The AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360) has seen a rise in impostors pretending to be government officials.

Scammers are calling people, making claims like there’s a warrant for their arrest, their identity was used to buy child pornography or launder money, or that the FBI needs their help to catch a thief. These criminals seek to get your money by wire transfer or crypto kiosks. Some even use the real names of FBI agents or sheriffs to appear legitimate when you search online.

Remember that government officials will never contact you unexpectedly to seek payment in any form. If

It was winter of 1996. The David Cup and McIlroy Award birding competitions were in full swing in the Ithaca, New York, area where Cornell University and its famous Lab of Ornithology are located. We were in the midst of it all, along with our birders colleagues, scouring the landscape to find new species to add to our 1996 lists—the David Cup, within the confines of the Cayuga Lake Basin, and the McIlroy Award keeping to the boundaries of the City of Ithaca boundaries.

In that part of New York state, bohemian waxwings were quite rare and occurred very irregularly. We had been living in

The cloudless sky. A somewhat warm southerly breeze kicked up the roadside leaves up and over the snowbanks. The dog sniffing where deer had crossed the road and into another stand of woods (tracks present down in the gully). The salted road white while waiting for rain to wash it away.

Oh, it seemed so close to spring on Monday afternoon as I took our dog for a walk after work. Coat, gloves and knitted cap were worn, yes, but at least my face wasn’t teetering on frostbite, like a few days before.

However, reality set in as the weather forecasters said Tuesday into Wednesday was going to be

Maybe it's because I slept through the second half of the Super Bowl, after a first half that, to me, had looked like New England was holding its own on defense, giving up no touchdowns, just the smaller points.

Maybe it's because the Patriots had a better season than they had had since the Brady years, so they had already exceeded (my) expectations. 

Maybe it's because both teams ended the regular season 14-3 and it seemed every sports commentary I heard or read Super Bowl week was giving Seattle the edge.

Maybe it was because I was just about as interested in the Winter Olympics that had

Yes, (sob) the Patriots came up a bit short. Did you think they would just waltz into victory? Did you believe the “experts'" predictions?

The New England press/TV gang jumped on the Pats bandwagon, stoking our hopes that the new quarterback would follow the lead of the old GOAT guy and bring us another ring. FYI. Media “experts” tell us what we want to hear. That is what they are paid to do. You get one viewpoint on FOX, and another on MSNOW. Your phone does the same thing. Once you click on a post, dozens of similar posts will suddenly appear.

Well, once again, the real-world football

My search for Larry Knapp turned into quite an adventure.

Since I don’t pick up bait early enough, that option was out.So I needed to do a little detective work. Where have I seen Larry lately? I recalled seeing him at the East Side Park dock during the tribute boat parade for George McEvoy, so I headed over there on a chance sighting. No boats, no luck. So my next thought was Atlantic Edge. I knew that Larry went out early and came in early, but I wasn’t sure what early was. I asked Linda at Atlantic Edge if Larry kept his boat there or on one of their moorings. She told me to wait a minute

The next public supper will be Feb. 18. The meal will be vegetable bean soup, salad, cornbread, baked ham, macaroni and cheese, peas, and spice cake. 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 please join us for a great meal.

Cribbage results for Tuesday, Feb. 3 with 14 players: 1st Place: Larry Rines, 837; 2nd Place: Stuart Wyman, 828; 3rd Place: Pam Frenier, 811; High Hand: Nancy Whitney, 24; Lowest

You don’t have to be looking for love to be targeted by a relationship scam. Increasingly, perpetrators take the friendship route, building deep connections over time, starting by claiming they share your interests, experiences, or struggles.

They may initiate contact by commenting on your social media posts, reaching out through direct messages, or even sending what seems like a text sent by mistake. Over time, they earn your trust before asking for money or pitching an investment opportunity.

Because these relationships appear platonic, they can be harder to recognize. Red flags include

The Feb. 18 public supper will be vegetable bean soup, salad, cornbread, baked ham, macaroni and cheese, and spice cake. 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 great meal.

Cribbage results for Tuesday, Jan. 27 with 12 players: 1st Place: Ruth Gilbert, 835; 2nd Place: Beverly Blair, 831; 3rd Place: Catherine Rolerson, 827; High Hand: Ruth Gilbert, 21; Lowest Score: Nancy Perry, 731.

Re

Birds fly south in the winter and north in the spring. That’s probably how most people in the U.S. would describe the phenomenon of bird migration.

And it’s broadly and generally true. A great mass of billions of individual birds make a migratory trek to be in northern landscapes when those places are warm and full of food and mirror that movement to escape back south when the weather turns cold and food is unavailable. 

Individual birds that stray from the north-south pattern are what stoke the fires of many a birder’s passion. Here in Maine this winter, birders have excitedly traveled to

It’s Super Bowl week and am I excited? Somewhat. Not feeling the happiness and anticipation like I have in the past when the New England Patriots made it to the big game. This is their 12th appearance in the Super Bowl, more than any other team in the National Football League. Perhaps that is it – we fans have been spoiled by their success over the past two-plus decades. I should be more excited after suffering through the past two or three (or more) seasons, when they didn’t even make the playoffs. This year’s team sure exceeded expectations and I expect them to give the Seattle Seahawks a

I wasn't sure whether to do a year two of our monthly list of good things that happened in or near Wiscasset. We noted five things a month in 2025; it sometimes felt redundant to either the reporting or editorials on some of those things. But as we this week have been in a slight break from the cold, or at least from the daytime cold, with another cold seige expected, and Punxsutawney Phil's prediction Monday for six more weeks of winter, I thought, for these and other reasons, we should try to celebrate local positives as much as possible.

So, here are January's honorees, as we start to fete

An old-time cop once told me that the only government official who could quickly reduce crime was not the governor, mayor, or police chief. It was the weatherman. Sound silly?

For all their grand pronouncements and executive orders, coupled with profane exclamations, mayors, governors, tough-on-crime prosecutors, and cops all seem to fail at cutting the crime rate.

I know the nation’s crime is down and that may be due to demographics, not government policy.

The old cop explained it this way. Crooks are lazy. When it is pouring rain or as cold as it can be, they stay home rather than going out

If you were to take a stroll (safely accompanied by shipyard staff) around the historic Boothbay Harbor Bristol Marine property, you would be amazed by the amount of activity at every turn.

Presently, a full speed ahead repair project is under way on the main railway. Work is focused on the time-sensitive repair of the great ship Niagra. From the street, driving by, it would be difficult to realize what is going on under the huge white canopy that protects the ship and workers. So let me give you a little tour from my weekly photographs at the yard.

The on deck work involves new major sections

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