In February 2017, Marco Toninelli boarded a red-eye special plane at Orio al Serio International Airport in Milan, Italy. Landing at Newark Airport in New Jersey, Marco picked up the car he rented ahead of time, and drove three-and-a-half hours through the night, to his pre-booked hotel room in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

In 2015 Stephen and Rita Shiman of Saco received a phone call that no grandparent would ever want to experience. The caller claimed to be their grandson, who said he had been arrested after being involved in a car accident in Georgia. The caller told the Shimans not to tell anyone and directed them to immediately contact his public defender, who demanded $1,250 for their grandson’s bail.

As we wrap up this legislative session, I am making our elderly a top priority. Unfortunately, they are not a priority for Democrats.

Well, the legal battles over ranked-choice voting have already gotten absurdly messy and confusing, and the system hasn't even been used in an actual election yet.

Two weeks ago, I made an offer to all the candidates running for governor: Send me a big idea explained in 50 words or less, and I’ll share it with the world as written and without comment.

“I’m stuck in the ‘60s,” Eileen said, explaining her choice of music on her iPod and car radio. Lots of Beach Boys, Four Seasons, Motown, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and so on. Now and then — almost as if the iPod is weary of hearing the same tunes — the song rotation plays Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie,” Arthur Conley’s “Sweet Soul Music,” or Jimmy Soul’s “If You Wanna Be Happy” — some wonderful ‘60s songs that, to my ears, never grow stale.

I recently spent a morning at SeDoMoCha visiting elementary classrooms. I observed children being nurtured by exceptional teachers and learning in an emotional safe environment. I thought to myself how could anyone harm these innocent children, yet all we have to do is watch the news.

Very soon, if not already, citizens of Dexter, Garland, and Ripley will receive a letter requesting donations to support the continued work of the Dexter Public Health Association. The Dexter Public Health Association nurses have been serving those needing help free of charge, since the 1930s.

Roseanne Barr is back again, this time with a reboot of her iconic, eponymous television show “Roseanne.” It is 2018, so everything that has ever held any kind of cultural significance is being rebooted in a desperate attempt to cash in on the ever growing nostalgia industry.

If I had been advising the students who organized and led the March for Our Lives protests around Maine, I would have told them to keep the program short.

In November of 2017, 59 percent of Maine voters approved Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. We understood that our vote would extend health care coverage to tens of thousands of low-income Mainers.

During my career, I’ve been an educator and a businessman who focused on workforce development for one of Maine’s largest companies. I feel the need to weigh in on the issue of proficiency-based education -- an issue that’s extremely important to me.

Do you remember the 1999 movie "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Costner? The film was based on W.P. Kinsella's novel, "Shoeless Joe," published in 1982. I bought "Shoeless Joe" off a drug store book rack on a hunch. Never a staunch baseball fan, unfamiliar with Mr. Kinsella's writing, something told me, "This is a good book."

The upcoming spending bill in Congress is being used to sneak in language to repeal or weaken the Johnson Amendment, the law that since 1954 has shielded nonprofit organizations from partisan politicking. That bill must pass by March 23 to keep the federal government from running out of money (and shutting down for a third time this year).

The year was 2008, and the country was in the midst of a presidential election that would eventually hand the White House to Barack Obama.

There’s a strange bipolar effect that happens every election season. We want people to run for office. We want more choice. And then we bemoan the fact that so many people run — writing some folks off prematurely, even before they have a chance to make their case.

The best way to stop the drug problem in Maine is to concentrate on drug enforcement. If the drug flow into Maine is stopped, then the rehab problem will take care of itself. No drugs, no need for expensive rehab programs.

The federal tax cuts will provide about $1 billion in tax relief this year and next to Maine families and businesses.