Maine Liberty Journal

The test results are in, and Maine students are scoring higher in math and reading. Students in grades 3 through 8 saw improvement in both subject areas on the latest Maine Educational Assessment.

Sixty-five percent of students met or exceeded state standards in 2008. That’s a five percent increase over 2006 results. In math, 56 percent of students met or exceeded the standards, a four percent increase.

About 20,000 children in Maine are hungry, according to the Good Shepherd Food Bank. As the price of fuel and production costs rise, the price of food is going up, leaving some believing that the number of hungry people will also rise.

Two young men in Thorndike decided that it was time for them to figure out a solution for their community. Tim Libby and his friend Rob began farming and donating everything they grew to the local food pantry.

Tim and Rob hope to have about nine to twelve thousand pounds of food grown by the end of the summer. In addition to the lettuce and broccoli they’re picking now, Rob and Tim are also growing food like potatoes and onions that will last into the cold months.

Tim and Rob also hope that this project can serve as an inspiration for other Mainers. It’s a big project that requires a lot of hard work, but they’re happy to do it, knowing they’ll help people in their community.

Rob and Tim are always looking for more volunteers to help in their farm on Sundays. Their project called Veggies4all relies on donations for everything from equipment to land.

Cass Sunstein, an informal adviser to Barack Obama from the University of Chicago Law School, urged caution in prosecuting criminal conduct from the current administration, while also noting that egregious crimes should not be ignored. Prosecuting government officials risks a “cycle” of criminalizing public service, he argued, and Democrats should avoid replicating retributive efforts like the impeachment of President Clinton–or even the “slight appearance” of it.

The company said that even its most creditworthy, long-standing customers felt the effects of the economic slowdown currently sweeping the U.S.

Without giving specifics, AmEx said it plans to cut staff and reduce other costs, noting that the resulting charges will hit results in the second half of 2008.

“With bad debt occurring even in the superprime card segment, AmEx’s earnings clearly show that the credit crisis is going upscale, which does not bode well for the U.S. economy,” Red Gillen, senior analyst at consulting firm Celent, commented via email.