When I was a teenager, on the rare occasions that I was allowed to drive my parents’ car, my mother would always say “drive carefully” as I left the house. I would nod in agreement – I mean, what else could I do? Years later when my own kids were teenagers driving my car, I found myself saying those same words, “drive carefully.” Time passes quickly and those teenagers have all grown up. Yet, after every time they visit us, I still think “drive carefully” as they drive away, even if I don’t say the words out loud.

My first car had a four-speed standard transmission. Even better, both the

Dear Editor:

In the chaos and violence of immigrant removal actions in recent days, the names "ICE" or "Border Security," or leaders in those agencies -- Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, Gregory Bovino -- are filling the news. A behind-the-scenes fomenter of those actions, White House Deputy Chief of Staff House Stephen Miller, is receiving less attention currently, but his name can be added to this list.

Clearly one of the jobs of these officials is to deflect criticism of unpopular government anti-immigrant actions away from the president. But the example of President Harry Truman shows us how to

Tax season is stressful enough, and scammers take full advantage of that with IRS impostor schemes.  

They reach out, claiming you owe back taxes and threaten legal action if you don’t pay immediately. These messages are designed to create panic and push you to act fast, often demanding payment by wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency — all guaranteed signs of a scam. 

Unless you’re already working with the IRS on a tax issue, the agency will generally not contact you, and if they do, it’s typically by mail first.  

When in doubt, disengage and verify by contacting the IRS directly

This winter has been more like the ones I remember when I first moved to Maine from Colorado in the late 1970s – that is to say frigid, with lots of snow and ice. It took me pretty much all morning to shovel out following the colossal storm that barreled across the country Jan. 25. Oh, my aching back! The following morning, feeling greatly refreshed following a night's sleep (I went to bed at 7), I drove to Damariscotta taking Bo with me for the ride. The sun was shining brightly and the sky robin egg blue. Rather than take Route One, I went the back way, Route 218 through sparkling white

Warblers, those brightly colored sprites of the bird world, are abundant here in Maine in summer. On a June day in Midcoast Maine during a morning of birding, it’s not too hard to  find blackburnian warblers with their flaming orange throats singing their high-pitched songs from the tops of tall green spruces. Nearby, may be the buzzy “zee-zee-zee-zoo-zee” of a black-throated green warbler, its bright yellow cheeks gleaming in the sun. Yellow warblers, chestnut-sided warblers, American redstarts, northern parulas, black-and-white warblers—they are all relative easy to find.

But come winter

This is the hardest column I have ever tried to write. It is about a pal who passed a week or so ago. I wanted to write earlier, but just couldn’t bring myself to do so.

Sam Stevens was my mother-in-law and my pal. I know, mothers-in-law are often portrayed as fussy women who meddle in family matters. Sometimes they are tragic figures, sometimes comedic, and other times, they are sad. Sam was all of that, as we all are. But she was more. Outside of my late bride, she might have been my best friend. If it sounds complicated, it is. But here is the short version.

I am from away, from Hoosier

Full disclosure. This week’s photo adventure was pre-flighted on Facebook. I put the image up for public view a week or so ago and got so many interesting and funny comments that I thought it might be fun to share with the “Register” crowd, given that not everyone looks to Facebook as a reliable news source. Sometimes it’s a little challenging to get accurate information online, especially with all the new ways to manipulate what is posted. I can confirm that the photograph shared in this issue is completely real and superbly incriminating. I screwed up, but in so doing, managed to tickle a

Each month, LCI Fiber Optic Broadband and Tidewater Telecom will be submitting a “Tech Talk” article, where we will try to answer questions from homeowners and businesses about broadband, the internet, Wi-Fi, networks, equipment, and how to use technology safely. And we’ll do it all without using “geek speak” or tech jargon (in other words, in plain English).

We hope you will find this helpful. Let us know what you think and what topics you’d like our experts to cover by emailing us at info@lcifiber.net.

Home Wi-Fi 101: Getting the most out of your router

If you’ve ever wondered why your

Dear Editor:

The federal government using the slogan “Catch of the Day” to name their roundup operation in Maine is beyond disrespectful, it’s dehumanizing, reducing human beings to objects of a hunt. Equating people to a daily "catch” for federal government statistics is inflammatory branding and shows how cruel and insensitive ICE is.

It's especially demeaning when one considers the central place of the fishing industry in Maine. Use of the term "catch of the day" mocks a prominent feature at the heart of Maine culture. It's a clumsy and deplorable attempt to turn a cruel assault on the

Dear Editor:

Jake Day’s Christmas gift to our communities, his Christmas Windows, has endured for almost 80 years due to the generosity and efforts of many. For almost 40 years, Jake displayed his creations at his family homestead on Bristol Road in Damariscotta where people came from far and wide to stand on egg crates and peer into Jake’s magical world of bears, castles, cabins, skaters and more.

After Jake’s passing, the windows were donated to the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. For several summers they were displayed in their gardens. After many months in the sun, they needed repair

We recently wrote about the idea of which backyard bird is the toughest based on a study that pulled together observations of the victor in one-on-one encounters among different bird species. There’s no doubt that that competitive dynamic is one that many humans find pretty interesting. When he was around 10 years old, our son loved a game when he would ask us to consider which of two fierce animals would win in a fight. “Polar bear versus killer whale?” he would ask. Or “elephant versus alligator?”

It didn’t matter for him whether the two would ever actually ever have a way to face-off in

The easy Sunday meal was planned early so we could enjoy watching the New England Patriots game against the Houston Texans. The halftime fish chowder and biscuits (made by my talented wife, Melodee) tasted extra delicious while the Pats held a 21-10 lead. The game wasn’t epic, for sure, with all the turnovers, but it was to be expected due to the playing conditions (snow, sleet, rain, wind, etc.) but it was a pleasant ending for Patriot fans.

On to Denver we go to play for the American Football Conference championship this Sunday at 3 p.m. (another day to plan an easy meal). The Broncos will

First to the joy. For some, that word is all but put away post-Christmas, when it has been all around, in song, on wrapping paper and in our hearts.

But joy can appear year round, and it will be found at Winterfest at Wiscasset Community Center.

As we have reported over the years, sometimes there has been little to no snow for Winterfest, but, like Christmas in Whoville in Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Winterfest came anyway. And if the forecasts hold, the snow we have gotten and will get will have plenty of cold to preserve it for Winterfest 2026 goers.

This is closest I will

I was sitting at the bridge table last week when my phone buzzed. I was trying to make an impossible one-no-trump contract, so I ignored the call. No, I won’t bore you with the details, but when the hand was done, I did answer the buzzing phone (yes, I made the contract). As you might have guessed, it was Ms. Pigette calling from her perch beside Route 27 on the way to Wiscasset.

“Did you see him?” she asked.

No, I answered. I am playing bridge, and am rather busy right now. What is it that can’t wait for a half hour?

“Listen. He did the damndest thing. I never thought I would see a president

My first landing zone here in Maine, Treasure Island, rests on a small point of land, facing south near the mouth of Little River in East Boothbay. It was where, serendipitously, my life, as I have come to know it, began. Oddly enough, in the scheme of things, my string of good luck and lack of game plans, once again gave me another gift.

In 1975, Phyllis Washington owned Treasure Island and ran it as a bed and breakfast sort of venture, well before the surge of B’n B transformations got up a full head of steam. I will say, also, that Phyllis loved Maine and could not wait each year to return

Dear Editor:

Last week a letter titled, “Delay, deny, defend,” blamed Republicans for the failure of LD-910 in Augusta. Democrats have been in complete control of Maine since Governor Mills took office almost 8 years ago. Democrats control the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Governorship, the three Constitutional Offices of Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Office of Attorney General, and the one Statutory Office, the State Auditor. Republicans, at this point, control nothing. They can only witness.

For almost eight years Republicans have had no voice in what bill passes or fails

From rent to groceries to that new tv ... welcome to surveillance pricing.

What is "surveillance pricing?" It's a business tactic and its goal is to come up with the highest online price you would willingly pay for an item. It uses AI and the information on your devices to create and offer you targeted, individual internet pricing for rent, travel, groceries, cars and other goods.

Unlike other pricing based on real time supply and demand, surveillance pricing takes data from your devices and manipulates it using Artificial Intelligence. An algorithm creates the price to be displayed by

Each year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) leads Identity Theft Awareness Week, a national initiative held in late January on how to avoid identity theft, recover if it happens, and spot these scams before they occur. 

Identity theft is when your personal information is exposed; identify fraud is when someone uses that data to take over or open accounts, steal your tax refund, file fraudulent health insurance claims, and more. It can happen to anyone, but we can take steps to protect against it.

Monitoring your credit report is one of the best ways to spot errors or suspicious activity. You

As I write this, we have just begun the new second session of the 132nd Legislature. We have a lot of important work ahead of us in the coming months, including doing more to lower the cost of living for Maine families, remove housing roadblocks and protect our heritage industries. 

One of the most pressing issues our state has been facing in recent years is the urgent need for more housing. As a licensed real estate agent since 1988, I’ve watched this get worse year after year. Working families can’t find apartments near their jobs. Young couples are being priced out of homeownership. Older

It’s shaping up to be one of those years where birds are pushed south by cold weather.

One example: This week we had the good fortune to have an evening grosbeak show up in our neighborhood. It seemed odd to see one of these normally gregarious birds by itself when they are almost always in flocks. Over these last weeks there have been an uptick in reports of flocks of evening grosbeaks across Maine’s Midcoast region.