about costs, confusion with Maine’s new paid vacation time policy
A law related to pay for vacation time at the end of employment...
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Halsey Frank: Maine’s new, not-so-good Samaritan law
Harm reductionists praise Maine’s new Good Samaritan law. I’m not sure it’s deserved. I will...
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Why energy prices are projected to increase 50% in 2022—after doubling last year
Sometimes I have to remind myself how good we Americans have it because—let’s...
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New rules spell trouble for Maine lobstermen, with or without enforcement
Though a new rule from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration affecting the...
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Gov. Mills issues first vetoes of the second session
Gov. Janet Mills has so far vetoed two bills passed during the 130th...
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Unpacking the tribal sovereignty bills and debate
Though the 130th Maine Legislature will return to Augusta for a veto day...
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Maine becomes the third state to end single-family-only zoning
Maine is embracing new California-style laws aimed at reducing restrictions on new housing....
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Remote learning correlated with greater K-12 learning loss, study finds
A new study recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)...
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Here’s what has become law thus far from the legislature’s second session
On April 27, Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 2003 into law. The bill...
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Lawmakers fund cessation efforts but retreat on more sweeping tobacco taxes and regulations
With the 130th Maine Legislature’s second session completed, except for a veto day...
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Halsey Frank: Making sense of Judge Mizelle’s mask mandate ruling
On April 18, Florida federal Judge Kathryn Mizelle invalidated the Centers for Disease Control and...
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Extra day of session results in substantial legislative spending spree
Both chambers of the Maine Legislature met on April 25 for the final...
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Why the feds are clinging to their mask mandate
Bureaucrats cling to power. It’s their institutional predisposition. So it was no surprise...
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Drop the useless mask mandates and leave us alone
The last couple of years have been a revelation when it comes to...
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Halsey Frank: Taking on more than Portland can handle
Last week, while driving toward the peninsula on Outer Congress Street around Craigie...
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Lawmakers extend session one day, Mills’ utility accountability bill revived with new amendment
Lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and Senate met on April 20...
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Final version of local zoning, affordable housing bill leaves much to be desired
Last week, LD 2003, a bill sponsored by Speaker Ryan Fecteau to reform...
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State government-controlled healthcare system would raise costs, jeopardize access to quality care
Mainers deserve access to high-quality health care with an affordable price tag. Following...
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Lawmakers enact budget agreement, House rejects Gov. Mills’ utility accountability proposal
Both the House of Representative and the Senate convened on April 19 for...
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Lawmakers closing in on final deals on budget, housing and utility accountability measures
With only three days left in the 130th Legislature’s second session, both the...
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Maine unemployment shows modest improvement in March
In March, Maine’s unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, a decrease from February’s 4...
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New study provides yet more evidence that COVID lockdowns didn’t work
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, even alarmist government officials like Dr. Anthony...
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Lawmakers reach budget agreement, approve House Speaker’s housing bill
The Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) met late on the evening...
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Halsey Frank: Governing in Portland is no picnic in the park
The trend of people quitting Portland government (councilors Nicholas Mavodones, Jill Duson, Spencer...
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Opinion: Runaway spending defies Maine values
Tax Day is a fitting day to revisit where our tax-and-spend ways have...
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Lawmakers rush to finish work with one week left in second session
With one week left in the legislative session and work on the supplemental...
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COVID stimulus checks worsened inflation
Inflation has surged across much of the developed world in the past year...
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The environmental downside of electric vehicles
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an electric vehicle requires six times...
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Speaker Fecteau offers last minute amendment to affordable housing bill
On April 7, the Maine Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee voted 8 to...
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What if discretion is our recourse?
(If you read my column “Have We No Recourse?”, this column is intended...
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Legislature approves sale of spirits at stadiums, indefinitely postpones inspection fee hike
The Maine Senate on April 7 voted to indefinitely postpone a bill that...
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Fentanyl now the leading cause of death for adults ages 18 to 45
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data now show fentanyl overdose...
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Halsey Frank: Tempest in a teapot, or in this case, a South Portland coffee shop
How can we end the cycle of recrimination from which we are suffering...
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‘Pine Tree Amendment’ fails to garner enough support in House to amend state constitution
The House of Representatives on April 5 failed to pass a bill that...
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‘Inflation tax’ will cost families this many thousands this year, Bloomberg analysis warns
Another day, another alarming inflation metric. We just got the numbers for the...
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Both parties outline spending priorities with less than three weeks until adjournment
The 130th Maine Legislature is currently scheduled to adjourn its second session on...
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Halsey Frank: Regressive justice
It’s hard to decide who is worse, actor Jussie Smollett, who faked a...
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‘Equity’ and ‘social justice’ at Maine’s public universities
Over the last year, frequent communications from University of Maine System leaders Chancellor...
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Legislature passes bill to keep open veterans’ homes, Senate tables bill to double inspection fee
A bill to keep veterans’ homes in Machias and Caribou open was passed...
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Waivers, assessment changes make difficult comparisons of education outcomes in Maine during pandemic
For the last two school years, Maine has received a waiver from the...
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Why are Maine lawmakers letting special interests nickel-and-dime us on vehicle inspections?
Mandatory motor vehicle inspections already cost Mainers $14 million and countless hours of...
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Maine House votes to double annual fee on motor vehicle inspections
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate met on March 29 for...
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The Biden administration is ignoring how its policies will worsen inflation. Again.
Despite inflation running at a 40-year high, the Biden administration is pushing ahead...
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Opinion: Flavored tobacco ban bill bad for Maine’s public health
As a physician – one who has dedicated his career to treating lung...
