Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • In Ye Olden Days — Flood of ’53 showed our resiliency

    By Mike Davis BHS Assistant Executive Director Hello neighbors! As we find ourselves together facing a spreading pandemic, and all the newfound troubles which go along with it, I wanted to take this space to reflect on our past, and on the perils which we as a community have faced down and overcome; perils which […]

  • Earth Notes: Where are the battle lines?

    By Frank Daggett “We have not lost the battle. If given the chance, nature will reconquer its rights and will prevail.” So said Anne Larigaudiere, the executive secretary of the United Nations Intergovernmental Science Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services when it published, in May, its report on the risk of widespread species extinctions. […]

  • Riseman: It’s time for sports betting

    There have been some questions why I supported the idea of trying to override the Governor’s veto to allow sports betting in the state. LD 553, “An Act to Ensure Proper Oversight of Sports Betting,” originally passed the legislature with bipartisan support last session. In January of this year, the Governor made the decision to […]

  • Fewer fireworks = more enjoyment?

    By Colin Holme Executive Director Lakes Environmental Association In the last few weeks, the Maine Legislature has been considering a bill to ban fireworks in the Shoreland Zone (LD 1942). This short and simple bi-partisan bill originally sponsored by Representative Jessica Fay of Raymond proposes to ban fireworks immediately around Maine’s lakes, ponds, rivers, streams […]

  • Earth Notes: Facing awesome challenges

    By Rev. Robert Plaisted Once upon a time, long long ago, in a garden far away, there was God and there were humans. God created the garden and told the humans, “Tend this garden; take care of it, and it will provide everything you need to live. But I warn you! If you abuse my […]

  • Earth Notes

    By Jen Deraspe Produce from our local grocery store chain travels on average 1,500 miles from the farm to our plates. There are several reasons this is a cause for concern. Generally speaking, the farther produce travels, the less nutritious (and tasty) it is by the time you eat it. In addition, most vegetables and […]

  • Earth Notes: Mouse poison kills more than mice

    By Lega Medcalf Walk into any grocery, hardware, or building supply store and you will come across a large display of rodenticides, a/k/a rodent-killing poisons. Walk around the exterior of many local businesses and even family neighborhoods and you are likely to see innocuous black boxes that contain poisonous bait. “Rodenticide” implies that only rodents […]

  • Uppermost House: I miss you already

    On a recent bitterly cold afternoon, I went out to help my daughter, Amanda, affix something special to the back window of her car. As we walked outside, I saw that she was carrying a mug full of hot liquid, but when I looked closely, I discerned that it wasn’t coffee or tea. This mystified […]

  • Earth Notes: Apathy, deniability and siloing

    By Price Hutchins I was at the dump recently and witnessed an altercation that might have risen to the level of road rage, and was at least a scary confrontation. Two adult men were accusing, yelling, swearing, and squaring off for a fist-fight. Things were getting out of hand quickly. The cause of the altercation […]

  • Small World: The worst deal ever

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist As I pick up my [figurative] pen this afternoon, the radio is reporting that President Trump wants to buy Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark, of which it is a self-governing territory. None of the expert pundits knowledgeable about such executive branch matters seems prepared to analyze this move, so […]