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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
The evidence room at the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in Portland is bursting with firearms that were confiscated, found or otherwise turned over to the law enforcement agency.
“We have a really strict, really specific way that we deal with all firearms, which is probably at this point, the bane of our existence,” Detective Keith Cook told The Maine Monitor. “They’re very difficult to work with. They’re a problem to store.”
He estimated the office has at least 600 guns that have been there at least two years.
“We’re to the point where we’re pretty much out of space to store firearms right now,” he said.
The Second Annual Rockport Donut Festival was a big success! Watch this video for Festival highlights and interviews. Among the events covered here are the Donut Dash 5 K Fun Run, The Donut Festival Parade, Live Music by the Bay Winds North Breakers directed by Marlene Hall, Homemade Donut Contest (winner = “The North End” – featured picture above), Food Trucks, and interviews with Town Manager Jon Duke, Harbor Master Abbie Leonard, Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley, Committee Member Megan Griffin, Homemade Donut Contest Competitor Maynard Stanley, and local historian & geneaologist Carole Starr. If you missed the 2024 Festival, be sure to attend the event in 2025 located on beautiful Rockport Harbor.
A week ago today we headed up the bay to Islesboro Island where I am honored to be showing this summer at the lovely little Double Door Gallery. My wife, Terri, our gallery manager, Sandee, her partner, Sean, and I all needed a perfect day on the water and, boy!, did we ever pick a good one!! Oh, and we took our beloved Lab, Jenny, with us…in all, an absolutely sublime day!