The owners of Maine Local Market launched Winter Fires Friday, on the last day of 2021, to give customers an outdoor dining option overlooking the Kennebec River even as they shift to takeout meals as COVID-19 infections continue to spread in Maine.
Jessica Lowell
Jessica Lowell is the managing editor of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. She previously covers business and economic development and general news in the Gardiner area.
After short but intense aspirations to be an opera singer (age 4) and a deep-sea diver (age 6) her most enduring passion has been telling stories.
A University of Maine graduate, she worked for newspapers in New Hampshire, upstate New York and Wyoming, where she has won awards for investigative and explanatory journalism. She’s a fellow of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources.
After several years out of journalism, she returned to Maine and to writing, where she spends her free time enjoying both trees and the ocean, two commodities that Wyoming lacks.
Kenney Awards shifting to outdoor summer event to celebrate 90 years of chamber of commerce
Following a virtual ceremony because of the pandemic, the annual Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce Kenney Awards will be held in-person in July at Mill Park to celebrate the business organization’s 90 years in Augusta.
Escalating construction costs challenge Gardiner’s Johnson Hall heading into the new year
While fundraising continues for the $5.5 million renovation of Gardiner’s historic opera house, pandemic-driven inflation is expected to increase the final project cost.
After slick conditions midweek, forecasts call for some in central Maine to see a white Christmas
A weather system expected to move across central Maine Tuesday prompted school districts in the region to cancel school Wednesday.
Kennebec County commissioners meet virtually to avoid COVID-19 risk
The chairwoman of the Kennebec County commissioners said with the widespread growth of COVID-19 cases she opted to hold Tuesday’s meeting virtually.
Kennebec County register of deeds steps down after 19 years on job
Beverly Bustin-Hatheway has resigned and the Kennebec County commissioners are appointing Diane Wilson, deputy register since 2011, as acting register to fill the remaining year of the term.
Maine Instrument Flight in Augusta sold to Idaho-based company
SprintBach Aviation of Idaho to continue operating Maine Instrument Flight at the Augusta State Airport, and plans to invest in pilot training program with the University of Maine at Augusta and in the charter business.
Maine sees economic growth in second year of pandemic but ‘a lot of money on the sidelines’
Early in the pandemic economic forecasts drew a dismal picture of Maine’s economy, but while some businesses and industries are still struggling, the state has seen economic growth in the last year.
Organic dairy farmers in Maine, Northeast offered new assistance in wake of contract cancellations
The proposal falls short of what state officials and organic agriculture groups had sought after Horizon Organic announced in August that it would not renew dairy contracts with organic dairy farms across the Northeast, including 14 in Maine.
Winthrop business finds success in adding retail to her online natural skincare business
Kristin Mutchler already had a thriving online natural skincare business with Pickles Potions & Lotions, and in a time when more people are shopping online because of concerns about COVID-19, she has opened a retail shop in Winthrop.