The First Bancorp (Nasdaq: FNLC) has announced unaudited results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, with earnings per share on a fully diluted basis of $1.44, up $0.10 or 7.5 percent from the $1.34 reported for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.

Kelly and Scott Belanger opened In the Clover on Main St. in Wiscasset last May because, Kelly said, she saw many small stores selling great products up and down the coast, but none that offered everything in one place.

When John O’Connell became county administrator Dec. 12, he was no stranger to county affairs, having been commissioner and involved in creating the position.

Now he has the task of doing what he thought a county commissioner should be doing; administering the county’s business in as efficient and cost-effective manner as possible.

Last week the Great Salt Bay (GSB), Bristol and South Bristol school boards held public hearings before their regular meetings as part of the process required by the recently enacted legislation. The hearings gave parents, teachers, and community members an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed Alternative Organization Structure (AOS).

Auditors for Wiscasset’s 2008 finances who have completed investigation of missing funds said it would have been impossible to detect in past audits.

A dispute over property classification in Bremen has a local landowner and an ordinance review committee leader butting heads.

Maine realtors sold 22.56 percent fewer existing single family homes in Nov. 2008 compared to the same month in 2007.

The increasing number of fatal police shootings, including the shooting death of a Waldoboro teenager in 2007, and a subsequent legal justification by the Maine Attorney General’s Office have caused local legislators to propose the formation of a police shooting review panel.

The closure of a section of Charleston Correctional Facility and a reduction in state payments to hospitals were on a track toward being spared last week as legislative committees scrutinized spending cuts proposed by Gov. John Baldacci.

Alexa Oliver and Joey Hopkins of Damariscotta are pleased to announce the arrival of a baby girl, Mackenzie Lee Hopkins.

In polling Jan. 27, voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposed Alternative Organization System (AOS) proposed for 11 Lincoln County towns but enough voters approved the measure that a local AOS will still be formed.

Snowfall will begin on Weds. morning in Lincoln County and should increase steadily through the day, becoming heavy at times during the afternoon and evening hours, according to the most recent Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service (NWS). The potential exists for significant snowfall accumulating to 8-12 inches by late Weds. night, according to the NWS. There is also a possibility that the snowfall will mix with sleet as temps warm in the late afternoon and evening hours, especially along immediate coastal areas and peninsulas in Lincoln County, according to the NWS bulletin.

A Northern Hawk Owl, normally found in the boreal forests of Alaska and Canada, made its way to Bristol and attracted quite a crowd of people from Maine and beyond this week.

Protecting one of Maine’s most valuable natural resources – its forests – was the focus of the majority of testimony given Wednesday on Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to end the fiscal year in the black.