Letters

Published
June 9, 2015

Letter to the editor: Old enough for war, old enough to carry

Both the Maine Senate and, surprisingly to me, the Maine House recently passed a “constitutional carry” bill. Gov. LePage said he wouldn’t sign it because an amendment restricts permit-free concealed carry of a handgun to Maine residents 21 or older. (The amendment allows Mainers 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun only if they […]
Published
June 9, 2015

Letter to the editor: Portland Water District doesn’t deserve PUC nod

On May 11, the Portland Water District held a public hearing where it announced that it was seeking an exemption from Public Utilities Commission regulations regarding rate increases and 21 other areas. I was one of four members of the public who spoke that night. When it came to the Portland Water District, 2014-2015 was […]
Published
June 9, 2015

Letter to the editor: Playground-style threats in State Capitol need to stop

Here we go again, another government shutdown threat! It really doesn’t make a difference who’s at fault. Every elected official in Augusta owns and is a part of the problem. As taxpayers, we hired/elected these men and women to do the job of running and managing the affairs of our state. They are obviously incapable […]
Published
June 9, 2015

Letter to the editor: Happy-ending llama story is unexpected and welcome

Thank you for running the story “After a spat, a wayward llama finds a friend” in the June 3 edition. I expected the story to end in horror, with police surrounding the house and an ensuing massive shootout. Instead, it ended sensibly and with humor, with Gilbert the llama simply going home to his owner […]
Published
June 7, 2015

Letter to the editor: Let offenders pay fines by volunteering

In response to “Taxpayers lose as Maine counties jail indigents over unpaid fines” (May 31): There is a program in Maine that both supports the community and doesn’t overburden the Penobscot County jail with offenders who cannot pay their fines. The ReFinement program is a jail diversion program in Penobscot County that allows offenders to […]

Published
June 7, 2015

Letter to the editor: Wabanaki people need to be treated as equal partners

I participate in a statewide network of Quakers who have tracked issues of concern to the Wabanaki people (i.e. Maine Indians) for three decades. Clearly, a major shift in tribal-state relations took place recently when tribal leaders declared their independence from existing relationships, including the withdrawal of tribal representatives from the Legislature. The governor and […]
Published
June 7, 2015

Letter to the editor: Progressives should ‘do the math’ on education funding

Kudos to Prashant Mittal for exposing the flawed American educational system (“Commentary: Fixing the U.S. school system,” May 24). Even though the U.S. pours far more money per student into education than any other country in the world, the results are Third World-esque. Mittal also correctly points out that students of Indian and Asian descent […]
Published
June 7, 2015

Letter to the editor: Public discourse on abuse  case is heartening to see

Child sexual abuse perpetrators are protected by silence. Thus, the publicity, the discussions and the controversy surrounding sexual abuse in Biddeford are wonderful things. We in the Blue Hill area underwent a very similar process, termed “mob justice” by the lawyer for former Biddeford Police Capt. Norman Gaudette – an unflattering term for an uprising […]
Published
June 7, 2015

Letter to the editor: Reader shocked and disgusted letter disparaging Ali was printed

I’m shocked and disgusted that the Press Herald saw fit to print Harry White’s letter of May 31 (“No real champ at Lewiston bout of 1965”), purportedly on the Ali-Liston fight in Lewiston in 1965. Not only does White call Ali a coward for refusing to serve in Vietnam during that disastrous incursion, but he […]
Published
June 7, 2015

Letter to the editor: Ali deserves disease for avoiding draft? Appalling!

I was genuinely appalled by the letter writer who seemed to be suggesting that Muhammad Ali somehow deserved his Parkinson’s disease for having avoided the Vietnam-era draft (“No real champ at Lewiston bout of 1965,” May 31). However you feel about people like Ali (or, for that matter, George W. Bush, who dodged the draft […]

Sign In:

Letters