I was deeply involved with the No on 1 campaign from early-2009 through Election Day. I knocked on hundreds of doors, made thousands of phone calls, and participated in dozens of events. If the election taught me anything, it was that without proper education and cogent refutation of opponents’ slanderous claims, lies and misinformation will run rampant and destroy any possibility of advancing equal rights. (more…)

Let me preface this, my first contribution to the Augusta Insider, by saying that I honestly believe most folks who are elected to go to Augusta believe that they can work in a bipartisan fashion. I serve on the Utilities and Energy Committee, which last session had the highest percentage of unanimous committee reports. I can count on one hand, the number of bills that we didn’t come to a consensus on. And, if my memory serves me correctly, only one of those unresolved issues was a result of partisan disagreements. (more…)

Chances are your child’s school will hemorrhage dollars faster than a slot machine addict with six arms, as state aid to education is expected to plummet over the next couple of years.  While some cling to the vague expectation that schools will become more efficient, you can’t escape reality: keeping the average classroom temperature above 60 degrees costs money.

So does employing teachers. (more…)

Everyone has opinions.  The Augusta Insider would like to give you a place to share them.  We are looking for contributors and one time guest-posts.  All topics are welcome as long as they are Maine related or political in nature.  Want to support your gubernatorial candidate or oppose another?  Fed up with wind power, the economy, or budget cuts?  We’ll provide you with a forum express your opinions.  Please be advised, we are looking for quality articles only. If you a interested in submitting a post or have any questions, please contact us via our contact page.

Last week the Second Regular Session of the 124^th Maine Legislature convened.

This session, a great deal of our energy will be devoted to looking at the looming budget shortfall and seeking adjustments that will allow us to balance the budget without unduly burdening our citizens who depend upon the range of services government provides — including education and human services.  To a lesser extent, the discussion has already begun to look at ways to raise new state revenues through tax increases, additional fees, or other tools to increase the state’s resources.  Governor Baldacci has been very clear about his lack of support for such an approach and has used strong language to suggest that he would not approve any broad-based tax increases or other revenue enhancements. (more…)

By Dennis Bailey

It’s worth remembering that casinos and slot machines are illegal in Maine (except in Bangor). If you got your hands on a slot machine (which would be illegal) and started operating it in the basement or your house, you’d be arrested. In the eyes of the law, you’d be operating a criminal enterprise, not much different than if you were selling crack cocaine from your basement. (more…)

We have created a new interactive series called “Your Thoughts,” which will ask for opinions from our users on a variety of topics. They will include a poll and a comment thread on the post for users to expand on their poll answers. The latest poll will be in the sidebar on the main site as well. We are also soliciting longer columns on this topic for submission as guest contributions to the blog. Use our contact form at the top of the site to e-mail us if you’re interested.

Our first topic? Gambling in Maine. Poll  and comment section available below the jump.

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