Oystercatcher. It’s an evocative name. Even if you didn’t know that it refers to a bird, you would probably imagine some living thing that catches oysters. Even without considering its wonderful name, the American oystercatcher (there are 11 other oystercatcher species worldwide) is a memorable species. Its big, bright orange bill, black head, orange ring around the eye and bold white stripe visible against its otherwise dark brown wings and back—this all makes for a striking sight. Add in its loud, piping, whistled calls and you have a bird that is somewhere between a garish clown and an

Did you ever think summer would arrive – especially after a long winter and spring?

Well, it’s here and the Boothbay and Wiscasset regions have come alive with events and visitors filling the roadways and sidewalks.

Even before this week’s 64th annual Windjammer Days got underway, and before the calendar’s first day of summer, Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce sponsored the annual Claw Down and Fishin’ for Fashion events which drew great crowds and participation. They were a great kickoff to summer.

The Windjammer Days schedule is once again full and there’s more to come after this

“Build it and they will come!” I think a movie baseball metaphor is appropriate for our annual big event here in the Boothbay region. Only, in our case, perhaps a slight modification of the phrase might be, “Sail it, and, weather permitting, we hope they will come!”

Every year at this time, there are big doings here in “River City.” Windjammer Days sort of officially marks the liftoff of the summer season as the Harbor fills with visiting guests, seasonal residents and, fingers crossed, sailing ships from near and far. Ultimately, however, the final determining factor lies with the great

The President of the United States says the war with Iran is over, and we won. Bully for us.

He also says Iran should have nuclear technology and ballistic missiles because their neighbors do. OK?

But, and please correct me if I am wrong, didn’t he pull the trigger in the first place to prevent them from joining the nuke club? And he says he wants to quit bombing and blockading, and open the Strait of Hormuz to prevent a worldwide economic catastrophe due to a lack of Gulf oil products.

Surely his SECDEF, a sage, ex-Fox News weekend substitute couch sitter, warned the boss that, despite the

A recent week was a busy time for Garden Club of Wiscasset member Candice (Canny) Cahn. With the help of Wiscasset Recreation Department and in particular, Brandi Marshall, six earth planters were installed for the Main Street sidewalk areas in downtown Wiscasset.

The planters have walls that hold 16 gallons of water and should support the plants for up to three weeks without having to be refilled.

Fire Chief Rob Beckwith used the town's pumper truck to fill the water walls.

Over the years, watering flowers in hanging baskets or various types of containers has been a challenge for  GCW and the

Dear Editor:

To the many people who graciously donated their cans and bottles to the American Legion last year, we thank you. Because of your donations, we were able to donate money to state and local organizations so that they would, in turn, be able to help the community. In 2025, Post 54 donated money to the following: Maine Blind Camp, Help Yourself Shelf, Wiscasset Food Outreach, the Dresden Veteran’s Memorial, Honor Flight Maine, two scholarships for graduating Wiscasset Middle High School seniors, Wreaths Across America, Women’s Veterans Glamping, as well as local families. Without your

Dear Editor:

I was surprised to see the Wiscasset School Committee reject an outside investigation into the “gym incident.” The most basic expectation is that children should be safe in school. When that expectation is not met, the system failed. Dismissing an independent and thorough review of how it happened is a lost chance of preventing it from happening again.

In more than 30 years in the nuclear industry, I participated in scores of root cause investigations. We treated even low-level events seriously because fixing small problems is the most effective way to keep larger ones from

Dear Editor:

I would like to thank everyone who signed the Universal Healthcare petition, which was available at most Lincoln County primary election polling locations. This effort was organized by Lincoln County Indivisible, and we collected 3,380 signatures.

The petition directs the joint standing committee of the Maine legislature overseeing health care and insurance to develop a bill establishing a system of universal coverage in Maine. The bill would be reported to the full Legislature for implementation by 2028 and appear as a referendum question on the November 2028 ballot.

The proposal

Dear Editor:

I had the privilege of participating in our annual Town Meeting. It was thrilling to be part of actually determining how our Select Board will meet its obligations to our community by granting funds that serve us all, and agreeing to cover the cost through the taxes we will pay next September.

With each warrant article, each of us could vote up or down, having a real impact on the question: “what sum the town will vote to raise and appropriate for…” the many services, road maintenance, and worthy causes in our community. This is what democracy is about—giving our local government

A few nights ago, we took our little black dog Loki, out for a last chance to answer “nature’s calling” before we retired for the evening. We had been lured into watching a good show rather late; it was around midnight when we stepped outside into the cool night air. The stars were brilliant in the dark sky, the neighborhood was peaceful and quiet, when suddenly, erupting from the hedges across the street, came the boisterous music of a song sparrow.

Just one phrase, just once. Then all went silent.

We all know that there are species that vocalize primarily at night (owls, whip-poor-wills)

Why take 10-15 minutes on something you can do in less time, with the same outcome? Time has value. And this is why Wiscasset selectmen's introduction of a consent agenda has made our latest list of six good things in 2026 in or near Wiscasset.

We last gave a list at April's end, so this will be a May-June installment, a little early on the June part because more good could still happen, but anything after this can roll into our next installment. Coverage of the middle high school incident and its repercussions has rightly taken much time, amid the busy election, graduation and event seasons

The 2026 political primary season is over. Well, that is, sort of over, as we still don’t know who won the nomination for governor.

Despite whizz-bang computerized voting machines that tally numbers in a split second, we still don’t know which of the seven Republican hopefuls, and the five Democrat wannabes, will be their party standard-bearer on Nov. 3.

Blame it on whoever came up with the idea that, in America, as we celebrate our 250th birthday, we are no longer equal. The standard test of one man/one vote, the old gold standard in Maine, is gone. Now we live in a sort of Mulligan-land

In the late 80s, we had some concerns about my late mother-in-law. At that time she was living in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with friends and we were not able to have much first hand personal time together. A few things seemed to be popping up that made us consider moving her to Maine so we could be closer and keep a better eye on things. And, to boot, our daughters, Grammy’s granddaughters, were cute little peanuts and Grammy’s pride and joy. She missed them and us. It seemed like a good idea to be closer.

So, we circled the wagons and encouraged Grammy’s move to Falmouth, Maine, where she

The second session of the 132nd Legislature adjourned in April, and among our most meaningful accomplishments was passing a series of new laws to make targeted investments in housing and help alleviate the current shortage our state is experiencing. 

Housing here in Lincoln County and across Maine has become too expensive for most everyday, hard-working Mainers. As a realtor for over 30 years, I’ve seen the effects of skyrocketing costs up close. I’ve seen young families priced out of the towns they grew up in. I’ve watched people accept longer and longer commutes just to find something they

Summer is peak moving season, and who you hire matters. Criminals often advertise low prices and provide unusually cheap estimates—sometimes without even seeing your belongings.

Once hired, they may demand a cash deposit or full payment up front, raise the price at the last minute, or hold your belongings hostage until you pay more. In some cases, they never show up at all.

To help avoid scams and find a reputable mover, get written estimates from multiple companies and research each one carefully. Check reviews and verify credentials before hiring. With so much to manage during a move

In the state of Maine, 68.5% of children under 6 years old live in households with all parents working. 37% of licensed childcare centers in Maine have closed in the past 10 years. Additionally, the average cost of infant childcare is $9,224 a year. These are statistics behind an issue many of us already understand: Maine is in desperate need of affordable and accessible childcare. This session, in the Legislature, we continued to work on this issue.

One way we did this was by funding our childcare affordability programs. As a member of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, I

Dear Editor:

I was saddened after reading the article about the middle school child that was assaulted by a high school child. I wonder if Restorative Justice is being considered as one of the paths forward towards harmony in the schools? Restorative Justice brings those harmed and those causing the harm into a safe voluntary dialogue and focuses on ways the offender can repair the damage done, thus helping both victim and offender return to their community with restored peace.

Today's tumultuous world demands we come together in unity. The divisions in our country have been said to be the

There’s no doubt that we birders find a thrill in seeing rare birds—birds from somewhere else that make their way to wherever we are (in our case, Maine) unexpectedly. Why they come our way is often mysterious, but one thing is certain: The fewer the number of individuals that make up a species, the fewer there are that should be available to wander from their normal range.

This is why we find it curious that there has been an apparent uptick in the number of loggerhead shrikes found in here Maine in the last few years. Don’t get us wrong; a sighting of a loggerhead shrike in Maine is still

Are you as glad as I am that the myriad TV ads for the various candidates has ended? Spoiled my morning coffee time over the past month (and longer) and deciding who is good and who is bad (seemed like they all were both!) made me not want to vote on Tuesday – but I did.

I know candidates have to get their face and message out there to voters, but I think spending money on newspaper ads, with much more information on their ideas and plans, would be more effective and less expensive. I don’t know how much TV ads are, but I would think they charge more than newspapers.

Some of the ads were