When The Waldo’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the Tony and Drama Desk award winning musical comedy, opens on Sept 5, two things will be quickly evident. The first is that this show is more like an operetta than a play—much of the plot is advanced through song rather than dialog. The other notable thing about the production is that there’s a lot of choreography. The performers, and performance which has no intermission, is constantly moving on stage. Much of that movement is the vision of Niall Lessard, the show’s choreographer, a Julliard School trained dancer, and

What is so special about Northport, Maine?  Some people may think that Northport is just a wide spot in the road between Belfast and Camden.  They speed by at 55 mph without giving the burg a passing thought.  However, venturing off Route 1 reveals a Midcoast paradise of rolling hills, verdant forests, bay views, and mountain vistas. 

Granted, Northport does not have a town center or a village green or a statue of a local patriot.  Northport doesn’t have a post office bearing its name.  There is no high street.  Northport businesses are few and dotted along Route 1.  However, Northport is a

When we first started birding in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the sight of a merlin was a special treat. These small, dark falcons had just begun to bounce back from population lows as a result of DDT and other pesticides. If we were lucky, we might see one or two in fall migration—perhaps a few more if we were fortunate enough to spend time at a coastal hawkwatch.

We would never see a merlin in summer in those days. No one did. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that the first merlin nest was found in Maine. Before that there was only a single record from prior to 1908, and the validity of

In a small tragedy amid the broader carnage of the Israel/Gaza War Suleiman al-Obeid — the best known Palestinian soccer player — was killed by an Israeli tank shell on August 6.

Few Americans will know his name but the death reverberated through English and European soccer leagues. It is a case study in the
tally of civilian casualties in the ongoing horror of the Israeli war.

Obeid was a leading player for the Palestinian national team and much beloved as an inspirational figure for all Palestinians in Gaza.

He was married and had five children. The family was sheltering in a displacement

Throughout his 20 years as a state legislator, Troy Jackson consistently stood up for working Mainers and our most disadvantaged. As State Senate President he sponsored numerous bills to help health care workers and patients, address soaring prescription drug prices and keep facilities open. He was instrumental in bringing the Lobster Union, building trades and environmental advocates together to keep commercial wind energy development out of Maine’s lobster fishing grounds to the benefit of our fishery and economy.

Troy worked to reduce Maine’s dependence on fossil fuels while ensuring

I went for a little walk Saturday. Parking at the trailhead at Stephen’s Corner, Youngtown and Beach Road, I hoisted a backpack with a large bottle of water and a midday snack, put in my AirPods, and started my “Walking Book”. 

The “Walking Book” has become a thing over the last year; the audio book I only listen to when I am purposely walking. With little Belladonna along Ducktrap Road in the early morning, or along Beauchamp Point or Beech Hill when there is a gap in my daily work schedule, I like to walk.

I mean, as a man just north of 50, I know I need to exercise for my physical health

Just last weekend a terrible and shameful thing happened in Montville. Close to 40 headstones in the Hallandale Cemetery were vandalized.

However angry, or “bored”, or alienated one feels from his or her community, there is simply no excuse for this. There’s not a single person in Montville, or any town that I’m aware of, who wants to see the memories of his or her ancestors, friends or neighbors disrespected in this horrible way.

Fortunately, a group of residents is already dealing with getting the cemetery back to its previous well-maintained condition. There will be a clean up Saturday

To the Lincolnville Community:

On Tuesay, August 5, at the Special Town Meeting, the voters approved the authority for the town to raise the entire amount needed to fund for the school budget approved last spring. This authority did not add any more money to the school budget and the projected increase in the budget over the past year still remains at 3.91%.

There is one last step required by law. The town will hold a public referendum on August 12 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Walsh Commons at the Lincolnville Central School. This will be an up or down vote to validate the recommendation from the

Time seems to be moving faster than it used to. We approach mid-August. The days are still warm, but as sunset approaches, earlier every day, one may reach for the sweatshirt. Evenings are getting a bit chilly.

I chopped up a few of the first tomatoes harvested from the garden last night, mixed them with store bought cucumbers and red onion (the ones in the garden aren’t ready yet) and served them with feta and olives from Hannaford.

The cucumbers and onions in the garden will be ready soon. 

Is it something about the changing seasons of these northern climes that makes time seem to go so fast

This year, the Gulf of Maine delivered one of its most surprising seasons in living memory—not just for scientists, but for everyone who lives, works, or plays along its coast. An extraordinary bloom of Arctic jellyfish arrived, the product of dramatic changes far to the north and unusual local weather. What happened here in 2025 isn’t just a quirky anecdote: it’s a window into a rapidly evolving climate system and a warning about the 'new normal' that could become commonplace in coming years. 

The Gulf of Maine is no stranger to surprises. But this year, even seasoned observers found

Gaza is not only a moral issue--intentional starvation of an entire people, children the first to suffer and die, but everyone else in Gaza will follow. Doctors are unable to care for patients not just because they have no supplies, but many are often too weak from their own starvation to continue; mothers are unable to feed their newborn infants as they do not have enough breast milk due to malnutrition; fathers shot trying to access food for their families. We can watch this every day.  A " tiny trickle" of aid trucks being let in, as 6,000 trucks loaded with life saving supplies sit at the

As we slide into August, the bird soundscape here in Maine undergoes a major change compared to May and June when the morning chorus of bird songs can seem deafening. Now there are periods of almost silence. True, the cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, and other sound-producing insects are reaching the height of their contributions to our natural soundscape. But their mostly higher frequencies are more of a sizzle in the ear rather than the full-throated, all-encompassing caroling of five robins, three cardinals, two red-eyed vireos, a song sparrow, and a house finch—those are some of the

So there has been some chatter around Lincolnville recently. On the social medias, on the Lincolnville Bulletin Board, about town. People are not getting their mail as expected.

We take the post office for granted. That center of every community which was founded in 1775, before even our Declaration of Independence from England, with none other than Benjamin Franklin appointed the first Postmaster General. It is just always there, even as most of us long ago moved away from writing letters to each other. We don’t think much about “snail mail” generally, until it stops coming on time.

Lincolnvi

Will the Camden Select Board be able to keep its promise that none of our property taxes will be used to remove Montgomery Dam and Spillway?

According to the wording of Article 7 that was approved by voters on June 10, “The Town is authorized to fund the work only from non-property tax revenue sources, e.g. grants and private donations.” 

Please note that there is no reference to “new” property tax revenue, so it obviously includes not only future property taxes but also anything that has been collected and budgeted for this year’s expenses as well as any property taxes that have accumulated

What do Baffin Island, South Florida, and Downeast Maine have in common?

One thing they have in common, as we write this column, are two birds of different worlds. A little over a week ago, a visitor from Florida was in Cutler, a small town along the coast of Washington County, Maine, and only 20 miles from the Canadian border. Perhaps they were enjoying seeing quintessential Maine birds like common eiders, herring gulls, and black guillemots when they spotted something pink.

Maine is not known for its pink birds.

It was a pink wading bird with a bill shaped like a spoon—a roseate

This past Friday, nearly in despair about the starvation spreading throughout Gaza, and outraged by the endless, childish finger-pointing, always blaming other countries and organizations while denying one's own responsibility to deliver food and water and medical supplies to save the lives of the Gaza people, I finally asked myself, "WHAT CAN I DO?"   

I don't know why it has taken me so long to ask this question. Perhaps because  the food and medical supplies are right there in Israel, just waiting to be delivered, so giving money wasn't the key to feeding the people, and I didn’t know what

Republican politicians in Washington are touting middle class tax cuts as a key feature of “The Big Beautiful Bill”. While I don’t deny the existence of a “middle class” tax cut in this bill (though minuscule as it is), omitted is mention of the overwhelming negative affects of this tax plan. I submit that plan dramatically short changes we the middle class tax payers, as well as those less fortunate among our citizenry.

It has been a lovely weekend. I spent the bulk of it reading.

In between running to the dump and grocery store, and driving children to and from work and friends’ houses, I was able to find the time to sit under a tree and read a bit.

I really am not the literary type, never was. Sure I’ve read a good few of the classics, but honestly, my taste runs towards fiction, and not generally the most challenging. I read for pleasure.

I read articles for work, and I spend far more time than I probably should browsing news articles and editorials, always reaching an unfortunate and probably not fully

It was a cool night for a hot event at Ash Point Estate in Owl’s Head, where the community gathered to raise funds for Trekkers, one of the most beloved nonprofit organizations in the Midcoast. Present were Primo, The Alna Store, Thomaston’s Barbecue Place Station 118, Wiley’s on Main, Buttermilk at Marriner’s, Chase’s Daily, and The Causeway Restaurant. For the second year in a row, The Causeway Restaurant from Spruce Head won the competition. 

Executive Chef Gil Plaster led the team, and cooked alongside Adrian Martinez and Sophie Brooks on a bite that proved more delicious than all the

As he does every August, Maine comedian Bob Marley is headed to the Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. He has two shows set for Saturday, Aug. 9, 5:30 and 8 p.m. The later show has only single seats left; the early show still has some group seating in the balcony.