Judge Finds ‘Free’ Upland Easement Road Offer Anything but, Instead More Costly, Complex

By Paul Sylvain

The eminent domain portion of a years-long lawsuit against the town of Machiasport by Starboard district property owners Carmine and Christine DeFalco, and their neighbor, Paula and her late husband Michael Aschettino, was decided in favor of the town, in a highly detailed, 17-page ruling issued July 30, by Maine Business and Consumer Court Judge Michael A. Duddy. 

By Paul Sylvain

It’s still anybody’s guess whether the Town of Machiasport will grant Kenny Faas a resident clamming license, even after the select board’s members revisited the question on July 28, and following a non-binding vote three nights later by the town’s “clam committee”, as the shellfish conservation committee is referred to locally.

By Paul Sylvain

What’s in a name? Quite a lot, especially if it’s an award that recognizes public sector employers “who maintain an exemplary safety and health management system, reflecting a strong commitment to workplace safety.”

And it is especially noteworthy when the award’s recipient is entrusted with the assisted living needs and care of up to 30 proud military veterans who served our great nation, oftentimes during periods of conflict, such as during the Vietnam War. Spouses of eligible veterans may also qualify for care at the homes.

Join us from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, for the Walking Tour of Historic Machias Architecture with Porter Memorial Library Board President Allison Paprock. This tour is supported by a Revitalize ME grant from Maine Downtown Center, in partnership with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

The library building and Last Page Honesty Bookstore will be closed Aug. 14-16 during our annual book sale. The book sale will be held indoors, at the Machias Savings Bank Community Room, in conjunction with the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival.

By Will Tuell

Depending on the day, anywhere between 150 and 175 children, aged 4 to 12, flocked to Larrabee Baptist Church in Machiasport last week for what has become the pre-eminent Vacation Bible School, or VBS, in Downeast Maine. From a numbers standpoint, the school, organized by several area evangelical churches in the greater Machias area, was a success. 

By Jayna Smith

The Maine Warden Service recovered the bodies of two fishermen in Baileyville after their boat was found drifting unattended on Grand Falls Flowage.

Officials were alerted Friday afternoon, Aug. 8, when an unoccupied boat was spotted drifting with its motor running and fishing lines in the water, but no one on board.

Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME-02) is supporting the Securing Ports and America’s Commerce and Economy (CBP SPACE) Act, which would prevent Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from offloading additional costs and responsibilities onto local ports while threatening closure for noncompliance. 

Eastport Port Authority, which Golden says is already shouldering many costs offloaded by CBP, is one of many ports across the country being strained by the agency’s moves.

By Paul Sylvain

If time is money, the long-delayed work on Sinclair Development Corporation’s self-storage facility on Dublin Street, Machias, must have cost owner Randy Sinclair a fortune in lost revenue and legal fees. 

Halted for the past nine months following the discovery of numerous critical violations to the permit originally approved by the town’s planning board on March 1, 2023, Sinclair received the planning board’s blessing on Aug. 6 to resume work on the storage facility. 

By Will Tuell

Twenty years ago last Friday — Aug. 15, 2005 — Maine Veterans Home in Machias opened its doors. In the two decades since, the residential care facility serving area veterans and their spouses has seen its share of ups and downs, from expansions and national awards to a worldwide pandemic and a near-closure three years ago after repeated warnings about the home’s financial woes. 

By Paul Sylvain

The Machias Selectboard voted on Aug. 13 to extend the current moratorium on new solar and wind farm applications an additional 180 days. The current moratorium, which began in March, was set to expire sometime in September.

The selectboard delegated the town’s planning board to draft the ordinances after the first moratorium was voted on nearly six months ago. Until the planning board’s meeting earlier this month, little had been done to begin work on the ordinances.

by Jonathan Reisman

By Paul Sylvain

And just like that, it was over. The 48th almost annual Machias Wild Blueberry Festival, that is. And what a festival it was.

Mother Nature even held off Sunday’s forecasted rains until after the live performances on the outdoor stage were finished and most of the festival’s vendors had packed up and were heading home or to their next festival stop away from Machias.

By Nancy Beal

“It’s utterly ridiculous!” was Paul Farnsworth’s opening salvo at the Aug. 13 meeting of Jonesport selectmen. His remark was aimed at any rebuilding effort the town might undertake on behalf of the old Cummins & Norton store in front of the firehouse and adjacent to his auto repair business in the part of town that used to be considered West Jonesport.

By Will Tuell

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, will be a solemn day for the family of slain Korean War soldier Oscar Sprague, who lost his life serving our country during the Korean War. Sprague, 22, was reported missing in action on Sept. 3, 1950, in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, and, until recently, remained unaccounted for. Now, 75 years later, Sprague’s hometown of Milbridge will welcome home their fallen hero with full military honors, funeral organizers said last week. 

by Jonathan Reisman

“Don’t it always seem to go,

That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?”

-- Joni Mitchell (Big Yellow Taxi)

Freedom Studies is going on hiatus while I ponder Joni Mitchell’s lyrics on my 69th birthday,

Including:

“I’ve looked at life from both sides now,

From up and down, and still somehow

It’s life’s illusions, I recall

I really don’t know life at all.”

-- Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now)