Soon-to-open State Theatreshows off renovations

PORTLAND — After a $1.5 million renovation that included new seats, new plaster, new paint, new carpet, and new lights and sound equipment, the 81-year-old State Theatre is ready for its reopening on Friday with a sold out show by My Morning Jacket.

The theater, which has been closed since 2006, was opened for a press tour this morning to show off some of the renovations.

The ones most visible were the new seats in the lower section of the theater. The sloped section of the floor is covered with rows of permanent red padded theater seats with arms, while the theater’s previous operator had some of the sloped area left bare for standing room.

Winging it: Maine humorist John McDonald puts words in puffins’ mouths

‘Everybody loves puffins,’ Maine humorist John McDonald says, by way of explaining a new book pairing captivating photos with funny captions he’s dreamed up.

Open house: Sleek and ye shall find

It’s all about the artistic at this standout waterfront contemporary in Falmouth.

Music and Nightlife: Pearls of Wylde wisdom

Hard-rocking, hard-working Zakk Wylde took to heart lessons learned from 20-plus years with Ozzy Osbourne.

Journalist learns it takes light touch, mind for math to hang museum show

Maine at Work: Working behind the scenes demands many skills, Ray Routhier finds.

Go with the glow

This time of year, mother nature presents us with piles of potential decorating elements – so why not get crafty with all that colorful bounty?

YIPPEE! Enthusiasm brews for two comic strips stepping in to replace ‘Cathy’

“Cathy” is a very big comic strip. How big is it? So big that The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram is going to use two comic strips to replace it. Today marks the last “Cathy” strip in the newspaper. Creator Cathy Guisewite is ending it after 34 years to spend more time with her daughter, […]

Music and Nightlife: Lady Luck

The Maine State Lottery needed a special song for its 35th anniversary and by chance, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Julie Downs just happened to have one.

Reporter takes shot at helping turn grass-roots TV dreams into reality

Maine at Work: As Ray Routhier learns how to create local programs, he finds out how far public access cable can reach.

Jeepers, peepers

For most of us, fall in Maine means we “ooh” and “aah” over all the pretty colored leaves.

But this year, maybe it’s time to do some informed oohing and aahing. Maybe leaf peeping would be a whole new experience if you knew what you were peeping at.

For instance, instead of just driving aimlessly out into the countryside, you can head for a muddy, swampy area to see the bright-red foliage of red maple trees. Red maples love wet areas, don’t you know.