Maine’s Freedom of Access Law makes it very clear that public meetings and public records should be just that — public. Yet Mainers run into problems when they are trying to get records that the law says they have a right to see.
Editorials
OUR OPINION: Lawmakers should ignore threatened veto
A state that prides itself on being open for business ought to know what business it is in.
OUR OPINION: Cronyism has no place in Maine’s public sector
Some people want government to behave more like business. Revelations about the government officials who found high-paying jobs in the University of Maine System just as the Baldacci administration was leaving town shows why that is rarely a good idea.
VIEW FROM ELSEWHERE: Postal Service needs freedom to cut costs
Like a Pony Express rider wobbling toward Fort Laramie with an arrow in his hat, the Senate bill passed last week to reform the U.S. Postal Service is far from its goal and facing attack from all sides.
OUR OPINION: Magazine should heed local girl’s plea for reality
It’s well known that most of the readers of fashion magazines don’t look like the images they see on the pages.
OUR OPINION: Blocking filter limits access on students’ laptops
For years, parents who wanted to keep their children’s computer usage safe have heard the same advice:
VIEW FROM ELSEWHERE: EPA achieves balance on new fracking rules
The regulators at the federal Environmental Protection Agency listened to the concerns of the oil and gas industry. Then they made adjustments in proposed air quality standards for the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing.
VIEW FROM ELSEWHERE: Congress fails to update deepwater drilling rules
Offshore oil drilling may be a critical part of the United States’ domestic energy industry, but the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling doesn’t think it’s safe enough yet.
VIEW FROM ELSEWHERE: Only fiscally sound budget plan isn’t partisan
Instead of touting an unrealistic Democratic budget plan in the face of an unrealistic Republican budget plan, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., just did something significant — and responsible.
OUR OPINION: Student debt load crisis shouldn’t be political football
A college education has always been a major investment, but one that was not out of reach for a student who had the drive and commitment to pay back student loans.