The Taffetas are (l. to r.) Rebecca Rene Kelley, Tracy Sokat, Natalie Bellamy, and Sara Sargent. (Photo by Roger S. Duncan)

Maine State Music Theatre will present “The Taffetas” for one day only at the Pickard Theater in Brunswick on Monday, August 14 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., with a special additional performance at the Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston on Monday, August 25 at 7:30 p.m. This will be the first time that Maine State Music Theatre stages a performance in Lewiston, and tickets for the Lewiston performance will be offered at a special price of $10 to $15.

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Taking part in the press conference announcing the agreement were (l. to r.) St. Dom’s sophomore Robbie Dick, Lisbon H.S. senior Noah Buiniskas, Head Football Coach Chris Kates, Lisbon H.S. Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Eric Hall, and St. Dom’s Dean of Students and Athletics J.P. Yorkey.

Saint Dominic Academy announced at a press conference recently that it is has reached a cooperative agreement with Lisbon High School and the Maine Principals’ Association to allow St. Dom’s students to play football on the Lisbon High School team. The cooperative agreement begins this fall and is open to new and returning students.

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U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King this week released the following statement on health care reform:

“During the course of the past year, we met with thousands of people across our state to discuss ways to improve our health care system.

“We held forums with consumers, health care providers, and employers; hosted large and small group meetings; met with rural nursing home and hospital executives; and consulted with insurance regulators, actuaries, and other experts. We spoke with Mainers everywhere from parades, to grocery store aisles, to airports, to workplaces, to our Maine and D.C. offices about the challenges they faced under the current system and what impact the Senate health care bill would have on their access to affordable health care.

“After months of conversations and research, we both reached the same inescapable conclusion that the Senate health care bill would have been extremely harmful to our state, particularly to our most vulnerable populations, including children with disabilities and low-income seniors.

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If Washington insiders were forced to use the failing ObamaCare system, they would think twice about the gridlock they are causing right now.

Dear Maine Taxpayer,

U.S. Senators like Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are enjoying Cadillac health insurance plans while they are mandating Americans ride a moped. They are so busy seeking the national limelight, they are ignoring the people in their own state.

Quite simply, ObamaCare is collapsing because it is unaffordable. Premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed, and private insurers are fleeing states, leaving fewer options for the individual marketplace.

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By Robert E. Macdonald

Mayor of Lewiston

I began this week’s column with tears in my eyes. I write with both sadness and raging hate within my heart. Big Brother has won.

Little 11-month-old Charlie Gard had been removed from his government’s life-support system. He died on Friday, a day after he was transferred to a hospice facility.

I write this while gazing at a picture of little Charlie, peacefully asleep in his government hospital bed, tubes up his little nose and a little stuffed monkey resting on the chest of his little body. This little angel has been deemed by a bunch of government bureaucrats, many who have never laid eyes on this child, as not worth the expense of taxpayers’ dollars to save him.

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Participating in the Achieving the Dream conferences earlier this year were (l. to r.) mathematics instructor John Wallace, Dean of Student Services Nick Hamel, nursing program chair Kathy McManus, Director of Institutional Research Ron Bolstridge, Dean of Academic Affairs Betsy Libby, Humanities Department chair Ethel Bowden, Assoc. Dean of Academic Affairs Anne St. Pierre, and business instructor Mike Henry.

Central Maine Community College has joined Achieving the Dream. a network of more than 220 colleges in 39 states dedicated to improving student success. As an ATD Network institution, CMCC will work closely with national experts over the next three years to implement evidence-based approaches for improving student outcomes.

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This high-speed race that runs circuits around Kennedy Park will benefit Meals on Wheels at SeniorsPlus. 

The second annual Auburn-Lewiston Rotary Club Criterium will take place on Sunday, August 6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kennedy Park in Lewiston. Proceeds from the bike race will benefit Meals on Wheels at SeniorsPlus. There is no charge to watch the race, and parking in the downtown area is free of charge on Sundays.

Bicycle racers from across New England will test themselves on a fast, technical .6-mile loop around the streets bordering Kennedy Park. There will be eight distinct races throughout the day, ranging from 20 to 60 minutes long. Top speeds will approach 40 mph on sections of the course. 

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The third annual Summer Block Party to benefit Make-a-Wish Maine, co-hosted by Uncle Andy’s Digest, the City of Auburn, and Mac’s Grill, will take place outdoors at Mac’s Grill in Auburn on Saturday, August 12, from 1 to 9:30 p.m. This fun-filled, family-friendly event will feature Mac’s renowned food, music and dancing, and a Kids’ Zone that will include a 95-foot inflatable obstacle course, Mr. Drew and His Animals Too, face painting, a magician, and more. The evening will end with fireworks at 9 p.m. Local Make-a-Wish families are invited to attend as guests of honor.

What started two years ago as an Anniversary Bash commemorating 20 years in print for Uncle Andy’s Digest has turned into the largest fundraising event for Make-A-Wish Maine. Due to the success of the Summer Block Party, seven wishes were granted in those two years to local kids battling life-threatening illnesses. Thanks to the support of local businesses and other agencies, the event is here to stay.

“Every aspect of last year’s event exceeded our expectations,” said event founder Jim Marston of Uncle Andy’s Digest and the Make-a-Wish Maine board of directors. “The L/A community always steps up when asked to help, and we are so proud to be a part of that.”

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Among those scheduled to perform in the free Saturday Music Expo is the popular Lindsey Montana.

The Paris Hill Music Festival has added a full day of free live music to its schedule of main stage concerts taking place Thursday through Saturday, August 10 through 13, at the First Baptist Church of Paris. The Saturday Music Expo on August 12 will feature free 30-minute concerts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Common, located at the top of Paris Hill next to First Baptist Church. Parking for the event will also be free of charge. The day’s activities will take place rain or shine and the public is invited to come enjoy this celebration of music.

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COLAC, the grassroots organization that is leading the opposition in Lewiston and Auburn to the proposed consolidation of both cities, has released a list of the many impacts it says the local residents will experience as the result of a consolidation proposed by the Joint Charter Commission of Lewiston and Auburn.

“We have analyzed all of the documents submitted to the city councils of both cities,” said C.O.L.A.C. Chairman Jim Howaniec, former mayor of Lewiston. “We see many troubling, expensive impacts that we believe the voters should understand before voting this November.”

The Impact Study has been published on COLAC’s website at www.colacmaine.org/impact-study.html

According to COLAC, here are the impacts, to name a few, that residents can expect to have to deal with in a consolidation:

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