The Donald E. Davey Bridge that carries Route One over the Sheepscot River between Wiscasset and Edgecomb will be down to one traffic lane on Wednesday, Feb. 5, beginning at 6 p.m. to install a new fiber optic cable. Please plan; you might experience delays, so prepare to stop and obey all flaggers and signs for your safety and that of the contractors.

Discover the fascinating hobby of beekeeping! Join us for a seven-week interactive, in person course, presented by experienced beekeepers from the Knox-Lincoln County Beekeepers (KLCB) and Maine’s State Bee Inspector.

Midcoast Maine has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, but within the beauty are hazards that can quickly ruin your day on the water.  Geography, tides and weather can combine to make even the most experienced mariner opt to stay ashore. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 2-5, located in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, offers an introduction to navigation course that can help recreational boaters cruise the area.

Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) and Midcoast Council of Governments will host a Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) Catalyst Program Grant workshop in collaboration with Maine's Department of Community and Economic Development on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 3 to 4 p.m. This workshop will be hybrid via Zoom and in LCRPC’s conference room at 297 Bath Road in Wiscasset.

The 1,178 single-family homes sold across Maine in December 2024 represents a 15.04 percent increase compared to December 2023.  The median sales price for those homes sold in December reached $400,000—a 14.12 percent increase over that same time period. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved for public comment, Draft Amendment 4 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp. The Draft Amendment considers options for setting multi-year moratoria and implementing management triggers. Management trigger options include biologic and environmental triggers comprised of indicators that would signal improvement in stock conditions and the potential to re-open the fishery. 

Join Jessie Batchelder from Manomet Conservation Sciences in a conversation about blue crabs and their future in Maine water, on Thursday, Jan. 23 from 6 to 7 p.m.  

As the Gulf of Maine is warming (faster than 99% of the rest of the world’s), many species are expanding their range - including blue crabs. Manomet and the Maine Department of Marine Fisheries have called on fishermen to track and report their observations through an online survey. 

You’re a guest on a boat enjoying our beautiful Maine coastline. What happens if the person operating the boat is unable to continue for some reason such as broken glasses, tripping and getting injured, or not feeling well? Furthermore, sunset is not too far off. What’s the plan to get back? You may also need to understand some basics about boat handling/docking, VHF radios, and getting help.  

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director Rhiannon Hampson announced Friday, the USDA is awarding 16 grants and one loan to help increase access to solar energy in Maine. Businesses in nine counties (Cumberland, Hancock, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Somerset, Waldo, Washington and York) will receive grants to cover up to half the cost of projects to install on-site solar panels. Rural Development will also provide a loan of $5.025 million to Alna Community Solar. The grants and loan come through the agency’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Veggies to Table is thrilled to announce that it has successfully met and exceeded its end-of-year fundraising goal, raising $149,544 to support its mission to grow top-quality organic produce and flowers to donate to local people experiencing hunger and needing joy. 

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, volunteers, and community supporters, we met our generous $20,000 match and raised $149,544—far surpassing our goal of $100,000—which will allow us to expand our initiatives and make an even greater impact in the lives of those we serve.

Evan Goodkowsy of Wiscasset snapped the picture he called “88% Chance of Rain” and submitted it to the Maine Lottery’s 50th Anniversary photo competition. And it won.

The picture of the rocky Maine coast was voted number one among 123 submissions.

The Coast Guard Academy’s women’s basketball team, the Bears, visited Boothbay Harbor on a snowy Saturday afternoon, Jan. 11, en route to an away game at Maine Maritime Academy. The team’s 14 players and two coaches were greeted at the Boothbay Harbor Coast Guard Station (BHCGS) where they received a tour of the facilities and spoke with active service members about their roles in the Coast Guard. Snow cut their tour of the harbor short, but the team enjoyed the footbridge before heading to the Blethen house for a meal featuring a Maine-forward menu.

See if nuclear power made with "small modular reactors" (SMRs) could be an industry in town, past Wiscasset selectman and recent legislator Ed Polewarczyk suggested to selectmen Jan. 7. If it can be, that could mean "a bunch of property tax revenue," Polewarczyk said. 

He was concerned housing — one of the uses being eyed for former Maine Yankee acreage the town owns near Old Ferry Road — could cost the town more in education dollars than it would contribute to the tax base.

Discover the fascinating hobby of beekeeping! Join us for a seven-week interactive, in-person course, presented by experienced beekeepers from the Knox-Lincoln County Beekeepers (KLCB) and Maine’s State Bee Inspector. Whether you have an interest in becoming a backyard beekeeper for your gardening passion, wish to consider keeping hives for a honey crop, or simply desire to learn more about the intriguing community of honey bees, attending a local bee school will provide you with a basic foundation to get started. This course is designed for first and second year beekeepers.

Hopefully mid to late January, Maine Department of Environmental Protection will approve Tucker Chevrolet’s proposed dealership and service center on Bath Road, a project representative told Wiscasset’s planning board Dec. 23. The board went on to OK having Chair Karl Olson sign its approval of the plan after the applicant has met the board's remaining asks, including setting boundary pins.

The board and Priority Real Estate Group have been meeting since October.

Cranberry Lime Snowballs, Gingerbread, Hot Cocoa Cookies, Molasses & Ginger. Just the names of the cookies are swoon worthy and lucky were the judges who got to taste every single flavor! At the end of the judging during Marketfest’s Christmas Cookie Challenge on Dec. 7, the winning cookie was the Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookie baked by Becca Thayer of Wiscasset.

The Maine real estate market is beginning to see a shift to a more balanced market. Maine Listings reported Dec. 19 a 6.81 percent increase in sales of single-family existing homes during the month of November compared to November 2023. The median sales price (MSP) increased 8.45 percent to $385,000. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section is maintaining the current moratorium on northern shrimp fishing through the 2025 fishing year. That makes 11 years of no commercial shrimp fishing in Maine.

That action followed the 2024 Stock Assessment Update, "which indicates the northern shrimp stock has been at low levels of biomass for over the past decade despite the fishery being under a moratorium since 2014," said the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in a Dec. 13 news relesae.

Veggies to Table, a non-profit grow-to-donate vegetable and flower farm in Newcastle, has received a matching gift that will double the impact of any donation made before Dec. 24. Veggies to Table is $20,000 away from reaching their year-end goal to raise $100,000, which will support the organization’s growth over the next year and fight local hunger.

1 in 5 children and 1 in 7 adults go hungry daily in Maine:  

$50 feeds a child for a week 

$100 feeds an adult for a week 

$250 feeds a child for five weeks 

$500 feeds a couple for three weeks