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Fear and loathing? Or happy days? The only thing we know for sure about the coming year is that we're all in this together.
It will be the best of times. Or, perhaps, it will be the worst.

By MIKE MILIARD | December 30, 2008

Democracy in China

Politics and other mistakes
That December morning in the year 2010 began oddly. The sun rose in the west. The river reversed itself and flowed upstream. The tide went out and didn't come back.

By AL DIAMON | December 31, 2008

Screw the jocks and prom queens — in 2008, geeks took control of entertainment, pro sports . . . even the White House
Barack Obama is many things. Dedicated senator. Devoted husband and father. Adept orator. President-elect. Nerd.

By RYAN STEWART | December 24, 2008

The feminine critique

Women in politics came a long way in 2008, but the weight of double standards endures
It was almost a banner year for women in politics.

By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | December 24, 2008

Take Back Barack

It's time to reclaim the man we put in the White House
It's time to reclaim the man we put in the White House

By JEFF INGLIS + DEIRDRE FULTON | December 19, 2008

20 reasons the Earth will be glad to see Bush go

As our 43rd president scrambles to screw further with Mother Nature, a look at the ways our planet will be better off under Obama
The planet Earth usually tries to stay out of politics. It doesn't endorse candidates. It doesn't run attack ads. It doesn't even register as a lobbyist.

By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 19, 2008

Changing the DC climate

Meet Obama's Green Dream Team
The past eight years have been marked by alternating feckless inactivity and outright hostility toward the environment.

By MIKE MILIARD | December 18, 2008

What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?

Politics and other mistakes
Bipartisanship.

By AL DIAMON | December 17, 2008

Press releases: Looking up

T hr umming, throbbing, foreboding musical themes
All three Portland-based stations are taking their weather forecasting into the 21st century, posting live (or near-live) weather maps and radar images on their Web sites.

By JEFF INGLIS | December 17, 2008

Gay marriage debate comes to Maine

Civil rights
Even as same-sex marriage supporters across the country reel from the Election Day approval of California's Proposition 8 — which changed that state's constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman — they are optimistic about bringing gay marriage to Maine, possibly in the upcoming legislative session.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | December 17, 2008

Understanding the stink factor

Eat raw
What is that smell?

By CHRISTY MCKINNON | December 17, 2008

Freegans raid Whole Foods

Scavenging
A group of freegans took what they say are hundreds of eggs, hundreds of pounds of butter and cheese, soy milk and other soy products, and packaged frozen foods from Dumpsters outside the Marginal Way Whole Foods store in the aftermath of last week's ice storm.

By JEFF INGLIS | December 17, 2008

Corrections changes

NAACP leader challenges Maine prison policies
Like a movie hero, the NAACP’s new, young national president, Benjamin Jealous, swept into the 900-inmate Maine State Prison in Warren on Monday, quelling protests among the prisoners and, at least temporarily, rescuing the organization’s prison chapter from being snuffed out by state corrections officials.

By LANCE TAPLEY | December 10, 2008

House rules have changed

Diverse city
President-elect Barack Obama's appearance on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday struck a chord with me about how much more diverse — and inclusive — the upcoming administration may be.

By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | December 10, 2008

Road hog

Politics and other mistakes
I got the idea for this week's column from somebody I was talking to on the phone a couple of months ago. Trouble is, I can't remember who.

By AL DIAMON | December 03, 2008

Kicking the bottle

Water supply
As several Maine towns battle the plans of Poland Spring to expand water-pumping operations across the state, a group of water-rights activists will bring the issue to Portland this Saturday.

By BRIDGET HUBER | November 26, 2008

Pingree returns from a Congressional crash course

Dispatch from DC
Newly elected Democratic House Representative Chellie Pingree split her time between the mundane and the meaningful during her freshman-legislator orientation in Washington DC last week.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 26, 2008

We sing, we dance, we steal things

Politics and other mistakes
Last week, I profiled the Democrats running for governor of Maine in 2010. Thousands were taken ill.

By AL DIAMON | November 26, 2008

Council sinks pier deal, floats arts TIF

City beat
Three pieces of big news came out of Monday's Portland City Council meeting. Make sure you stay in the loop.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 19, 2008

UMaine feels the economic pinch

Tuition pressure
The University of Maine system is being asked by the state to describe how it would cut $10.6 million from its budget — the equivalent of 5.3 percent of the state money it gets — on top of the $19.1 million in cuts imposed earlier this year.

By DEIRDRE FULTON | November 19, 2008