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2002

Journal

Maine Policy Review

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Term Limits, The Standing Committees, And Institutional Response, Matthew C. Moen, Kenneth Palmer Jan 2002

Term Limits, The Standing Committees, And Institutional Response, Matthew C. Moen, Kenneth Palmer

Maine Policy Review

Through citizen initiative in 1993, Maine passed a term limits bill that now prevents legislators with eight years of consecutive service from seeking reelection. Although touted as a means of eliminating careerism in public service and as a means of bringing fresh blood and new policy initiative to Augusta, many now question whether limits on service have hampered legislative efficiency through the loss of experienced leadership and institutional memory. Moen and Palmer examine the impact of term limits on the legislature’s standing committees. While noting adverse impacts such as heavier workloads, they also find an institution hard at work to …

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How Volunteers Saved Legal Aid In The 1990s, Calien Lewis Jan 2002

How Volunteers Saved Legal Aid In The 1990s, Calien Lewis

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.

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A Sampler From The New Historical Atlas Of Maine: Religion In Maine, Burton Hatlen, Joshua M. Smith, Peter Lodge, Michael Hermann Jan 2002

A Sampler From The New Historical Atlas Of Maine: Religion In Maine, Burton Hatlen, Joshua M. Smith, Peter Lodge, Michael Hermann

Maine Policy Review

This article offers an example of work-in-progress on a significant project to develop an historical atlas of Maine. Although an article depicting religious settlement in Maine may seem far removed from the policy analyses typically featured in the journal, religious participation is a fundamental aspect of civic engagement in the United States. Thus, we feature here a glimpse of Maine’s religious heritage. We also present Maine Policy Review’s first full color pullout, which is intended to give readers a visual as well as textual portrait of religious settlement in the Kennebec Valley and Portland through the first half of …

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History + Resources = A Sense Of Place, Wendy Griswold Jan 2002

History + Resources = A Sense Of Place, Wendy Griswold

Maine Policy Review

Unlike many states, Maine has an unusually strong “sense of place,” or cultural regionalism. Wendy Griswold explores where this unusually strong sense comes from, and how it can be further nourished through literature. In doing so, she strengthens the argument for investments in cultural-heritage objects and activities as a means not only of reinforcing an already strong sense of identity among Mainers, but also of promoting Maine as a tourism destination.

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Gubernatorial Power And The Struggle For Executive Efficiency In Twentieth Century Maine, Paul H. Mills Jan 2002

Gubernatorial Power And The Struggle For Executive Efficiency In Twentieth Century Maine, Paul H. Mills

Maine Policy Review

In this commentary, Paul Mills discusses the balance between the executive and legislative branches of Maine state government in the twentieth century, noting that from 1986 to the time of the writing of this commentary (2002), the state’s governors have had a different political affiliation than the legislatures elected to serve with them. He remarks that even as the mechanics of government have become more efficient through reforms, Maine people have created and enforced a system that puts the governor and legislature at odds, hampering their ability to move forward.

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Maine Code Of Election Ethics, Gregory P. Gallant Jan 2002

Maine Code Of Election Ethics, Gregory P. Gallant

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Gregory Gallant discusses the voluntary Maine Code of Election Ethics, sponsored and organized by the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. The code is a voluntary effort designed to elevate political discourse in Maine’s federal and gubernatorial elections. Gallant reflects on the ways in which this code reinforces Margaret Chase Smith’s recognition of the critical role played by civic engagement in American society.

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Why More Is Required To Address Maine’S Childhood Lead-Poisoning Problem, David Littell Jan 2002

Why More Is Required To Address Maine’S Childhood Lead-Poisoning Problem, David Littell

Maine Policy Review

Although largely hidden from the public eye, childhood lead poisoning has been identified as one of Maine’s leading environmental health problems. Recent data show not only that lead-poisoning levels are unacceptably high among Maine’s children, but also that screening rates are lower than recommended by national health organizations and lower than in other New England states. David Littell discusses why childhood lead poisoning is such a problem in Maine and what can be done to remedy the situation, providing a thorough examination of how children are exposed to lead and the magnitude of the problem. He reviews the state’s existing …

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Learning And Earning In Vacationland: Promoting Education And Economic Opportunity In Maine, Anthony Carnevale, Donna M. Desrochers Jan 2002

Learning And Earning In Vacationland: Promoting Education And Economic Opportunity In Maine, Anthony Carnevale, Donna M. Desrochers

Maine Policy Review

Technological innovation, globalization and other economic forces together shape the structure of jobs and the way we work. Such forces have gained momentum over the last 40 years with the advent of a new economy that is increasingly reliant on skilled workers with a postsecondary education. This trend is evident in all sectors of Maine’s economy. In this article, Carnevale and Desrochers show where the jobs are in Maine and how the education attainment of those who hold such jobs has changed over the last 40 years. They look at where jobs will be in the future and the skills …

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Economic Prosperity In Maine: Held Back By The Lack Of Higher Education, Philip A. Trostel Jan 2002

Economic Prosperity In Maine: Held Back By The Lack Of Higher Education, Philip A. Trostel

Maine Policy Review

Maine lags the nation in economic prosperity and in education attainment, and there is little doubt that the relative lack of higher education in Maine is a leading factor. In this article, Trostel looks at each of the three sources of Maine’s relatively low education attainment: the net emigration of college graduates (who are presumably in search of employment opportunities elsewhere); relatively fewer students going on to college; and the net emigration of high-school graduates leaving Maine to attend out-of-state postsecondary schools. While all three factors have happened in Maine to some extent, the net emigration of the state’s high-school …

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Barriers To Postsecondary Education In Maine: Making College The Obvious And Attainable Next Step For More Maine Students, Colleen J. Quint, Lisa Plimpton Jan 2002

Barriers To Postsecondary Education In Maine: Making College The Obvious And Attainable Next Step For More Maine Students, Colleen J. Quint, Lisa Plimpton

Maine Policy Review

The question of why more high school students do not go on to college has been the focus of recent research at the Mitchell Institute. Quint and Plimpton summarize this research, which involved more than 2,500 Maine students, educators and parents. They find that financial barriers are only one piece of a complicated puzzle. Other barriers include parental attitudes, whether any family members have attended college, the high school experience (i.e., what track the student is placed in), the quality of career planning in school and at home, and the level of active planning for college (while many students say …

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Maine’S Investment Imperative, Laurie G. Lachance Jan 2002

Maine’S Investment Imperative, Laurie G. Lachance

Maine Policy Review

In the past two decades, Maine’s per capita income ranking has not topped 27th, and in recent years, the state’s relative position has dropped to 36th. More importantly, the gap between Maine and the United States has increased since 1990. In this article, Maine’s State Economist Laurie Lachance lays out a long-term investment strategy for Maine that focuses on education, research and development, comprehensive tax reform, greater efficiencies in the delivery of state and local services, and limits on government spending. Lachance argues that choices must be made even in times of fiscal crisis. Failure to invest means failure, period.

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Snowmobiling In Maine: Past Successes, Future Challenges, David Vail Jan 2002

Snowmobiling In Maine: Past Successes, Future Challenges, David Vail

Maine Policy Review

With one snowmobile registration for every 15 residents, Maine may well have the most snowmobiles per capita of any U.S. state. Moreover, the state’s 12,000-mile network of groomed trails and its 2,500-mile Interconnected Trail System make it a major winter tourist attraction. Still, as David Vail points out—and as the number of snowmobile-related deaths confirms—such progress has not come without costs and conflict. Although Vail argues the benefits outweigh the costs, he suggests Maine should act now to alleviate the conflicts related to congestion, over use of the state’s major trails, noise and air pollution, and free riding by non-dues-paying …

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Teenage Births In Maine: Positive Trends But More To Be Done, Leslie King, Stephen Marks Jan 2002

Teenage Births In Maine: Positive Trends But More To Be Done, Leslie King, Stephen Marks

Maine Policy Review

Teen birth rates in Maine have fallen by 34 percent over the past decade, the fourth highest decline in the nation. However, as King and Marks point out, a low birthrate of 29.8 percent in 1999 still exceeds the teenage birthrate in most other industrialized countries in the world by a substantial margin. Moreover, when the authors compared Maine’s predominantly white population with non-Hispanic whites in other states, Maine’s success is not as remarkable. Indeed, the teenage birthrate of Maine’s non-Hispanic white population is higher than every other state in the Northeast corridor with the exception of Delaware. All of …

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The Perils Of Voice And The Desire For Stealth Democracy, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse Jan 2002

The Perils Of Voice And The Desire For Stealth Democracy, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Maine Policy Review

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Elizabeth Theiss-Morse takes issue with each of the alleged beneficial effects of increased participation and deliberation in politics. She presents evidence from her own research with colleague John Hibbing that suggests a more participatory democracy does not necessarily result in better decisions, a better political system or better people. Rather, most Americans would prefer not to have to participate in politics at all. Theiss-Morse explains where this view comes from and, in the end, argues for a civic …

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The Project Of Democracy, Alexander Keyssar Jan 2002

The Project Of Democracy, Alexander Keyssar

Maine Policy Review

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Alexander Keyssar chronicles the advances and contractions of democratic political rights in American history. While on balance, this is a story of progress, it is not, Keyssar argues, unilinear, nor one that is completed. Although arguably late for the world’s “greatest democracy,” by the 1970s the United States had achieved universal suffrage. Today, however, the tug between democratic and anti-democratic forces continues. The contest is no longer over voting rights but over the procedures and rules governing elections …

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