Someone once told me, “Biddeford is full of character, and characters!” Recently, there is concern that Biddeford’s newfound “coolness” is creating a Biddeford that is not inclusive, meaning that the benefits of recent redevelopment are not benefitting all members of our community. Although I disagree that being “cool” is the problem, I do agree that […]
Courier Opinion
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Scarborough Leader, Southern Maine Weeklies
Business column: What’s the economic outlook for 2021?
Outlook 2021 As 2021 begins, the vaccine for COVID-19 could soon return our economy to normal. However, “normal” may prove to mean something other than what life was like in 2019, before the pandemic took hold. An unknown number of businesses will have failed to survive. The habits of citizens regarding dining, travel, and entertainment […]
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Ruralist Lament: Wet and waiting for chicken
It’s early February. An old farmer adage cautions that, “Half your wood and half your hay, you should have on Candlemas Day.” (That’s Groundhog Day for the dazzling urbanites out there.) We still find it to be a pretty good rule-of-thumb, and we’ve only used about half the wood in the shed so far. Media […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Buying local is more important than ever
Recently, I was talking to a young person about how shopping locally is critical, and I said, “I know I sound like a broken record.” She looked at me blankly, and it dawned on me, even if my meaning was understood, she no doubt never had the experience of playing an LP vinyl record so […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Ruralist Lament: The curse of memory
This was the week of Maine’s annual Agricultural Trade Show; a week where in pre-plague times those with a “sense of humus” would journey to Augusta. We’d kick tires on manure spreaders, perhaps fondle the cables on logging winches, and attend programs focused on various farm/forest sectors. We’d confer about the latest invasive pest, get […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Library Links: The wheels on the bus go round and round
McArthur Library in Biddeford is taking steps t o get books and more in students’ hands.
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Amidst stunning divisions, now is our moment to unite
As a state and a nation we find ourselves struggling to comprehend the attack on our Capitol last week. I have gone from shocked, to scared, to angry, to sad. Never in my lifetime would I ever have fathomed something like this would happen in our country. The divisiveness and visceral and utter hatred that […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
Recycle the right way, save the city money
Since its introduction in 2013, Biddeford’s recycling program has led to the diversion of millions of pounds of recyclable materials from the landfill, and is a great success by all measures. We should all be proud of the program. Our recycling partner, Casella, with their big blue trucks with the automatic arm, circles the neighborhoods […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Scarborough Leader, Southern Maine Weeklies
Turning to nature when not much else makes sense
To say that this has been a unique and challenging year would be an understatement. After all this time, since last March, to be exact, I am still finding new ways in which the pandemic has impacted my own life, and that doesn’t even touch on how it has affected the lives of others who […]
Posted inBiddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, Southern Maine Weeklies
A few of my favorite things
“Raindrops on roses” and “whiskers on kittens” are all well and good, but I have to admit — with no disrespect to Maria von Trapp or Julie Andrews — I would not include them on my list of favorite things. ‘The Sound of Music” has long been a holiday staple, and the soundtrack of this […]