Letters

Published
May 11, 2013

Letters to the editor: Grades offer accurate view of schools

Complaints about the release of A-F grades for Maine schools include that they: a) mostly reflect socioeconomic status; b) were downgraded when at least 95 percent of the students didn’t take the state assessment tests; c) measured only math and English; d) included students who are learning English; and e) don’t use “a holistic and […]
Published
May 10, 2013

Letters to the editor: Baxter offers many long-term benefits

I am a Baxter Academy parent. Much has been assumed about what we want. Here is what I want. I want to hear about those who’ve always put the kids first: the board, staff and 50 enthusiastic parent volunteers. The charter process is not for the faint of heart. I have never witnessed […]
Published
May 9, 2013

Letters to the editor: King should look at pipeline’s upside

The Keystone XL pipeline project was proposed in 2005 for the purposes of transporting tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Five years later, the energy marketplace is finally growing tired of baseless assertions by environmental groups, and the project seems to be gaining bipartisan support. Not surprisingly, freshman Sen. Angus King recently […]
Published
May 8, 2013

Letters to the editor: Illegal abortion would yield more Gosnells

I knew it wouldn’t take long, once I read about the the trial of illegal-abortion provider Kermit Gosnell, for M.D. Harmon (“ Philadelphia mass-murder trial finally getting attention ,” April 19) and others with an anti-choice agenda to try to spin human misery into talking points. As much as the “Keep government out of my […]
Published
May 7, 2013

Letters to the editor: Laptop switch will cost more than it saves

I was disappointed to learn of the state’s (may I say, Gov. LePage’s) decision to select a laptop running Windows 8, the HP ProBook 4440 (“Maine picks laptops — but not Apples,” April 28). It is not so much that the Windows or the Mac OS is better or worse (though Windows 8 has not […]

Published
May 6, 2013

Letters to the editor: Readers decry ‘simplistic’ school ratings

As a proud graduate of Portland Public Schools now finishing my junior year at Harvard, I am greatly dismayed by Gov. LePage’s new grading system for Maine public schools (“Schools get letter grades, call system flawed,” May 2). The appeal of implementing a simplistic rating system of public schools is understandable. However, any attempts to […]
Published
May 5, 2013

Letters to the editor: Outdoor groups seek to stifle public

Two bills were introduced in April that could restore rights to a segment of Maine’s unorganized territories residents, rights they lost to the 2008 makeover of the state’s wind power siting laws. More than 99 percent of Mainers, in organized and unorganized areas, have input into the siting of wind power projects in their communities, […]
Published
May 4, 2013

Letter to the editor: Park’s troubles stem from city’s neglect

Selling Congress Square Park makes economic sense (“Developers’ goal: Transform Congress Square Plaza,” April 24). The city should sell it, allowing Rockbridge Capital to build an event space there. It will increase Portland’s tax revenue, add jobs and bring in outsiders to spend money locally. This makes sense. Why stop there? The city should sell […]
Published
May 3, 2013

Letters to the editor: Closed to cars, boulevard more inviting

Like many people, I was a bit apprehensive when it was announced that Baxter Boulevard would be closed to traffic for several months. But the traffic nightmares haven’t materialized, and the road closure has been a boon to legions of bikers, walkers and joggers. For me, the lack of cars has transformed the experience […]
Published
May 2, 2013

Letters to the editor: Story paints Chechens with broad brush

I feel compelled to write to you and let you know how disappointing I found Tom Bell’s article titled “Maine’s Russians: Don’t lump us with terrorists” (April 20). In a time when the world needs all the understanding and actual information related to complex geopolitical issues it can get, the article — ending with the […]

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Letters