By Paul Sylvain

Machiasport residents, who on June 24 voted down a commercial aquaculture ordinance, will get to vote on an amended, less restrictive version of that ordinance sometime this fall. 

That’s following a plea to reconsider the ordinance by Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Executive Director Crystal Canney at the July 22 selectboard meeting.

By Nancy Beal

By Paul Sylvain

According to Machiasport Harbor Master David Cale, the town has a decades-old maritime ordinance that is largely ignored by the town's commercial fishermen and lacks any teeth for enforcement.

Cale met with the town’s selectboard on July 22 to discuss his frustration over dealing with such things as mooring registrations and inspections that are required by the ordinance but not being followed. 

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation has awarded The Joy Fund, a barrier removal program administered by the Community Caring Collaborative (CCC), $5,500 to support more first-time home buyers scheduling home inspections of their prospective dream home in Washington County.  

MOTHERS Art & Antique Gallery is delighted to announce their next exhibition, “From the Hudson to the Pleasant River,” featuring the paintings of David Vosburgh and Richard Bazelow, which will open with an Artists’ Reception on Sunday, Aug. 4, from 4-6 p.m., and will be on display until Aug. 24.

By Paul Sylvain

Whitneyville, Maine, is the last place on earth you’d expect to meet an alligator, but on July 20, a group of eager children were introduced to one by Whitneyville Library’s storyteller Monique Smith.

By Jayna Smith

Beginning Aug. 1, new rules will be in effect relating to dogs entering or returning to the United States.  These depend on where the dog has been in the six months before entering the U.S. and where it received its rabies vaccination, if required, all in an effort to prevent rabies-infected canines from entering the U.S.  

by Jonathan Reisman

One of my favorite courses was demography, the study of human populations. Demographers draw on statistics and a broad swath of both the natural and social sciences, including economics, sociology, geography, political science, biology, psychology, and medicine. Demography starts with a deceptively simple mathematical identity: Change in Population= Births-Deaths+ Net Migration. Therein lie some of the most sensitive and freedom consequential policy areas: fertility, mortality, and immigration/emigration.

By Will Tuell

Whether it’s general manager Kaci Leighton’s friendly smile, her crew’s care and attention to detail, or the delicious variety of freshly made subs, sandwiches, and baked goods, Coastal Subs in Pembroke has quickly “made waves” as Downeasters say, in the nine months the Mom-and-Pop sub shop has been serving travelers up and down Route 1. 

The story of one Israeli hostage and his 3-year-old granddaughter

By Anav Silverman Peretz

A few weeks ago, I was sitting with my family at McDonald's on the way back home to our home in the Negev desert after a visit with our in-laws in Raanana. Our kids were munching on French fries, while my husband went to get our order. I watched Israelis, young and old, sitting together in the American fast food chain, quite popular in Israel.

By Paul Sylvain

A discussion at the regular meeting of Washington County commissioners on July 11 has brought to light a troubling trend facing the county’s sheriff’s office and perhaps law enforcement agencies around the state when looking to purchase new cruisers.

“We have a slight problem as far as trying to purchase vehicles,” Washington County Sheriff Barry Curtis told commissioners. “We sent out all that paperwork, and nobody responded from all over the state.”

By Will Tuell

Audrey Currier and the Machias Area Little League 10U softball squad dug themselves a hole in the District 1 Little League tournament two weeks ago, losing 9-3 against Ellsworth, before going on a historic do-or-die run that saw the underdog Shiretown girls win back-to-back-to-back games -- including two against their Hancock County nemesis in stunning, nail-biting fashion last Tuesday to punch their ticket to the state tourney which began this past weekend. 

By Will Tuell

Longtime dispatcher Karen Redman of Marshfield retired from the Washington County Regional Communications Center in Machias on July 6 after fifteen years of sending out police, fire, and ambulance services to emergencies across the Sunrise County on a full-time basis. 

By Nancy Beal

A recent die-off of penned salmon in Eastern Bay, the body of water between the islands that make up the town of Beals to the west and Jonesport’s Head Harbor Island to the east, became the immediate topic of conversation among the towns’ lobstermen, for whom the bay is a popular fishing ground, when it began June 20. At the Beals selectmen’s July 9 meeting, Glenda Beal reported on the inquiries that she had made of the parties involved.

Becomes Latest Town to Adopt Home-Grown Solar Ordinance

By Paul Sylvain

In about the time it takes to brew some coffee and scramble up some eggs and lobster, around 40 East Machias residents met and quickly passed the town’s 43-article annual town meeting warrant June 29.

The meeting moved swiftly toward adjournment some 34 minutes after it started, thanks to consolidating into single votes the bulk of the school, and later town, budgets.

By Paul Sylvain

The outdoor stage overlooking the series of rapids and falls from which Machias earned its Abenaki name comes alive with nine weeks of smokin’ hot bands and cool tunes beginning with Hot Velvet on July 11.

Yes, the Bad Little Falls Park Summer Concert Series is back and better than ever for its fourth straight year. From rock and blues to Americana, folk, and more, the lineup for 2024 features a broad variety of musical styles and genres. 

By Paul Sylvain

A group of volunteers, who earlier this year gave of their time and equipment to resolve a problem 11 years in the making, were honored at a June 25 ceremony at West Branch Farms in Machias. 

“I just wanted this group to get some much-deserved recognition,” Maine Game Warden Joe McBrine explained after the ceremony. “They should be proud of what they did, and I am sure our community will appreciate hearing about it.”

One of those volunteers was Justin Albee, who explained it best.

by Jonathan Reisman

I spent our 248th birthday in Cooper, eschewing parades and politics to marinate in memories, both happy and haunting. This past year of personal bereavement, filial weddings, and political angst has left me both pensive and emotional, occasionally even teary-eyed. I cycled through many years of July 4th memories, searching for solace and optimism.

By Wayne Smith

On July 18 at 7 p.m., the Milbridge Theatre will be bringing Sam Lardiner and the Group Barcelona all the way from Barcelona, Spain, to town. 

“The concert is at the Milbridge Theatre & Community Arts Center Auditorium and will be our first time hosting an international group,” Richard Bondurant said. “Sam and his group are like James Taylor, Paul Simon, and Lyle Lovett meet the Gypsy Kings, and they all go for a musical joyride.” 

By Will Tuell

After 32 years wearing a uniform for the Maine Forest Service, rising from a field Ranger to one of the highest-ranking officers in the 66-man agency and becoming one of a handful of individuals around the country certified to manage air responses to some of the biggest wildfires and natural disasters across the country, Marion Township’s Jeff Currier signed off for the last time June 28. 

By Wayne Smith

Cherryfield Days is this Friday and Saturday (July 5-6), and I could tell that a lot of people had the fever for it ahead of time and wanted to talk about some of their favorite memories about the town’s annual celebration. Cherryfield is a town with a lot of spirit and pride, that came through loud and clear when I spoke with people about it. This is some of what they had to say. 

by Jonathan Reisman

I stayed up way past my usual bedtime to watch the Presidential debate and take in the reaction and the spin.  One good friend, aware of my angst over this election and the polarized state of the country, asked me as the debate concluded, “Were you impressed?” to which I responded, “Not with anyone there actually.” Perhaps that was a little (but only a little) bit unfair. They all actually exceeded my low expectations.