JAY — Frank L. Mitchell Post 3335, Veterans of Foreign Wars, has announced the 2020 local winners of the Patroits Pen Essay Competition. Students in the Jay/Livermore/Livermore Falls area submitted essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme, this year being, “What is Patriotism to Me?” Receiving first place was Ophelia Hughes; second, Madison […]
Alex Lear
Staff Writer
Alex Lear is a lifelong Mainer who has spent 25 years in journalism -- the first 20 as a reporter for newspapers in Damariscotta and Falmouth, then as Opinions section editor for the Sun Journal and now a digital producer with the Maine Trust for Local News. His long-running “Learics” column won first place in the Maine Press Association’s 2023 Better Newspaper Contest. He and his wife Lauren are kept young by their 9-year-old daughter Alaina. Send feedback and suggestions to Alex.
UMA Osher scholarships provide free spring classes
LEWISTON — University of Maine at Augusta’s Lewiston Center is offering the Osher New Beginnings Scholarship for the spring semester, to encourage more Maine people of all ages to give college a try. Courses can be completed at the Lewiston Center as well as online. The Osher Scholarship was established for first-time college students, or […]
Topsham residents compete for state House District 54 seat
Rep. Denise Tepler, D-Topsham, faces a challenge from Republican Toni Bashinsky.
Pandemic causes Bath, Brunswick entertainment venues to take shows online
The Chocolate Church Arts Center and Midcoast Youth Theater have kept audiences engaged through performances and tutorials.
Brunswick-Topsham land trust’s farmers market numbers down amid pandemic
The first-day vehicle count this year was 632, compared with 625 the same day last year, but the fifth Saturday saw 599 compared with last year’s 829.
Bath-area ‘Diaper Project’ comes to rescue for rising number of families
United Way of Mid Coast Maine looked to distribute more than 130,000 diapers this year, up from about 23,000 in 2014, but the coronavirus pandemic is posing challenges.
Sifting History’s Sands: Desert of Maine owner seeks to separate truth from myth at Freeport landmark
FREEPORT — Legend has it that William Tuttle settled the farmland that is now the Desert of Maine in the late 18th century. Mela Heestand, co-owner of the Desert Road landmark since December 2018, doubts he ever existed. The Desert of Maine, which opens again next May, consists of a 20-30-acre “desert” of very fine […]
Harpswell boat-building class passes traditions to next generation
Ann Flannery’s course, still open to new students age 9-16, runs through May.
Bath re-establishes William King Square in honor of Maine’s first governor
The square comprises the land around Bath’s Customs House, on which King’s home was once located.
Brunswick schools work to flatten barriers for asylum-seekers
The district has expanded its language services to meet the needs of the 26 new students from Africa.