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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...

  • Maine DOE hiring for MOOSE online learning program

    The Maine Department of Education (DOE) recently announced it is looking to hire...

  • 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...

  • SCOTUS overturns Roe v. Wade, ending federal abortion rights

    In a 6-3 majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the U.S. Supreme...

  • Blame high gas prices on red tape

    Several factors contribute to soaring gasoline prices, but the greed of oil barons...

  • 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...

  • Understanding the importance of sunset provisions

    According to the American Legislative Exchange Council Center for State Fiscal Reform, Maine is...

  • Maine Supreme Court denies challenge to state’s ‘yellow flag’ law

    In a decision released June 21, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled against...

  • Halsey Frank: Little hymn to the Republic

    On June 17, I attended the COVID-delayed swearing-in ceremony for my successor as...

  • 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...

  • Protecting our children, both in body and in mind

    In recent weeks, our hearts have been broken and our consciences racked by...

  • College enrollment drops as students seek alternatives

    The past two years have been marked by major education disruption at the...

  • 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....

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Halsey Frank: Democrats’ detrimental DA decision

    In what appears to have been little more than a political litmus test...

  • 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...

  • Maine DOE announces public comment period for new waiver requests

    The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is currently seeking comments related to a...

  • 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,...

  • DSA ballot initiatives would add insult to injury for Portland businesses

    Last week, the Maine Democratic Socialists of America rushed to file paperwork with...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • New report pegs Maine’s economy as 8th weakest in 2022

    According to a report recently released by WalletHub, Maine has the eighth weakest...

  • Lockdowners are still unwilling to recognize harms they brought on youth

    Is it possible that despite the mounting evidence against them, some lockdown enthusiasts...

  • 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....

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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,...

  • The New York Times explains why mask mandates don’t work

    Throughout the pandemic, few things incited more discord than the mandated use of...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Maine’s $850 checks to start hitting mailboxes by next week

    The $850 checks passed as part of the most recent supplemental budget deal...

  • Halsey Frank: Actionable intelligence regarding mass shootings

    The recent mass shootings at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York and...

  • Tobacco harm reduction–not prohibition–is the path forward for Maine

    Last month, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is developing...

  • 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...

  • Government greed caused inflation, for the record

    Government policies fail and create problems in the real world every day. But...

  • 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...

  • Halsey Frank: Shame has been getting a bad name

    Shame used to be a relatively simple thing. You did something wrong. You...

  • Empowerment, exit and entrepreneurship will continue to transform education

    Over the past two years of social and economic disruption, U.S. education has...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Opinion: NECEC provides once-in-a-generation training opportunities for trades

    There are a lot of benefits to the New England Clean Energy Connect...

  • Maine’s unemployment situation ‘essentially unchanged’ in April

    Following an upward revision to March’s jobs numbers, Maine’s unemployment rate was “essentially...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Biden just single-handedly made the gas crisis worse

    Americans are already struggling under the weight of crippling inflation, from skyrocketing gas...

  • Halsey Frank: Thoughts on voting rights

    It wasn’t long ago that Democrats were claiming that the For the People Act,...

  • Lawmakers spar over hemp regulations on final day of session

    Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) would write new rules to...

  • Lawmakers sustain all five of Gov. Mills’ vetoes

    When the legislature returned to Augusta for veto day on May 9, lawmakers...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • New rules spell trouble for Maine lobstermen, with or without enforcement

    Though a new rule from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration affecting the...

  • Gov. Mills issues first vetoes of the second session

    Gov. Janet Mills has so far vetoed two bills passed during the 130th...

  • Unpacking the tribal sovereignty bills and debate

    Though the 130th Maine Legislature will return to Augusta for a veto day...

  • 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....

  • Remote learning correlated with greater K-12 learning loss, study finds

    A new study recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Extra day of session results in substantial legislative spending spree

    Both chambers of the Maine Legislature met on April 25 for the final...

  • Why the feds are clinging to their mask mandate

    Bureaucrats cling to power. It’s their institutional predisposition. So it was no surprise...

  • Drop the useless mask mandates and leave us alone

    The last couple of years have been a revelation when it comes to...

  • Halsey Frank: Taking on more than Portland can handle

    Last week, while driving toward the peninsula on Outer Congress Street around Craigie...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Lawmakers enact budget agreement, House rejects Gov. Mills’ utility accountability proposal

    Both the House of Representative and the Senate convened on April 19 for...

  • 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...

  • Maine unemployment shows modest improvement in March

    In March, Maine’s unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, a decrease from February’s 4...

  • 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...

  • Lawmakers reach budget agreement, approve House Speaker’s housing bill

    The Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) met late on the evening...

  • Halsey Frank: Governing in Portland is no picnic in the park

    The trend of people quitting Portland government (councilors Nicholas Mavodones, Jill Duson, Spencer...

  • Opinion: Runaway spending defies Maine values

    Tax Day is a fitting day to revisit where our tax-and-spend ways have...

  • 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...

  • COVID stimulus checks worsened inflation

    Inflation has surged across much of the developed world in the past year...

  • The environmental downside of electric vehicles

    According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an electric vehicle requires six times...

  • Speaker Fecteau offers last minute amendment to affordable housing bill

    On April 7, the Maine Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee voted 8 to...

  • What if discretion is our recourse?

    (If you read my column “Have We No Recourse?”, this column is intended...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Photo: Jimmy Emerson, DVM / cc/ Flickr)

    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...

  • ‘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...

  • ‘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...

  • 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...

  • Halsey Frank: Regressive justice

    It’s hard to decide who is worse, actor Jussie Smollett, who faked a...

  • ‘Equity’ and ‘social justice’ at Maine’s public universities

    Over the last year, frequent communications from University of Maine System leaders Chancellor...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Maine House votes to double annual fee on motor vehicle inspections

    Both the House of Representatives and the Senate met on March 29 for...

  • 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...

  • Opinion: Flavored tobacco ban bill bad for Maine’s public health

    As a physician – one who has dedicated his career to treating lung...

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