In the past week, we've learned much more about the scale of the chemical spill at Brunswick Landing. It was the largest spill of toxic firefighting foam in the past 30 years in Maine, long before we knew the extent of the dangers of PFAS in our soil and watersheds.
More answers and fallout will be flowing in coming weeks and months. Keep an eye on The Times Record and Portland Press Herald for far more coverage.
Find more news, events and information online.
- Nick McCrea
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MORE NEWS
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Related to the spill, we spoke with several business owners in Brunswick Landing who expressed frustration about the slow trickle of information from Landing officials in the immediate aftermath of the spill. Customers have expressed worries about whether it was safe to enter the Landing or eat or drink at their establishments. The owners said they felt they had to be the ones to disseminate what they knew so far to the public, given the lack of communication from agencies involved. Read more about that here.
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A worker adjusts a colleague’s hazmat suit hood as crews cleaned up foam at Picnic Pond on Thursday, Aug. 22. Kristian Moravec / The Times Record
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In other news, Brunswick-based aerospace company bluShift is testing its rocket engine on Friday, so don't be surprised if you hear a loud roar for about 60 seconds.
We were bummed to learn this week that Joshua's Restaurant and Tavern, a downtown Brunswick institution for more than three decades, is closing its doors. The owners have decided to give up the lease so they can travel and take a break from the hospitality industry.
Another story that got a lot of people talking this week stemmed from a series of rent hikes at Bowdoin mobile home park purchased in 2021 by a New York real estate firm. These hikes come despite the fact that the taxes on the property dropped substantially in the past year. Residents say they're worried they can't afford the increases. The firm hasn't returned numerous requests for comment.
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PHOTO OF THE WEEK
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James Howe snapped this photo of a duck family making its way to the water in Bath. Have a photo you'd like to share in The Times Record newsletters? Send it to editor@timesrecord.com.
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THINGS TO DO
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Looking to blow off some stress and take time to admire your surroundings? Pinecone Studio in Brunswick is hosting a nature-drawing workshop. The cost is $40, which covers all instruction and materials.
Watch the dominos fall at Curtis Memorial Library, which is setting up a station for kids to play with dominos during library hours until the end of the month.
I love Indian cuisine, but don't know much about what makes these delectable dishes come together. This cooking class might be for me — and you. Maine Tasting Center in Wiscasset is hosting an Indian cooking workshop at 5:30 p.m. Friday. There's another session in October if you can't make this one. Tickets are $65.
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VISIT OUR EVENTS CALENDAR
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THE WAY IT WAS IN THE MIDCOAST
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Thumbing through some digital archive pages, I stumbled on an article previewing a 1977 Brunswick air show featuring the Blue Angels. The famed flight team has been flying the F-18 Hornet for a very long time, but one fact I (for some reason) know about the F-18 is
that it didn't enter service until the 1980s. This begged the question: What did the Blue Angels fly before the F-18?
The answer is the much-less-impressive-but-decent-for-its-time A4 Skyhawk (pictured). The Blue Angels switched to the F-18 in 1986.
I hope that was interesting to some of you, at least. I'm a nerd.
Click here to read more on this story from 1977 from our archives on Newspapers.com.
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VISIT OUR ARCHIVES
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DON'T FORGET ABOUT
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With questions and misinformation circulating about the recent firefighting foam spill at Brunswick Landing, the town is hosting a public information session to go over everything we know so far — and to outline what we don't. Town officials will be joined by Midcoast lawmakers and state officials involved in the vast cleanup effort.
Spend some time catching up on all our reporting about the spill at pressherald.com before you attend.
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Nick McCrea is editor of The Times Record. Prior to his move to the Midcoast, Nick worked for a decade as a reporter at the Bangor Daily News, including a stint covering the northern portion of the Midcoast based in Belfast.
He's a graduate of the University of Maine and Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications. In his "free time" he and his partner, Nyssa, run a doggy daycare and try to keep track of their own two dogs, two cats and four sheep.
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