
Ben Sprague
@bensprague
Commercial Lender at Maine-based First National Bank. Bangor School Committee member. Writer of the SMP Newsletter: bensprague.substack.com
ID: 139821790
https://bensprague.substack.com 03-05-2010 19:53:14
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"AI Comes to the Olympics" from Ben Sprague. The quadrennial (? - used to be every 4 years, now every 2) festival always offers a glimpse of tomorrow's telecom tech. Haven't seen much on AI Al Michaels, though? Will all sportscasting be robotic in future? bensprague.substack.com/p/ai-comes-to-…



A trend we're all seeing, but not much discussion: “In many ways, a lot of restaurants never actually recovered from the pandemic.” Excellent Ben Sprague econ analysis on why so many restaurants in Maine [& across U.S.A.] are closing now. bensprague.substack.com/p/why-its-so-h…

I've seen a lot of criticism lately on social media of some of our local restaurants for high prices and limited staff. But in reality, it's the hardest time to own a restaurant in recent history. There's a perfect storm of variables hitting the industry. bensprague.substack.com/p/why-its-so-h…

There is a perfect storm of variables right now impacting the restaurant industry, leading to closures and heartache. Thank you to Bangor Daily News for picking up my piece on the variables at play, and what it says about the overall economy. bangordailynews.com/2024/10/23/pol…








Typically excellent Ben Sprague article in his Sunday Morning Post on rent inflation. The data explains much... about the 2024 presidential election. [*I kept waiting for the Jimmy McWilliams "Rent is Too Damn High" reference, but, alas...] thesundaymorningpost.com/p/rental-marke…
![Michael Socolow (@michaelsocolow) on Twitter photo Typically excellent <a href="/bensprague/">Ben Sprague</a> article in his Sunday Morning Post on rent inflation.
The data explains much... about the 2024 presidential election.
[*I kept waiting for the Jimmy McWilliams "Rent is Too Damn High" reference, but, alas...]
thesundaymorningpost.com/p/rental-marke… Typically excellent <a href="/bensprague/">Ben Sprague</a> article in his Sunday Morning Post on rent inflation.
The data explains much... about the 2024 presidential election.
[*I kept waiting for the Jimmy McWilliams "Rent is Too Damn High" reference, but, alas...]
thesundaymorningpost.com/p/rental-marke…](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GhqmzihWoAEHXwF.png)

There is relief on the horizon for renters out there - rents are actually starting to fall. In November, rents dropped in 88 of the 100 largest U.S. cities. In Austin, they are down more than 12% thanks to huge swaths of new supply. I dig into it here. thesundaymorningpost.com/p/rental-marke…

Tonight I gave my colleagues on the Bangor School Committee this book by Jonathan Haidt. Excessive screen time, social media, and overprotective parenting have created a generation that is unprepared for adulthood. It's time to ban cell phones in schools and help kids reset.



Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Contrary to pop culture stereotypes, today's dads are more active than ever. We should lift up the engaged and loving dads of the world. Most dads I know love being dads, and they love their children. thesundaymorningpost.com/p/young-dads-a…