Maine Class A Girls Soccer Camden Hills vs. Brewer 9/6/2024
Watch this Maine Class A Girls Soccer season-opening game between the Windjammers of Camden Hills and the Witches of Brewer. This game was played at Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport on Friday, September 6, 2024. The broadcast crew play-by-play announcer was Charlie Crockett, statistician Dave Ridley, and sports videographer Penny Crockett.
Watts Hall Community Arts Presents: International Talk Like a Pirate Day Concert with The Shank Painters
Thomaston, Maine—Set sail for a night of musical adventure as Watts Hall Community Arts hosts a special International Talk Like a Pirate Day Concert featuring The Shank Painters on Saturday, September 14th, at 6:30 pm. This lively, all-ages event will take place at...
A New War in Ukraine
There are lots of moving parts in the Ukraine War right now, so let’s do a little recap of everything that’s going on. There are four big ones…
First up is the Ukrainian Offensive in Kursk. One of my recent videos covered this in more detail, but essentially the Ukrainians have poked into Russian territory and caused significant Russian casualties, destroyed a number of bridges, and cut off key supply lines. They are also bringing some heavy artillery and equipment along with them that will impact the front lines.
Union Fair Coronation of the Maine Wild Blueberry Queen 2024
Watch this video of the coronation of the 2024 Maine Wild Blueberry Queen Rose Fishman and the Maine Wild Blueberry Crown Princess Cassidy Novika.
Can the Six-Day Work Week Save Greece?
We’re all aware of Greece’s economic struggles over the past few decades, but that instability has been amplified by demographic problems. As the Greek government attempts to balance out economic activity (made up of consumption, production, capital and labor), they’ve chosen labor as the factor that will have to compromise. Obviously a six-day work week is going to piss off some people, but what else can they do?
Seal Island sees record number of breeding puffins
Seal Island, which sits 21 miles off Rockland, was once home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the Gulf of Maine. It is now managed by the Audubon Seabird Institute, and was the second island that Audubon’s Project Puffin restored puffins to after a century’s absence spurred by hunting in the late 1800s. The first was Eastern Egg Rock, six miles off Pemaquid Point.
Both islands were seeded with puffin chicks brought from Newfoundland. Puffins began breeding anew on Eastern Egg Rock in 1981 and Seal Island in 1992.
In Wells, Maine, a ghost forest rises
The Little River winds through the Wells Reserve marsh, which is part of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. Unlike many marshes along the Maine coast that have a rocky barrier to the ocean, the Wells Reserve marsh is fronted by a sand beach, which makes it...
Gulf of Maine lobsters are experiencing a housing crisis
“The warming sea temperatures have actually created a real sweet spot for lobster reproduction,” said Brian Skerry, a National Geographic photographer and producer on the recent GBH/PBS series Sea Change, which explores the impact of climate change on the Gulf of Maine.
Skerry, who lives in York, has been diving in the Gulf of Maine since childhood. But when he began diving on the Isles of Shoals for his most recent project, he saw something he’d never seen before: lobsters crawling all over the bottom, digging foxholes in the sand.
“I wasn’t used to seeing that,” said Skerry. “Usually they’re tucked away in rocky crevices and dens.”
COASTLINE: Series and Progressions Exhibition and Artist Talk at Page Gallery
Opening Reception + Art Walk, August 15, 5-7 p.m. Simon van der Ven Artist Talk, September 8, 1 p.m. CAMDEN - Page Gallery is pleased to present COASTLINE: Series and Progressions, an exhibition of new work from Siri Beckman, Tom Curry, and Simon van der Ven. The show...
Can Ukraine Claim the Skies and Destroy Russian Air Defenses?
Ukraine is figuring out how to maximize the effectiveness of its weapons (both NATO-supplied and domestic), allowing them to strike deep within Russian territory. Some notable “hits” include destroying a strategic bomber and refinery, sinking a sub, and taking out numerous air defense systems.
Maine Lobster Festival Parade 2024 Rockland , Maine
Watch this video of the 2024 Maine Lobster Festival “Big Parade”, held Saturday, August 3, 2024 in Rockland, Maine. The parade featured Grand Marshall Rockland firefighter and policeman Lewis Metcalf, representatives from the US Coast Guard, from the Navy Vessel USS Gunston Hall, from the Air Force, Neptune and the 2024 Lobster Festival Delegate Adelaide Hendricks, numerous other dignitaries, 6 bands, antique vehicles, many commercial floats reflection the parade theme of “Through the Years”, “Rocky” the giant lobster, and much, much more.
Midcoast Maine Veterans Memorial Wall Ceremony 7/28/2024
Watch this video of the Dedication of Plaques being added to the Midcoast Maine Veterans Memorial Wall at the Winslow-Holbrook-Merritt American Legion Post Number One in Rockland, Maine. The ceremony was led by Dave Soulin and featured patriotic music by Bay Winds North directed by Marlene Hall. A large crowd attended to recognize the men and women whose plaques were dedicated that day in recognition of their service to our country.
Union Fair 2024 Part 2
Watch these highlights of the 2024 Union Fair, Part 2 . This episode includes the bike raffle, free Blueberry Pie Day, the Axe Women of Maine demonstration, kid’s pie eating contest, and the pig scramble. The final 2 episodes will feature the coronation of the Maine Wild Blueberry Queen and the Demolition Derby.
The Future of France and the EU
The EU was established to promote unity and peace, but times have changed and priorities have shifted. So, what does the future of the European Union look like and how does France fit into the mix?
The EU’s expansion throughout the years has involved integrating some diverse countries, at first for stability and later for economic and political strength. Recent challenges like Brexit, a financial crisis, and the Ukraine War have demanded a shift from an economic focus, to a political and military focus.
Union Fair 2024 Part 1
Watch these highlights of the 2024 Union Fair. Part I includes youth steer pulling, youth livestock showing, judging of Whoopie Pies and Maine Wild Blueberry Pies, the Axe Women of Maine demonstration, a tour of the Exhibition Hall featuring exquisite quilts, grange exhibits and a veterans exhibit, interviews with fair exhibiters, fair personnel, and the new Queen B’s Bakery providing all kinds of blueberry treats .
As ecotourism grows, so does the desire to maintain Downeast’s wild character
The roar of summer traffic on Route 1 as it zooms over the Pleasant River bridge in Columbia drowns out the burbling water below. The slip of river meandering under the road is easy to miss.
Even less visible is the Pleasant River Fish and Game Conservation Association, tucked among the dense woods a short drive, or paddle, away. But the volunteer club has been around since the 1950s, working to preserve and promote the region’s vast natural resources.
Later this month, the association will hold its annual Puckerbrush Primitive Gathering, where about 200 visitors from near and far will come to camp and learn traditional outdoor skills.
Italy Is Running out of Young People!
While the Italians may have mastered the arts of pasta, wine and gelato, they should have been spending less time in the kitchen and more in…another room. That’s right, we’re looking at the demographic problems facing Italy, and Genoa will be our example.
A Peter Ralston 4th of July
As sort of a follow-up to last week’s “hug from Maine,” here are my images from the Fourth. In a departure from my usual inclination to get as close as possible to fireworks, this year Terri and I took a picnic basket up nearby Mt. Battie to settle in for a restful couple of hours overlooking all of Penobscot Bay before the main event at 9PM.
Thomaston 4th of July Parade 2024
Watch this video of the 2024 Fourth of July Parade from Thomaston, Maine. The Grand Marshall was Sigrid Keyes , who has been a crossing guard and traffic cop in Thomaston for 50 years! Also honored in the parade were Mr. & Ms Thomaston – Joey Bell and Jillian Barnard – local high school graduates. The theme of the parade was “American Idols : A Tribute to Hometown Heroes and Celebrities”. As usual, the parade was full of floats, bands , and beautiful cars.
Maine households are worst offenders on food waste, according to DEP study
Every year, we waste the equivalent of more than 9,000 fully loaded semi-trailer trucks. Close to half of the solid waste stream in Maine is made up of organics, according to a study released by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in late May.
Where There’s Fireworks, There’s Usually Peter Ralston
As we approach Independence Day, let us all honor the true spirit of independence for all Americans and those who would become Americans. I freely admit to a life-long passion for everything about fireworks….in my old journalism days I photographed them across the country and abroad. There’s nothing about them that I don’t love…especially on the Fourth.
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Russians In Space…Or Not!
Previously, I talked about how Ukraine has been targeting Russian air infrastructure to prepare for the arrival of their F-16s. Well, Ukraine launched a rocket attack on occupied Crimea and destroyed some air defenses and one of Russia’s deep space satellites…
Preview of 2024 Union Fair & the Maine Wild Blueberry Festival July 7 – 14
Watch this video for a preview of the 2024 Union Fair and the Maine Wild Blueberry Festival, to be held this year from July 7 through July 14. Interviews with Rick Butler, head of publicity , Ryan Soule, acting president of Union Fair, and Casey Brown the 2023 Maine Wild Blueberry Queen will highlight the new format and schedule for this year. This program also includes a tour of the creative pumpkin decorations throughout the town of Damariscotta for their Pumpkin Festival last fall.
