Dear Editor:

Candidate Donald Trump promised to end the USA’s ‘forever wars’, especially in the Middle East.  

He has been in office less than 14 months. He has ordered the military into action, entirely without Congressional approval, in the Caribbean, the Pacific, Venezuela, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Nigeria. In the middle of negotiations, with no immediate threat to the USA and no support from allies,he launched a full-scale war of choice in Iran. 

The rationale for taking us to war keeps changing. There is no clear exit plan. We now have 5,000 Marines on their way to the battle

Dear Editor:

I participate in the peaceful protests in local towns. In general, the protests have been quiet, friendly, and neighborly, with honks and waves of support from drivers passing by, and the very occasional negative downturned thumb or angry shout. 

Lately however, there have been a couple angry young men disrupting the events. They absolutely have the right to their opinion, but to get it across, they use a megaphone to scream obscenities and insult people. They use an amplifier to play loud music with inappropriate lyrics and lay a BIPOC/Gay Pride flag on the ground and walk all

Dear Editor: 

On Jan. 20, I testified before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee as a volunteer with AARP Maine and as someone who has provided home care for a loved one.  With 23 percent of our 1.37 million population 65 or older, Maine has the oldest population in the nation, and it is growing.  

 It seems a no-brainer to support two important bills: LD 1932, to raise wages 140 percent of the state’s minimum wage of $15.15 for essential direct care workers-some 22,000- vital to the aging in place Maine infrastructure; and LD 814, the “Older Mainers Act,” a request before

If you own a home, you’ve probably received a solicitation saying, “We want to buy your house.” The offer may sound appealing, but it’s often not in your best interest.

Among my modest collection of Wiscasset literature is a slim book compiled years ago by a man named Allton Dunsford.  It’s titled fittingly enough, “Wiscasset, Maine” and although it’s just a little over 50 pages, it serves as an enjoyable introduction to “Maine’s Prettiest Village." I’ve done other columns about Wiscasset literature and before getting into the contents I normally start by telling something about the author. This proved to be a bit of a challenge in this case because I could find almost nothing about the author.  Who was Allton Dunsford? What prompted him to publish a book

As Mother Nature moves to reclaim the land from Old Man Winter, the trees are starting to bud, Bambi is starting to move, and the political silly season begins.

For the last few months, they bombarded us over the internet, on TV, and in the newspapers with “Vote for Me” ads. But, other than Mr. Trump’s war, the demise of ICE Barbie, and the ever-present Epstein files, nothing seems to have moved the polling data.

Other than the Elephant in the room.

History tells us the likely losers in November’s midterm elections are the party in power. As the Republicans hold the White House and both houses

It’s hard to believe that it's been 20 years since Captain Eliot Winslow logged out. It seems like almost yesterday that we chatted in the Robinson’s Wharf parking lot. Well, mostly I listened, Eliot chatted. He was an institution with plenty to say. We had become buddies over the years going back to my earliest times here in Maine.

My first introduction to Eliot came during one of his famous ARGO cruises. I had been encouraged by Phyllis Washington to go for a boat ride to see some of the remarkable scenery along our beautiful Maine coast. I missed out on the “Chicken cruise” which became

The next public supper will be March 18. The meal will be vegetable soup, salad, Irish soda bread, corn beef and cabbage, potatoes, carrots and lime jello cake. The cost is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. Meals may be purchased for takeout at the same cost when reserved. Takeouts should be picked up at 5:45 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, call 882-8230. Join us for a great meal.

Tuesday, March 3 cribbage results, with 15 players: 1st Place: Beverly Blair, 828. 2nd Place: Nancy Wright, 823. 3rd Place: Roger Tappan, 810. High Hand: Nancy Whitney, 24. Low Score: Ruth

In the history of Wiscasset, there have been at least three distinct times when economic destruction occurred. Through those periods, the town maintained its resolve and overcame adversity. Wiscasset always found a new source of prosperity, despite the cycles of history.

In all the history of Wiscasset, there is a time—from 1980 until 1995—that surpassed all other eras in terms of community spirit, pride in the schools, and the success of every department in our Shiretown.

Many would argue that the influx of money allocated to Wiscasset from Maine Yankee was the cause of the spectacular rise

In the heart of winter, Camp Kieve is quiet. The cabins are swept clean and locked tight. No trace of wet swimsuits or half-finished puzzles. No backpacks left behind, heavy with headlamps, binoculars and hand-scrawled maps. No letters from home tucked beneath mattresses. In a few short months there will be a line of cars snaking up the road from Reunion Station, delivering young campers to the promise of summer. But for now, there is only the sound of wind coming off Damariscotta Lake, whistling through the pine trees, as Lee Giberson guides her Subaru Outback through the camp’s entrance and

What do Oguquit Playhouse, Eartha, Damariscotta’s Norumbeg Oysters, Tucker Auto Musuem, Wild Blueberry Land, the Madawaska Festival, Nubble Point Lighthouse, Ellsworth Candlepin Bowling, Penobscot Narrows Observatory, and The Maine Solar System Model, have in common?

They are some of the historical, and culturally significant, attractions along Maine’s Route One, and they are the subjects of Bob Krist’s new film, "100 Years of Route One: A Centennial Roadtrip." The film is scheduled to air on PBS stations from Thursday, March 26 through Sunday, March 29 in various time slots.

America’s

It’s more than a little mind boggling. Consider dreaming up a way to monitor, with statistical rigor, the populations of virtually all the hundreds of bird species that breed in the U.S. and southern Canada. It probably goes without saying that this will require credibly identifying and counting birds in more than four thousand locations following a careful and time-consuming protocol. Every year it will require more two thousand people highly skilled in the identification of birds by sight and sound. Then it will need to be done year after year after year for decades (forever?).

Now, find

Who: Are you glad Trump attacked Iran or are you with those who oppose the start of another war? I, personally, am against any kind of war. Has the human species, after thousands of years on this planet, not evolved enough to solve problems without killing people, destroying property and setting civilizations back for decades? It’s too bad we haven’t.

What: Are you glad that winter is slowly coming to an end? Moving the clocks ahead one hour on Sunday may help with our moods – it will stay light later in the day – but these pesky small snowstorms seem to push us back into grumpiness. So will

By the time you read this, online or in our print edition, Wiscasset's selectboard might have a policy on the sometimes helpful, in some respects scary, entity that has washed over the internet and elsewhere, artificial intelligence. Town Manager Dennis Simmons had language ready for the board to consider March 3. A policy could not come too soon.

AI is great at pooling information and doing certain other things more quickly than a human can; but any technology can have bugs, such as inaccuracy and, say, a lack of scruples. Is there such a thing as artificial scruples (AS)? If not, I'm sure

Here we go again.

We went to bed Friday evening with the dulcet tones of the chattering class reminding us of the word of the week - Epstein. By the time we sat down to Saturday morning’s coffee, their tune changed. We were at war - again.

Once again, Uncle Sam showed the world we could hammer another nation into submission. Or did we? By all accounts, our military jets and missiles killed the leader of Iran and many of his top allies, smashed some of their expensive defense hardware, and tore up buildings. Of course, they shot back, firing off rockets and drones that hammered some posh high

Breeze Kidder is one of our most wonderful family friends. She and our oldest daughter Megan were classmates at the Harbor Children’s Center at the tender age of 3. The Children Center, which closed some time ago, was located on School Street in Boothbay Harbor. It is now the home of Coastal Payroll. Megan and Breeze attended under the watchful eye of Debbie Butterfield, the lucky recipients of her care. We were very grateful parents, happy for experiences shared with a substantial group of youngsters. And when a bug entered the building we all got to participate, building resistance to future

Results starting with Tuesday, Feb. 3, with 14 players: 1st Place: Larry Rines, 837; 2nd: Stuart Wyman, 828; 3rd Place: Pam Frenier, 811. High Hand: Nancy Whitney, 24. Low Score: Nancy Whitney, 729. 

Thursday, Feb. 5, with 25 players: 1st Place: Sheldon Leonard, 847. 2nd Place: Dick Grondin, 834. 3rd Place: Jessie McDodge, 819. High Hand: Joe Campbell, 20. Low Score: Phil Hindahl, 709.

Monday, Feb. 10, with 16 players: 1st Place: Nancy Perry, 833. 2nd Place: Larry Rines, 831. 3rd Place: Rita James, 829. High Hand: Marty Fox and Larry Rines, 18. Low Score: Ann Pinkham, 748. 

Thursday, Feb. 12