Colin Moore, University of Hawaii Originally published in the Bangor Daily News on July 23, 2014 Scandal is nothing new to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. General Eric Shinseki’s resignation adds another chapter to the beleaguered agency’s long history of mismanagement. Although Maine’s 150,000 veterans were largely spared from the problems that plagued other […]

Robert W. Glover, University of Maine The southern border of the United States is facing a crisis of startling magnitude; of this, there is no doubt. In this sense, Bob Casimiro is right to call on Maine’s Congressional delegation to do more on the issue in his July 14th Bangor Daily News opinion piece. Yet […]

Steven Barkan, University of Maine Originally published in the Bangor Daily News on June 24, 2014 I always tell the students in my crime and criminal justice class that they should never leave Maine. Maine is such a great state that no one should want to leave it, of course, but my tongue-in-cheek advice has […]

Amy Fried, University of Maine Originally published by the Bangor Daily News on July 8, 2014. In an odd convergence, 2012 presidential election polls and Gov. Paul LePage’s view of Social Security, “welfare” and the Maine economy now have something in common. Some of Mitt Romney’s supporters in 2012 embarked on an effort to establish […]

Theda Skocpol, Harvard University Originally published in the <a href="Bangor Daily News” target=”_blank”>Bangor Daily News on July 4, 2014. Each spring my husband and I return to our Maine home, drive around this vast and wonderful state, and catch up with people we did not see over the winter. When we left last fall, one […]

Sandy Butler, University of Maine and Luisa Deprez, University of Southern Maine Originally published in the Bangor Daily News on June 27, 2014 Editor’s note: In this monthly series, the authors introduce you to people who are apt to be your neighbors, are struggling to make ends meet and have been affected by specific state […]

Robert W. Glover, University of Maine  On Monday, Governor Paul LePage sent a memo to every Maine municipality announcing that if they were to provide General Assistance funds without checking immigration status, they would cease to receive Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) funding for any General Assistance funds. If LePage follows through […]

Amy Blackstone, University of Maine Originally published in the Bangor Daily News on June 17, 2014 As the Virginia Slims slogan asserted decades ago, we women have come a long way, baby. ABC reporter Claire Shipman and BBC anchor Katty Kay make this point in their recent piece in The Atlantic. While there’s reason to celebrate, […]

Sandy Butler, University of Maine and Luisa Deprez, University of Southern Maine Originally published in the Bangor Daily News on May 30, 2014. Editor’s Note: In this monthly series, the authors introduce you to people who are apt to be your neighbors, are struggling to make ends meet and have been affected by specific state […]

Len Kaye, University of Maine Originally published in The Bangor Daily News on May 27, 2014. The tone of the discussion in Maine on aging-related issues in recent months has been unusually upbeat. That is as it should be. A large majority of older Mainers live independently, are engaged in their communities and rate their […]