Today is a pretty important anniversary. Sixty years ago the world’s self-proclaimed civilized countries got together and signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Rumored to be the most translated document in the world, it’s available in English, though most of us haven’t read it. Read More
    Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the initiative of Eleanor Roosevelt, the UDHR, consisting of 30 articles, was passed by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948, as a recognition that every human being has human rights, and that… Read More
    Employees at the Hannaford grocery store on Union Street called Bangor police at about 5:30 p.m. Monday to report two women shoplifting alcohol, but by the time an officer arrived the suspects were gone. Store employees were able to give Bangor police Officer Rob Angelo… Read More
    Any holiday mail through the American Red Cross national “Holiday Mail for Heroes” campaign, “to receive and distribute holiday cards to service members and veterans both in the United States and abroad,” must be postmarked by today, according to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Web site. Read More
    ‘A Maine Noel’ Natalie’s Restaurant at the Camden Harbor Inn continues to amass accolades, this time from one of the most-coveted symbols of excellence in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Both the restaurant and the Inn have received Four Diamonds from AAA, ranking it among… Read More
    Prorogue is an archaic, intentionally obscure term being used to hide an abuse that hasn’t gone out of style. Facing the likelihood that his minority government would lose a confidence vote and that the opposition might form a government, Stephen Harper asked the governor general, Michaelle Jean, to… Read More
    Lately on TV there has been another flurry of ads by a group called “Americans for Job Security.” AJS claims to be concerned that employees are going to lose the right to secret ballot elections during union certification elections if the Employee Free Choice Act, or EFCA, is… Read More
    Air Force Airman Benjamin R. Weston has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio. He is the son of Vicki Leathers of Winterport. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner =… Read More
    It was broad daylight when someone broke into a Brewer residence last month and took two firearms, Brewer Police Department Capt. Jason Moffitt said Monday. No one was home at the Broadlawn Drive residence when the break-in occurred on Nov. 17. The suspect or suspects… Read More
    Members of the Burton-Goode-Sargent Chapter 1 of the Korean War Veterans of America invite the public to join them in “the laying of the wreaths” at noon Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Korean War Memorial at Mount Hope Cemetery on State Street in Bangor. “We… Read More
    The Maine Indian Basketmakers Sale and Demonstration is the basket event of the year, as the handwork and artistry of the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot take center stage. Having the opportunity to home in on the delicate scent of sweet grass used in Indian basket making and… Read More
    I have often criticized President George W. Bush on these pages. But now, as we approach the eight-year anniversary of his appointment to the presidency by the Supreme Court, it is time to praise his often overlooked accomplishments. On the domestic front, President Bush has… Read More
    The human body is 60 percent water. Seventy percent of our planet’s surface is covered in water. Every day, in order to live healthfully, human beings must replace 2.4 liters of water, taken from the planet, for their body. The world, it seems, is kept in balance with… Read More
    People who will attend the Brewer Hometown Band holiday concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, are asked to bring nonperishable items for the Brewer Community Service Council. Janice Cox says the program at Brewer Auditorium will “include some new and some favorite seasonal selections,”… Read More
    Living in the woods, we don’t see Mercury very often. It’s always close to the sun, and so it only appears sometimes in morning or evening twilight and never gets high enough in the sky to clear the firs around the house. So in general you have to… Read More
    Lumber made Bangor rich in the 19th century, but as the lumber trade declined other wood products – such as shooks – helped fill the economic gap. Shooks were small slices of pine logs used to make boxes for shipping fruit and vegetables. They were bound together with… Read More
    Coming soon to theaters MILK, directed by Gus Van Sant, written by Dustin Lance Black, 128 minutes, rated R. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length;… Read More
    I’ve been on a kick lately, taking four-generation pictures when the opportunity arises in our extended family. On Thanksgiving, I felt sure, I could round up four generations of the Phillips family at my son’s house near Waterville. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    At a news conference this week, president-in-waiting Barack Obama heaped abundant praise on Hillary Clinton while introducing the New York senator as his nominee for secretary of state in the new administration. That prompted a news reporter to ask the obvious question: How did Obama’s… Read More
    It was another hot sunny day in Mozambique. I passed her on the veranda outside of the clinic as I hurried in to start seeing patients for the day. She had Tendai, her 11-year-old boy, in tow, and her younger child on her lap. I had met them… Read More
    Many women are the sole breadwinners for their families and may be the hardest hit by the downturn in our economy. During this holiday season, mothers are pondering how they will be able to purchase gifts for their children, pay their home heating costs or scrape together mortgage… Read More
    Life in a household with children, especially teenagers, is a life full of resistance – resistance and response to resistance. It’s a pull-or-be-pulled world with a lot of give and take and it sometimes results in a pulled muscle or two. Sort of like politics. Or marriage. And… Read More
    Dylan is a sweet, energetic boy. Caregivers who work closely with Dylan, born in 1997, describe him as a wonderful little boy who is affectionate and a pleasure to be around. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
    Coinciding with Pearl Harbor Day and Morrill Worcester’s Wreaths Across America project, announced Randy Kluj of Milo on behalf of the Department of Maine American Legion, will be a Veterans Recognition Day with doors opening at 11 a.m. and the ceremony at noon Sunday, Dec. 7, at Bangor… Read More
    Curtains or window shades may shield a residential window from heat loss, but may not be a shield against moisture migration. Under such conditions the glass temperature will fall, and the condensation rate on windows will increase. Only a sealed interior barrier will delay the onset of condensation. Read More
    Aside from northern Maine and all the ski areas, we so far have lucked out of any real snow this year. Of course, that is subject to change, real soon. We then get to practice nature’s aerobics – shoveling snow, or if you are lucky,… Read More
    For some of us (ShopGuy), the best part about the whole holiday season is the Christmas stocking. None of the gifts is huge or expensive, everything is usually practical and there’s always something unexpected in there. Consider this week’s column your shopping stocking. It’s overflowing… Read More
    The Bangor Daily News reported on Nov. 21 that researchers in Poland have identified by DNA the long-lost remains of Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus, you may recall, was the 16th century mathematician who theorized that the Earth was not the center of the universe, but merely one of several… Read More
    I have done some shameful, shameful things. I once went to Yankee Stadium. I shoplifted jackknives from the local five-and-ten-cent store until they were forced to put them under lock and key. I voted against Teddy Kennedy in 1962 when he first ran for the U.S. Senate. I… Read More
    “The Dark Knight” DVD, Blu-ray: A knight to remember. Christopher Nolan deftly accomplishes all one could hope for – and then surpasses it – in a movie that’s the very best of its kind. The film isn’t just a triumph – it’s that rare pop-culture oddity: a genre… Read More
    I’ll admit it. As much as I want to think of myself as a saint in taking in my 81-year-old mother for an extended stay, the only saint name that might have been endowed on me one day this week was Saint Oscar. This saint is a clone… Read More
    What would be the perfect Christmas gift for each of the gardeners on your list this year? I mean true gardeners, people with a passion for cultivating and nourishing the soil, those who do their own digging and planting. What would they really like for Christmas?… Read More
    Having spent the Thanksgiving weekend with a wide array of friends from across Maine, I was afforded a chance to exchange views on the latest iterations of our financial meltdown, and what it might mean to gatherings such as the Thanksgiving dinner table in years to come. While… Read More
    This week’s ClickBack focused on the state budget and a church where smoking marijuana is considered a sacrament. Here are some responses. Balancing the budget, in the face of declining revenues, will be a major focus of the 124th Legislature. Where should they cut? googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    I have just finished cleaning the frozen snow from a fork loader named Sundog when the radio on my hip crackles to life. “Cargo Meg. Cargo Meg. This is Jim.” “Go ahead, Jim,” I say, leaning against the loader’s tracks. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    A local man was arrested this week on two counts of criminal mischief after Old Town police stopped by a Brunswick Street apartment and found a mess. Aaron Charles Sapiel, 24, is accused of damaging some of his former girlfriend’s personal belongings, throwing some of… Read More
    Debbie Gray, executive director of Nature’s Bounty Food Pantry of Oakfield, reports that organization has “seen a large increase in need in our coverage area” and, she told me, funds to fulfill those needs are nearly nonexistent. To help neighbors in need, Nature’s Bounty will… Read More
    For those who know him, the fact that the Man on the Couch is a big scrooge comes as no surprise. It’s not Christmas that he hates, it’s the commercialization and greed that really get him. He doesn’t like Christmas music, and he certainly doesn’t like the seasonal… Read More
    Travis James Humphrey had to travel the world in order to realize that what he really wanted was to be back home in Maine. “I was living in Washington D.C., and I was just miserable,” said the 32-year-old singer-songwriter, who’s now based in Gorham. “I… Read More
    We now have a new president and a significant Democratic majority in the House and Senate. We now have no excuse for forestalling efficient, swift government legislative action. After all, didn’t our new president promise nonpartisan, constructive interaction? Predictably, President Bush is dragging his feet… Read More
    Honking horns and crunching metal have become familiar sounds to the residents of Bangor. Everyone is becoming frustrated with all the traffic, which in turn causes more traffic. So the question is: When will this all end? When will construction be finished? When will I be able to… Read More
    A Bangor woman was arrested and charged with criminal mischief early Tuesday morning after allegedly scratching an unflattering word onto a car belonging to a rival for a young man’s affections. The incident began when an Elm Street woman called police to report that someone… Read More
    Volunteers and staff of Lee-Winn School are seeking a kind trucker who might be near Delano, Minn., anytime after Monday, Dec. 8, and who would be willing to pick up playground equipment for their students. To ship the equipment, Priscilla Mallory reports, would cost $1,200,… Read More
    Thanksgiving is behind us and the leftovers are but a memory, so the time has come to give serious thought to brushing up on Christmas carols and hoarding sales flyers. There is no denying that this is a difficult economy, and people on fixed incomes… Read More
    Just in case you are keeping track, I thought you’d like to know the score. Number of people killed on U.S. soil in 2008 terrorist attacks: zero. Number killed by holiday shoppers this past Friday: three. The caption under the picture posted on the MSNBC… Read More
    A mother in the grocery store wants to be sure that the formula she is feeding her infant is safe. A father buying a toy wants to know if it contains lead paint, which would pose major health risks to his child. Recent problems with unsafe imports and… Read More
    Army Pvt. Jacob M. Michaud has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla. He is the son of Michael and Patricia Michaud of St. Agatha. Michaud is a 2008 graduate of Wisdom High School, St. Agatha. Read More
    Although this request has an immediate deadline, I know many among our readership should be able to meet it. After all, doesn’t each of us know a wonderful educator? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
    Visit the farms Think you’re out of luck when it comes to getting fresh Maine meats and cheese now that the farmers market season is long over? Think again – Appleton Creamery and Terra Optima will host the 7th annual two-day holiday sale of their… Read More
    Drunken sailors cannot hold a candle to physicians when it comes to spending money. Come to my office, get a few blood tests and a gallbladder ultrasound ordered, have an EKG, and the total bill could be $500. A new titanium hip courtesy of your orthopedic surgeon could… Read More
    Once again the budget ax is swinging in Augusta as the state faces a revenue shortfall. The governor and the Legislature have been doing a remarkable job in responding to cuts over the years. It is time for new approaches and thinking. Maine, from an… Read More
    The stock market dropped precipitously after the announcement that the emphasis of the Troubled Assets Relief Program would be shifted to direct equity infusions into banks and away from buying their “toxic” mortgages. This change was especially confounding, because when he first proposed TARP, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson… Read More
    The public is invited to attend the Business Community Open House from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Ronald McDonald House of Bangor, 654 State St. However, it would be helpful, even for organizers’ last-minute planning purposes, if you would be kind enough to call… Read More
    It’s a truth universally acknowledged (to paraphrase Jane Austen) that those who knit, sew and stitch, will, as often as possible, add needlework books to their already bulging libraries. Sooner or later, most knitters knit in circles using circular needles. Now they can learn to… Read More
    “Psst. Hey, you. Wanna buy some really good personal care products for next to nothing? I’ve got ’em right here, in the trunk of my car.” If this kind of spur-of-the-moment, sidewalk-based offer would send you running for the other side of the street, we… Read More
    Q. My father-in-law recently passed away at his apartment in Maine. My wife is his only living relative, and she has not had contact with him for over a decade. As we understand it, he left no will, and had no assets, but plenty of debt. Will my… Read More
    Dec. 19 is a significant day for Israeli civilians living on the other side of the Gaza Strip. It is the day when the Hamas-Israel cease-fire officially comes to an end and the question to whether Palestinian rocket fire will resume on Israeli civilians living… Read More
    Recent editorials throughout the mainstream media in Maine have called for the major parties in the Legislature to put the welfare of Maine above partisan politics. Editorial writers have repeatedly portrayed any type of disagreement as something that Maine cannot afford. These same writers have suggested that any… Read More
    Moving from the Deep South to the extreme North, as we did this past August, has afforded our family many new experiences. Some of these experiences – ones like seeing fallen autumn leaves that are so bright they look like drops of sunshine on the concrete – I… Read More
    Army Sgt. Andrew J. Michaud has returned to the 864th Combat Engineer Battalion, Fort Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, after being deployed to an overseas forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Michaud is a carpentry and masonry specialist-team leader with two years of military… Read More
    A 38-year-old Lee man was arrested after he reportedly shot off a gun while visiting a relative who lives in Springfield and then tried to run from police. Neighbors of the relative on Old Winn Road called police after hearing the gunshot around 3:30 p.m. Read More
    Army Reserve Pfc. Dillon J. Baxter has graduated from basic military training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C., under the Split-option Enlistment Program to serve as a member of the Army National Guard or Reserve. He is the son of Mary Lou Allred of Benton, Ark.,… Read More
    Sometimes a wonderful book is out of print before you realize it had been published. So it’s great to hear that another printing will take place sometime in the coming year. Such is the case with “A Transcription of Trenton’s Cemeteries So They Are Not… Read More
    “HANCOCK ST. SCRAP – Race Feeling Ran High in the Municipal Court Monday,” said the headline in the Bangor Daily Commercial a century ago. A 9-year-old boy named Courtney had been accused of throwing rocks through the windows of “a Jewish baker,” Isaac Dvorin. The boy’s older brother… Read More
    More than 150 years ago, Acadians and Quebecois moved to Maine cities looking for work in textile mills, while Italian and Irish immigrants, fleeing hunger and joblessness in their native lands, swelled the ranks of other Maine towns. The rush of foreign nationals with different… Read More
    If I were a linguist, I would set about trying to rediscover the perfect words to describe practices that can annoy even the most stoic among us. Visitors to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary site have looked up the word “bailout” so often in these troubled financial… Read More
    On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the Joint Committee on Transportation of the Maine Legislature made a deeply flawed decision concerning the future of Sears Island. Unless corrected by future action, their vote on the recommendations presented to the committee by the Sears Island Joint Use Planning Committee continues indefinitely… Read More
    Weekday mornings at my house are pretty typical. Five people, one kitchen, a bread drawer, a fridge, a cereal cupboard, a silverware drawer and a coffeepot. Once we leave the house our lives will take us in a variety of directions with various goals in… Read More
    Amber, born in 1995, is a fun, energetic girl who enjoys playing games and playing outside. She is a happy, fun-loving child who wants very much to be a part of a family. She enjoys playing games – UNO and Connect Four are two of… Read More
    The incandescent light, invented by Thomas Edison more than 100 years ago, has not been in great favor lately. Amory Lovins, the self-anointed energy guru, has dissed incandescents for years, stating that we can eliminate a lot of power plants if we all use compact… Read More
    Sweden leads Europe in the fraction of total energy derived from renewable resources: 15 percent, mostly hydro. France and Denmark are next with 6 percent, then Germany with 4 percent and Spain with 3 percent. The Netherlands and Britain are last with about 1 percent. Renewable energy in… Read More
    When I was a little girl, my grandfather always joked that my allowance was burning a hole in my pocket. Thankfully, for me and my pants, a trip to the mall or the gift shop downtown usually would extinguish the fire. As a grown-up, the… Read More
    We’ve all heard the adage, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That’s what my mother is doing, in her own inimitable way, as she not only makes do with many limitations that resulted from a stroke she suffered two years ago, but also as she adjusts to… Read More
    Each winter, from late November through February, this gardener survives by searching the pages of seed catalogs for something special, a new variety that must grow in Marjorie’s garden come spring or summer. This is part of my passion for the garden, its role as classroom and laboratory,… Read More
    Call me Scrooge. Believe me, I have been called far worse. But I hate Christmas trees. Don’t get the idea. Don’t want them in my house. I haven’t had a tree in my house since John Hubbard offered me a free tree from his vast… Read More
    “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” DVD, Blu-ray The second film in the “Narnia” franchise finds that a year has passed in the lives of the four Pevensie siblings – Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) – and… Read More
    This past Thursday, we all sat down with our families to engage in the ritual that is Thanksgiving dinner. There was turkey and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. But this column, perhaps unfortunately, isn’t about food. This column is about family. Maybe there were parents… Read More
    Seen in the pre-Thanksgiving Dining section of a major national newspaper: “Leftover mashed potatoes normally head straight for the trash can.” What kind of nut tosses out leftover mashed potatoes? Cooked potatoes mashed or not are like money in the bank around this house. And… Read More
    I love corn. Every year I thought how I would love to grow corn. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) {… Read More
    Leila Murphy has been named manager for the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show in Rockland, succeeding Mary Carey, who stepped down after six years. The show held during the second weekend in August has become one of Rockland’s leading summer events on the waterfront. Read More
    For a long time the pundits were saying that a John McCain victory on Nov. 4, would be unlikely. John King of CNN demonstrated on a virtual television map the incredible uphill struggle for McCain to win the election. Yet, for days before the election I, whose father… Read More
    When I climbed out of the skied LC-130 airplane at the South Pole, I felt instantly at home. It seems perhaps a little strange that a place where I have lived for only months should feel so comfortable – especially a place as foreign as the South Pole… Read More
    Army Spec. Ronald J. Pelletier Jr. has returned to the 864th Combat Engineer Battalion, Fort Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, after being deployed to an overseas forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pelletier is a carpentry and masonry specialist with four years of military… Read More
    So, it’s Black Friday. It’s still dark, you’re juiced on caffeine, and you’re ready to roll in stores long before any reasonable person would even consider doing so. Nobody is taking a sale away from you today, baby. You’ve got your game on. Or maybe… Read More
    In the olden days, the town square was the place where the commoners gathered to sell their wares, pontificate on the pertinent subjects of the day, and simply lollygag about, to chat with friends and enjoy the fresh air. In the year 2008 … well,… Read More
    Family, friends, a roof over our heads, clothes to keep us warm – these are all things to be thankful for this holiday season that many of us often take for granted. In addition to life’s necessities and little pleasures, I have much more to… Read More
    Who got us into this painful economic crisis? Polls show that most Americans blame the Republicans more than the Democrats, and the evidence supports this view. But are the Democrats so innocent that they may fairly cast the proverbial first stone? The answer is “no,”… Read More
    Wild turkeys are amusing to watch if they come to visit occasionally – in small numbers. In summer, the females constantly make a soft “keouk-keouk-keouk” to their many young. When they cross the road, they usually go single file, and sometimes an adult turkey stands in the road… Read More
    Thanksgiving is a wonderful celebration that kicks off the holiday season. It is steeped in tradition right down to the menu, which for most people revolves around a turkey. While some meal variations exist, the day is inevitably a license to eat – a lot. Read More
    Well, it’s that time again. It’s time to pause and think of all the things for which we are truly grateful. I would be remiss if I did not state, no matter how obvious, that for which I feel particularly thankful this year. And though… Read More
    Recently, more than 120 religious leaders from across the state issued a statement urging Mainers to end marriage discrimination against same-sex couples. Why would clergy like myself support equal marriage? Because it is good, right and fair. I believe in the value of marriage. Good… Read More
    A 22-year-old woman was walking along Court Street, near Coe Park, about 3:30 p.m. Monday when she was approached by an unknown man, who asked for a lighter, then hit her and stole her purse, Bangor police Lt. Tim Reid said Tuesday. The assailant was… Read More
    Chocoholics can learn some tricks of the trade from a master confectioner at the Hartstone Inn in Camden’s “Artisan Chocolate Making for the Holidays” class, with two sessions set for 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 and 7. Kate Shaffer of Swans Island-based Black Dinah… Read More