I remember my Mom telling me that she remembers exactly where she was when Kennedy was assassinated. A historical tragedy that happened long ago, that I had learned about in school, but my Mom was there, seeing the tears in Walter Cronkite’s eyes on TV first hand.

9/11 was 25 years ago. The day that shook my generation. I was in my cubicle at the Department of Human Services on Old County Road in Rockland. I was pursuing a case file when I heard one of our clerks, probably Pat Pendleton or Diane Moody, talk about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. Eh, accidents happen all the time.

There

LINCOLNVILLE, Maine — If you’ve noticed an excavator, equipment, and activity in the parking lot of the Lincolnville Community Library recently, you may have wondered what was happening. We’re pleased to announce that the library is getting new outdoor lighting—thoughtfully designed to improve safety while preserving Lincolnville’s beautiful dark skies.

The project is made possible in large part through a $2,500 grant from RAB Lighting’s 2025 Impact Grant Program, which is designed to support nonprofit projects while celebrating volunteerism and local community impact. Gilman Electric of

The creative team of author and poet Susan Schadler and artists Lynne and John M.T. Seitzer recently released “Growing Wild: Four seasons of New England and Native Plants and Their Creatures.” Lynne and John’s artwork and Susan’s accompanying poetry make this book both an enchanting and informative read.

This is their second collaboration. You may remember their first endeavor, “come walk in the FYNBOS with me,” printed in 2018, took readers to Africa’s southern tip, the 500-mile stretch known as the fynbos.

Said Susan, “It has a globally unique and exceptionally diverse flora that enthralled

To those who did not attend the Hope Select Board Meeting Sept 9, the agenda item concerning FY taxes revealed a very significant error in determining the property tax assessments and the property tax bills that we received recently.

New tax bills with a DECREASED mil rate and a reduction in the amounts payable and a new DUE date will be mailed in the near future.

It was unclear to me how the town might communicate this in advance to its taxpayers who do not regularly attempt to access the town website or perhaps not subscribe to the local Midcoast papers. 

I again suggested that Hope video

In this age of artificial intelligence, satellite tagging technology, automated sound recorders, genetic analyses, and countless other sophisticated science tools, you could be easy to be lulled into assuming that old-fashioned personal natural history observations are obsolete and of little use.

But you’d be wrong. Very wrong!

The truth is, individuals paying attention and reporting what they see and hear in the natural world is not only relevant but crucial. Without such observations, often described as “community science” (formerly, citizen science), many of the most critical science and

Knox County Girl Scouts Sister Troops 1451 and 191 went for a few adventures this summer! Troops planned each day carefully, thinking about their budgets, their troop sisters' needs, and what they were ready to conquer! It’s not just a cookie; every box purchased, donated, and snacked on helped bring these girls all across the country! So, we thank you, our community, for your support. 

Daisies and Brownies took a trip to Funtown for a day of adventure, sisterhood, and exploration! They practiced budgeting, planning, and packing for this fun-filled day trip.

Juniors and Cadettes learned how

I am not working tomorrow. As a self-employed small business owner, this is not an easy decision. While I have never regretted my choice to strike out on my own on September 1, 2014, the vacation and sick time benefits are a bit lacking. Maybe I should say nonexistent. 

Labor Day feels like a non-negotiable day off, though. It was hard fought for by the trade unions, the people who brought you the weekend, who sometimes paid for the rights of workers in blood. In much of the world, Labor Day is celebrated on May 1, but here in America, we set aside the first Monday in September. There is

The University of Maine System has now grown enrollment for nine consecutive semesters and achieved its highest headcount in more than a decade, defying demographics through region-leading affordability, growth in graduate and online programs for adult degree completors, improved retention and a proven value proposition — with alumni of the flagship earning more than double the state’s average annual median income.

Driven by region-leading affordability and rapid growth in career-advancing online degree programs for working adults, the University of Maine System (UMS) is defying demographic

We stumbled upon a surprising concentration of shorebirds a few days ago. If you’ve ever driven down Interstate 295 to Portland, you have driven over the Royal River where it empties into the harbor in Yarmouth. The town landing is right below the highway there, on the north side of harbor. We stopped by near low tide, the mudflats extending out and glistening in the sun.

There on the flats, birds darted about, picking carefully around for food. More than a hundred birds, in fact. Most were sporting long, bright yellow legs.

Yes, they were yellowlegs.

There are two flavors of yellowlegs

KNOX COUNTY —  With school buses, young pedestrians, and bicyclists returning to Midcoast roadways, Knox County Sheriff Patrick Polky is issuing an urgent call to all motorists to stay vigilant, slow down, and share the road responsibly. 

The transition back to school means a significant shift in daily traffic patterns across the towns of the county, affecting routes connected to all 28 public and private schools that span the mainland and island communities.

"We want to remind drivers that children waiting at bus stops or walking to school can be unpredictable, making motorist awareness the

Bobby Charles will put Maine families, Maine workers and Maine communities first—not Augusta insiders, not special interests, and not political fashion.

Bobby Charles will lower the cost of living.

Bobby Charles will:

Lower the tax burden.

Make energy more affordable and reliable.

Reduce unnecessary government spending.

Make it easier to build housing.

Help small businesses stay in Maine.

Bobby Charles will be a governor who knows how to manage.

Every Mainer deserves to feel safe in their home, on their street and in their community.

Bobby Charles supports law enforcement, he will address

There was once a young man who had just obtained his driver’s license. He had already acquired his own car, a 1956 Volkswagen, and the 15-year-old was told by his parents that the furthest he could drive from his home in Rockland alone was Lincolnville Beach. So that was just what young Dwight Wass did. 

Dwight arrived at a place that has not changed all that much in all the intervening years. He knew that he loved this little village, just 20 minutes up the coast from his hometown. It became the place where he would end up spending his adult life. It is where you will find him to this day

'What fresh hell is this' is an expression attributed to Dorothy Parker whenever she heard the doorbell or the telephone. These days a similar reaction occurs when we see/hear or get smacked online with daily onslaughts from the international and/or domestic stage.

We, here in far away Maine, have been able to compartmentalize the horrors that we witness online. Recently, it all came very close to home with the killing of our neighbor, Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, at the hands of ICE. There was initial outrage resulting in the memorial, GoFundMe options and a shadow Congressional hearing

I am writing in support of Shawn Saindon who is running for State Representative as an Independent to represent House District 44, serving the towns of Hope, Union, and Warren.

As a Warren resident, I came to know Shawn through his service on the Warren Planning Board, particularly during two issues that were important to me and critical to the future of our town.

When a large utility scale solar project came to Warren and the town had little authority to regulate it, Shawn led the committee that developed a comprehensive solar ordinance. He listened to residents, carefully studied the issues

I wrote a letter to the editor two years ago when Mike Ray first ran for the State House, he won, and he proved my faith in him. The work he did in preparation and the work he did in his committee made him a stellar legislator. He knows how to write a good bill and how to bring that bill all the way to the Governor’s desk.

To write a good bill, you have to know the needs of your constituents and the needs of the State of Maine. I first met Mike at the Waldo County Woodshed, volunteering to help Maine people heat their homes by cutting and splitting wood to go in their stoves.

He has presented

G. K. Chesterton wrote: "the poor sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all." Words for our times.

While the majority of U.S. citizens object to the policies and the corruption of the Trump Administration, the affluent, especially the billionaire class, delight in favorable treatment and the freedom from regulation and restraint on their self-serving behavior.

President Trump operates a brazen racket out of the White House for wealthy Americans  (and some rich foreigners)---give big donations and you will free from legal or political