North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica. Humans live, work, and play on the seven continents. Humans sail the seas. Humans fly the skies. And humans read online…

Every day at work I see people who are challenged by their lack of health insurance. Whether at Lincoln County Dental, where I am the executive director, or at the Addiction Outreach Program,…

The Munk Debates, …

We hear it everywhere in Maine: businesses have a hard time finding the workers they need. If communities are to thrive economically, they need to be able to attract new businesses—and help…

For several years before the minimum wage referendum passed, the minimum wage was stagnant, and because other wages are based on the minimum wage, higher wages were stagnant too.…

Peter, Paul and Mary. Ronnie, Sally and Dickie. Similar rhythm, liked the beat, easy to dance to (“American Bandstand,” 1965)! Similar, but different. In some ways though, there is a similarity in…

Maine’s extremely large and growing tick population is to blame for human contracted tick-borne diseases such as the Lyme epidemic. This was the result…

It is rare that we feel compelled to respond directly to editorials and letters in the paper, but we believe that some of Editor Emerita Mary Brewer’s comments in her Jan. 4 editorial, “…

As Alna’s Board of Selectmen, we welcomed last week’s letter from Judy Fossel, because it gives us an opportunity to make the facts about school choice in Alna – and our position – clear.

…

As I anticipated, “The Zookeeper’s Wife” is an emotional, inspirational and memorable film – and it’s playing at The Harbor Theatre.

The film closely follows Diane Ackerman’s book of the…

At Woolwich Town Meeting this year, held on a Saturday for the second year in a row – April 29 at 9 a.m. at Woolwich Central School – citizens have a lot to decide.…

It’s the weekend of the annual Boothbay Classic, so there’ll be a whole lotta dribblin’ (and scoring!) goin’ on when 7th and 8th grade boys and girls teams from across the state compete March 3-5…

The holiday season of Christmas has a history of many meanings. Celebrations in the home have morphed from the family gathering on Christmas Eve, the tree not yet displayed, and dinner so special…

“There’s something going on inside the government that’s really wrong and I can’t ignore it. I just want to get this data to the world.” - Edward Snowden quote from the…

In the past forty years there has been a significant change in the way many people view domestic and sexual violence. It is far from perfect but also far from the culture and beliefs that existed…

How do you understand what drives human beings to hate so grievously that some resort to senseless violence? I ask myself what it takes for these individuals to become so frustrated with their…

“The best things happen by chance,” says blue tang Dory. The best things can also be planned (for those of us without short-term memory loss) and going to see “Finding Dory,” at The Harbor Theatre…

You say you've never heard of Robert Hamilton or Gerald Immonen? Then, like me, you never attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) or took many art courses in your lifetime (to date). Art…

The April 20 edition of the Wiscasset Newspaper ran an article on Mason Station and the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s Brownfields Program. The LCRPC, in support of…

My oldest memory was in 1942 or 1943 when I was two plus years old. We were at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. having dinner with a couple. Mom and Dad were there…

Come Friday, April 29, when the lights go up at the Poe Theater, the famed Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, population: 2,642, will come into view. And when a man under those lights introduces…

At Woolwich town meeting this year, held on a Saturday for the first time in over 20 years — May 7 at 9 a.m. at Woolwich Central School — citizens have a lot to…

Her name is Doris is and you're gonna love her.

At some point in our lives there is a crush at the office. Someone becomes smitten with the new guy or gal and more often than not, it's…

The pervasive brokenness and darkness of our times springs from so many sources. For one, this is the darkest time of the year-the least amount of…

After 30 years in practice, I am rarely spooked by a patient in the emergency department. But, a recent visit in a large urban emergency department unnerved me.

We didn't know if it was more fun looking at artists' pumpkins at Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, or looking at all the people streaming and stopping around them, capturing them with their…

Four of us selectmen at the most recent Woolwich Board of Selectmen meeting voted (some of us reluctantly) to accept a second petition that would place a vote on…

Several years ago, a few citizens in the town of Woolwich first began talking about a pay-as-you-throw system for getting rid of non-recyclable waste, of residents…

The Rev. (Sarah) Foulger has requested that I talk about the effect of tragic events on first responders: police, ambulance personnel, fire,…

The number 274637 can save lives.

Our communities can be traumatized by the sudden deaths of teenagers in alcohol-related car crashes — particularly in late spring around graduation and…

This year’s Woolwich Town Meeting, like all town meetings in Maine, holds a combination of the mundane and the surprising (and you can’t predict which item will be…

Dear Editor:

Something that riles me is the amount of trash that winds up along our roadsides and now that the snow has…

Folks often ask me “What’s a county commissioner?”

Each of Maine’s 16 counties has three to seven commissioners, elected to staggered four-year terms in our regular November elections.

The struggle for control of Maine’s county jails, between the governor and the counties, just ended round three. The governor won.

In 2008 then Gov. Baldacci, as he did with schools, tried…

Last week Sony Pictures pulled the plug on the national release of the latest film teaming up Seth Rogen and James Franco, “The Interview.”

It was bad enough for Sony Pictures' when its…

Closing a school is a very difficult thing to do. It is an emotional issue that is tough for a community to face.

All of the members of the Wiscasset School Committee would rather not close…

The air has turned crisp, the leaves have fallen, the clocks have been turned back, Halloween costumes have been packed away, and now, during the next few weeks the chief cook of…

As voters, we exercise our democratic right by registering to vote and showing up on election day. It’s one of the few places remaining where every citizen’s voice is equal. And in many of our…

Are you here because of fear or hope? This was a question posed by Portland Mayor Michael Brennan asked approximately 3,000 voters at the President Barack Obama rally for Democratic candidate for…

Do we need 24-hour urgent care? Some hospitals offer both urgent care and emergency care, so that relatively minor injuries can be attended to…

Gov. Paul LePage, and his fellow governors all across our nation, are issuing proclamations naming April “Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month.” It's a fitting time to spotlight the…

First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus —
Crocus. —Lilja Rogers

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded 65 years ago, in 1949, to defend Western Europe from possible Soviet aggression. It met this responsibility until the early 1990s when the…

I know this because I am an aging Maine snowbird who has foolishly chosen to spend winter months in a warmer climate. But this year, things have…

Last year, 2013, was a year of headlines for Lincoln County Healthcare, but two stories say the most about the progress we have made in the past six years, and more importantly,…

Arts and Entertainment television was out of line for suspending Phil Robertson for a recent statement that the network executives did not appreciate. They may not have liked his Bible quote but…

Two books crossed my sleepless eyelids over the past week or so, one a 1984 rerun for the Internet age, the other a fascinating and deftly written biography. One I can recommend, the other only…

“Frozen,” the new hit by Disney Pixar, is currently playing at the Harbor Theater in the Meadow Mall. Crowds have been strong since it began playing, and owner Jason Sheckley has decided to add…

Wiscasset voters will have a series of choices they can make once we vote to leave the RSU. The actual cost savings of these choices is significant in some cases and involves changes as to how and…