Bangor Daily News

300 Pro-Life Activists Encircle State Capitol Group Wary of Possible Abortion Rights Expansion

AUGUSTA - Pro-life activists Saturday geared up for a new fight over access to abortion at their annual Hands Around the Capitol rally to protest the U.S. Supreme Court's decision announced 36 years ago that made the procedure legal in every state. Many of the more than 300 people who attended a rally at the gym in St. Michael's School before walking the two blocks to the State House to join hands and encircle the building expressed concern that an Obama administration would expand abortion r...

Digital Dilemma Growing Pains: Mpbn Takes Hit for Digital Tv Switch

Growing pains. That's how Maine Public Broadcasting Network officials have characterized the first week since they switched their five television towers from analog to digital signals.

Excitement, Hope Warm Throngs On Mall

WASHINGTON, D.C. - When Barack Obama took to the stage toward the end of the "We Are One" inaugural concert Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial, hundreds of thousands of onlookers whooped and cheered - even the ones who stood in the cold nearly two miles away on the far end of the National Mall and had to watch the JumboTrons to see the next president speak. "Everybody loves Obama," said Shaady Fakhrai, 23, of Washington, D.C., who stopped hawking patriotic hair decorations long enough t...

Foes Stake Out Positions On Freedom of Choice Act

Proponents of the Freedom of Choice Act say it would codify into federal law Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed abortion in all states. The opponents say FOCA would repeal the ban on late-term abortions passed under President Bush and lift state-imposed limits such as parental consent provisions for minors seeking to have the procedure.

Borrowers Warned About Payday Loans

Last week's column on the risks of payday loans ran just after a news release on the same topic. That release included a number of quotes from Maine people: "I owe about $1,700 to five payday lenders. I've been paying about $800 a month in interest. I paid them back three times what I borrowed and have no more money to give."

I Have a Dream ...

There may be no more fitting way to observe the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. than to recall his defining speech, delivered in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

Waltz 'One of a Kind'

Maureen Waltz was struck and killed by a truck on Jan. 11 while crossing the road to check her mailbox. I had the wonderful opportunity to know Maureen and the contributions she has made to her community. Women, Work and Community is celebrating 30 years of growth this year and Maureen was selected as one of 30 graduates to be profiled in our anniversary publication titled "Creating The Future: 30 Stories from the Maine Economy." Maureen was a success in so many areas of her life. She succeed...

Adult Business Rules

In response to the Jan. 10-11 BDN editorial "Welcome To Topless Town" about the soon to open topless coffee shop in Vassalboro, LD 1801, "An Act To Control Adult Entertainment Establishments," was presented in 2003 to the Legislature. It proposed to prohibit the operation of adult entertainment establishments within a specified radius of churches, schools, public parks and residential zones statewide. This type of law has been enacted in other states and is an effort to protect small towns th...

More Than a Day Off

We celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday Jan. 19. He would have been 80. I had the pleasure of working with him in the civil rights movement, and I know that in that mystical place called death, Martin is crying tears of joy because of the election of our new president. Barack Obama won by a large majority in Maine and many formerly red states have turned blue. He was able to transcend color, unlike Shirley Chisholm and Jesse Jackson, when they each ran for president.

Kudos to Sen. Damon

In my humble opinion, marriage should be defined as the union of two adults who love each other and want to make a lifetime commitment. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with love and commitment. Whether a couple consists of a man and woman, man and man, or woman and woman, there is no guarantee that their marriage will withstand all the trials and tribulations of life. Every couple suffers ups and downs and this should not be trivialized because of gender.

Right to Drive

Old fogies never die - they are incompetent and get into high way accidents - so say many of your readers. Consequently, set up an arbitrary age when they must give up their driver's licenses. Enacting such a law would mean that some of the legislators would have to find other means to get to Augusta.

Library to Show Inauguration On 60-Inch Tv

BANGOR - People who do not have televisions or don't want to watch the inauguration Tuesday alone will be able to view the event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Lecture Room of the Bangor Public Library. Members of the Friends of the Library approached director Barbara McDade, according to a press release issued Saturday announcing the event.