Emily Bessey, of Hallowell, started an online blog in October 2012, after he son Ezra’s four-month checkup revealed a problem; it would be read by thousands of people from across the world who have never met Ezra or his family, but who came to care for them through Emily’s words.

East Winthrop pastor Sam Richards and homeschoolers from around central Maine bring Shakespeare alive at Monmouth’s Cumston Hall.

AUGUSTA — Sue Stiefel was wet, her face red with cold, but she couldn’t help beaming. That’s what happens when you check one of your goals off the to-do list.

AUGUSTA — Gomer sizes up the throw and nudges the boy in a few inches. He takes a tomahawk and hands it to the lad, who takes it, lifts it over his shoulder past his ear, and uncoils the throw, launching the small ax to the waiting pine slab. It sticks.

A former Gardiner man once charged in connection with the killing of a Maine couple in California left a courtroom this week a free man — just weeks after his friend and accomplice was sentenced to life in prison.

Two people are charged in connection with the theft of $4,000 worth of tools from a trailer in Readfield.

HALLOWELL — Schools across the state have struggled to maintain services as lawmakers have tightened the spigot from state coffers over the last few years, but the newest budget proposals from the governor’s office represent a major shift from state to local funding for schools and community services.