Catch-and-release is an invaluable management tool. It’s the regulation that comes closest to allowing a fishery to be what it naturally is. Per the Department of Environmental Protection, Maine has nearly 6,050 lakes and ponds. Approximately 2,435 are listed on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s lake and pond database, indicating they contain fish.

This past Wednesday, September 11th, Eileen and I were in Freeport, ME, standing an hour in the rain for the farewell watch of the great Freeport Flag Ladies. The three ladies — Carmen Footer, Elaine Greene, and JoAnn Miller — stood on their Main Street corner every Tuesday, for 18 years, commemorating 9/11.

I don't remember Pearl Harbor. Nor should I. I was born in 1980, three days after the 39th anniversary of the event. I wasn't alive when it happened. I didn't see it. I didn't feel it. My knowledge of Pearl Harbor comes from news footage, dozens of documentaries, and some famous lines uttered by an American president.

Democrats should be embarrassed. But not for the typical reasons that might have quickly jumped to mind.

There’s a phrase, the cure is worse than the disease. Right now, Congress is aiming to give a master course on the meaning of this expression with new legislation targeting our health care system. If enacted, it would greatly harm rural Maine and my constituents.

I took a recent webinar which stressed the importance of using a research log to track progress in your searches. A research log allows you to list all sources and what you found or didn’t find. For example, you might list a book showing title/author/library/call number and indicate what you found. Some of these logs allow you to state your purpose in researching such as “seeking parents of John Jones”.

I wanted to respond to a letter written by Richard Aishton published in your newspaper. Mr. Aishton discusses in great detail the presumed environmental damage the New England Clean Energy Connect will do to Maine’s western mountains. I disagree.

The Maine Old Cemetery Association, dedicated to preservation of Maine’s neglected cemeteries, has a fascinating Facebook page. From the page’s 2,740 members, MOCA posters share photos of restoration projects, discoveries; they network and share history lessons.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11 the state board of education will meet at Brunswick High School to be updated and possibly approve changes to the rules of Chapter 115 “The Credentialing of Educational Personnel.”

Our town has looked so beautiful this summer with an abundance of flowers on our bridges, in pots in front of businesses and gracing the front of Central Hall. I am grateful for the talented and dedicated effort of local volunteers and especially Karen Maas who has lovingly tended these flowers for all of us to enjoy

About a month ago, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas made a controversial decision when he began releasing the names of Trump supporters that were residents of his San Antonio-based district.

It was a long, deadly weekend as gun violence claimed more lives. At least seven people are dead in west Texas at the hands of an angry man with an “AR style” weapon. Three police officers and a 17-month-old were among the 25 people who were wounded.

I find it rather offending that CMP and Doug Herling constantly try to remind people that Mainers are not paying a penny for the construction. What Herling leaves out is that Maine will pay a serious environmental cost that has never entered the calculus of CMP’s project. A 53.5 mile long, 300 foot wide clear cut crossing hundreds of vernal pools, native trout spawning beds, fragmenting the largest unfragmented forested tract east of the Mississippi River and totaling 1,926 acres of land that will remove a huge CO2 absorption capacity from the land (not to mention an additional 1,600 acres for the remaining 92 miles of corridor).

In Maine, internet access is growing. Service is getting better, speeds are getting faster and more people are getting connected every day. Expanded broadband access is creating new opportunities for Mainers. From new employment opportunities to distance learning to telehealth, and everything in between, growing broadband access is revolutionizing the way we live.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful -- and a change of pace from self-enrichment to focusing on the good of the country -- for the U.S. to host the G-7 (and 7 only)?

I don’t know why my brain works as it does; why certain ideas intrigue me. But, for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to know how things work. Not everything, but certain things.

In my five years as your state representative the lack of high speed broadband has been a key issue and the citizens of Piscataquis County have demanded action. In response, I have worked to create a non-political broadband caucus to advocate for funding to stimulate investment in rural Maine. There have been dozens of bills introduced to include broadband in the two year budget, proposals to increase revenue and multiple bond proposals. This year the budget has included $4 million to address a multi-million dollar need.

I wanted to take a moment to respond to a recently published letter about the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project written by Urgel Pomerleau. As anyone reading the letter can sense, he has true passion for the direction of our state, but I feel it is important to ensure Maine people understand the process that is in place to consider such a major climate change solution.