Monday, to the apparent notice of no one, congressional leaders and the president came together and agreed to something: spending a lot more money, and putting it on the credit card. Again.

There are certain tasks most of us will face, assuming we have the good fortune to live long enough. One of those is cleaning out the house of our parents — perhaps the house where we grew up. My mother, Louise Farmer, died in October 2015, and I have put off dealing with her house for almost four years.

While the increase in broadband speeds has been dramatic and is encouraging, these numbers mask a disparity between urban and rural Americans. Nearly all Americans living in urban areas have access to the Internet at speeds that meet the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband threshold, while one in four rural Americans do not.

I have family members who have green cards. They work, pay taxes, are productive members of their communities. Does this mean they don’t get counted, because they are not citizens? There must be millions in this status and in varying stages of becoming legal citizens. It is a slow process. Does this mean they don’t count?

In my last column I dealt with family associations. There are other types of associations which can also prove of immense value including DNA studies. These go back in the mists of time. Usually it’s men who are invited to join because their Y-DNA markers show a relationship to other men.

"Chris Pratt is facing criticism over a T-shirt he was pictured wearing featuring a controversial symbol." So read the first line of an article in Yahoo! Entertainment on Tuesday. Actor Chris Pratt, who you may know as Star-Lord from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, apparently wore something that caused him to "face criticism."

If I’m born with a right to free health care, who’s the guy born with the responsibility to pay for it? That question should be asked of all government services or programs. Other questions should be asked too. For example, what is the up side and bad side of government services or programs?

Save for a few welcome exceptions, today’s political discourse at all levels is awful. From politicians to political staffers; political reporters and commentators across all media; political party communicators, activists, public policy non-profits — the bulk of all this messaging is negative, emotionally and physically draining, and culturally corrosive.

My single proposed amendment to LD 1708 had nothing to do with “local control” but would have merely placed in statute some safeguards to ensure that standard fiduciary procedures were followed and that the citizens of the district would have an opportunity to keep a hospital in Dover-Foxcroft should something happen down the road.

This week, H. Ross Perot, the enigmatic Texas billionaire, two-time presidential candidate and reform party founder, passed away at the age of 89.

Thirty years ago I was assistant District Attorney responsible for Piscataquis County. At that time, we had a process known as “filing” a case. This meant a case was postponed for a period of time on a promise of good behavior. It worked well with petty crimes, but we never “filed” an operating under the influence (OUI) charge. It would have been wrong then and it is now.

Republicans are facing a self-inflicted calamity with a lawsuit that puts at risk the health care coverage for millions of Americans. And they are doing it just in time for a contentious US Senate race in Maine and a presidential election.

The Fourth of July, Independence Day, celebration begins at our home on the third of July, with house cleaning and grocery shopping. Before the sun set on July 3, however, I paddled out onto Bear Pond on our trusty stand up paddle board, dropped my flat rock anchor, and snorkeled awhile in the cool, refreshing water.

There's a big difference between a healthy dialogue between people with true differences of opinion, and weaponized, irrational social activism meant to terrify people into doing what you want them to do.

If you’ve ever given money to a political candidate, then you know that we just ended the quarter – and started a new fiscal year – for campaigns ranging from town council and mayor right up to president of the United States.

Thank you to the BDN for the front-page coverage given to the closure of Belfast’s Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. Roughly a million dollars in sales annually, and several local jobs, all lost to climate change. Neither the mandated federal flood insurance nor Federal Emergency Management Agency could apparently respond in time to help the Carlsons save their business.

I would like to thank Sen. Paul Davis for his prescience and determination to protect our future by supporting two bills that will bode well for Maine’s future energy needs. This is not the first time that Davis has put the people of Maine first.

Family associations can be great sources of material for genealogists. They range from informal reunions, where the descendants of a particular couple meet for a picnic once a year, to full-fledged organizations with dues and membership cards and newsletters. The associations run the gamut from Scottish Clans to Mayflower Pilgrim descendants to surname societies and everything in between.