Happy New Years Everyone!
PRESS HERALD:Elite Guardsmen to train Afghan troopsThe 16 Maine soldiers draw lessons from Lawrence of Arabia as they prepare to guide and fight beside their hosts.
Somali rallies give voice to division over homelandLocal gatherings present different views of the role of Ethiopia in Somalia.
Federal funds to repair towns' seawalls may fall shortBut FEMA's aid estimates aren't final, and Wells and Kennebunk have options to appeal for more money.
Steady hands needed at the helms The precarious financial nature of most Maine nonprofits makes strong leadership vital to their survival.
EDITORIAL: With toll roads, not all miles created equalA completely fair toll system is hard to conceive, and might not be the best policy.
EDITORIAL: If emitting less mercury here is good, what about the Midwest?Federal approval of regional targets is fine, but they can't solve all of the problem.
MAINE VOICES: Kids learn when time is rightWe have turned our schools into assembly-line factories, but our children aren't widgets.
LTE: FDA was right to advise limiting Mevacore useLTE: Rail service would bring better roads, cleaner airLTE: Mainers don't need added taxes to fund illegal aliens
BANGOR DAILY:
Baldacci: More efficiency needed in '08Gov. John Baldacci says 2008 will be the year state and local governments reorganize to be more efficient and save money or it will be the year when many programs at all levels of government will be cut or eliminated.
Long-term funding needed for Maine's aging bridgesTwo state-funded reports and one privately financed study this year point out Maine's need to replace its aging bridges before time runs out.
EDITORIAL: Energy efficient schoolsIt's a typical below-freezing Maine winter day, and as you drive by the neighborhood school, you notice a door propped open, or windows in the second floor raised to let in the fresh air. Balancing heat and humidity in a building — especially an older one — with a couple hundred children in it, who at times are running around a gym, or eating plates of steaming spaghetti, isn't easy. But as a taxpayer, knowing what it costs to heat that building each winter, the scene can drive you to distraction.
Editorial: Honesty in health carePolls show that health care is a major issue — rivaled only by the Iraq war — in the current presidential campaign. Complaints about the present system include the mounting cost, the many left out, poor service and too much paperwork.
Paul Averill Liebow: Knowledge of chemicals in products is lackingLegislators will soon consider a bill to protect our children from dangerous toys and other products (such as phthalates in IV bags in hospitals) from every country, a problem far more prevalent than Chinese lead paint poisoning.
LTEs: Another school option; Plum Creek support; Ethanol enthusiasm
MORNING SENTINEL:
Longley 'took it serious' leading the stateJim Longley was running a successful Lewiston insurance agency in 1972 when Gov. Ken Curtis asked him to lead a state government cost-cutting commission.
LTE: Prohibition is not the answer for alcohol issuesLTE: The answer for Maine's economy: Stop spending
KENNEBEC JOURNAL:
SAD 9 SAVES MONEY BY REMOTE CONTROL Hit the switch from home
Slates' fire, new cancer center, rail trail rated by readers as top stories Readers selected the fire at Slates' restaurant, the opening of the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care and the completion of the Kennebec River Rail Trail as the top three local news stories for 2007.
2007 took toll on prominent residents of Augusta area People in the capital area mourned a number of prominent individuals who died in 2007.
LTE: Baldacci cuts aid for sex-abuse victimsSpeaking as a woman, mother, sister, daughter, friend and long-time advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, I am appalled and disgusted at the decision made by the governor to cut essential funding to services and prevention efforts for survivors of sexual assault and abuse.
PORTSMOUTH HERALD:
In Maine, school 'leadership drain' begins The Maine school consolidation law certainly played a part when Edward McDonough, superintendent of the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District, decided to apply for an opening in Exeter, N.H.The Republican Journal & The Waldo Independent
Energy-saving challenge proposed Local advocate takes aim at causes of global warming
MPBN:
Closed Furniture Maker Back In Business
Over the past year, there's been no shortage of mill closings and downsizings in Maine. In February, it was Moosehead Manufacturing that closed its plants in Monson and Dover-Foxcroft, putting more than 100 people out of work. But this story is different than most, the mill is reopening, with a pared-down product line, more focus, and new owners. Murray Carpenter reports.
http://www.mpbn.net/asx/071228moosehead.asx
Food Bank Reports Sharp Increase In Demand
Maine's largest food bank is reporting a 25 percent increase in the demand for food over last year. And the director of the Good Shepherd Food Bank expects that demand from more than 600 soup kitchens, shelters, group homes and food pantries will only intensify as Mainers are pinched by higher prices for heat, gas and food. As Susan Sharon reports, feeding the hungry is becoming a greater economic challenge than ever before.
http://www.mpbn.net/asx/071228foodbank.asx
BLOGS:
PolitickerME: New Year's Resolutions We all make them.....and break them. Here are a few suggestions for a number of Maine Politicians and other public officials.
AS MAINE GOES: Democrats: Redeploy troops from Iraq "Congress is challenging the administration's strategy in Iraq in favor of a better one that will effectively combat terrorism and create stability in the Middle East," she said. "Time and time again, we voted for a strategy to redeploy troops out of Iraq...to focus our mission on anti-terrorism, and we won't give up."
WHITE NOISE INSANITY: Osama bin Laden is STILL safe as we go into 2008 and we need to be grateful for the White House's effortsAs we head into 2008, which is a very important election year for our country, we should be thankful that George Bush & Dick Cheney continue to protect, harbor, and fuel Osama bin Laden's good name. Oh yes! We should be proud of our leaders for NOT going after Osama for the past six years and as we head into 2008, we'll be entering another year where this man is allowed to remain free. Freedom is for Osama, people! Don't you forget it either.
Maine News Headline Animator
