State governments around the country have reacted differently to the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat it poses to people and to the economy. Many states -- Maine included -- took quick and decisive action to help stop the spread of the disease and to help people upended by job loss and financial instability caused by required physical distancing.

The crisp connection between bat and ball was one of the chief selling points for a Shirley company as it returned to spring training sites in Florida and Arizona to market their bats to major- and minor-league baseball players. By all accounts Dove Tail Bats was having its share of success as one of approximately 35 bat makers certified by Major League Baseball.

As many Mainers struggle to figure out how to work from home and adhere to social distancing guidelines while still getting their jobs done, the state's wildlife biologists have largely been able to complete field research projects with only slight adjustments, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's wildlife division director.

Warning that “more people will die,” Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday ordered Mainers to stay home except to shop for necessities or to go to jobs deemed essential through April, putting Maine among a majority of states to take similar action to fight the coronavirus.

On Sunday (March 29), President Donald Trump said that if the United States can keep the death toll down to 100,000, "we all together have done a very good job." I pray we can do much better than that.

My old-style landline phone surprised me when it rang that night. I wasn't expecting a call. I really wasn't expecting a call from the caller: drummer Jim Gordon.

One additional new program available to people in the region who are self-isolating at home or anyone who is having trouble doing grocery shopping due to concerns about risk, illness or disability is called Community Pulling Together. This is a program funded partly with a small grant from The New England Grassroots Environment Fund COVID-19 response program awarded to The Commons Energy Collaborative.

The Center Theatre announced that they are asking for volunteers to help communities keep in touch while we are all keeping our distance. According to Patrick Myers, the Center Theatre executive director, the Theatre is working to help people stay connected  and hopefully bring a little joy into their daily life.

Hospitals across Maine are steeling themselves for a possible spike in patients with the coronavirus by stocking up on equipment and freeing up beds and workers. But while those efforts are critical from a public health perspective, they could make it harder in the long run for rural hospitals to sustain their current operations when many of them are already struggling to pay the bills. 

Please stop talking about the electability of a woman to be president of the United States. It is racist or sexist to elect or not elect a person based on race or gender. When the person with the same agenda and values as the majority of people in this country runs for office, they will win the nomination regardless of race or gender.