Douglas Rooks: A prescription for the new year

Let's make 2023 the year of fewer numbers, and more poetry.

Douglas Rooks: ‘Tax relief’ has a downside, too

Rather than continually providing “relief” that’s never enough, wouldn’t it make more sense to assess income and sales taxes partly through counties and municipalities, as most states do, setting rates by local option?

Douglas Rooks: Scrap the $500 million spending bill and start over

Gov. Mills should have known better than to push through the heating assistance bill on the first day of the Legislature.

Douglas Rooks: Octogenarians still leading the way in politics

Sen. Angus King recently announced he will run for re-election in two years, joining other politicians who are ready to keep going after 80.

Douglas Rooks: Getting the postal service to run on time

Douglas Rooks: Opportunity knocks for tax reform in Maine

No one likes paying taxes, but since we must pay to get services we want and need, we should have a fair system to support those needs.

Douglas Rooks: The unending election cycle hasn’t reached Maine – yet

We’ll know our elections are getting back to normal — and only then — when losing candidates relearn the concession ritual, and practice it.

Douglas Rooks: Mills has opportunity to change state, and herself

If Mills is to have the successful second term that’s often eluded her predecessors, she will have to shift course to remain in tune with her party, and especially its younger members.

Douglas Rooks: Campaigns little help, but voters still decide

Yes, elections are worse than they used to be, or at least they accomplish less in steering the course of the nation and each state.

Douglas Rooks: Inflation not the problem we think it is

Rather than yesterday’s polling, we might focus on what really matters to us — and where Congress can have a major impact.