Everywhere I go, Mainers are talking to me about property taxes. I hear it from retirees who have lived in the same house for 40 years and now worry they can’t afford to stay. I hear it from young families struggling to buy their first home and are worried property taxes will keep home ownership […]
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Air quality, like the haze from the Canadian wildfires, affects health of our water
“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.” But what if the sky is red at night and in the morning — as it has been recently as a result of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. These very red sunrises and sunsets have seemed somehow ominous — the hazy […]
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Ways to make clean energy cleaner
Clean energy supports a sustainable lifestyle because it is produced from renewable sources like the sun and the wind. However, that energy is not entirely clean due to its reliance on critical minerals. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, “critical minerals” are vital to American economic or national security and possess a vulnerable supply chain. […]
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Searching for sturgeons on the Kennebec River
“The sturgeons are jumping,” my friend, Brent Elwell, reported. He was referring to a recent trip he had taken on the Kennebec River. Paddling the Kennebec is always a pleasure, but doing so while watching the sturgeons jump is an exceptional experience. When I remarked that I’d like to complete a trip on the river […]
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Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Regional Chamber of Commerce celebrates partnerships
Our region is unbelievably blessed to have a collection of nonprofit leaders that I truly believe is unparalleled in the state. Of course, I may be biased in that respect, but that’s how great I truly feel they are. The quantity of our quality is astounding. For a while now I’ve wanted to do an […]
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With works from Portland to D.C., this legendary and prolific sculptor was a Bath native
From the Sailors and Soldiers statue at Monument Square to Longfellow’s statue in Portland and the famed Peace Monument at Washington, D.C., he sculpted some of the most recognizable and celebrated monuments in the United States. And this legendary artist was raised in Bath, Maine. Franklin Batchelder Simmons was born on Jan. 11, 1839, to […]
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Transform your driveway into nature’s rain sponge
During the next heavy rainstorm, watch how water flows on your driveway. Does it cascade into the street carrying oil, fertilizer and debris into local streams, or do you see rainfall puddling, then gently disappearing into the ground? If you can make the decision whether to pave over our planet or install permeable surfaces that […]
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Imagining the future of Brunswick’s Maquoit Woods
Brunswick’s Maquoit Woods have been much in the public mind for the past three years, even as only a small percentage of us have spent much time in those woods. The catalyst for that attention was their owner’s decision to sell them in 2021. Seemingly sudden, the sale of those 283 acres to a developer […]
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Childhood joy knows no address: Unhoused kids need fun, too
My summer fellowship with Tedford Housing has given me a meaningful glimpse into the work of a nonprofit whose mission is to empower people as they move from homelessness to home. From development projects to direct service, I’ve been able to contribute to Tedford’s mission in a variety of ways. One highlight of my summer […]