Opinion

Letter: Cost, risk of workforce housing

There is a workforce housing project being proposed for the town of Falmouth. Forty-eight units will be located next to the "new" police station. In theory, affordable housing sounds fine. However, concentrated development in this particular area promotes sprawl. Questions includ...

• Opinion •
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Forecaster Forum: When you're in a hole, there's no easy way out

The recently approved budget for the town of Falmouth ($10 million) and its schools ($25 million) will amount to approximately $35 million for the coming year. That means there will be no increase in this coming year's tax rate ($12.35 per $1,000 of valuation) if Falmouth residents vote to vali...

Tony Payne • Opinion •
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Letter: Firefighter's accusers must testify

A comment by a spokesman for Cumberland Police Department in the April 23 story "Cumberland-Portland firefighter's trial expected in May" is particularly worrisome: "... Police are hopeful, though not confident, that the alleged victims will not be asked to testify." The ri...

• Opinion •
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Reporter's Notebook: Investigative journalism's last gasp?

The reporter wanted to know how Mark Benjamin persuaded the mother of slain Pfc. Albert Nelson to talk. Within seconds, Benjamin, a writer for Salon.com, is borrowing a pen. He snatches a handout from the May 1 in...

Opinion •
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 10:10 am
Letter: The imaginary gun show loophole

Edgar Allen Beem wrote "Maine Citizens against Handgun Violence brought Tom Mauser to Maine to testify on behalf of LD 814. Mauser's son Daniel was killed in the 1999 Columbine school massacre by a student wielding a gun purchased legally at a gun show, so if he couldn't persuade the Maine... 7

• Opinion •
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 8:00 am
Letter: Dog owners have rights, too

Where is the American Civil Liberties Union when you really need them? It is outrageous that the city of South Portland is endorsing the stopping of law-abiding citizens who are walking their dogs on Willard Beach and requiring them to demonstrate voice control of their pets. Next they'll be sc...

• Opinion •
Monday, May 4, 2009 at 3:10 pm
The Universal Notebook: Gay marriage is not a religious issue

Gay marriage is obviously a divisive issue. Witness the thousands of folks who turned out at the Augusta Civic Center to speak for and against the marriage equity bill currently before the state Legislature. Gay marriage is not, however, a religious issue. It's a civil rights issue....

Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
Monday, May 4, 2009 at 10:10 am
Short Relief: See you in the sauna

The media are full of stories about the threat that the swine/Mexican/H1N1 virus poses to our health, our economy, our country and the world. In The Washington Post, Gene Robinson writes that swine flu is a bigger threat than Islamic terrorism. And, in terms of the statistics, he has a point....

Halsey Frank • Opinion •
Monday, May 4, 2009 at 9:30 am
Letter: MRRA needs adjustment

Is there not a moral issue in the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority applying for $500,000 in public funding for a private company such as Oxford Aviation? Has anyone looked into the environmental impact of Boeing 737s coming and going over our heads? Does Oxford Aviation care that hundr...

• Opinion •
Friday, May 1, 2009
Letter: Bath density bonus doesn't do enough

While a tiny bit is better than nothing (density bonus, LEEDS compliance), those pathetic crumbs are inadequate chicken feed compared to the massive zoning reform Bath desperately needs if it hopes to meet challenges of the 21st century as well as its own stated goals (spelled out in the Compre...

• Opinion •
Friday, May 1, 2009