Ben Bragdon

Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel

Latest

Published
June 5, 2023

View from Away: Protecting vital US wetlands must remain a federal priority

Back in the 1970s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed an enormous functioning hydraulic model of the Chesapeake Bay. Although long ago replaced by much more accurate computer simulations, there was one extremely valuable lesson passed along to the busloads of schoolchildren who would visit the 14.5-acre indoor facility on Kent Island: How shallow […]
Published
June 5, 2023

Commentary: Congress should freeze Pentagon spending

The debt ceiling deal reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has now been passed into law, and the winner is – the Pentagon! While the rest of the federal discretionary budget is slated to be frozen at roughly this year’s level, the Pentagon and related spending on nuclear weapons at the […]
Published
June 4, 2023

Hilary Koch: Hats off to the parents

With graduation season upon us, let’s honor Mama Bears and Hot Messes.
Published
June 4, 2023

Our View: Pride Month arrives amid coordinated attack on LGBTQ Americans

As it tries to roll back civil rights and freedoms, the Republican Party is now almost wholly focused on smearing the LGBTQ community.
Published
June 3, 2023

Commentary: Title 42 is done. Is the US ready to get serious about managing migration at the border?

U.S. border policy is stuck in the past. The expiration of Title 42 gives the U.S. government another chance to effectively manage migration and border security, but it will be successful only if it addresses the reality of Western Hemisphere migration. Our deterrence policies and enforcement infrastructure were built decades ago for single adult men […]
Published
May 29, 2023

Commentary: High-speed rail can curb America’s summer travel woes

The summer travel season that gets underway Memorial Day weekend promises to be one of the most challenging ever. As transportation patterns return to pre-pandemic levels, millions of Americans will face the familiar miles-long traffic jams and labyrinthine airport security lines. Following last summer’s chaos in the skies, with nearly 45,000 flights canceled and over […]
Published
May 29, 2023

Our View: Fulfilling our responsibility to those who died for our rights

Memorial Day is an opportunity every year to remember the sacrifice so many have made in the name of the freedom we all enjoy. The parades. The speeches. The flags on poles down Main Street, and placed at every veteran’s grave. It’s all so that we don’t forget that winning and defending our rights under […]
Published
May 28, 2023

Maine Compass: The rebirth of the Kennebec

You can’t see any fish, flying as we were 900 feet above the river. But we knew they were there, moving upstream to spawn. Flying over the Kennebec River was a fascinating experience and I was grateful for the opportunity to look at the watershed from above, to see and think about the efforts that […]
Published
May 28, 2023

Commentary: Honor, loss and perspective from a Mainer on Memorial Day

Honor. Here in Maine — especially where veterans are buried — honor means something. I recently walked Maple Cemetery in Winthrop, Mount Pleasant in Wayne, Fish in Leeds, and stopped to think about those who fell young. Memorial Day is coming, time to pause. Honor is what comes to mind too, washes over you in […]
Published
May 27, 2023

View from Away: One answer to the migration crisis? Jobs

The Biden administration’s sensible new policy for asylum seekers — requiring them to submit applications in Latin American countries before arriving — seems to have preempted a wave of migration to the border, at least for now. But what about those the US has already legally admitted into the country, who are being blocked from […]