As I write this update on Mon., Jan. 5, the work of the 124th Maine Legislature formally begins.

I am pleased to report that I have been named to the same two committees I served on in the last Legislature, namely Marine Resources, and Business Research and Economic Development committees. These are both great committees to be on from the perspective of the needs of our towns, as well as for the needs of the state as a whole.

An update regarding the issues facing Maine from Augusta.

According to the state’s records, since 1990, there have been 75 occasions involving the use of deadly force by Maine law enforcement, sometimes but not always, with deadly results.

It’s nice to see that our Legislators are serious about addressing the problems facing the state.

Many who live in the Damariscotta region may not fully realize how fortunate we are to have a first class hospital right here to serve our medical needs. But a hospital is only as good as its medical, nursing, ancillary and administrative staffs. The Miles staff is as good as they come.

To the Editor:

I read with interest the “Chimney Sweep Critiques Shoddy Servicing Jobs” article.

As the Legislature prepares to act on the Fiscal Year 2009 supplemental budget and begins serious deliberations on the next biennial budget, it is a good time to think about how some of the proposed budget reductions will affect health care in our community.

To the Editor:

I think it was in 1993 when a law was passed that limited our choices of what health care insurance Maine people could buy. Since then the cost of health insurance premiums has steadily gone up. Our state government has regulated health insurance companies to such a degree; most won’t do business with us. Part of what drives costs is competition, or the lack of it.

Intelligence Challenges Facing Barack ObamaOver the past eight years one of the most troubling issues in US national security has been the divisive and politically charged debate over the US intelligence community. Intelligence reform is one of those areas where Barack Obama has wisely signaled his intention to move cautiously yet, as with the military, some tough decisions will need to be made over the next four years.

Recently, I listened to an out of state pastor relate his troubles in getting his church built “according to code” for his district.

To the Editor:

This is written in response to the Dec. 25 Letter to the Editor (and the Jan. 1 correction to it) suggesting that gay marriage is wrong because the Bible says so.

Eivend Boe makes a case for a National Health Service, paid for by taxation and administered by the Government. However one or two points seem to have escaped his notice.

I read an article in “Consumer Reports” that was beyond belief regarding payday lenders and the excessive rates they are allowed to charge a customer is in need of money until his or her next payday.

Several of us local baseball enthusiasts in Lincoln and Knox counties, in our sixties and seventies, lost a hero a couple of weeks ago. That man was Don Bowman, a local baseball hero from Jefferson, who passed away at Cove’s edge in Damariscotta at the age of 82.