Are you interested in knowing how AARP and local leaders are working together to create a more age-friendly culture, making Dover-Foxcroft, Milo, Dexter, Guilford, and Greenville more livable for people of all ages? Want to share your ideas? Would you like to know more about how AARP is advocating for older adults statewide? If so, come to the AARP Coffee Talk at Elaine’s Bakery in Milo on Thursday, September 21 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. or join us at The Mill Café in Dover-Foxcroft on Tuesday, September 26, from 10 – 11:30 a.m.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Those words, rather famously, come from Martin Luther King Jr., first spoken in a sermon he gave in 1957, and then printed in his 1963 book “Strength to Love.”

The lowest form of journalism is analyzing the sufficiency of condemnations. That said, as hyperbolic and unhinged as the media's reaction to Donald Trump's statements in the wake of Charlottesville may be, they do still have a point. President Trump did not, in my opinion, say the right thing, and I wanted to hear things out of his mouth that I did not hear.

The Washington Post boldly declared that it said women were “genetically unsuited for tech jobs." CNN said that it claimed "women are not biologically fit for tech roles." Time Magazine said it was an "anti-diversity tirade. Gizmodo called it a "screed," as did The Atlantic. Vanity Fare went with "anti-diversity manifesto." “It” was the controversial memo drafted by a Google employee, criticizing the company’s internal policies on bias and diversity. A memo that got him fired.

If Washington insiders were forced to use the failing ObamaCare system, they would think twice about the gridlock they are causing right now. U.S. Senators like Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are enjoying Cadillac health insurance plans while they are mandating Americans ride a moped. They are so busy seeking the national limelight, they are ignoring the people in their own state.

Recently the Senate voted late into the night on a Thursday and into the early hours of Friday morning, ultimately voting down a bill that would have rolled back many parts of the Affordable Care Act. It was the right choice given the rushed nature of the process and the uncertainty of the impact the bill would have on one sixth of the American economy and on millions of people across the country, including tens of thousands in Maine.

With its magnificent buildings, monuments, and memorials, Washington is a city of inspiring sights. Just as inspiring was the sea of blue shirts worn by the more than 160 young delegates who participated in a recent hearing that I chaired on how diabetes affects people of all ages and their families.

Now that the legislative session is over, it is time for all of us to turn our attention to the latest attempt by special interest groups to go around the legislative process to pass a major law with far-reaching implications by placing a vaguely worded question on the ballot, supported by millions of dollars in special-interest money with little organized opposition. I'm speaking, of course, of the upcoming referendum on Medicaid expansion.

After years of fixing Maine’s balance sheet, now is the time to make investments in our economy. During this past session, I supported three initiatives that focused on using bonds to invest in Maine families and our future: transportation; commercialization; and education.

Have you ever felt the urge to visit where your ancestor lived? Sometimes we are literally able to walk in our ancestor’s footsteps and I recommend it.

Like a siren's song, the allure of fundraising totals and polling results is irresistible to the media. It never fails, no matter how pointlessly irrelevant it is, they will spend an unconscionable amount of time and energy "breaking down" the gubernatorial race, and analyzing who is up and who is down based on those two metrics.

A few years back, I had the pleasure of meeting Russell and Cynthia Scott for the first time. The Scotts own and operate Fresh Air Dogs in Guilford, a business they created about eight years ago; one that would become “your dog’s favorite place to learn, play, and stay.” Some might call them a doggie boarding business, offering day care (play-dates) and overnights (sleepovers).

The spinning has commenced as it relates to the government shutdown.

It is hard to argue that this government shutdown didn't yield positive results. The last budget approved by Maine lawmakers over the governor's veto in 2015, contained $6.7 billion in spending, which, if you recall, was a bloated "compromise" budget that spent hundreds of millions of dollars more than its predecessor.

Walking is always nice, relaxing, a way to think thoughts that are not about cold or mud. But walking in fresh summer is the best walking. The grass is green, greener than you recall. Flowers and wild plants are taking over, grabbing your attention, making you appreciate them all over again.

As Maine's legislative leaders bring us to the brink of a government shutdown, it is worth diverting our attention to some other places in the country that are shutting things down. One such place is Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington, where an increasingly aggressive group of student "protesters" have been on a mission to destroy the First Amendment.

The Common Core State Standards, since their adoption in 2011, have been an expensive and harmful experiment that threatens Maine’s educational competitiveness. Unfunded mandates for local schools districts, excessive testing requirements, developmentally inappropriate material, and dubious data collection practices underscore how Common Core has caused, and will continue to cause, problems for Maine’s schools, teachers, and students.

After dismissing Gov. Paul LePage's budget out of hand, and failing to arrive -- after six months -- at anything resembling a real budget framework to replace it, leaders in the Maine Legislature have decided to forego the typical process and rely on an appointed "supercommittee" of members from both houses, who will hammer out a final budget.