BREWER – Slackers need not apply. Out-of-town students who don’t study, who skip school or who are disciplinary problems may no longer be admitted to Brewer schools under a new policy being considered by the Brewer School Committee. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
As a fisherman and owner of waterfront cabins catering to the sporting type, John York said he is wholeheartedly supportive of the $50 million effort to restore hundreds of miles of fish habitat in the Penobscot River watershed. “I’d love to see the salmon and… Read More
BANGOR – A poll released Monday shows incumbent Gov. John Baldacci and the proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights winning favor among voters in these early days of the campaign. Baldacci, a Bangor Democrat seeking a second term, won support from 42 percent of those surveyed… Read More
A story on Page One of Monday’s edition about the funeral of the Rev. Katrina Swanson on Sunday contained an error. Four of the five surviving members of the “Philadelphia 11,” the first women ordained priests in the Episcopal Church in 1974, presided at the service at St. Read More
Maine’s harvesters of shellfish – clams, mussels and quahogs – and others whose incomes were interrupted last year by the extended red tide closures from Down East to Kittery will have chances to speak their minds this month at a series of meetings organized by the Maine Department… Read More
PORTLAND – Maine lobstermen and lobster dealers want to make sure people shelling out big bucks for “Maine lobster” in restaurants across the country are not getting “impostor lobsters” from other states or from Canada. Starting Monday, the Maine Lobster Promotion Council began distributing tags… Read More
We would like to express our appreciation to the many volunteers, businesses and organizations that sponsored the Old Town Canoe Hullabaloo. It is a wonderful opportunity for friends and families to enjoy an evening together and forget some of the daily stresses and worldly problems in our lives. Read More
In response to Wassim Mazraany’s op-ed article, “Israel needs wisdom not bombs” (BDN, July 28); Israel has, since its inception, been forced by its surrounding Arab neighbors to fight for its survival. The most recent assault against Israel by Hezbollah has forced the Israeli Defense… Read More
Dr. Erik Steele’s column, “Messing with what I know” (BDN, July 18), should be mandated reading for anyone taking any prescription drugs and particularly those who are on hypertension pills. His concerns about the extensive influences from rich drug companies on physicians made my blood pressure jump skyward. Read More
This week the U.S. Senate is debating very important energy legislation that would allow U.S. energy companies to explore for and produce new sources of energy – oil and natural gas, in a small section of the Gulf of Mexico. While these activities would take place far away… Read More
I’d like to add a touch of refreshment to the current state of foreign affairs. The July 19 article regarding the vodka martini mix-off in Castine gave two theories on the origin of the martini cocktail: the town of Martinez near San Francisco, and a… Read More
It is the lament of many a Mainer: summer does not last long enough. This was reinforced recently when stores began advertising back-to-school sales. The end of summer may be fast approaching, but there is still time to check off items on your summer to-do list. Read More
A citizen’s group opposed to the placement of a major crossing between Maine and New Brunswick wants the Army Corps of Engineers to hold a public hearing on the matter before reaching any conclusion, which it is expected to do later this month. The request for a hearing… Read More
Go figure – people just keep having sex no matter how many bad things it can cause. Fortunately, there is a new vaccine against one of those things – the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). That should have American girls happily lining… Read More
Al Gore has done more for our country and the rest of our planet then he ever did as vice president. His book and movie “An Inconvenient Truth” finally and incontrovertibly have made the case we scientists have been talking about for years. We failed to convince the… Read More
Down a dirt road, deep in the woods of Parkman, Mary Betts’ driveway leads to a garden of Eden. More than an acre of day lilies and other perennials are in bloom at her Snow Brook Gardens, a palette of color that only nature can… Read More
MADAWASKA – The front of a friend’s shirt seen on the weekend proclaimed that “Fisherman are born honest,” and the back of the shirt said: “Get over it.” Fish tales persist (and grow depending on the fisherman). Lately there have been stories of some very… Read More
Any day of the week, any time of the day, you can find people milling along Bangor’s waterfront to revel in a lovely riverside atmosphere that would have been inconceivable just 20 years ago. Some visitors sit in their cars simply to watch the boats… Read More
FRENCHVILLE – Jody Daigle was wondering what was going on at the Maine Department of Transportation garage on Route 162 on Sunday afternoon when his father turned into the driveway. To his surprise, some 40 people were waiting there to welcome Capt. Daigle home from… Read More
BANGOR – Nancy Langley can’t sleep at night. The Stetson woman closes her eyes and all she can hear is the loud crash of Rodney Barnett’s car hitting her home so hard it was knocked off the foundation last fall. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
ROCKLAND – Celebrating its 216th birthday this week, the U.S. Coast Guard will be front and center of this year’s Maine Lobster Festival stage. As part of Rockland’s effort to officially become a Coast Guard City, community leaders plan a birthday salute Friday to honor… Read More
LINCOLN – It has been 10 years since Kurt Thompson experienced the aches and blisters that come with long marches, but he got reacquainted with the pain on Monday. Carrying an ersatz M-4 rifle and a holstered air pistol but otherwise wearing genuine military clothing… Read More
LUBEC – The summer celebration, Jazz Lubec 2006, has scheduled a number of events, all in Lubec. . Tuesday, Aug. 1, at noon, Saxophone Stories for Children with Greg Abate and Zachary Brazao takes place at the Lubec Memorial Library, 55 Water St. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
MACHIAS – The final performance in the four-event series of free Farmstead Barn entertainment for children on Wednesday mornings has switched its location. Beverly Mann’s performance of “Mask Messenger,” a one-woman show with her 16 hand-crafted masks, will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – It wasn’t just any given Sunday for a group of local teens who got the chance to play a game of flag football this weekend against a handful of former New England Patriots. About 20 players with Aroostook Football took the field… Read More
CHERRYFIELD – The reunion, as most reunions go, had all the elements of a Down East gathering in summer. Lobster dinners for all. Shopping in Bar Harbor for the women. An evening at the Seafarer’s Wife restaurant in Jonesport. A tour of Washington County’s coastal… Read More
BREWER – Janet McIntosh remembers coming home from school in kindergarten every day and teaching her brother and sister what she had learned. In fact, she could not recall a time when she didn’t want to be a teacher, and after 35 years in the… Read More
HOULTON – The trial of a local man accused of beating and stabbing a woman to death inside her motel room last December is unlikely to start before winter, a state prosecutor said. Daniel Boles, 30, was charged last winter with murder in the Dec. Read More
HOULTON – Houlton police were continuing their investigation Monday into a Sunday afternoon accident that had not been reported to police until nearly 8 p.m. Houlton Police Chief Dan Soucy said Monday that Kevin King, 25, of Houlton suffered several broken bones and other injuries… Read More
FORT KENT – Northern Maine Medical Center will offer the following courses during the month of August: . DSMT Diabetes Classes, 6-8 p.m. in the Acadia Room at the Acadia Family Health Center. For dates or registration information, call 834-3760. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The Battered Women’s Project received $1,000 from the Verizon Wireless grant program, which will help the nonprofit organization provide domestic violence victims with wireless cellular phones to use in emergency situations. The Battered Women’s Project offers free services to people affected by… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – Northern Maine Community College will host a College Information Night for residents of Aroostook County and neighboring New Brunswick regions from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, in the Christie Building on campus. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more… Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program has awarded $694,000 in funding throughout the state of Maine. Of that $649,000, a $305,000 loan will be given to the Eastport Non-Profit Housing… Read More
ELLSWORTH – A Blue Hill man remains in fair condition at a Bangor hospital after crashing his truck on Route 15 in Orland on Sunday evening. David Harriman, 51, was extricated from his vehicle and taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in… Read More
CAMDEN – Police on Monday were investigating some vandalism at Camden-Rockport Middle School. School officials reported the damage early Monday. It is believed to have occurred during the previous night. A first-floor cafeteria window in the rear of the building was broken, and an air… Read More
ELLSWORTH – A local man crashed his car on Route 1A early Monday morning after he apparently suffered a heart attack while driving. Gerry Leavitt, 66, of Ellsworth was dead when police arrived shortly after 7 a.m. near Christian Ridge Road. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
LINCOLN – Charles Meeker and his 3-year-old granddaughter were searching for frogs and tadpoles when they inadvertently solved the mystery of the missing manifold, a conundrum that almost derailed a substantial part of Lincoln’s Homecoming celebrations. Meeker, the town’s animal control officer, was walking Monday… Read More
BREWER – The region’s history, industries and cultures are directly tied to the Penobscot River and are important points of interest along Brewer’s proposed Historic Waterfront Trail, which will be unveiled to residents tonight at City Hall. History buffs and locals will have the opportunity… Read More
BANGOR – Cutting it close, a Penobscot County committee on Monday put the finishing touches on the draft of a plan for how the county would handle an outbreak of avian influenza, one day before the report was due. After a delayed start, members of… Read More
BANGOR – Bangor police arrested five people Sunday evening on charges of disorderly conduct after a confrontation allegedly involving brass knuckles, a knife and a machete, according to police reports. Around 4:15 p.m., Bangor police Officers Jason McAmbley and Douglas Moore went to a Second… Read More
Bangor police responded Monday morning to three separate overnight car burglaries, although it wasn’t known if the incidents were related. Police went to an Essex Street apartment where a woman told them her wallet with $15, credit cards, her driver’s license and her Social Security… Read More
BELFAST – The Retail Review Commission has decided against holding another vote on big-box stores. The commission has been studying the issue since the first of the year. After months of meetings and surveys, commission members reached a consensus that a referendum on changing city… Read More
The Peninsula Community School District will decide tonight on a recommendation to build its new elementary-middle school on privately owned property near the intersection of Routes 195 and 186 in the Gouldsboro village of Prospect Harbor. A site selection committee has been working for months… Read More
MACHIAS – Machias Savings Bank officials welcomed the public to the new Machias Savings Bank Learning Center last week – but that could be the last time, for some time, that dozens of Machias residents get to gather within that building. Bank president Edward Hennessey… Read More
CAMDEN – Camden and Rockport voters will be asked to borrow as much as $13.5 million to expand and renovate Rockport Elementary School West in a Nov. 7 referendum. For two years, the SAD 28 board has been investigating expanding the RES West building, which… Read More
STEUBEN – A talk on “Nature and Society in the Arthurian Tradition” will be given by Elisa Narin van Court at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Cosmos Colloquia at the Humboldt Field Research Institute on Eagle Hill in Steuben. Van Court is an… Read More
PROSPECT – Bluegrass group The Sandy River Ramblers will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at Fort Knox in Prospect as a benefit for Friends of Fort Knox. The Sandy River Ramblers have been performing together since 1985. Original band members Stan Keach on… Read More
GORHAM – Town residents hoping to make their way into the “Guinness World Records” donned Groucho Marx-style disguises – 1,489 altogether. The number of people wearing the glasses with oversized nose, eyebrows and mustache at the Gorham Family Fair surpassed the record held by a… Read More
After having attended a recent benefit dinner for Eric and Melissa Tableman and their young family, Judy Hager of Bangor decided she needed to do something, as well, to help the couple and their three children, who recently lost their Hermon home and all its contents to fire. Read More
AUGUSTA – A man was airlifted to a Boston hospital after an oxygen tank he was using to make wind chimes exploded, police said. Basil Cake, 58, of Augusta, was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital by a Maine LifeFlight helicopter after the explosion Sunday afternoon. Read More
ORONO – Public safety officials are working with officials at a local housing development to ensure the safety of residents and community members in a proactive manner. Students are slated to begin moving into the new Orchard Trails Apartments development off Main Street later this… Read More
BOSTON – Public health officials said Monday that eastern equine encephalitis has been detected in human-biting mosquitoes for the first time this summer. The virus, often referred to as EEE, was found in three different types of mosquitoes collected last week in the Lakeville-Middleborough area. Read More
HAMPDEN – Officials at Pine Tree Landfill continued to collect raw data Monday as a partial shutdown of the facility’s gas extraction system moved into its second week. The shutdown, scheduled to end next Monday, is designed to identify the amount and direction of gases… Read More
Voters will be asked today in a special ballot election to accept state funds and allocate additional local money for the middle school renovation project. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Town Council chambers at the town office. Residents will be asked… Read More
Five seats are up for grabs during local elections in November. The three-year terms of City Councilors Larry Doughty and Michael Celli and school board members Ruth-Marie Spellman and Amanda Bost are expiring, along with the five-year term of high school District Trustee Alan Kochis. Election packets are… Read More
The St. Martin’s Episcopal Church on Route 2, which was destroyed in a fire on April 19, is being demolished this week, and plans for a new building are in the works, according to Roberta Hubel, a church member. The church, which was built nearly 170 years ago,… Read More
A team of four Mirage fighter jets with the French Air Force landed Monday at Bangor International Airport on their way west for training, according to Maj. Debbie Kelly, community manager for the Maine Air National Guard base. Three cargo aircraft and a British Royal Air Force refueling… Read More
Education Commissioner Susan Gendron has announced the names of 25 high schools that will work with their communities to design strategies to spur more students on to college. Nine area high schools will be among the 25 statewide participating in the new 18-month Maine Readiness… Read More
Packed with shiny and glittery beads, the Bead Menagerie can’t help but tempt your inner crow. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice())… Read More
Tiny blue and white beads create the delicate, circular flower shapes stitched to the small black silk bag. The name “Jane” is picked out in white beads. Snow white scalloped edges give definition to the edges of a blue silk bag stitched with strands of… Read More
In the late 1980s, then-Maine Times art critic Edgar Allen Beam dubbed Belfast the “Art Capital of Maine.” It was a fitting appellation and was embraced by many as an improvement over the city’s former notoriety as “Broiler Capital of Maine.” The cooperative gallery ArtFellows… Read More
English actress Lisa Hammond, who recently starred in the PBS production of Charles Dickens’ “Bleak House,” will portray “The Little Locksmith” author Katharine Butler Hathaway in a one-woman play Aug. 4-6 on Vinalhaven and Aug. 9-10 in Castine. The play is based on Butler’s 1943 memoir about her… Read More
The story in the Feb. 22, 1897, edition of the Bangor Daily Commercial has two headlines: “The First Sewing Machine in Bangor” and “Woman’s Initial Experience with Modern Machinery.” Here’s the gist of it: Until the newly invented sewing machine was widely available, Bangor women… Read More
Armed with his Mickey Mouse fishing rod and a positive attitude, 3 1/2-year-old Nathan Cartier headed onto Pushaw Lake on Sunday hoping for the best. Three hours later – still grinning – Cartier returned to Lakeside Landing with a fish … a fish tale …… Read More
PORTLAND – Defending champion Andrews Post of Portland emerged as the lone undefeated team through three days of the American Legion baseball state tournament with a 8-1 winners’ bracket victory over Brewer at Hadlock Field on Monday night. Lefthander Ian Boyle struck out 13 and… Read More
I was happy to learn recently that longtime Machias Memorial High School sports booster and fan extraordinaire Dick Shaw had retired from his day-to-day job at Machias Savings Bank. In all my years of coaching – 34 of them, to be exact – no one… Read More
Jeremie Whorff used to have lukewarm feelings about auto racing. “I always liked racing but I never got too excited about it. I didn’t see the big deal in having 35 monkeys driving around in a circle,” said Whorff. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
PORTLAND – The Boston Red Sox promoted lefthanded pitcher Tommy Hottovy from Single-A Wilmington to Double-A Portland on Monday. Hottovy replaces Luis Mendoza, who was traded to the Texas Rangers for Bryan Corey. In 21 games for Wilmington this season, Hottovy recorded an 8-6 record… Read More
NASCAR Nextel Cup crew chief Richard “Slugger” Labbe of Biddeford was released as Dale Jarrett’s crew chief by Robert Yates Racing on Monday along with teammate Elliott Sadler’s crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., according to a release on the team’s Web site. Butch Hylton will… Read More
ORONO – A limited number of tickets for the University of Maine football game against Boston College will go on sale today at 8:30 a.m. The game will be played Sept. 30 at BC. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
BANGOR – Scott Farnham hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second to start a three-run burst as Bangor held off South Portland 4-3 to win the state Junior League Baseball championship at Mansfield Stadium Monday. Bangor advances to the Eastern Regional starting… Read More
Twenty-six year-old Lauren Steblen has high expectations for the University of Maine’s women’s ice hockey program. She will try to reach those goals after being named the interim head coach on Monday. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
Ever since he graduated from college in 2002, Justin Page has been searching for a social studies teaching job. This summer, he found what he wanted. But accepting the position means Page will have to give up his job coaching the Old Town High School… Read More