Brad Coupe, chairman of the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, gestures toward the lighthouse off the coast of Biddeford on Wednesday. The group will be receiving federal funds for restoration of the lighthouse. While the lighthouse tower has already been restored; the lighthouse keeper’s dwelling will be revamped to reflect what it looked like in […]

BIDDEFORD — Wood Island, the 32-acre land mass situated at the mouth of the Saco River, is the site of murder, historic rescues and tragic accidents. Ghosts are said to inhabit the island, which is home to a variety of shore birds, deer and both wooded inland and rocky coastal terrain. It is also the […]

The Wood Island Lighthouse, seen off the coast of Biddeford on Wednesday. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

WELLS — After a year of struggling to remain in the U.S. after the expiration of their visas, Dean and Laura Franks are packing up their house and restaurant and preparing to leave Maine ”“ a place they have called home for a decade. The trouble started in June 2009 when the British couple received […]

Dean and Laura Franks sit inside their recently closed business, Laura’s Kitchen, Thursday in Wells. The Franks, originally from England, were forced to close their business after they were denied a renewal of their visas, and will soon have to leave the country. – JEFF LAGASSE/ Journal Tribune

SACO — It takes about 23,000 pieces of pastry to prepare for the 15th annual Greek Festival at St. Demetrios Church. The festival runs Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. St. Demetrios Church is located at 186 Bradley St. For about the past two months, a […]

Baklava, pictured here, is one of the more popular treats at the Greek Festival at Saint Demetrios Church in Saco this weekend. (LIZ GOTTHELF/Journal Tribune)

Helen Truman and Christine Sagris prepare finikias Wednesday morning for the upcoming Greek Festival at Saint Demetrios Church in Saco. (LIZ GOTTHELF/Journal Tribune)

Earth First’s demonstration is an example of ‘progressives against progress.’

BIDDEFORD — For many years, Jim Weeks dreamed of coming to Biddeford to cry. This dream may sound odd to some, but not so strange once learning that Weeks has spent more than two decades crying in Bideford, England. Weeks’ avocation is crying. In Bideford, England he holds the centuries-old position of town crier. On […]