Another gorgeous September weekend day here in Maine and we were drawn to a peninsula that we haven’t visited much in recent years. We headed over to Thomaston and then drove south past the big…
Columns
The next public supper will be Oct. 2. The menu will consist of turkey soup, pumpkin dinner, crescent rolls, salad, beef tips over noodles, green beans, and mocha chocolate cake.
The…
Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps like Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App have made sending money between family and friends easier than ever before. But consumers beware: while these apps make exchanging…
A Bird’s Tale
It’s a cool, early-September evening on the Maine coast. On the point across the water from where we’re standing, tall white pine trees create a light green curtain against the impossibly blue sky…
Joe’s Journal
Here is your question for the week.
Did you sneak out of bed the other night, tip-toe to the linen closet, and pull out a blanket? Or did you just close the bedroom window?
Maybe…
’Round Town
This is my “F bomb!”
Many years ago, while photographing in the bowels of steel ships, I purchased a used and rather unique Canon lens – the 50mm F1.0. It is a lens that Canon manufactured…
From the House of Representatives
Every Mainer deserves to be able to age with dignity. But when I speak with many older constituents in our community, I often hear from people who…
Planning to take a road trip soon? Gas prices and traffic jams aren’t your only concern. Cybercriminals are now deceiving drivers into paying fake highway tolls. Here’s what you need to know: …
Where It’s At
The Barn Project’s current show, “Blue: A Spatial Dialogue,” features work by local artist and sculptor Douglas Gimbel and Alejandra Seeber of New York City – and it’s one no one should miss.…
A Bird’s Tale
Life forms that live all around us but that we never (or almost never) detect may be kind of freaky to think about. Viruses, bacteria, prions—those microscopic living (or maybe not really living,…
’Round Town
For many, Labor Day marks the end of summer and the start of the school year. When we first moved here, the streets rolled up after Labor Day. Restaurants and motel/inns closed and things got real…
Joe’s Journal
Labor Day Weekend is in the rear view mirror, maples are starting to show a bit of red, and you can usually (OK, sometimes) find a parking place on the streets of Boothbay Harbor.
Our…
From the Maine House
This time of year, the Maine Legislature is fairly quiet, with members getting an opportunity to spend some time in their home districts to enjoy the summer and meet with constituents. It’s also a…
Many Americans are on the hunt for the perfect remote job or side hustle, and criminal scammers are ready to exploit these ambitions. With work-from-home jobs increasing in popularity and…
A Bird’s Tale
We wrote last week about our luck visiting Wharton Point in Brunswick as the tide turned and shorebirds of various kinds made themselves visible on the expanding mudflats. Well, someone else was…
Joe’s Journal
Well, kiddies. Did you stay up too late to watch the overproduced GOP and Demo conventions?
Have you caught up on your ZZZ’s?
Did you come away with a strong sense that your…
’Round Town
Is it time to rejoice, or time to buck up some firewood? Clearly, we just got a touch of fall in the recent weather shift. And I love the fall!
After some very warm and humid (un-Maine…
Have you been affected by a scam? Know that you are not alone.
AARP Fraud Watch Network™ offers free emotional support sessions for people affected by fraud. Trained peer facilitators…
A Bird’s Tale
A few weeks ago, in early August, we were lucky.
Without having glanced at a tide chart, we happened to stop by Wharton Point in Brunswick just as the tide was receding from its high point…
’Round Town
The plans for our next annual family gathering on Monhegan Island begin on the boat ride back to the mainland after our stay. We so look forward to this event that little time is wasted planning…
Joe’s Journal
The other day, while at Hannaford's, I helped a young mother push her overloaded cart as she wrestled with a 2-year-old.
Thanks, she said. Then she noticed my USMC cap and added – Thanks…
Hello Islanders. Have you noticed that ever so slight nip in the air? Too soon! It's hard to decide what I love more, a hot Maine summer, or a beautiful Maine fall. They always seem to go too fast…
From the Senate
Aug. 18, 2024 marked the 104-year anniversary of women earning the right to vote…
From the House of Representatives
On July 27, 2024 the Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer (DDG 127) was christened the Patrick Gallagher, in honor of Marine Corporal Patrick Gallagher, a 23-year-old Irish immigrant working…
“Jurassic Park” - (PG-13; 2 hours, 6 minutes) - The final film in our 2024 Summer Blockbuster series. A select group is chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs…
Olympic athletes aren't the only ones after gold this summer. Criminal scammers are increasingly trying to steal your savings through gold bar schemes.
Criminals may impersonate…
“Janet Planet” - (PG13; 1 hour, 53 minutes) - In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination…
A Bird’s Tale
On cooler, early evenings these August days, we have been out sitting comfortably on our porch, our little black dog happily beside us sniffing the air. We haven’t been using our noses but instead…
Joe’s Journal
Dear Reader,
Well, the Olympics concluded with a fitting ending as the U.S. women’s basketball team pulled off a come-from-behind win in grand fashion.
If you don’t think it was a…
’Round Town
To me, one of the more fascinating things about folks who perform at the Opera House is their observations about visiting Maine and Boothbay Harbor in particular. People come from far and wide to…
The next public supper will be Aug. 21. The menu will consist of gazpacho, salad, rolls, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, and ice…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has captured the world's attention, but it has also captured the attention of criminal scammers. One area where AI scams are particularly dangerous is celebrity…
Salt ’n Spar
It’s with a heavy heart I note the recent passing of Dean Shea, an old friend and Wiscasset neighbor. I’ll miss his charm, wit, story-telling and commonsense advice. Dean was a great deal of help…
Where It’s At
The first time I wrote about Jaap Eduard Helder’s fabulous art was in 2020 and his solo show at Studio 53, “The Wordless Stories of …” and I had a wonderful time viewing and writing about the…
A Bird’s Tale
On one of the oppressively hot and humid summer days we have been experiencing lately, we had the good fortune to be at the cool, shady camp of brother Andy and sister-in-law Nina on the shore of…
Joe’s Journal
Well, we survived another week of sweltering summer weather, sort of.
I never thought I would write that sentence while living on the Maine coast. It looks like some climate change is…
’Round Town
For some reason, Leica the wonder dog (it’s a wonder she’s a dog!), made several executive decisions recently.
About six months ago Leica abandoned her crate. She gave us no notice, no…
Boothbay Region YMCA Community Catalyst for Good
If you’ve ventured to Barters Island, you know it’s a spectacularly unique place along our peninsula. Sweeping views of sea and horizon. The ever-present tide reminding us of the bountiful gift of…
In 2023, post-disaster fraud cost Americans over $9.3 billion, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). With hurricane and wildfire season in full swing, it’s important to remind…
Over the weekend we decided to join in the birding fun that we wrote about in…
’Round Town
The storms of this past winter did a lot of damage throughout the region but the east-facing shore of Southport took a serious hit. I am most familiar with the waterfront from Gray Homestead to…
Joe’s Journal
Dear Reader:
Does your head hurt?
Is your neck sore after being whipped back and forth as the political bombshells cascade down from Niagara-on-the Potomac?
Is your brain…
Where It’s At
Mushrooms have long been a subject of fascination for writers – fiction and non-fiction; and their healing properties in their natural state raw or cooked, in powder and capsule form around the…
A Bird’s Tale
We might be far from the tropics, but the temperature sure has felt downright tropical here in Maine (and across much of the nation) over the last few weeks. Maine and much of the country also got…
