Press Herald

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
April 23, 2021

Now cooing in a city near you: White-winged dove spotted in Gardiner

The dove, with a distinctive white band on its wings and ring of blue around its eyes, is drawing birders to Gardiner for a rare spring sighting.
Published
April 22, 2021

Augusta’s controversial Melville Fuller statue back in private hands, but new location, education remain uncertain

As the committee appointed to identify a new home for Augusta’s controversial Melville Fuller statue wraps up its work, members say they hope it can be part of a future educational effort.
Published
April 20, 2021

Kennebec County commissioners vote to return controversial statue to donor

Robert Fuller Jr., who gave the statue of Melville Fuller to the county and offered to take it back, will have up to a year to make arrangements to move the monument of the controversial jurist.
Published
April 14, 2021

Dry conditions persist with Maine on pace for record fire season

A mild winter followed by a dry spring has contributed to brush fires across the state over the last week, but it’s too soon to say if dry conditions will prevail into summer.
Published
April 8, 2021

Lawyer: Donor of controversial Augusta statue might be willing to take back his gift

A lawyer representing Robert Fuller Jr., who donated the statue of Melville W. Fuller to Kennebec County in 2013, suggested his client is willing to take back his gift.
Published
April 5, 2021

Traffic patterns changing at West Gardiner tolls

Drivers traveling north from Interstate 295 to Interstate 95 will use new tollbooths 600 feet from the existing tolls, while southbound drivers will pay at new toll plaza.
Published
April 5, 2021

Dresden files lawsuit against gravel pit, owner over violations

While Heather Beasley’s appeal of a notice of violation and stop work order issued against her gravel pit is ongoing, the town has filed suit against her and the Ballard-Milligan Gravel Corp. in part over damage to Ballard Road.
Published
March 18, 2021

Kennebec County group debates whether controversial Fuller statue is ‘our collective problem’

Kennebec County Commissioners voted unanimously in February to remove the statue of Melville Fuller from county courthouse property. They now must decide where it will go.
Published
March 9, 2021

Craig Hickman sworn in after historic win in special Senate election

Craig Hickman of Winthrop earned nearly two-thirds of the votes in the district, which encompasses southern Kennebec County. He was sworn in Wednesday morning.
Published
March 8, 2021

Maine Ethics Commission says Senate District 14 candidate violated election law, but assesses no penalty

At issue are four electronic signs posted on behalf of William Guerrette, the Republican candidate in the race, and whether they comply with state election laws.