Sat, May 25, 2013

Opinion

  • What I've Learned

    May 23, 2013 12:00 am

    Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost was born on November 27, 1715 in Germany. He went to college —   not immediately, he was a baby when he was born —   he went to college to study theology, but soon switched to medicine.

    He taught medicine, physics and chemistry at the University of Duisburg, and in 1756, published a work called De Aquae Communis Nonnullis Qualitatibus Tractatus (A Tract About Some Qualities of Common Water).

  • A dishonorable level of sex crimes among the ranks

    May 23, 2013 12:00 am

    In 2011, Newsweek published a sobering piece on sexual assaults in the military. The magazine reported that women are more likely to be sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier than to be killed in combat.

    And, according to the Pentagon, sexual assaults in the military have increased 35 percent since 2010.

    That’s astonishing, and it’s getting worse.

    The Defense Department estimated 26,000 sexual assaults occurred in the military in 2012, but only about 3,000 of the attacks were reported. Fewer were investigated and fewer still were prosecuted.

  • Police services important issue for Paris

    May 16, 2013 12:00 am

    In a matter of weeks, voters in Paris will got to the polls to decide whether to keep their town police department or disband it in favor of contracting for law enforcement services with the Oxford County Sheriff's Office.

    It isn't a decision to be taken lightly –  as some have mentioned, if Paris gives up its department, the chance it will be reformed again in the future is extremely slim.

    Just going by the numbers, it would seem that the Sheriff's Office is the better deal.

  • Jail consolidation isn't working

    May 09, 2013 12:00 am

    Let's just call former Gov. John Baldacci’s 2007 directive to consolidate jails a fail.

    There's no point in tiptoeing around it any more.

    The consolidation plan — in which the state would take over control of the jails — was pitched as a way to ease overcrowding and relieve local costs, but jails are more crowded than ever and costs are rising.

    It was clear more than a year ago that this compromise plan was not working and would never work as implemented, but no one seemed to want to take the lead to make it right.

  • Spring, finally

    May 02, 2013 12:00 am

    One of the best things about living in Maine is experiencing four distinct seasons and the feeling of anticipation that comes when we know we're on the cusp of the next.

    We're now near the end of one of those transition periods – dreaded mud season is mercifully behind us, but the earth has yet to burst fully into spring.

    Still, we know, deep down, that we've finally come through the winter – the ice, snow and cold of the previous months are behind us and summer is right around the corner.

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