Representatives of the Maine Department of Transportation met with South Bristol residents July 14, to discuss plans to replace the town’s historic swing bridge.

Alan Burgess, the former Boothbay elementary school teacher, pleaded guilty July 15 to possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 12 years old.

Damariscotta police are asking for the public’s help identifying the driver who left the scene of an accident in the parking lot of McDonald’s restaurant July 7 around 6:10 p.m.

The Town of Wiscasset held a double-bash Sunday as hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown to celebrate the 4th of July holiday and the 250th birthday of Lincoln County. The crowd was entertained by a grand parade of cars and characters from all 250 years of Wiscasset’s history. From Sheriff Todd Brackett’s horse-backed procession in 18th century costume to the raising of Old Glory in front of the Wiscasset Middle School, those who attended Sunday’s festivities were inspired by the celebration of both town and country.

Westport Island residents support the use of private, but not commercial wind turbines, and support the use of tidal turbines, but split on commercial tidal turbines in the results of a survey distributed at the June 19 Town Meeting.

Whitefield selectman Sue McKeen reported she had spoken with a Maine Revenue Services official about a resident’s request that an ad hoc committee be appointed to set local tax policy. McKeen said she was told policy is set through the Legislature. “Even an advisory group is a slippery slope,” she said. “The town can’t set policy, the state does it.”

After doing the math, the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen raised the town’s mil rate from 13.4 to 14 at their July 21 meeting.

A party in Edgecomb July 16 celebrated the completion of a fiber optic line making high speed Internet available to residents of McKay and River Roads.

Join Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) tomorrow, July 17 at 3 p.m. for a tour of the Pownalborough Courthouse in Dresden.

The Damariscotta River Association’s annual meeting will take place Sun., July 11.

Throngs of locals and tourists flooded into Round Pond July 4, sitting on stone walls, blankets and lawn chairs or standing to watch (or occasionally join) the famously irreverent Round Pond parade.

A state-contracted employee left a puppy unattended in a sealed car June 22 at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, according to hospital officials. The puppy was left in the car for five hours, during which time it died from heat exhaustion.

The Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund “Circuitbreaker” Program for property tax and rent paid will start accepting applications beginning Aug. 1. The program provides refunds of up to $1600 to single-member households making not more than $64,950 or, for those living with a spouse or dependents, not more than $86,600.

The First has donated $500 in continued sponsorship of Pemaquid Watershed Association’s (PWA) Doyle Preserve in Damariscotta. In 2004, The First became the very first business to sign on with PWA’s Adopt-a-Trail program, which supports PWA’s land trust work.