In a state where Vitamin D supplements are encouraged because we cannot soak up enough sunlight, the burgeoning popularity of solar power can be a bit of a head scratcher. But strides in technology efficiency, the critical need to reduce carbon emissions, rising consumer interest and state and federal incentives have positioned solar power to be the next energy frontier in Maine. Developers have proposed a slew …
In mid-January, before the pandemic drove record numbers of people to the unemployment lines, women eclipsed men as the majority of the United States workforce. Since the 1970s, working women have been on an upward climb, but in 2020, female workforce participation grew from 49.7 percent to 50.04 percent, which was enough to push them to the top spot. The majority of those jobs, held in the healthcare, hospitality and retail sectors, have also been the ones hardest hit by the current coronavirus …
With the fall semester well under way, college students are settling into a new normal amid a pandemic with long-term implications for their lives and careers. What job market will await them when they graduate? How heavy a burden will the debt they carry become? Among these and so many other uncertainties, there is good news. Last week, the Alfond Foundation announced a …
As Nov. 3 fast approaches and we are bombarded by campaign ads, mailers and robocalls, it is helpful to remember how important it is to have choices when it comes to our political leadership. While national and many state races are hotly contested, local elections are too frequently contests of one — sometimes none. Being the only person running for selectman or school board does not mean that a candidate is not eminently …
Imagine having all the data and the best science available but still not believing it could happen to you. That, folks, is where we are right now. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he and First Lady, Melania Trump, had contracted COVID-19. It comes after an announcement that Trump’s advisor, Hope Hicks, had received a positive diagnosis. …
Two major things happened on Mount Desert Island this week: students returned to school for in-person instruction, and we learned that we could again welcome our friends from Massachusetts to visit without restriction. Likewise, we can all now go and visit the beaches of Cape Cod or view the changing leaves in the Berkshires without …
One in five children in Maine are food insecure. What does that mean in a state that grows and produces more food than it needs? For many, food insecurity is economic. At its root, hunger is an income issue and approximately 14 percent of families and 16 percent of seniors have no idea where their next meal will …
The Mills administration last week announced it would curtail allotments to the state’s general and highways funds to offset revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts totaling $244.8 million avoid — for now at least — deep reductions in program spending, layoffs or drawing from the state’s “rainy day” fund. But it is a short–term solution, relying heavily on federal CARES Act funding to make up the difference. The administration urged Congress …
For many Americans, getting back to normal means returning to the office. But as the pandemic drags on, some employers (and employees) have discovered that the office is not as essential as it once was. With a laptop and high-speed internet connection, many desk jobs can be done just about anywhere. A May Gallup poll of remote workers found …
Last week marked the nineteenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. That day, four planes were brought down in an act of terrorism and nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives. Most people who were alive that day are likely to remember where they were when the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City. If you remember that, you will also likely remember the unity that followed. …
