Jack Silverio. This Rhode Island School of Design grad has been an architect for 40 years designing homes and in Boothay Harbor, Jack designed St. Columba's Episcopal Church. For the last 12 years he's devoted himself to painting and making sculpture full time.

At first sight, you might find Jack’s paintings a tad daunting. And I totally get it, and here's the thing: he has a passion for the Golden Ratio and it figures into most all of his paintings. He’s also intrigued by the influence of patterns on the Golden Ratio and how they reflect the presence of both in nature and art. I’m thinking

The Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper staff hopes for a good turnout at their Business After Hours gathering on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 5 to 7 p.m., at Boothbay Railway Village Museum’s Town Hall. We will have some exciting news to share regarding our major digitization project, which is underway thanks to the volunteers at Boothbay Region Historical Society. We also hope to gather some additional volunteers to help scan the issues of the newspaper at the Maine State Library in Augusta. Merritt Blakeslee has been instrumental in moving this project forward and we thank him for his service. Come

Even before the Wiscasset future of the schools committee formed years ago after a town vote, it looked to me obvious that tuitioning out the high schoolers would save at least some money, but at the cost of some of the community spirit that comes from generations of a town being fellow alumni. Still, it was worth a look, because, whether people have kids or not, they have taxes to pay and that is not easy for everyone, or maybe hardly anyone. So if the difference was huge, change at least could be considered.

Turns out the savings might be big, but not necessarily huge, and factors that hadn

Some of us are old enough to recall the phrase “the bee’s knees.” It’s a comment, as far as I can tell, somewhat related to the little buzzers, but not entirely. There are a variety of explanations available, but the one with which I am most familiar suggests that the bee’s knees refers to someone or something that is quite exceptional or very good. In my case, that’s the one I’ll run with. 

I’ve always been a little fascinated with the process of bee keeping. As a kid we would go to visit my mother’s parents in Springville, New York, south of Buffalo. Mother’s father, grandpa Flick, kept

Last Saturday afternoon, as I was watching the TV coverage of the British Open golf championship and folding my laundry, my phone rang. I decided to ignore it. I figured talking to an unknown caller was a lot less important than folding clean socks, clean skivvies and marveling at the way the best players in the world attacked an impossible Irish seaside golf course.

A few moments later, about the time Rory McIlroy jarred a snake for an eagle, the phone rang again, and I answered. I was rewarded for my trouble with an earful of NSFW phrases that insulted my parentage. Of course, it was the

You’ve likely read or heard about Maine’s state budget this spring. It has significant impacts on each of our lives, like ensuring all Mainers have access to health care, investing in child care providers, and helping to keep property taxes lower than they would otherwise be by continuing 5% municipal revenue sharing and the State’s funding 55% of education.

Let me start by saying again that this was a challenging budget year. Maine does not have the levels of surplus funding that we’ve seen for the past couple budget cycles, so we had to make a lot of tough decisions. This is not a flashy

The next public supper will be Wednesday, Aug. 6. The meal will consist of Tuscan sausage soup, salad, cheesy zucchini biscuits, baked stuffed zucchini, corn, tomato and basil salad, and lemon refrigerator pie.

The cost is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. Additional 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 and join us for a wonderful meal.

Cribbage results for Tuesday, July 15 with 24 players. First place: Sallie Curtis, 825. Second place: Jim Ferland, 824

In his youth, Jerry Farnham wanted to be a novelist. Storylines came to him while he was out lobstering. That desire was realized with the publication of “Red At Night” in 2022 that became the start of a series. It was followed by “Red in the Morning” in 2024. The third book in the series, “First Light,” has an Aug. 30 publish date. A book release party will be held on the 30th at Brady’s in Boothbay Harbor, Jerry’s hometown.

Reader questions about characters in the books prompted him to write “First Light” to give readers insight into the main characters in the series – the unlikely

The summer heat is here, and so are scammers posing as the utility company. You might get a call or email from someone threatening to shut off your electric service due to unpaid bills. With high temperatures making air conditioning essential, these criminals use fear to pressure you into acting fast. 

They may demand immediate payment using gift cards, wire transfers, or mobile payment apps. Real utility companies don’t threaten immediate shutoff without notice, and they don’t demand unusual forms of payment. If you receive a threat like this, contact your utility company directly using the

Some people think midsummer birding is boring.

Wow, are they wrong.

As we can personally attest, here's five reasons why you should go birding in July.

1) Odd Rarities: To paraphrase the great Forrest Gump, July is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to find! Just this week a fork-tailed flycatcher showed up at the Kennebunk Plains. A small flock (five juvenile) of white ibis appeared in York. A seaside sparrow made itself known in Scarborough Marsh. What’s next? You could be the one to make the next great rare bird discovery!

2) It’s Shorebird Season: Scan any area

I just had five days off from my job as editor, returning Monday morning. Family was in town and we had a good time together. It was a nice break from emails and phone calls.

The day before the break, we learned that Dan Gardner, a main face of Boothbay Region Ambulance Service as the EMS chief, had been arrested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The first day of my break, we learned that he had been let go of his position. Not unlike “Hotel California,” (“You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave”), I had asked reporter Fritz Freudenberger on Wednesday of last week to

I ran into a series of interesting items last week that I thought I would share with you.

Top of my list was a piece in The Atlantic magazine that claims our national prison population is decreasing, despite the “tough on crime” promises from Republicans and Democrats seeking your votes. Oh, yes, the crime rate is decreasing, too.

Now, that does not mean that terrible criminals are no longer doing unspeakable things to innocent victims. Of course, there are bad guys out there, even in Maine. But there are fewer of them. Why?

Once upon a time, I read an academic paper by an econometrician

Every summer in late July, when I was a kid, there was a county fair in the next town over from where we grew up in central Pennsylvania. It may very well have been the biggest event of the year in our part of the world. A major part of the festivities was the arrival of the James E. Strates Shows, the fourth largest carnival midway in the nation. It arrived by train in the middle of the night, on a railroad track that ran through the center of town. The coal trains that used the line were diverted until all the animals and equipment were unloaded. The empty train cars were set off onto a

During the July 4 First Friday I decided to stop by two more new participants this year – both in Boothbay.

In addition to First Fridays, another “something new” for Rick Dickinson is a studio and elegant gallery located off Back Narrows Road in Boothbay! Sure the landscaping is a work in progress, likewise the "cloakroom," but the quality of the work there is well worth the visit.

“This space is great,” he said. “We’re still clearing some trees for light; we face True North here, just like I did in MA – but there I was on the eighth floor.”

Rick has loved painting since his teens and it

Dear Editor:

Labor will never own the means of production in this country. Maine Democrats spreading Bog Apple anguish.

Former State Senator, Troy Jackson, is elated over prospects of Soviet style pain and suffering subplanting itself throughout.  As a dedicated follower of the historical, Vladimir Ilyitch Ulyanov, Jackson envisions, lockdown collectivism as the rule day for Maine and America. Leading ecstatic jeers and cheers during a Portland rally, Jackson condemns what he calls big-money power and influence.

Government run grocery outlets featuring long lines, bare shelves and empty

Dear Editor:

At the May 7 public meeting on the Southport water main project, concerns were raised about the water QUANTITY and uncertainty of future federal funding—especially under a second Trump administration. That concern remains vital, as the $1.43M loan for this project is just the first step in a broader, multi-million-dollar pipeline initiative plan.

Also at the May meeting, a BRWD representative dismissed the East Boothbay wells—once capable of 200,000 gallons/day—as “a drop in the bucket.” But with daily demand recently hitting 975,000 gallons and topping one million during June’s

Dear Editor:

I see that the Wiscasset school board will be presenting a proposal that reduces the school budget by approximately 150k.

Are these things being considered:

High school enrollment is less than 200, including over 30 students rom other towns.

What is the student (subtracting the school choice into Wiscasset) to school employee ratio?

What ratio is acceptable to keep the schools open?

You know there was extra educational money in the defeated budget, $7M.

Just a question. I want to project my taxes on how quickly Wiscasset becomes an extremely unaffordable town. 

What do you think

The next public supper will be Wednesday, Aug. 6.  The meal will consist of Tuscan sausage soup, salad, cheesy zucchini biscuits, baked stuffed zucchini, corn, tomato and basil salad, and lemon refrigerator pie.

The cost is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. Additional meals may be bought 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 and join us for a wonderful meal.

Cribbage results for Tuesday, July 8 with 29 players: First place: Duane Rolerson, 841. Second place: Marge Pooler, 840. Th

If you’re looking to squeeze in one more summer trip, be cautious—while great travel deals exist online, so do scammers eager to cash in on your vacation plans.

Criminals set up look-alike travel websites in hopes you will book with them rather than the intended company. And just because the link showed up when you searched “travel deals” doesn’t mean it can automatically be trusted. Scammers often buy paid promotions for their bogus travel sites, so they appear high up in search rankings.  

Before hitting ‘confirm’ on that deal, make sure you really know who you are doing business with