When Traci Anello opened her pastry shop in Wells, she never imagined she'd be thinking of closing it just three years later. "This is a really sad time for small business," she said last week.

KENNEBUNKPORT — Following news that a fifth child has been diagnosed with hepatitis A, parents questioned the MSAD 71 School Board on Monday as to why all parents weren't notified after the initial outbreak at Consolidated School.

KENNEBUNK — There's not much belt tightening going on in Kennebunk, Board of Selectmen Chairmain Wayne Berry pointed out at a Nov. 13 meeting

KENNEBUNK — The Kennebunk Police Department will regain one police officer just as it loses another. Police Officer Chris Russell will return to the department in January. Russell was placed on unpaid administrative leave as of Nov. 12. Lt.

KENNEBUNKPORT — If you plan to park illegally at Goose Rocks Beach next summer, prepare to pay a lot more for your lawlessness.

OGUNQUIT — If the Building Needs Committee gets its way, the town's operations will be centered at a renovated Dunaway Center and Ogunquit Village School building in the future.

KENNEBUNK — The future of the Park Street School building may not be so clear after all.

WELLS — Things are getting busy for the members of the Wells-Ogunquit Outreach Committee as the holidays rapidly approach.

WELLS — Wells-Ogunquit Community School District officials met Nov. 11 with Acton School District representatives to discuss the possible formation of an Alternative Organizational Structure to comply with state-mandated school consolidation...

KENNEBUNK — The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously and with little fanfare Nov. 13 to drop a pending lawsuit against the town of Kennebunkport, MSAD 71, the State Department of Education and Commissioner Susan Gendron.

By Jan. 27, 2009, a new school board will be elected to represent the residents of Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport as part of the new RSU 57.

With economists painting a gloomy picture of the coming shopping season, some might find it surprising that business is booming and lines are long — just not at the local big-box stores or mall.

Nov. 20 — Site Plan Review Board, 7 p.m., Room 300 at Town Hall.

Thursday, Nov. 20 — Conservation Commission, 6:30 p.m., Dunaway Center

Tuesday, Nov. 25 — Wellness Committee, 11:30 a.m., fire station on North Street.

Thursday, Nov. 20 — YCCA fuel assistance, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Town Hall

AUGUSTA — The Secretary of State's office has completed a requested recount of ballots cast in the race for State Senate District 2 on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

When talking about sports for a 6-year old, motocross probably isn't the first one that pops into the heads of most parents.

Can ethics be taught to adults? Maybe for some adults, entrenched in illegal activities for the whole of their lives and considered heritage for their families, the answer is no but for others a course in treating our natural resources and landowner...

WELLS — Mike's Clam Shack in Wells was honored for supporting the Wells-Ogunquit C.S.D. as owner Mike McDermott received the 2008 MSBA Business Friend of Education Award from the Maine School Boards Association.

PORTLAND — AAA Northern New England recently announced the White Barn Inn Restaurant has once again achieved Five Diamond Award ® status. The AAA Five Diamond Award designation, the travel authority's highest rating for hotels and...

WASHINGTON, DC - NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced the states of Massachusetts and Maine will each be eligible for up to $2 million and New Hampshire will be eligible for up to $1 million in disaster aid to assist the shellfishing industries...

PORTLAND, Maine - AAA forecasts a small decline in the number of Americans traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

PORTSMOUTH - The Internal Revenue Service is warning the public of a scam that could be lurking in your email inbox.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The average cash price of heating oil has dropped another dime in the latest weekly survey in Maine.

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today determined that the economic effects of closing some shellfish fisheries due to a harmful algal bloom, commonly referred to as a red tide, in ocean waters off Massachusetts, New...

Put a little covering on exposed perennial beds when the ground freezes HARD; but it is well, as a rule, to defer this work until early December, if necessary, for cold enough weather. Put the lawn mower in order at this season of the year. Clean...

Here's the best reason for cleaning we've heard yet: Turns out that if your light bulbs and fixtures are dirty, they're just not as efficient as if they were clean.

One of the most mysterious man-made landmarks on York County's coast is the monument on Stage Island just off Biddeford Pool. Commissioned by the United States Government, the conical stone structure was to be completed by July of 1825, but tragedy...

Is it possible that there could be a lobster in fowl clothing out there somewhere, masquerading as a turkey?

Maine Prep's acclaimed SAT prep course will take place at the Graves Memorial Library, 18 Maine St., Kennebunkport. The eight-session course begins Monday, Nov. 24, at 6:30 p.m., and will meet every Monday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. until Jan.

KENNEBUNK — Saturday, Nov. 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. — "Sterling Wrapped Bangle" with Kristin Burgess. Create a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, silver bangle bracelet. Burgess will help you from start to finish and show you how to do...

Sunlight illuminates our planet in a continuous torrent of radiant energy. This shower of photons will continue longer than we can imagine — unlike fossil fuels such as oil, which will be depleted in the next couple of decades.

There will be a community Thanksgiving service at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25, at the First Congregational Church in Kennebunkport. All are welcome.

I never thought I'd be going to a midnight movie showing, but by the time you read this column, I'll be catching a few extra Zs in an attempt to stay awake tonight.

Katie Deegan is looking forward to the "Twilight" movie like 5-year-olds look forward to Christmas. She's picked out what she's going to wear, already has her tickets to a special pre-release screening in Boston and can't talk about the actor...

ELLSWORTH — Filmmakers in the early stages of their careers are encouraged to apply for a Morrison film fellowship through the Maine Community Foundation.

KENNEBUNKPORT — Best-selling author Andre Dubus III drew a 100-plus, standing-room-only crowd for a reading hosted by the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library on Sunday, Nov. 2.

KENNEBUNK — A new online music journal, Classical Voice of New England, Inc., (www.CVNewEng.com) was conceived in March at a meeting in Kennebunk and incorporated later that year in Massachusetts, was recently mentioned in Symphony, the...

The flour settles gently in the bowl.
The crystal of the salt soon joins it there.
I introduce the lard to give it soul
and then drip in iced water with great care.
The 'fridgerator cools the dough to bind

What can you share? Send it to Recipe Exchange, c/o York County Coast Star, P.O. Box 979, Kennebunk, ME 04043 or e-mail it to lsnyder@seacoastonline.com.

KENNEBUNK — Kennebunk High School Theater will present "The Laramie Project" by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project this weekend. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It will be held in the Alexander Economos Auditorium...

Kathleen Santoro is already busy in her kitchen preparing for a party of 15 to arrive for Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday, Dec. 5 — Don Campbell Christmas Concert and Buffet Dinner at 7:30 p.m. Concert tickets with dinner, dessert and coffee are $40. Buffet dinner will consist of carving station, pastas, soups and salads.

Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 4 pm Please join us at Huntington Common for a wine tasting event open house. Learn about the unique characteristics and differences in wines. A variety of wines will be made available, accompanied by a selection of...

We understand the trepidation with which Ogunquit's town officials are handling an amended dog ordinance there.