Midcoast Conservancy is offering a one-and-a-half day Chainsaw Safety course at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson; the workshop is designed for participants who have little or no experience with a chainsaw, though it can also be an effective refresher for more experienced individuals who have developed some bad habits with a saw.

The 2025 Windjammer Days will shine a spotlight on the dedicated individuals who have served, are serving, or are preparing to serve in one of the most respected branches of the U.S. military: the Coast Guard. From active-duty members and retired veterans to the bright future leaders currently enrolled at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, we’ll explore their personal stories, their contributions to the community, and the impact they've made on the nation's maritime security.

Ocean on Tap is an informal, ocean-centric speaker series organized by researchers from Bigelow Laboratory and hosted by Footbridge Brewery in Boothbay Harbor. Dr. Isaac Miller of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will be speaking about what microbes eat in the sea and the cutting edge experimental methods he uses to study this from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 13.

Grandfather clock sentries stand on either side of the entrance door. Crisp white walls and rich wood display cases present a wide array of nautically themed antique items. Paintings, sculpture, ship models, dioramas, nautical equipment and tools; silver, books, clocks, fishing gear, scrimshaw … it’s time to journey into the past at the new East Boothbay Trading Co.

Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) will facilitate a panel discussion with business support experts from APEX, CEI, SBDC, MIT, New Ventures Maine, and SCORE on Tuesday, March 11 at 11 a.m. to noon. This workshop will be hybrid via Zoom and in LCRPC’s conference room at 297 Bath Road in Wiscasset. Hosted by LCRPC’s Economic and Community Development Planner, Alex Zipparo, this event will kick off the Business Booster Series, which will offer periodic workshops with business support service providers who are available to serve all types of businesses in Lincoln County.

In his peak seasons, Ken Elowe would build as many as 22 toboggans a year. In recent weeks, however, he’s been focused on construction oversight of three new wooden downhill racers—a project sponsored by the Carpenter’s Boat Shop and two groups of six students from Great Sale Bay School (GSB).

For Elowe and Carpenter’s it’s the second time around using tobacco-building as a teamwork-building program: A year ago, a small group of students at Maine Academy of Natural Sciences (MANS) trekked 70 miles from their Fairfield campus for the initial engagement.

Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons said Feb. 4, he had ordered work to stop on cleanup of the North Point area near the former Mason Station power plant. Simmons said the Environmental Protection Agency informed the town its grant for the work had been frozen.

“I do expect it to be unfrozen. But I don’t want to take a chance of us accumulating liabilities that we haven’t budgeted and don’t want to pay for," Simmons told selectmen. 

To celebrate our first year, we will be holding an Ocean Trivia Night on Thursday, Feb. 20, starting at 6 p.m. at Footbridge Brewery. The trivia will cover a variety of topics centered on the ocean and highlight topics discussed throughout the year. Should be a fun time to expand your fun-fact list and test your ocean knowledge!  

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.

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).

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.