The distance between the Stone Wharf on Chebeague Island and the Cousins Island landing is just 1.7 miles. But over the 30 years that the Islander ferry has been making the daily runs, she has logged enough miles to take her to the moon and halfway home.

Andy’s Old Port Pub is locally famous for having music every night of the week. Owners and Great Diamond Island residents Rick Frantz and Jennifer Fox’s support music draws performers from all over the state, country and occasionally beyond.

The fastest-growing county in Maine between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014, was Cumberland, whose population rose 0.67 percent over the period. Cumberland was followed by York (0.62 percent), Knox (0.22 percent), Waldo (0.19 percent) and Kennebec (0.04 percent).

The Casco Bay Lines company, which provides ferry service to the island, reports that for the period from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014, 675,044 passengers disembarked at Peaks. Casco Bay Lines carried a total of 946,184 passengers that year, with the approximately 300,000 others landing on Great Diamond, Cliff, Long or Chebeague islands, or staying aboard for the scenic cruises the company offers.

It will be a spring like no other in the small oceanside community of Ogunquit, after voters passed an ordinance in November banning the use of non-organic pesticides and herbicides on private lands. Voters passed a similar ban on synthetic pesticide and herbicide use on public lands in 2009. The new private-use ban went into effect Jan. 1.

It's early March as I write, and snow is still piled up to the crotch of the pin cherry tree. But you may be reading this in early April, and I hope you'll permit me to do a little fantasizing about what it might be like, a month from now.

If someone you loved was struggling with feelings of sadness, would you do anything? If your friend's drinking had crossed the line, would you know what to say?

There is a way to know how to respond, and it doesn't require years of education. In fact, it only takes eight hours.

Half of West Street, less than a mile long, comprises mansions going back two centuries and today listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lower end, with a lower-income history and once called "Peanut Row," was likely developed to provide worker housing for summer businesses, according to the Bar Harbor Historical Society.

With summer (believe it or not) approaching, many coastal communities are gearing up for road projects. Increasingly, these projects incorporate components for bicyclists, but coastal towns and cities often have to get creative to make their communities bicycle friendly.