Maine native survives first cuton ‘The Bachelor’

Ashley Hebert, a dentist born in Madawaska, promises the bachelor ‘fun, romance and healthy gums.’

Madawaska dentist on ‘Bachelor’ tonight

Ashley Hebert, 26, is one of the 30 female contestants on the new season of the hit reality show.

It’s a dirty job

But somebody’s gotta love it — and it could be you, finding that learning to be a Master Gardener really grows on you.

Author Q&A: Making the best of the worst of times

Charles Dickens’ wife of 22 years wasn’t the loser he claimed she was when he dumped her, a Bates College professor discovers.

Power struggle

It’s the time of year when a Mainer’s thoughts turn to getting a generator for the inevitable outages winter brings. But what kind? How many watts? Here’s what you need to know.

Music and NightlifeMarley Christmas to all, and to all a good nyuk

Maine comic Bob Marley is at the Merrill for a string of holiday shows.

Pining for a tree? He’ll help

After I helped Lee Randall lay a 6-foot-long balsam fir on the roof rack of a Jeep Cherokee, he handed me some twine and asked “How are your knots?”

That’s something I’d never pondered. But now, as I helped Randall sell Christmas trees on a Friday evening at O’Donal’s Nursery in Gorham, my knots were definitely in question.

I quickly wrapped the twine around the roof rack three, maybe four times, to make sure it would hold. Then I tied a knot — the only knot I know how to tie, but don’t ask me its name. Then I doubled it, and tripled it, and quadrupled it.

Festive (Just don’t digest it)

But it’s not true that the poor, pilloried poinsettia is poisonous – at worst it could give you, or kitty, an upset stomach. So go ahead and use it in your holiday decor.

Something ‘different’ for the holidays

You can have a blue Christmas, courtesy of an Elvis impersonator, or a bit of burlesque – and those are just a couple of the less traditional ways Mainers can celebrate the season.

Pin setters right up mechanic’s alley

Maine at Work: Our reporter gets his hands – and his khakis – dirty behind the scenes at Bayside Bowl.