Columns:

DEAN CROCKER : House vote on health reform a major step forward
Though it was just one step on a long road, the U.S. House of Representatives vote on Nov. 7 to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act was a historic moment.

Letters to the Editor:

November celebrates hospice care givers
As the holidays approach, many of us will gather with family and friends. More often than not, these gatherings will include reminiscences about loved ones, re-telling of funny family stories and sharing traditions honored year after year.

National Guard pilots need low-level training
I am fed up with all the whining over the Massachusetts National Guard low-level training over western Maine.

To be war president not 'a noble ambition'
I thought I discovered something of a kindred spirit when I read the letter of Jack Crowe in the Oct. 30 Sentinel in which he laments, properly, the loss of life in two seemingly unending wars in which we are engaged. However, I was disappointed in his last comment which suggested we put ourselves in a dangerous quagmire in Afghanistan.

Obama showed respect, friendship with his bow
I was gratified to know President Barack Obama bowed as he was greeted by Japanese Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace. It is a pleasure to have a president representing us who is wise enough to demonstrate respect and friendship rather than arrogance or ignorance when coming together as friendly nations.

Enough about Crabtree, his business already
It appears the every time Donald Crabtree goes to the bathroom, it makes front page news.

Smoking law goes too far in restricting freedom
Now that the elections are over, I want to express my opinion on the smoking law. I'm a non smoker and I'm against this new law. I know as a fact that you can't get second-hand smoke being outside, unless you stand right next to the person smoking and breathe in the smoke.

Religious intolerance abounds at Fort Hood
The recent tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, was a terrible shock to America.

Don't take for granted Maine's 'for sure' things
There are so many "for sure" things we can expect to see in Maine each year.

Thanks to local businesses that supported veterans
Though I had to work on the holiday of national Veterans Day, I knew that many local businesses were making a special effort to thank veterans in many ways.

People in Congress should listen to us
When I was younger, I was naive enough to think our congressmen/women and senators were sent to Washington to intercede for us.

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OPINIONS SPECIAL PROJECTS HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. Not Thoreau. 150 years ago he ventured into Maine's woods. The high drama of the nature Thoreau encountered made its way into the equally dramatic prose of his book, The Maine Woods. We mark the 150th anniversary of Thoreau's 1857 trip as well as the legacy of this transcendentalist, nature lover and, as author Ted Williams writes, contrarian who loved Maine in its wildest and most rugged incarnations. For more, click here.

SPECIAL REPORT: Hunger Series
"For I was hungry," a seven-part editorial series, documents the depth and breadth of hunger in Maine, from the dramatic increase in food pantries to the thousands of children who come to school hungry to the elderly with bare cupboards. For more, click here.