Articles by Will Graff
Shellfish industry pins hope on Freeport research
By Will Graff, The Forecaster on May 21, 2013, at 6:15 a.m.
FREEPORT, Maine — Following a recent Town Council appropriation, the town’s shellfish community has started what is being called a “historic” effort to address the rapid disappearance of soft-shell clams. The effort is the first comprehensive, large-scale research project in Maine to study the most significant factors believed to be ...
First day of school in Portland falls on Rosh Hashana
PORTLAND, Maine — Jewish students in the city’s public schools will have to choose between attending the first day of school in September and worshipping on the Jewish New Year. Jewish community leaders said they have been playing catch-up since the school board approved the 2013-2014 school calendar in April. ...
Falmouth 14-year-old a finalist to have artwork shown on Google home page
FALMOUTH, Maine — A Falmouth Middle School student is a finalist to have his artwork displayed on Google’s home page. Eighth-grader Joseph Han learned at a surprise assembly Wednesday morning that he is one of 50 students, one from every state, selected by Google to move to the next round ...
Head of Freeport shellfish task force resigns after council meeting
FREEPORT, Maine — A comprehensive study of the town’s dwindling shellfish resources has been put on hold for at least another week and may be scaled back significantly or scrapped altogether. On Tuesday, the Town Council balked again at spending money already appropriated for the project. The action came after ...
Cape Elizabeth High School robotics team finishes among the world’s best
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — After earning their way to the robotics world championship for the fourth consecutive year, the Cape Elizabeth High School robotics team came within reach of victory last week. As the only Maine team that qualified for the competition, juniors Anthony Castro and Luke Dvorozniak battled their ...
Court: Private cameras at ‘Secret Beach’ in Cape Elizabeth do not violate beachgoers’ privacy rights
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — In the latest, incremental sign of progress in the long-running dispute over access to Maxwell Point Beach, Maine’s highest court has ruled it’s OK for a resident to use surveillance cameras to monitor the easement to the privately owned beach. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled April ...
Shrapnel, blood and white noise: Falmouth woman injured in attack recalls explosion
FALMOUTH, Maine — A Falmouth High School graduate is recovering at her parent’s home after she was injured in the Patriot’s Day terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon. The bomb that went off near the finish line on Boylston Street in Boston killed three people and injured more than 170. ...
Predator beetles to be released in southern Maine parks to fight other bugs
FREEPORT, Maine — Wolfe’s Neck State Park has an unwanted visitor. It’s small, white, fluffy and likes trees, specifically hemlocks. So much so that it kills them. The hemlock woolly adelgid is a tiny, cotton-ball-looking insect that is attacking hemlock forests along Maine’s coast. In a move to subvert the ...
Yarmouth woman who fired starting gun at marathon says ‘perfect day’ turned to ‘chaos’
YARMOUTH, Maine — Rosalie Baker-Brown fired the starting gun at the Boston Marathon on Monday, something she has done many times since the mid-1990s. Now 85, Baker-Brown has been intimately involved in the race for decades. She grew up in Hopkinton, Mass., where the marathon begins, and married into the ...
Mt. Ararat High School grad describes ‘surreal’ scene near where bombs went off
BOSTON, Mass. — Two bombs exploded on packed streets Monday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, something a Mainer who witnessed the explosions described as “surreal” and “like a movie.” Casey Pola, who works on and lives near Boylston Street, where the first bomb went off, said she ...
Freeport aims to cut capital spending in half
FREEPORT, Maine — Facing a potential loss of $850,000 in state aid, the Town Council Tuesday night indicated it remains committed to keeping the new capital improvement budget lean. The proposed capital budget for fiscal 2014 is about $1 million, significantly less than this year’s budget of nearly $2 million. ...
North Yarmouth Academy to merge with Freeport school, offer younger grades for first time in near 200-year history
YARMOUTH, Maine — North Yarmouth Academy will expand its grade offerings for the first time in its nearly 200-year history to include instruction below fifth grade. The academy announced Thursday that it will merge with Freeport’s Meadowbrook Montessori School to offer primary education for children from 2 1/2 years old ...
Counting on ‘miracles’: Cape Elizabeth couple hit hard by recession, terminal cancer
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — Greg Bokor walked around his kitchen searching for something in the pantry while quietly listening to his wife, Maggie, describe the past few tumultuous years of their lives — wrecked by the recession, compounded by terminal illness. Maggie said they moved to Maine from Maryland in ...
Yarmouth opposition kills island ferry legislation
YARMOUTH, Maine — After strong opposition from the community, a bill that would have allowed the Chebeague Island ferry system to form a public transit district is dead. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steve Moriarty, D-Cumberland, said he withdrew the bill after hearing neighbors of the ferry dock on Cousins Island ...
Administrators forced to take furlough days in proposed Freeport-area school budget
FREEPORT, Maine — Higher costs and state curtailments frame the Regional School Unit 5 budget laid out by administrators Tuesday night. The fiscal 2014 budget proposal calls for a 2.58 percent increase to $25.6 million, or about $645,000 more than this year, with Pownal and Durham seeing significant tax increases ...
Federal aid little relief for southern Maine budgets buried by snow costs
PORTLAND, Maine — Federal aid is on the way to municipalities in four Maine counties hit by a February blizzard. The immensity of the Feb. 8 storm stretched public works winter operations budgets thin, with many towns now operating on reserves. A survey of cities and towns in southern Maine ...
Tracy wins Freeport council seat in special election
FREEPORT, Maine — Sarah Tracy won Wednesday’s special election for the Town Council District 2 seat by a more than 2-1 margin. Tracy defeated Joyce Clarkson-Veilleux, 304-133, in the contest between political neophytes. Her election fills a vacancy created by the resignation in January of former Councilor Kate Arno. Tracy ...
Fort Williams Park fails to attract food vendors
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — No one applied for the only available Fort Williams Park food vendor license before the deadline passed last week. The town hopes to find another ice cream vendor to replace Gorgeous Gelato, whose owners decided not to return after last year, leaving a vacancy in the ...
POLL QUESTION
Cape Elizabeth bans ‘filthy, vile habit’ of chew tobacco for town employees at work
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — Chewing tobacco is now outlawed for town employees during work, after complaints it is a “filthy, vile habit.” Under the ban, town employees can no longer chew tobacco in town-owned vehicles or buildings. Visitors are also barred from chewing in town buildings. The ban, unanimously approved ...
Island residents worry that ferry service will be empowered to take private land, subvert town rules
YARMOUTH, Maine — The private Chebeague Transportation Co. is moving closer to becoming a public transit district, despite meeting resistance from neighbors on Cousins Island. Some Cousins residents fear a bill to create a public transit district, which would replace Chebeague Island’s current for-profit ferry system, could give the district ...
LePage tells legislative leaders he’s moving out of State House because of ‘censorship’
Nichole Cable’s friends, family attend accused killer’s emotionally charged court appearance
Lincoln’s Coffee Pot Cafe shuts its doors
Maine Sports Hall of Fame member, DJ Dana Wilson convicted of child pornography possession
Community members rally in memory of Nichole Cable; events, fundraisers planned
Rep. Diane Russell’s fool’s errand
The scramble to fill the 2nd District seat if Mike Michaud runs for governor
How the omnibus energy bill will benefit Maine
Governor Veto
Goodwin steps down as Brewer High School boys basketball coach
Tommy Lawrence pitches UMaine baseball to victory in first America East tournament game
Garcia sorry after ‘stupid’ Woods fried chicken jibe
Live Updates: UMaine baseball vs. Binghamton in America East championship
Live updates: UMaine baseball vs. Stony Brook at America East Championship
Maine School of Science and Mathematics alumni drawn to give back to magnet school
Federal agencies eye return to restored historic Custom House in Portland
It’s hard to keep secrets from a friend who is clairvoyant
New York City rumble showcases Maine’s lobster roll dominance