This week’s edition!
Archive for March 2018
Sol y Canto members perform at Bates this weekend
Rosi and Brian Amador will be joined on stage by their daughter Alisa, a member of the Class of 2018.
Puerto Rican-Argentine singer and percussionist Rosi Amador and New Mexican guitarist-composer Brian Amador – members of the Boston Music Award-winning pan-Latin musical ensemble Sol y Canto – will perform at Bates College on Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. For the event, the Amadors will be joined on stage by their daughter, Alisa, a member of the Bates College Class of 2018.
The concert will take place in the college’s Olin Arts Center Concert Hall at 75 Russell Street in Lewiston. Admission is $15. For more information, call 786-6135 or email olinarts@bates.edu. To buy tickets, see batesconcerts.eventbrite.com.
City of Lewiston acquires canal system
This postcard provides a birds-eye view of what the canal system looked like around 1915.
The City of Lewiston and Brookfield Renewable have completed the steps required to finalize Brookfield Renewable’s donation of the Lewiston Canal System to the city. This culminates Lewiston’s decade-long effort to obtain ownership of the canals, with the goal of eventually returning them to the gracious, tree-lined waterways that were once an attractive amenity.
“This will support economic development efforts throughout our downtown, mill district, and riverfront by creating stronger and more inviting connections between key destinations,” said Mayor Shane Bouchard. “It will create an environment that will invite residents and visitors to experience our unique, natural, and historic offerings.”
Franco Center plans Adult Prom Night
Among the evening’s highlights will be a dance contest and the coronation of the Prom King and Queen.
The Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston will present its third annual Adult Prom Night (“Just like high school… only better”) on Saturday, April 7 at 7 p.m. The host for this evening of fun will be the principal of the fictitious L/A High School, who encourages those attending to “Get dressed up for a prom night celebration loaded with lots of laughter, great food, music from across the decades, the ‘prom punch’ you always dreamed of, chaperons, and many other surprises!”
Book chronicles Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
Completed in 1938, the church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and was raised to the status of a “basilica” by the Vatican in 2004.
A forthcoming book called “The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul” features dozens of stories about the basilica’s history, mysteries, and central place in the Franco-American community of Lewiston.
Comprised of feature articles written by freelance writer Julie-Ann Baumer that appeared as a series in the Sun Journal newspaper between November of 2016 and October of 2017, the 112-page book also includes unpublished stories and nearly 200 glossy photographs of the church. The foreword was written by Bishop Robert P. Deeley of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.
Governor’s Address: Democrats Play Politics with Our Elderly Homeowners
I have been working hard to protect our elderly Mainers and to help them stay in their homes. But Democrats in Augusta are playing politics again. They say they want to help the elderly, but they are pulling a bait-and-switch.
I had proposed a bill, LD 1629 “An Act To Protect the Elderly from Tax Lien Foreclosures,” that would protect senior citizens and the elderly from municipalities that want to take their homes for back taxes.
My bill would do two very simple, common-sense things to help protect the interests of our seniors.
Green Dot L-A now available to provide bystander intervention training
Green Dot L-A instructors and supporters at a recent Auburn City Council meeting
Green Dot Lewiston-Auburn recently enjoyed a successful Launch Week, during which they shared their approach to violence prevention through bystander intervention training with various groups in the community.
Launch Week included presentations to the Auburn City Council, Lewiston City Council, and Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. The week concluded with a celebratory walk up Lisbon Street by Green Dot instructors and supporters who carried a Green Dot banner and visited offices and businesses to introduce the movement.
Hugh Keene to receive SeniorsPlus’ Ikaria Award
Auburn resident Hugh Keene will be honored by SeniorsPlus with the agency’s 2018 Ikaria Award at its annual Fill the Plate Breakfast to benefit Meals on Wheels on Friday, March 23, from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn-Riverwatch of Auburn. The event will also feature a presentation by Elizabeth Peavey, creator and performer of the award-winning one-woman show “My Mother’s Clothes Are Not My Mother.” Tickets are $20 per person in advance or $25 at the door and are available by calling 795-4010 or at www.seniorsplus.org.
Spring Super Saturday to have environmental focus
Bill Hensley shows how his Nissan Leaf gets recharged in advance of his upcoming “Electric Cars” class, part of Lewiston Adult Education’s Spring Super Saturday on April 7.
Spring Super Saturday will bring an environmental focus to Lewiston Adult Education on April 7, when returning favorites will appear alongside new classes on electric cars, organic gardening, and butterflies.
A 4-H instructor will teach the “Butterflies” class, which is open to parents and children, while a member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association will explain the basics of “Organic Gardening.” Bill Hensley, a technology support specialist for Lewiston Public Schools, will pop the hood of his Nissan Leaf during his lesson on “Electric Cars.”
St. Dominic Academy student wins 2018 Amirault Scholarship
Pictured here with Bishop Deeley, St. Dominic Academy senior Madison “Maddie” Leslie plans to attend Franklin Pierce University in the fall.
Madison “Maddie” Leslie, a senior at Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn, is one of two Maine students selected by the Catholic Foundation of Maine to receive a 2018 Lila Grace Sullivan Amirault Scholarship. The award was presented by Bishop Robert P. Deeley on Friday, March 16.
The scholarship fund, which helps Maine Catholic high school students with college tuition costs, was established in 2013 by the late Patrick Amirault in memory of his wife. Amirault, who grew up as one of nine children in a poor family in Malden, Mass., created the fund to show his appreciation for the care and quality education he received at a Catholic school there.
Governor’s Address: Conforming to the Federal Tax Code is the Right Policy for Maine
The federal tax cuts will provide about $1 billion in tax relief this year and next to Maine families and businesses.
To make things easier for taxpayers when the federal government changes the tax code, each state generally adopts that federal code. Adopting the same code at the state level is called “tax conformity.” It simplifies how Mainers pay income and business taxes.
Most of the time, tax conformity requires minor fixes that are relatively easy for the state to adopt. This year, because the federal tax reform was long overdue, we must determine whether we will conform our tax laws to the significantly revised federal code.
The tax code is confusing enough. Having two sets of laws for federal and state tax returns will create problems.
If we do not conform, Maine businesses will have to keep two sets of tax books. Tax administrators will have to comply with different state and federal tax rules. This is a giant headache for Maine businesses.
