Cheney Insurance is proud to welcome Charlyn Foster to its team of trusted professionals. A Maine native with 19 years of experience in the insurance industry, Charlyn brings a deep understanding of customer needs along with a strong work ethic, reliability, and a personable approach that aligns perfectly with Cheney Insurance’s values.

The Maine State Aquarium’s 2025 season begins on Wednesday, June 11, and preparations are going swimmingly. Last year’s grand reopening was a huge hit with over 26,000 visitors, and this year we have more to debut.

The Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) has announced the launch of a new initiative to strengthen Maine communities by ensuring strong, local news coverage in all parts of the state.

As part of the Maine Healthy Beaches program, Coastal Rivers volunteers take weekly water samples at Pemaquid Beach, the Bristol Mills swimming hole, and the beach at Biscay Pond during the summer months. This service for the towns of Bristol and Damariscotta helps ensure that beaches are safe for swimming.

The samples are sent off to a state-certified lab, which ensures consistent and reliable data. In recent years, all three beaches have consistently been very clean, with minimal bacterial contamination.

When Sarah Perkins leaves as Alna's town clerk in late June, Deputy Town Clerk Lisa Arsenault, a familiar face at the town office and next door when it was the town office, will become clerk. Selectmen announced Arsenault's promotion after an executive, or closed door, session May 8.

Selectmen in March announced Perkins was resigning effective June 26. They said she was leaving because her farm has gotten too busy to balance with the job.

After being closed since 2023, Montsweag Flea Market in Woolwich will reopen Saturday, May 3, under the new ownership of David J. Jones, owner of FO Bailey Real Estate in Falmouth. The flea market will remain open through the summer season from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is designated, "Antique Dealer Day."

AUGUSTA (April 24, 2025)—Buyers of single-family existing homes in Maine are welcoming a more balanced spring sales market, with an increase in available inventory and moderation of pricing. According to Maine Listings, Realtors reported 848 sales within Maine’s 16 counties during March, a decrease of 6.19 percent compared to a year ago.  The median sales price (MSP) for those homes eased 0.98 percent to $376,260. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

Hearty Roots is thrilled to welcome four new board members to their team: Alyssa Allen, Lisa Steele-Maley, Deborah Mills-Scofield, and Mary (Polly) Vaughan.

In the past year, MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital volunteers donated more than 8,000 hours across departments and different facilities. Their support includes greeting patients, assisting with clerical work, running errands, providing companionship and more.

But for many, including Laura Zajdel of Boothbay Harbor, volunteering is about more than just the giving of time. It’s about spreading joy and having fun.

Veggies to Table, a nonprofit farm committed to providing fresh, sustainable produce to our community, is thrilled to announce the receipt of a $1,000 check from the Damariscotta-Newcastle Rotary. This generous contribution will significantly support the farm's ongoing grow-to-donate program aimed at promoting healthy eating and food security. 

Contractors might soon be making offers on an Alna job that might go to no one, but which Third Selectman Coreysha Stone said could be a go at some point.

Some residents April 10 continued questioning the point of seeking bids on trash and recycling collection since the town already contracts with Wiscasset Transfer Station. They said bidding now would tip contractors' hands for any subsequent bid requests, when other firms would know how low to go; another concern was that contractors would be turned off if they put time into a bid and none is awarded. 

The week of March 31 saw a tumultuous turn of events as the Trump administration launched sweeping tariffs on trading partners across the world, many who have responded in turn. So far, Maine’s lobster industry has escaped the brunt of the conflict. However, concern lingers. 

Governor Janet Mills swore in Carl Wilson as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) April 8, following the Maine Senate’s unanimous vote to confirm his nomination.

Horseshoe crabs will soon be arriving at the shores of the Damariscotta River estuary to lay their eggs. These fascinating creatures are actually not crabs at all, but are more closely related to arachnids – and they’ve existed in a similar form for over 250 million years.

February home sales statistics in Maine show an increase in sales, prices, and homes available. According to Maine Listings, sales of single-family existing homes increased 6.51 percent in February 2025 compared to February 2024. Realtors reported that 753 homes closed across the state, and the median sales price (MSP) for those sales reached $381,500—a rise of 9.0 percent. The MSP indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.

Mason Station Redevelopment Co. might seek to coordinate with the town of Wiscasset on developing some of the town-owned land near Mason Station, Mason Station Redevelopment President Ryan Gahagan said. Besides that prospect, he said the company’s signed option on the former power plant is to either buy it or its owner, Mason Station, LLC.

He told selectmen March 18, the exclusive, three-year option began in August 2023.

A recipe for revolution (circa 1773): chilled saltwater, 92,000 pounds of tea. Mix.  

December 16, 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty boarded ships carrying British East India Company cargo. Over the course of three hours, the group smashed 340 chests of tea, dumping their contents into the frigid waters of Boston Harbor to protest trade restrictions. “Perhaps salt water and tea will mix tonight!” smuggler and trader John Rowe was famously quoted. 

Midcoast Conservancy is offering a one-and-a-half day Chainsaw Safety course at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson; the workshop is designed for participants who have little or no experience with a chainsaw, though it can also be an effective refresher for more experienced individuals who have developed some bad habits with a saw.

Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) will facilitate a panel discussion with business support experts from APEX, CEI, SBDC, MTI, New Ventures Maine, and SCORE on Tuesday, March 11 from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. This workshop will be hybrid via zoom and in LCRPC’s conference room at 297 Bath Road in Wiscasset.