Right now, Congress is deeply divided about…well, everything. As America works to navigate its way through the coronavirus pandemic, we need our elected officials to rise to the challenge and put programs in place to help people until this is over. Now is not the time for partisan politics. In May, Democrats advanced a $3 billion proposal for a fifth round …
To the Editor: With coronavirus sweeping the globe, now is the time for Sen. Angus King and Sen. Susan Collins to support federal funding for cultured-meat research. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering animals. Besides the obvious benefits to nonhuman welfare, this emerging technology would help prevent pandemics. We’re living through a …
The last primary election to be decided in Hancock County is now on the books. In a recount requested by her opponent, incumbent Bucksport Republican Kimberley Rosen’s margin shrank by eight votes, but she was confirmed the winner by 52 votes. Her opponent was Larry Lockman of Bradley, an extreme conservative who enjoyed the backing of former Governor Paul LePage. …
By Sen. Susan M. Collins The effects of COVID-19 on Maine’s families, farmers and food systems have been serious and are certain to persist for months to come. As part of Congress’ response to the pandemic, I advocated for the creation of a new program that would help support farmers while simultaneously helping to alleviate hunger in our …
By John March Last week brought two examples of an institutional willingness to reconsider earlier decisions, one made after an apparently thoughtful deliberation and one made, or so it appears, in haste and under pressure. In the first case, The Jackson Laboratory announced its intention to rename the C. C. Little Conference Center. Little, the lab’s founder, was not only a distinguished geneticist but …
To the Editor: Who can resist a church pie sale? There are moments in life that leave you flabbergasted at your ridiculous good fortune. Finding a twenty in an old pair of pants. Reading “Where the Wild Things Are” to your kid for the first, or hundredth, time. The sound of hard rain on an awning as you sit underneath it. Goodies, …
If you are not the kind of person who tears out the election results page from The Ellsworth American and settles down with a pen and a calculator, you might want to stop reading right now. However, while we are hanging out at home more than usual, we have the chance to indulge these little obsessions. The two bonds on …
To the Editor: To all Bar Harbor residents, I want to recognize an important and significant member of our community – Vernon (Sandy) S. McFarland Jr. Sandy recently decided not to run for another term as a member of the MDIHS Board of Trustees. His voice and historical perspective for us as a board will be missed. I have …
In the first quarter of 2020 there were 127 drug overdose deaths in Maine. That represents a 23 percent increase from the last quarter of 2019. This upward trend is expected to continue, with an estimated 259 people projected to die from drug overdoses during the first half of the year. A recent report released by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine found that opioids were responsible for 82 percent …
To the Editor: Rep. Nicole Grohoski has done a tremendous job serving her first term in the Maine House representing Ellsworth and Trenton. She has done this with leadership, intelligence and compassion sorely lacking in so many politicians today. She keeps us fully informed on what is happening in both Augusta and here locally with her newsletters and her personal meetings, “Coffee with Constituents.” She has worked for the protection of youth from addiction, to improve access to property tax exemptions for new homeowners, protections for firefighters and emergency medical services from employers as just a few examples of how well she represents her constituents. I plan to vote to re-elect Rep. Grohoski on Nov. 3. I am confident she will have a lot of new initiatives and continue to represent us as she has done so well in the last two years. Peter Lione Ellsworth
