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Maine Businesses Get By with a Little Hemp from Their Friends |
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on July 15, 2008 at 12:13 PM
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Chances are, when most of you think of hemp, you think of one of two things: either the patchouli-scented macramé jewelry that cute girl you know – the one who wears all those flowing dresses – makes, or that one stoner friend you had in high school who did his senior paper about how pot is only illegal because hemp production threatens big business interests.
Beyond that, few people give much thought to the plant, its varied uses, or the reasons for the continued ban on its cultivation in the United States. Any discussion of it is relegated to those perceived, rightly or wrongly, to be on the cultural fringes – marijuana users and the kinds of people who dream about living off the grid in a yurt somewhere. As a result, most of us could use a refresher course on what hemp really is, and why we should even care.
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Electric cars – Rumors of their death have been greatly exaggerated |
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Posted
on July 08, 2008 at 12:08 PM
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The new car Bob Earnest bought this past September has gotten him a lot of attention from his neighbors on isolated Chebeague Island – one of the few remaining year-round island communities to dot Maine’s coast – but not for the usual reasons. His new ride isn’t tricked out with chrome trim or the latest in GPS technology. It doesn’t start itself on cold mornings or have heated calfskin seats. There’s no voice-controlled MP3 player, and no plasma screens on the seats so folks in the back can watch their favorite shows. In fact, there aren’t even any backseats.
With a sticker price of only about $12,000, Earnest’s new car eschews nearly all of the high-tech bells and whistles that commonly set jaws wagging in this increasingly hard to please consumer climate. And, here’s the clincher; it only reaches speeds of 25 miles per hour.
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World Refugee Day |
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Posted
on July 02, 2008 at 6:36 AM
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Members of New England's vibrant refugee population gathered in Lewiston, Maine, recently, to celebrate World Refugee Day.
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Damned If She Does, Damned If She Doesn’t |
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Posted
on June 26, 2008 at 5:29 AM
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Most of us have been on the receiving end of a backhanded compliment at one time or another. “You look so thin in that outfit!” Or, “Wow, you’re not as dumb as you look!”
Last week, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was on the receiving end of a backhanded “thank you” from the Maine State Democratic Party.
Collins, long regarded as a strong moderate voice in the Republican Party, recently voted in favor of a package of tax credits aimed at providing relief for an increasingly strapped middle class. Among other things, the bill increases the tuition tax credit for families with children in college, makes it easier for teachers who buy classroom supplies out of pocket to write off those expenses, increases the child tax credit, provides more research and development tax credits for businesses, increases exemptions for the Alternative Minimum Tax, creates a property tax deduction for non-itemizing taxpayers and expands tax credits for alternative energy.
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Southern Maine Queer Youth Pride |
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Posted
on June 17, 2008 at 3:17 PM
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On June 14, dozens of gay, lesbain, bisexual and transgendered young people, and their allies, gathered in downtown Portland for the first ever Southern Maine Youth Pride, an alternative to the many adult-only events of traditional Gay Pride Week. Find out why. |
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“A Drink to Your Health” - Beverage Tax Has Mainers Divided |
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Posted
on June 10, 2008 at 8:43 AM
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In April, Gov. John Baldacci signed LD 2247, “An Act to Continue Maine's Leadership in Covering the Uninsured,” into law. The name is kind of a mouthful, but the bill was essentially a series of tax increases on beverages – primarily soda, beer and wine. The extra revenue will help pay for the state’s Dirigo Health program, an early stab at providing health coverage for all Mainers, passed back in 2003, long before “universal healthcare” was a universal campaign buzzword.
With the state experiencing a budget shortfall this year, Dirigo’s continued existence was threatened. At the same time plenty of other worthwhile state-funded social programs found themselves on the chopping block, Dirigo got a reprieve, thanks to LD 2247. But now, opponents of Dirigo, and of imposing any new state taxes, are seeking to overturn the beverage tax.
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