Last May, the Maine Department of Labor put out a study that stated York County had an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent ”“ more than twice the unemployment rate compared with 2001. I have to ask, “Why have the numbers changed?” The total labor force has remained roughly the same, and even when it peaked […]

Thumbs up to all the supporters of the “Tools for School” program and Biddeford Big Lots for hosting the collection of school supplies for local schoolchildren in need. More than 3,000 students across the state will be provided with backpacks filled with pens, pencils, markers, rulers, notebooks and other supplies thanks to the effort. Biddeford’s […]

The fourth annual Nicole’s Run/Walk last Saturday served as a reminder of the tragedy that can result from domestic violence while raising funds to prevent it in the future through supporting Caring Unlimited. Nicole’s Run is named after Nicole Oliver, a young mother of two from Wells who was killed by her husband in July […]

With the wiggling lid bursting with steam bubbles from under its grasp, the pot boils over onto the gas powered stove. No, this isn’t your typical overdone pasta; it’s the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis. While most of us have been living our lives ”“ going to school, raising families, working hard ”“ politicians in the hallowed […]

The National Football League received some good news this week, as it looks like the league’s lockout of players will end before preseason camps begin. While that is news in which fans and NFL employees can rejoice, ex-players put a damper a on the celebration. Mark Duper, Ottis Anderson and 73 other former players sued […]

When the Atlantis shuttle thundered into orbit July 8, it marked the end of an era. The final launch closes out a 30-year program that cost nearly $200 billion and claimed the lives of 14 astronauts. In 135 flights into space, however, the United States launched the Hubble Space Telescope and five missions to repair […]

Discord has arisen recently over consolidation of emergency dispatch services, particularly as it regards small towns using the Sanford Regional Communications, and unfortunately most of it seems to be based on hearsay. Beginning this spring, both Arundel and Kennebunk selectmen as well as fire department personnel have publicly voiced concerns about dropped calls and poor […]

During summer’s warmer days, I gaze out at the woods around me as through a fog. Heat, particularly with high humidity and dew point, is tangible, settling on every growing thing like a veil. Some days, it’s almost as though each leaf droops and sags beneath the burden, much as I do, as we both […]

Fire has left its mark on Waterboro, with the great fire of 1947 shaping the town’s identity and scarring its collective memory. Surrounding towns, too, felt the impact of the flames and joined Waterboro in building fire companies after the massive forest fire swept the town and destroyed homes, schools and camps in its path. […]

When my siblings and I were children our father insisted we avoid doing or acquiring too much of any one thing, even if the item or act in question was nominally beneficial. He’d parrot his mantra so often I could hear it in my sleep. Once it occurred to me to suggest that saying, “Too […]