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« January 2009 | Main | March 2009 »

Help The Poor: Take a Lawyer To Lunch

The ABA Journal has an article talking about the major law firms laying off 2000 lawyers and staff in February. This is on top of the 1500 fired last month — and these are just the layoffs from the major firms. What about all the job losses at medium and small firms throughout the country?

A couple of weeks ago, the Portland Press Herald ran an article stating that Maine’s lawyers are doing just fine thank-you-very-much during this recession.  Maybe if you’re one of the biggest firms in the state and have a ready stable of lawyers and staff that can jump into the hot areas of bankruptcy, foreclosure and collections during this recession, you’re doing okay.

My informal discussions with other solo lawyers and those in small firms tells a different story: times are difficult and getting worse….

Posted by on February 27, 2020 at 07:51 AM in Business, Legal | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Tiger Woods Is Back!

Have you heard the good news?  Tiger Woods is back from his injury and playing golf again.

Yawning

Posted by on February 26, 2020 at 09:48 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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10-cent shopping bag tax for Maine?

The Portland Press Herald reports that a bill is pending which would require Maine sellers to charge 10 cents for each plastic bag given out to customers. 

The idea is to get shoppers to buy reusable bags that are now available in many stores.  Proponents say that the bill would eliminate tons of plastic trash going into landfills, plastic bags that liter the streets, and bags that clog storm drains.

Opponents say that we don’t need this new tax during a recession.

What do you think?

Plastic bag

 

Posted by on February 25, 2020 at 10:47 AM in Business, Legal | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Gay Marriage: Should It Pass Because It’s Good For Business?

An article in yesterday’s paper noted that if Maine approves same-sex marriage it could be a $60 million boost to the state.

Gay marriage is not legal here in Maine but supporters of a bill to allow it released a study that said Maine’s economy would have a $60 million boost over 3 years if it allows gay marriage.

I don’t know about you, but it sure seems to be taking advantage of poor financial times when you try to bolter your argument for gay marriage by citing an increase in tourism.  I have a feeling that with this hot-button topic that most folks won’t be swayed by economics.

But I could be wrong.

If I am wrong, we could get into all kinds of things here in Maine that promote tourism if we simply did away with our pesky morals. 

How about making all beaches in Maine clothing optional?  I know lots of folks from Canada wear those speedo bathing suits at Old Orchard beach — now they could keep them at home.

We could also legalize certain recreational drugs to help drive drug buyers to the Grand State of Maine.  Instead of having on our license plates “Maine: Vacation Land”, how about “Maine: Toking Land”?

What about increasing gambling?  Instead of just having that single racino in Bangor, let’s have casinos all over the state.  Why not be known as the Vagas of the Northeast?  Course if we’re going to go all out for gambling, we probably should have something to go along with it.

Legalized prostitution would also bring in lots of visitors.  But let’s only allow it in Aroostook County — that way we can fleece the tourists all along their way to northern Maine.

Posted by on February 24, 2020 at 10:26 AM in Business, Current Affairs, Entertainment, Gambling, Legal, News, Politics | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Maine Sex Registry May Be Due For Overhaul

An article in yesterday’s Portland Press Herald (by Eric Russell of the Bangor Daily News) noted that two cases pending before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court may reshape Maine’s sex offender registration and notification act.  There is also some legislation that may prompt some changes.

Attorneys for the individuals in the court cases basically allege that the decision to include the names of the men in the sex registry amounts to unfair punitive action against them.

The proposed legislation waters down the current law in several respects.  The Governor has vetoed similar legislation in the past so there is no guarantee that any pending bill might ultimately become law.

I’ve written about the legality of the sex offender registry here.  What does your state do in this area?

Posted by on February 24, 2020 at 10:01 AM in Legal | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Governors Want Stimulus Flexibility — I Say NO!

First mayors and now state governors are asking the Obama administration for flexibility in spending stimulus money coming their way.  I hope that Obama replies with a big, fat “no.”

President Obama has already said that people expect the money to be “spent in its intended purposes without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud.”  If he lets the mayors and governors spend it how they want without any oversight, that won’t happen.

Instead, the stimulus money will be used by states for things other than what is intended.  Without strict oversight, the funds would go for all the regular expenditures that need filing in this budget crisis.  In other words, leaders will treat this as free money and spend just as unwisely as they have in the past.

The stimulus funds are supposed to go toward tax cuts, spending that will create jobs, and investments in roads, buildings, bridges and other infrastructure.

The funds are not suppose to help balance state and local budgets that are in the red by funding ongoing programs or paying for unfunded projects.

Let the mayors and governors choose which bridges, roads and buildings need to be built.  Don’t let them decide to spend it however they want though — we’ve already seen how some banks and financial institutions have spent their funds without oversight: lavish conferences, hefty bonuses, and acquitions that they couldn’t have afforded without free government money.

Without too much oversight or red tape, the feds should demand verification every step of the way.

 

Posted by on February 24, 2020 at 09:31 AM in Legal, Politics | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Maine May Politically Matter Once Again

As reported in today’s Washington Post, the old saying “as Maine goes so goes the nation” may be true once again in the current Obama administration.

Due to the influence of Republican Sens. Snowe and Collins with their votes for the president’s economic stimulus package, Maine may start having a little more clout in Washington.

Since I live here, I’m all for it!

The Post got it right when it said that Maine voters are often “liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal matters.”  A lot of folks I know in this area believe that voting for the stimulus package was the right thing to do.  Whether it works or not, at least the Democrats and Maine’s senators tried something — instead of doing nothing but sitting on the sidelines and criticizing.

As the Post also notes, one of the political parties is going to suffer for this partisian voting during the next election. 

Which one?  What’s your guess?

 

 

Posted by on February 16, 2020 at 09:41 AM in Business, Legal, Politics | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Portland JetPort Director Ignores Signs Of Problems

In an article in today’s Portland Press Herald, the recession is taking its toll on Maine’s busiest airport:

“The volume of freight moving through the Portland International Jetport fell sharply in the past year. Passenger counts are starting to decline, and revenue this year is expected to drop more than 6 percent. Airport officials shelved a major expansion project.”

In addition, airline freight traffic, measured in pounds, was down more than 12 percent in 2008.   Also, passenger traffic was off 6.2 percent in January compared with last year, the fourth decline in six months.

What does jetport director, Paul Bradbury, have to say about these troubling numbers?  “We are in good shape,” he said.

Excuse me?

Posted by on February 13, 2020 at 02:24 PM in Business, Current Affairs | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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I’m Disgusted With The GOP

Every man woman and child in this country understands that the economy is in the toilet.  Folks need help — even the often out-of-touch politicians in Washington know it.  The President knows it, Democrats know it, and Republicans know it.

Yet the ENTIRE Republican House and Senate (except for Maine’s Sen. Snowe and Collins, and Penn. Sen. Arlen Specter) voted against the various billion dollar stimulus bills.  Even Sen. McCain — who campaigned for President on the theme of bipartisian cooperation — voted against the bill.

So instead of working at a compromise to help the country get moving again, Republicans said “the Republican party comes first, and the country comes second.”

As far as I’m concerned, I’m sick of those narrow-minded, candy-assed, spineless, Republican party loyalists. 

Will the stimulus package work?  Who knows — but I hope it does.  If so, I want President Obama to remind the entire country over and over again that while the Republican party did nothing but sit on the sidelines, he and the Democrats (along with a few moderate Republicans) got the country moving again.

My wife is a life-long Republican and she’s so fed up with the GOP that she is thinking about changing her party affiliation.

In these dire financial times, Republicans should be ashamed of their leaders in Washington.

 

Posted by on February 12, 2020 at 08:36 AM in Business, Current Affairs, Legal, Politics | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Maine Sex Offender Registry: Illegal Or Not?

The Portland Press Herald has an article in today’s paper about the legality of the Maine Sex Offender Registry. 

As described on the website:

The Sex Offender Registry Web Site is maintained by the Maine State Police, State Bureau of Identification and is intended to provide the public information concerning the location of registered offenders currently within Maine.

The Registry does not contain information on all individuals that have been convicted of a sex crime. Information is only provided for those individuals that are required to register pursuant to Title 34-A MRSA, Chapter 15. Registration is limited to those individuals sentenced for a requisite offense on or after January 1, 2020.

The legality of the site is being challenged before the Maine Supreme Court.  Opponents of the site argue that it is unconstitutional because the 1999 law applies retroactively to convictions going back to 1982, and because it labels (on the Internet for all to see) some people as being dangerous who are not.

Proponents say that it’s just putting forward public information that is available for anyone to review at the courthouse.

What do you think?

Posted by on February 11, 2020 at 08:48 AM in Legal, News, Web/Tech | | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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