Last night the rain spoke to me slowly, saying, what joy to come falling out of the brisk cloud, to be happy again in a new way on the earth! ~Mary Oliver~”Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me” How I have decried the rain, spoiling as it did whatever plans I happened to have made, […]
Courier Opinion
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ruralist Lament: Earth Day 4 Earthlings?
The seed potatoes and bags of “K-Mag” background fertilizer arrived this morning on the Paris Farmers Union truck. With that safely stowed on a pallet in the wood/tractor shed I met up with a group of wetland ecology students who were studying a vernal pool on the farm woodlot. With a few hundred tomato and […]
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Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Funding solutions to the PFAS problem
In the Legislature, I proudly serve on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee (AFA), in which my colleagues and I make balanced, commonsense and practical decisions to invest in the people of Maine. These decisions include essential items, like keeping our schools safe and operational, or providing relief for working Mainers and their families who […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Kennebunk Post, Southern Maine Weeklies
Protecting Maine farms now and forever
A few weeks ago, one of my constituents contacted me and expressed their deep concern and worry over the results of early PFAS testing in the soil and water on Maine farms, including their own. I empathized with them and understood their pain. After all, who wouldn’t feel anxious after they saw the headlines about […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Nature helps to ease us from winter to spring
“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. “ — John Burroughs As winter continues to display its many different moods, we live with the knowledge that spring is once again just a […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Getting help filing your taxes, collecting unclaimed property
It’s that time of year again. The snow is (almost) melting, and the days are getting longer. It’s also time for Mainers to file their taxes. While no one enjoys filing their taxes, I hope to share some information that can help you through this process. This can be a stressful time of year, but […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ask the Realtor: Why isn’t my offer accepted?
Question from Juliana C., Westbrook Marc, My Partner and I have put in multiple offers on homes and none have been accepted. What gives? Juliana, Thank you for your question. There are many unknowns to your question however, as you may have seen from my other responses, we are in a seller’s market. That means […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ask the Realtor: Is it a good time to buy a home?
Question from Daniel B., Wells Marc, is it a good time to buy? Hi Daniel, As of this writing on Feb. 22, there are 1,568 single family homes available for sale in the state of Maine. In comparison when I started in this business in 2005 there were over 22,000 homes listed on the MLS! […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ruralist Lament: A rigged game
A couple weeks ago I glanced at the Stupor Bowl. I was mainly focused on my gizmo’s screen watching a couple guys carefully dismantling and rebuilding a 50s-ish Farmall Super M tractor in their shop somewhere. Uninterrupted by commercial puffery pushing corporate beverages, faux-food products, and usurious debt instruments they bent to their task. Skimping […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Kennebunk Post, Southern Maine Weeklies
From Augusta – Standing up for Maine students, the future
When I look to Maine’s future, I think about the people — from the young students in high schools and the young adults in colleges, to the adults and parents acquiring new skills and training or switching careers in community colleges — who all want to get good jobs, pay their bills, buy homes and […]