By Bob Gaydos
I wasn’t going to write about the shootings in Arizona because I didn’t think I had anything new to say. And really, I don’t. What I may have is a slightly altered perspective, thanks to my son, Zack.

PORTLAND HEAD LIGHT – Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was born in Portland, was a frequent visitor in his younger years. Longfellow’s poem “The Lighthouse” was probably inspired by his many hours at Portland Head Light.

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By Jeffrey Page
If Palin was sincere she would tone down her rhetoric and distance herself from the political arsonists.

By Gretchen Gibbs
I was educated to believe in scientific progress. Medicine might make mistakes but these would be corrected with time, and eventually we would understand almost everything about how the body works.

By Shawn Dell Joyce
“Land degradation and desertification may be regarded as the silent crisis of the world, a genuine threat to the future of humankind,” says Andres Arnalds, assistant director of the Icelandic Soil Conservation Service. “Soil and vegetation is being lost at an alarming rate around the globe, which in turn has devastating effects on food production and accelerates climate change.”

A painting I made – with help!

By Michael Kaufman
Why do local, state, and national elected officials blame government workers and public school teachers for the current economic crisis?

A storm blew in after Christmas and blew the holidays away.

By Shawn Dell Joyce
Our buildings account for more than half of our carbon emissions and three-quarters of the existing buildings will need to be renovated or remodeled in the next twenty years. We also have a small army of unemployed and underemployed contractors with tools just itching for something to do. What if these ingenious folks were put to work retrofitting existing buildings with energy efficient upgrades?

Winter scene at the Great Falls, Paterson.