Firearms regulation has been a hot-button issue in the past few years, with Second Amendment enthusiasts adamant about protecting their rights, finding themselves at odds sometimes with gun control advocates. Proposals for change have been brought up at both extremes, from banning concealed carry to eliminating all permitting requirements for it, and hackles were raised […]

After 11 years of providing a safe place for children to congregate after school, Biddeford’s Joyful Harvest has closed its doors. A farewell party held last Thursday marked the final day of programming, and the annual Kids Shopping and Pancake Breakfast this past weekend wrapped up more than a decade of Joyful Harvest’s continued, positive […]

“Snowflakes are some of nature’s most fragile things, yet look at what they can do when they stick together.” — Unknown The sky today is a sharp, clear blue unbroken by clouds, and the sun is shining. Yet, it’s snowing, but not in the general sense of the word. The trees are merely relinquishing their […]

Not many working 56-year-old fathers of three are literary critics, perhaps because no one handing out such jobs can imagine anyone in that demographic having both the time and the desire required to actually read anything. But a University of Sussex (England) study published online by Marie Claire magazine revealed that reading for as little […]

Snow turns a simple maple tree branch into a work of art. (RACHEL LOVEJOY PHOTO)

Thumbs up to the agreement reached on the Lincoln Mill clock tower, which will see it moved to the Biddeford Mills Museum for restoration. The clock tower has been left to an undignified end ever since it was removed from its long-held position atop the mill a few years ago due to structural concerns. After […]

Today, Maine’s children are at a higher risk of living in poverty than they were a year ago. That is one of the troubling statistics highlighted in the Maine Children’s Alliance’s annual Kids Count report released last month. Nearly one in every four children in our state under age 5 lives in poverty ”“ that’s […]

Making a living off the sea is a very tough way of life, as any fisherman could tell you. The hours are long, the gear expensive, the rules and regulations many, the working environment unpredictable ”“ and sometimes dangerous ”“ and there are never any guarantees. A fishery shutdown is easily the worst aspect of […]

This is a big year for remembering the Civil War, because it was 150 years ago that the events, sometimes called “the second American Revolution,” took place. In the middle of the war, after the battle that was its turning point, President Abraham Lincoln delivered probably the best public speech in American history, the Gettysburg […]

The Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County’s Indian Township has a proposal to get its people back to work ”“ and hopefully bring back some of those who have left the reservation for jobs elsewhere. On its face, this plan sounds like a good one for the tribe and region. The tribe plans to bottle spring […]