I periodically despair of politics and, if not despair, I become frustrated. Not necessarily because so many voters cast their votes for candidates that I don’t support, but rather, that so many folks do not vote at all, or vote only for the “top of the ticket,” that being president or governor or senator. Yet …
To the Editor: Political irony is on full display in Maine. The staple of many a politician, hypocrisy has now been foisted upon the voting process. Ranked choice voting, toddling mere months into its infancy, was found unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court for use in state elections, has now mired the state into the …
Dear Editor: Rep. Bruce Poliquin and the Republicans, as self-proclaimed protectors of the people’s voice, don’t have a leg to stand to on. Although, having packed the courts, they may have a bench to fall back on. Thankfully, so far, not here in Maine. So far, Maine has been immune to GOP voter suppression schemes. …
To the Editor: One item on my bucket list is to count election ballots. Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor posted that she had lost an election for Hancock County judge of probate by 57 votes out of 28,972 votes. Lynne asked the Bureau of Elections for a recount, and I offered to be a counter …
To the Editor: With accolades pouring in from around the world, I cannot help but add a brief story about the time I spent with then-Vice President George H. W. Bush during his run for president. I had been complaining (a little too loudly it seems) that his campaign was losing traction because of his …
To the Editor: When I drive, day or night, I always know one fact: a deer can run in front of my car. For this reason I go a bit slower and I am always scanning the roadsides. I have had a few encounters, but since I was going slow and looking for the deer, …
To the Editor: Bar Harbor has a great opportunity to add an amendment to its Land Use Ordinance (LUO) that allows large solar arrays as a principal land use. This would help us move toward joining the rapidly growing number of cities around the world predominantly powered by clean energy. Bar Harbor’s current LUO, written …
To the Editor: Bruce Poliquin has won reelection to Congress to represent the 2nd Congressional District by 2,000 votes. In the realms of sanity and fairness, that would be the headline, but once again, forces from outside CD 2 have conspired to work against the wishes of the voters in this district. The cycle of …
To the Editor: In the Islander’s Nov. 1 edition’s Island Police report, I counted seven deer-vehicle crashes or near-crashes. In other places, a late-autumn spike in these encounters is attributed to deer-hunting season. But since the island doesn’t allow hunting, that argument doesn’t wash. Seasonal rut? Sure. But perhaps Mount Desert Island has a deer …
To the Editor: President Trump flew across the Atlantic Ocean to France to participate in ceremonies honoring the military personnel who fought and died in WWI, but he couldn’t attend the ceremonies at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery due to light rain. The cemetery has 2,288 graves, including those of many Americans who fought in the …
