With more than 90% of the votes counted in Massachusetts, it appears that the initiative to implement Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV)…
Browsing: Commentary
Thinking about getting together with family for the holiday season? Think again. Just when you thought coronavirus restrictions couldn’t get…
Last Friday, Lindsey Crete, spokesperson for Governor Janet Mills, hinted to the Maine media that more economic restrictions would be…
COVID-19 has changed a lot about our lives in 2020, including how we vote. Millions more Americans are expected to…
Perhaps the only thing worse than being subjected to seemingly arbitrary and intrusive rules imposed to fight a pandemic is…
Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined Maine CDC director Dr. Nirav Shah on Wednesday to provide an update on the state…
A poll released Monday by UMass Amherst and WCVB is showing a tightening race among Massachusetts voters on Ranked-Choice Voting…
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled late last week that absentee ballots must be returned to municipal clerks by Election…
A recent Ipsos poll asked 1,001 Massachusetts adults about a number of issues, including their thoughts about ranked-choice voting (RCV).…
The recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg certainly sent massive political shockwaves throughout the country, as did…
Maine Policy Institute and a coalition of 17 other organizations sent letters to their respective governors this week urging them…
In a recent interview on Lockdown TV, Dr. Scott Atlas, a healthcare policy scholar, medical scientist and member of the…
I listened last week to the questioning of Judge Amy Coney Barrett by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and…
In less than three weeks, or earlier if voting by absentee, you will be taking part in the 2020 election.…
Better late than never, I suppose. Maine finally began disbursing grants to struggling small businesses and nonprofits with CARES Act…
The Portland Press Herald’s editorial board isn’t buying what the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America are selling, and it’s…
Our relationship with the arts has been severely and permanently altered this year. As every day passes, it appears more…
Last week, the Cato Institute released the newest edition of its Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors. The institute’s…
In this election, Maine voters will become the first in any state to cast their ballots for president of the…
Three leading epidemiologists gathered in Massachusetts on Sunday to sign the Great Barrington Declaration, a public call to end lockdown…
The National Federation of Independent Business Research Center released a new nationwide survey Wednesday that underscores how difficult the last…
Late last week, the Michigan Supreme Court in a 4-3 vote ruled that emergency orders issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer…
In a shameless act of cultural appropriation, this week’s column title takes the Black Lives Matter / Antifa / “mostly…
You may think the words of this title are harsh, and they are for an America rapidly disappearing. But I submit…
Political campaigns are in full swing and, once again, the debate on health care is dominating the landscape, specifically how…
It’s Supreme Court nomination time again, and the result is predictable. The usual suspects on the progressive left, especially those…
The systemic racism industry has had its sweet multimillion consulting racket exposed and trumped. The President used his “pen and…
When we hear about the challenge of testing for the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), we often hear that tests may take a…
The Trump administration’s controversial nationwide eviction moratorium, issued through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this month,…
Maine Gov. Janet Mills recently signed a curtailment order to keep the state’s budget stable during this seemingly never-ending period…
“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”- Moshe Dayan “You can only…
Rising Tide Brewing, a popular brewery located in Portland, faces a national labor complaint filed by a former employee who…
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that ranked-choice voting must be used in the state’s upcoming presidential election, making…
Last week, Governor Janet Mills issued a “curtailment order,” a tool Maine governors can wield to balance budgets after the…
Every citizen who meets statutory qualifications has the right to vote, and to have their ballot counted. Just as importantly,…
It’s no secret that 2020 is a year like no other, and COVID-19 has challenged “the way life should be” here in…
Parts of the western United States look like scenes from an apocalyptic movie—a red-orange tinge across everything, literally blotting out…
A pair of lawsuits that mirror a Maine-based legal challenge (currently pending in the First Circuit Court of Appeals) has…
The BDN editorial board’s recent commentary on the state budget shortfall reminds us how different one person’s reality can be…
The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) issued a press release Monday raising concerns about the implementation of Maine’s new…
Aquaboggan in Saco was forced to close in late August after receiving a cease-and-desist order from the Saco Police. The…
Bowing to pressure from the Mills administration, the Maine Principals’ Association announced Thursday that it will not allow football or…
I’m an engineer by aptitude, education, and vocation. Those of you who are also one, or know or live with an…
Last week marked the beginning of my 37th year at the University of Maine Machias and my 47th consecutive September…
My colleagues and I have previously written on the State of Maine’s impending revenue shortfall, which is projected to top…
Recently, some on social media have shared a misrepresentation of an August 26 update to the US Centers for Disease…
After telling the public that the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) would have the final say in returning to high school…
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap is challenging a decision issued last week by a Superior Court judge to allow a…
Do you remember this spring when we were told to stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19? To close…
School closures have affected over 55 million K–12 students in the U.S. since March as the nation deals with the coronavirus pandemic.…
The Maine Principals’ Association’s (MPA) Interscholastic Management Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to accept the recommendation of the association’s Sports…
In mid-August, the board of directors of Regional School Unit 18, a school district spanning five towns just west of…
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released a new survey Monday of small businesses that shows some are struggling…
A judge ruled late Monday that the Maine Republican Party collected enough valid signatures to advance a people’s veto question…
We are quickly approaching Labor Day and the end to the summer season here in Maine. When it comes to…
Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday the creation of a new small business grant program to provide relief to struggling…
Researchers studying sewage samples from southern Brazil found remnants of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, as early as last November. This…
August rolled in and although the garden looks good, I cannot say the same for Maine, the Republic or freedom.…
On August 13, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a judgment regarding a referendum planned for November which would have…
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released a report on the state of mental health among…
The latest report from Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee (RFC), published earlier this month, revised its estimate of the state government’s…
Maine Policy Institute today released a new report that sheds light on the harmful effects of Governor Janet Mills’ economic…
I counted to 10, but it didn’t work. I don’t know about you, but I’m at wits’ end regarding the…
The last few months have been tense, marked by social distancing and physical isolation amid the outbreak of a new…
In recent weeks, documented cases of police brutality amid the pandemic have sparked a national conversation about criminal justice reform.…
Maine’s ranked-choice voting woes continue. Secretary of State Matt Dunlap announced Monday his office had to retabulate the July primary…
Rural states, including Maine, are facing an impending health care crisis: we are running out of health professionals who can…
As of July 1, Maine has entered its third stage of the COVID-19 recovery process, marked by the reopening of…
Four Maine citizens filed a lawsuit late last week against Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, Attorney General Aaron Frey and…
A coalition of state-based think tanks launched a new nationwide campaign Friday to educate voters about the pitfalls of ranked-choice…
I have been deeply disappointed to see the strike going on at Bath Iron Works (BIW). As a resident of…
On Friday, Governor Janet Mills released guidelines for schools as they consider whether or not to return to in-person instruction…
As the school year fast approaches, only one item in the curriculum seems guaranteed: change. Maine students will resume school…
Much has happened since I last delivered one of our radio addresses where I reminded Mainers that we are in…
Now that Governor Mills has signaled through her executive orders that the 2020 summer tourist season was over before it…
During periods of crisis, some of the most innovative solutions to problems have been developed. Consider, for instance, some of…
Governors and bureaucrats are picking and choosing which parts of the Constitution they chose to obey or ignore on any…
On Monday, June 15, Governor Mills’ office released guidelines for town meetings and elections for Phase 2 of the reopening…
In mid-May, I spent almost 15 hours over two days in a Zoom training/symposium on the learning management system that…
On June 11, Maine’s Department of Education (DOE) released a working draft listing a series of recommendations that may be…
Our Governor assumed full control of our state economy in the face of the coronavirus. The Governor’s stated purpose was to prevent the virus from spiraling…
On Monday, Governor Janet Mills announced that she will not allow bars to reopen for indoor service as originally scheduled…
On Sunday evening, members of Local S6 voted to reject Bath Iron Works’ (BIW) final offer for a collective bargaining…
In November 2003, Maine Indoor Karting (MIK) opened its doors, becoming the first and only indoor go-karting facility in Maine.…
On Monday, Governor Janet Mills announced that restaurants in Androscoggin, Cumberland, and York counties may offer dine-in services beginning Wednesday,…
The Maine Republican Party says it has collected enough signatures to challenge a new law expanding the use of ranked-choice…
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the website MoneyGeek has been analyzing unemployment in state economies by sector and updating…
On Thursday, June 11, the Windham Town Council voted 5-2 to pass a resolution declaring all businesses essential. Last night, Auburn’s…
The Maine Legislature may soon reconvene three months after lawmakers adjourned the 2020 session, giving Governor Janet Mills full authority…
Mark Walsh, Vice President of Ocean Properties, criticized Governor Janet Mills’ and her testing alternative for out-of-state visitors in a…
Within the state of Maine, an ongoing mental health crisis persists even in the era of COVID-19. In lieu of…
Dominic Petrillo, owner of Petrillo’s restaurant in Freeport, got his license temporarily suspended on Monday for serving customers indoors despite…
On Monday, Governor Janet Mills announced an alternative to the 14 day quarantine for out-of- state visitors as part of…
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle voiced frustration last Thursday after Department of Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman failed to…
Four businesses in Portland––Novare Res, Sagamore Hill Lounge, Tomaso’s Canteen, and Rising Tide Brewing––have acquired restaurant licenses that will allow…
A few weeks ago, I read about the City of Calais declaring all businesses as essential and the city giving…
More than 30 hotels in Maine are asking Governor Janet Mills to remove the 14 day quarantine for out-of-state visitors. …
On Friday, Governor Janet Mills released her response to requests from Speaker of the House Sara Gideon and Senate President…
This piece was originally published in the Portland Press Herald Businesses throughout Maine are closing their doors, some permanently and others…
The Gorham town council voted 6-1 Tuesday evening to pass a resolution calling for the reopening of all Gorham businesses.…