At the end of June, Donna Damon, 65, will retire from Greely High School in Cumberland, where she works in a classroom helping students deemed average to above-average achieve their full academic potential. She also will step down from serving as selectman on Chebeague Island.

For mainland fishermen, the slow turnover is a nuisance. But for a small island community, it could mean the end of a way of life.

Changes in the works to ferry and school policies, though unrelated, could impact residents of the Casco Bay islands.

The $1.1 million property, for which the town has paid $810,000 for a purchase option, includes a wharf, two-story building, launch ramp and more than a half acre of harbor-front land in the heart of the village, just beyond the Port Clyde General Store.

Apparently Seattle is fining people who toss food waste instead of composting it. It's about darn time.

I indicated Bruce was "un pescatore," and one of the men mimed using a fly fishing rod. "No," I said, but then I was at a loss. Saying "lobster" and opening and closing my hands like claws definitely did not translate!

If asked to name the most ethnically diverse towns in Maine few people would list Milbridge, a community in Washington County where 6 percent of the population and 24 percent of the elementary school students are Hispanic or Latino. Most would talk about the issues facing Portland or Lewiston.

Town meeting is a celebration at best, or a tense endurance test at worst. Sometimes, it's both. It really depends on what seat you're in.

Sailing Ships Portland has announced a new maritime festival expected to bring tens of thousands of people and a fleet of tall ships to Portland's waterfront this summer. The festival, "Iberdrola USA Tall Ships Portland 2015," will take place from July 18-20 on the Maine State Pier, Maine Wharf and at the Ocean Gateway Terminal.