Jessica Lowell

Kennebec Journal

Jessica Lowell covers business and economic development and general news in the Gardiner area. After short but intense aspirations to be an opera singer (age 4) and a deep-sea diver (age 6) her most enduring passion has been telling stories. A University of Maine graduate, she worked for newspapers in New Hampshire, upstate New York and Wyoming, where she has won awards for investigative and explanatory journalism. She’s a fellow of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. After several years out of journalism, she returned to Maine and to writing, where she spends her free time enjoying both trees and the ocean, two commodities that Wyoming lacks.

Latest

Published
May 9, 2023

Manchester brush fire draws ground, air attack across 4 acres of woodland

Firefighters from five area departments, with help from a Maine Forest Service helicopter, spent about five hours Monday putting out a brush fire on the wooded east side of Manchester.
Published
May 7, 2023

Maine Pottery Tour opens doors to pottery and ceramics studios across state

In West Gardiner, where Todd Jubinville is rebuilding his kiln, this year’s Maine Pottery Tour introduced people from near and far to the work he has been producing at his home studio for almost two decades.
Published
May 6, 2023

UMA graduate’s leap of faith pays off with growth and opportunity

The University of Maine at Augusta’s 55th commencement on Saturday celebrated the accomplishments of both current and former graduates at the Augusta Civic Center.
Published
May 6, 2023

Across Maine, sewer rate payers are starting to see increases to cover the cost of the sludge crisis

Cities, towns and sewer districts are now starting to tally up the higher cost of sludge disposal and calculate what ratepayers will pay to cover those costs.
Published
May 3, 2023

Cleanup, damage assessment begin throughout central Maine after river flooding

Property and business owners were beginning to take stock Wednesday of the damage left behind as flood waters receded along the Kennebec River across the region after a storm dumped 3 to 6 inches of rain over a 24-hour period.
Published
May 2, 2023

Heavy rains in central Maine may delay some crops

Farmers across central Maine say they will be delayed in planting some crops or treating others as they wait for conditions to dry out.
Published
May 1, 2023

Weekend storm brings power outages and flooding to central Maine

Across central Maine, where rainfall totals reached 5 inches in some areas from the strong weekend storm, high water levels in the Kennebec River watershed brought flood warnings and washed out roads, along with downed trees and power outages.
Published
April 30, 2023

Longtime Kennebec County register of probate to retire in June

Kathleen Ayers, 62, has worked in the county’s Probate Court office for 30 years, more than 25 as register of probate.
Published
April 26, 2023

Commercial transfer station approved in Gardiner business park

Gardiner Transfer Co., which already has a maintenance facility in the Libby Hill Business Park, has received approval to add a commercial transfer facility to the site to support its trash hauling business in central Maine.
Published
April 21, 2023

Gardiner officials to consider a 4% increase in spending in the next budget year

For the municipal portion of the Gardiner property tax bill, the proposed spending increase would add 20 cents to the property tax rate, which currently stands at $22.20 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.