ALFRED — Homeless for many years, Ken Emerton showed off his new apartment Wednesday to Gov. John Baldacci and others who attended the York County Shelter Programs open house to dedicate Vinton Hall. It is a warm, bright, sunlit studio apartment or “bedsit” on the first floor of the one-year-old, eight-unit building. “It feels good […]

Governor John Baldacci, right, explores one of the rooms in Vinton Hall, a new building on the York County Shelters campus, Wednesday with resident Ken Emerton. Baldacci was on hand to recognize the dedication of the building, which is powered exclusively with green technologies. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

BIDDEFORD — Having already successfully renovated space for approximately 50 living quarters and nearly 60 businesses at his North Dam Mill, Doug Sanford is arguably one of the most, if not the most, successful developer in Biddeford’s mill district. Rather than renovating all his property at once, Sanford has taken an incremental approach to restoration […]

BIDDEFORD — Lifelong Biddeford resident Priscille Gagnon said she has fond memories of Biddeford’s downtown from her youth. She remembers having a vanilla Coke at the Puritan Restaurant, a popular hang-out in her teens, going to the movies with her future husband at the Central Theater and sledding down the hill on Pike Street in […]

BIDDEFORD — The four candidates vying for the city’s top seat engaged in Biddeford’s first and only mayoral debate Friday night, before a packed house in the Council Chambers at Biddeford City Hall. The debate, hosted by the Youth Organizing for Better Opportunities Organization of Maine, consisted of several rounds of unscripted questions posed by […]

Joe Smichinski, left, pets Doberman Boogie Thursday as he is being walked by owner Andrea Lee on the beach at Camp Ellis in Saco; Kailyn Fellmeth gazes out at the Atlantic Ocean behind him. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

SACO — The City of Saco is likely to be the first municipality on board for a regional group that would adapt sea-level adaptation strategies for Saco Bay. A group of at least three municipalities on Saco Bay can apply together for funding of a grant with the State Planning Office to fund a regional […]

Lucy Poli reacts to a reception thrown Wednesday in celebration of her retirement, hosted by faculty and staff at the Biddeford Primary School on Hill Road. Poli will be stepping down after teaching for 66 years. (JEFF LAGASSE/Journal Tribune)

BIDDEFORD — Most who spoke at a public hearing Tuesday about a proposed $34 million bond referendum to renovate Biddeford High School urged residents to vote yes at the Nov. 3 election. Voting yes would increase the tax rate by approximately 93 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or about $186 more on the […]