Graham Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer from Sullivan, Maine, is the Democratic nominee for United States Senate. The race was called shortly after the polls closed and current totals from the Bangor Daily News have Platner taking 72.3% of the vote to 19.4% for Governor Janet Mills, who remained on the ballot despite suspending…
We are living in the most progressive era of reform in Maine’s history. Since 2016, we have made more improvements in the lives of regular people than any other generation. The list of policy accomplishments is staggering. So how has Maine managed all this, when so many states have gone backward? It’s not demographics. It’s…
Our national situation is changing by the hour. I won’t pretend to be able to list all the many things happening. But here is my quick summary: Elon Musk and Susan Collins. Why are these the key words to understanding what’s going on? Let’s look first at Elon Musk. Musk is important because, when you…
“I am fed up.” That’s how Marpheen Chann, president of the Cambodian Community Association of Maine, began a rally Saturday afternoon at Portland City Hall to call attention to violence and discrimination against Asian American people in Maine and across the country. The event, titled “Stop Asian Hate: Rally for Multiracial Solidarity” drew an estimated…
Sixty Fortune 500 companies paying zero in income taxes. $50 trillion in collective wealth taken by the top 1 percent from the bottom 90 percent over several decades. Billionaires’ coffers growing ever larger as millions across the country lose their jobs amid the pandemic. Against this backdrop of growing wealth inequality and hardship, the Institute…
In a segment aired on Thursday night, PBS NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman examined Question 1 on the Maine ballot, the initiative to guarantee universal home care to all Maine seniors and people with disabilities. The No on One campaign, which has been largely funded by business groups and corporate PACs, has used numerous lines…
Volunteers and organizations that are part of the Mainers for Home Care coalition officially launched the Yes on Question 1 campaign on Tuesday to guarantee universal access to home care to seniors and Mainers with disabilities, saying the ballot initiative that will go before voters in November represents the best opportunity to fix a broken…
This week on the Beacon podcast, we discuss right-wing radio host Ray Richardson’s latest rant. Besides describing me with some colorful language, he mostly focused on how the Universal Home Care referendum is funded by closing tax loopholes that benefit the top one percent. Of course, he specifically objected to wealthy people paying at least…
This week, Beacon revealed that pharmaceutical companies are funding campaign mailers in support of 2nd District Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Since Rep. Poliquin takes an inordinate amount of money from an array of bad corporate actors, we shouldn’t be surprised. But these pharma-funded mailers are particularly insidious because—in a twist that would make George Orwell proud—they…
This November, Mainers will have the opportunity to pass a ballot measure that guarantees seniors and people with disabilities can access the services they need to stay in their homes, which is particularly important for the oldest state in the country. Opponents of the home care referendum have been complaining that the universal home care…