Archive for ‘Opinion’

  • Small World: Slouching toward Fryeburg

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Two questions weigh upon me as clouds lower upon the Lake Region. They leapt to mind as the chassis of my small car bounced from pothole to rut to crevice on a trip to Fryeburg and back to Bridgton. The surface of that pavement is much like that of the […]

  • Uppermost House: Shout out to a small town

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist I love small towns. Specifically the small collection of rural towns that have surrounded and comforted me and my family for the last 34 years. “But they’re so insular,” say the naysayers from away. “Everybody knows everybody else’s business.” As if constantly locking and unlocking doors and not knowing […]

  • Small World: Legal non-citizens or fellow humans?

      By Henry Precht BN Columnist Governor LePage has recently informed Maine cities that they would no longer be reimbursed by the state for General Assistance (GA) payments made to “legal noncitizens.” If you are one of those unfortunate targets of the governor’s penny-pinching exercise, I wish you would call me to explain your place […]

  • On the Bridgton planning front

    By Anne Krieg, AICP Director of Planning, Economic & Community Development Town of Bridgton I am sitting in my office with hiking boots and hiking clothes on, which feels weird as I usually go for the formal dress look for work. I hiked Pondicherry Park this morning with Rec Director Gary Colello and local all-around […]

  • Uppermost House: What hinges on Father’s Day

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist According to Wikipedia (the world’s most reliable information source), Father’s Day is defined as, “a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.” It’s also a day for bad neckties, jalapeño peppers stuffed with hot sausage and wrapped in bacon, the joy […]

  • Uppermost House: Zero sum game, not

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist According to Wikipedia, a zero-sum game is a “mathematical representation of a situation in which each participant’s gain (or loss) of utility (measure of preference) is exactly balanced by the losses (or gains) of the utility of the other participants.” This concept is useful in both game and economic […]

  • Small World: Another enemy arises

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist In case you’ve been totally occupied with the arrival of spring, there is a big debate developing in Washington over whether and how deeply to get engaged in another Middle Eastern war. I refer, of course, to Obama’s pledge to finish off the savage Islamic (Sunni) state (ISIL, ISIS or […]

  • Take 2 on Bridgton Referendum #3

    The following column was submitted by the Bridgton Wastewater Committee The group of individuals who have brought the petition to the ballot, Referendum Article #3, to be voted on next week, have set themselves, in no uncertain terms, in opposition to Bridgton’s Wastewater Committee — for no good reason. For one, the Wastewater Committee is […]

  • Uppermost House: Quick, I need a spirea

    By S. Peter Lewis BN Columnist My wife Karen and I drove to Delawhere two weeks ago to attend a wedding. And no, that’s not a typo: I also heard it called Delawhy. Like all of you, I didn’t think Delaware was a real place. Ask anyone “What’s south of New Jersey and east of […]

  • Small World: A voice from Tehran

    By Henry Precht BN Columnist Recently, a journalist from Tehran — call him Sreza — out of the blue e-mailed me with a series of questions for his news agency. I responded with the diplomatic blah I had learned in the State Department. In return, I asked him to give me his opinion on subjects […]