The Lisbon High School and Middle School baseball teams visited the Maine State House recently, where they were hosted by State Sen. Jeff Timberlake (r.) and State Rep. Rick Mason (l.). The Greyhounds’ high school team won the 2019 Class C State Championship, finishing the season with a 20-0 record.

The 2019 Bates Dance Festival will kick off on Thursday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. with a “Concerts on the Quad” concert-dance led by DJ Man-O-Wax and hip-hop dancers MaMa2. Taking place on the college’s Historic Quad at Campus Avenue and College Street, this free outdoor event will begin with 45 minutes of dance lessons followed by an hour of participatory dancing.

This hip-hop-themed weekend will continue with festival mainstage performances on Friday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m., and again on Sunday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m., when soul-roots musicians the Reminders will join the bill. In their mainstage performances, Man-O-Wax’s global-fusion sound will frame the Reminders’ socially conscious music and the high-energy movement of MaMa2 to create an immersive experience for all audiences. The festival beer garden will be open after Friday’s show.

The next luncheon of the Sampson Air Force Base Veterans Association will take place on Thursday, July 11 at noon at the Chickadee Restaurant in Lewiston. The speaker will be Jack Flowers, author of “Rat Six.” This informal monthly get-together for those who took basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in the 1940s and ’50s is open to all veterans and their guests. For more information, call 657-4909.

In 2017, the retail prices of some of the most widely prescribed medications that older Americans take to treat everything from diabetes to high blood pressure increased by an average of 8.4 percent – four times the rate of inflation.

Nationwide, one in four Americans struggles to pay for their prescription medication, while one in ten simply do not take their medicine as prescribed because of the high costs.

No one should have to choose between food, fuel, and medicine.

Earlier this week, I signed into law a comprehensive prescription drug reform package. These four new laws will allow the wholesale importation of prescription medicine, create a prescription drug affordability board, increase drug price transparency, and better regulate pharmacy benefit managers – those middle men that you know about.

The Bells of St. Louis Committee recently hosted a “Celebration and Fundraising Kick-Off” at New Auburn’s Anniversary Park. Those attending were able to view the site of a new tower that will serve as the permanent home for the four bells that, for nearly a century, graced the neighborhood’s former St. Louis Church.

“This tower will be the second-tallest monument in Maine,” said Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque. “As a true and lasting symbol of the heritage and history of Auburn, it will stand as testament to the vibrance and resurgence of our city as we head into our next 150 years.” 

Lisa Yankura Bouffard of Wales, a full-time employee of the Dining Services Department at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, graduated from Bowdoin this spring after taking one class each semester for the past 18years. In honor of her achievement, she was awarded a legislative sentiment by the Maine Legislature. She is pictured here with Senator Jeff Timberlake (R – Androscoggin). Congratulations, Lisa!

In partnership with Uncle Andy’s Digest, L-A Metro Magazine, and Side By Each Brewing, Maine Event Comedy will present nationally touring comedian Karen Morgan at Side By Each Brewing on Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m. The show will also feature Steve Scarfo, Luke Hanbury, and Julie Poulin. All proceeds from this special comedy fundraiser will benefit Make-A-Wish Maine.

In a ceremony at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, the Maine College of Health Professions in Lewiston recently graduated 63 students in nursing and 19 students in radiologic technology. The graduates were awarded Associate Degrees in Applied Science in their respective fields. Several graduating students also received awards during the ceremony.

Earlier this week, joined by Democratic and Republican lawmakers and Independent members of the Legislature, I was pleased to sign the state’s biennial budget into law.

The biennial budget is the culmination of months of work by my Administration and by both Democrats and Republicans on the Appropriations Committee and in the Legislature.

I am very proud of the hard work that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have put into this budget process and of the bipartisan agreement we’ve achieved as a result of that hard work.

One hundred and ten female ninth grade students from areas high schools convened at Central Maine Community College recently for a hands-on introduction to a variety of trade occupations. These trades, formerly affiliated almost exclusively with males, are today increasingly open to females, but are still widely considered “non-traditional occupations.”