Perhaps the best way to clue you in on the types of topics I'll be discussing in this forum would be to tell you what I won't be talking about. First, partisan politics. There's something about the electronic world that seems to read a political agenda into every word posted online, no matter if the original thread had less to do with George W. Bush's popularity ratings than the weather in Crawford has to do with the amount of sunscreen we slather on at Lake Megunticook. So I'm just not going to go there. You also won't find me spouting off about when Martha Stewart will be returning to Seal Harbor because, frankly, I couldn't care less. And this should be obvious to anyone who reads Down East, but if it isn't about Maine, I'm just not interested. We're already in paradise - why concern ourselves with what's happening across the Piscataqua?

What you will find me prattling on about are the big things happening in Maine these days. Just this morning, for instance, while I was out jogging I noticed that the daylillies in front of the old Knox Woolen Mill had popped out, while the rugosa roses out by the estates on Bay View Street look like they've been in bloom for a couple of weeks (let's not talk about what that says about my exercise regimen). I'll also comment more than occasionally about the yachts filling Camden's inner harbor - at last, their owners seem to have realized that June, with its blissfully long days, fresh breezes, and uncrowded anchorages, can be the best month for poking around the coast in a boat.

To me, these are among the interesting, and arguably most important, happenings at the moment Down East. Nothing exists in a vacuum, though, and so you'll also hear me going off about the residential condos that are being built above those Stella D'Oro daylilies at the mill, in what was once Camden's commercial epicenter. And while the rugosas on Bay View Street are lovely for me to jog past, there's no disputing that it's a shame that a CEO is the only person with a bankroll big enough to maintain them - and to pay the property taxes that come with them. Finally, I can't help thinking that maybe, just perhaps, there'd be a few more boats, and more boat workers, in Camden harbor if someone could figure out a way to make a go of it at the Boat School in Eastport.

There's no shortage of things going on Down East. I'm glad you've decided to join us as we explore them.

The views expressed on this Web site are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Down East Enterprise or its employees.