Schoodic Institute scientists invite the public to join them in the intertidal zone to collect data about rockweed while exploring the beauty of the rocky coast between the tides.

Rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) is the dominant algae or seaweed in most of the rocky intertidal zone of Maine and provides habitat for animals living in and visiting this dynamic ecosystem. 

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer a six-session 4-H Nature in Focus SPIN Club for Washington County youth ages 9 –18 beginning July 26 from 4–5:30 p.m. at Downeast Coastal Conservency's Middle River Park, Machias.  Remaining dates are Aug. 2, 9, 16, 25, and 30.  

Participants will explore the outdoors through photography, environmental education, outdoor recreation, and creative expression. Each session will begin with a photography lesson followed by a hike with a chance to practice new skills.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

After a public hearing held Wednesday, June 22, the Machias Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to approve an events permit for Bad Little Brewing Company. 

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

More than 100 people attended last week’s public meeting with the Maine Department of Transportation, held in the gymnasium of Machias Memorial High School on Tuesday, June 28. The public was invited to give feedback on the DOT’s recent announcement that it has named a bridge as its “preferred alternative” to replace the aging Machias dike.

The public is invited to connect with UMaine Machias at the annual meeting of the University of Maine at Machias Board of Visitors (BOV), to be held July 12 at Bad Little Falls Park. The event will be hosted by University of Maine and UMaine Machias President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Machias Town Manager Bill Kitchen. 

Presentation of the 2022 Tommy Thompson Trophy to Brady Fergerson by Machias Rotary Club president, Paul Gaddis.  The Tommy Thompson is an award voted by the players' peers. All 12-year-old Machias Area Little League Players have a vote. The criteria for the award are leadership, communication, helping others, and athletic ability. To help make the selection process more personal, players are often told before the vote to consider,  "If you could pick one person to be your teammate, who would it be?"

EAC’s Concert Series continues with pianist and composer Paul Sullivan on Friday, July 22 at 7 p.m. Sullivan will engage audiences with a diverse program including many of his own compositions, old and new, as well as excursions into Debussy, Chopin, and Art Tatum, interspersed with stories and comments about his music and life.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon 

What started as a way to have fun at work has grown into an impressive veterans fundraising event, and it all began in the kitchen of Dunkin’ in Machias, where Evan Kopf and Tyler Matthews like to keep the mood light.

by Nancy Beal

The expectation of a large crowd has prompted the Jonesport planning board to move its regular monthly meeting from the town office to the high school gym. The larger-than-usual audience, Chairman Frank Smith told selectmen last week, is expected to be made up of area residents concerned about an application from Kingfish Maine, a Dutch-owned company that, starting in November 2019, has proposed to build a $100 million dollar land-based fish farm on the property known as Dun Garvin north of Greenwood Cemetery on Chandler Bay.

I try not to be triggered by climate agitprop, but the combination of an MVNO reprint of a Maine Beacon (the Maine Peoples Alliance Progressive Rag) piece blasting the SCOTUS West Virginia vs. EPA decision reigning in unlawful climate apocalypse eco-fascism coupled with a smiling photo of climate alarmist Gov. Janet Mills and useful climate dupe Machias Town Manager Bill Kitchen sent me to the keyboard. 

EAC’s Concert Series continues at 7 p.m., Friday, July 29, with a special family concert by Paul Biss, violin/viola, Miriam Fried Biss, violin, and Gregory Biss, piano, in celebration of the latter’s 80th birthday. The brothers Biss and sister-in-law Fried will play the Duo for Violin and Viola, K423, by Mozart; 10 Duos for Two Violins by Bartok; and the Sonata in C major for Piano and Violin, K296, by Mozart.

The Down East Community Hospital Auxiliary has adopted a new project — gardening.

Last year the auxiliary took on a new task. Members of the Gardening Committee are very hands-on in the hospital courtyard garden. This well-kept secret was in need of some loving care, and the members of the committee came to the rescue.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Locally famous for her twin passions of fighting cancer and rejuvenating the Jonesboro Grange, this week Rebekah Hodgson is taking her “Crush Cancer” message to a national audience at the 2022 Mrs. International Pageant.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Dr. Jim Sparaga’s Machias Dental practice has just expanded with the addition of two key people. Dr. Wyatt Jones, a dentist, and Hannah Jones, a dental hygienist, are now practicing in Machias.

“They’ve come to us from Oklahoma and have started working here for at least the coming year,” said Sparaga. “He’s just graduated from school and we’re developing a patient roster for him so that he can expand on his in-depth knowledge from the University of Oklahoma dental school.”

Eastport Arts Center will host a special gathering from 2-5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13, to celebrate the lives of Jean Wilhelm and Joyce Weber, whose artistic passions joined at the Arts Center. Cake, fruit, wine, and coffee will be offered, and there will be time for all to honor each of the ‘J.W.’s’. Community members are invited to come tell a favorite Joyce or Jean story, or if unable to attend, to please send their story by email or post to [email protected], or P.O. Box 153, Eastport, ME 04631.

by Jonathan Reisman

A number of readers have commented on recent columns and my impending retirement. Several have asked how and/or why I survived in the liberal academic environment for almost forty years. At least one is very pleased with my departure, having recently threatened to write to the University of Maine System Chancellor and UM/UMM President demanding my immediate termination (I sent them the necessary e-mail addresses and told them to get in line). 

by Nancy Beal

By a vote of 201 to 91, voters in Jonesport on July 20 rejected a six-month moratorium on commercial aquaculture facilities that would have stalled, if not killed, a plan by Kingfish Maine to build and operate a $100 million land-based fish-growing facility on the town’s eastern shore. The moratorium was backed by a small but vocal group of fishermen, environmentalists, and lobbyists backed by the family corporation that owns the Roque Island group in Chandler Bay east of the proposed fish plant.