Maine news

• ‘Discovery Day’ on Nov. 3 opens Athenaeum’s first floor to the public

  23-10-2026 07:05 via Beacon Hill Times
  ‘Discovery Day,’ coming Tuesday, Nov. 3, will offer the public a rare opportunity to tour the first floor of the historic Boston Athenaeum – one of the nation’s oldest independent libraries.
  Non-members will then be allowed access to the Norma Jean Calderwood Gallery, special collections and art installations, and the library’s stunning reading rooms.
  ‘Explore Where’s Boston? 50 Years Later,’ features photographs by Constantine Manos originally commissioned for the Where’s Bost
  
  Read more

• Councilor Flynn to hold hybrid hearing to discuss city’s Rodent Action Plan on Oct. 23

  23-10-2026 07:04 via Beacon Hill Times
  City Councilor Ed Flynn will chair a hybrid City Services hearing to discuss the current status of the Boston Rodent Action Plan on Friday, Oct. 23, at 10 a.m. in the Iannella Chamber on the fifth floor of City Hall, as well as virtually.
  Although Councilor Flynn said he thinks positive steps have been outlined in the BRAP, he still believes the plan falls short of the recommendations made by the study’s author, renowned rodent urbanologist, Dr. Bobby Corrigan, and himself. Among their other s
  
  Read more

• BHAC approves all applications with some provisos at Oct. 15 hearing

  23-10-2026 07:03 via Beacon Hill Times
  The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission (BHAC), at its monthly hearing Oct. 15, approved more than seven proposed exterior changes to buildings amid lively discussion about historical preservation in the modern day.
  While some residing in the Beacon Hill community were requesting paint color change, others looked to restore historical accuracy to the buildings. All the applications heard by the commission were approved, although some passed pending provisions for resubmissions and subsequent ap
  
  Read more

• BHCA Community Corner 10-23

  23-10-2026 07:02 via Beacon Hill Times
  Block Captains
  Our new team of over 40 Block Captains has been out and about cleaning up litter and dog waste on Beacon Hill streets. You’ll recognize them with their fluorescent BHCA vests. These volunteers are looking for other neighbors to join the effort, so reach out to the BHCA if you’d like to know who is in charge of your street to connect with them! Block Captains are helping us keep Beacon Hill clean by picking up trash and litter and reporting missing bricks to 311. Let us know if
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• You can make soup

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  For those new to cooking at home, soup is a great place to start. Food writer Ruth Reichl said, “If you’ve got chicken stock, you’ve got a meal.” And it doesn’t have to be chicken stock. You can make soup with water or make your own stock from what you have on hand. Some cooks even freeze their peelings and vegetable scraps until they have enough to make a vegan soup stock.
  Unlike fussy preparations, soup is very forgiving. If you don’t have one ingredient, you can usually substitute
  
  Read more

• Massachusetts Office of the Veteran Advocate releases first five-year strategic plan

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Special to the TimesThe Massachusetts Office of the Veteran Advocate (OVA) announced the release of its first five-year Strategic Plan, establishing a roadmap to guide the independent state agency’s work from Fiscal Year 2027 through Fiscal Year 2031.
  The plan identifies five strategic priorities focused on strengthening the OVA’s capacity, improving access to veterans’ benefits and services, examining housing and employment opportunities, and building trust and collaboration among organiz
  
  Read more

• Making a Home on the Hill

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Not long ago, Bridget Weir stood in her Anderson Street apartment and took inventory. “I was just looking around and I’m like, that’s from that store, this is from that store,” she says, then laughs. “How did I get all this stuff?”
  The answer is a one-minute walk away. For three years, Bridget has worked the floor at J. Grady Home (“Grady”), the bright, color-soaked shop at 133 Charles Street run by husband and wife Joan and Jeff Grady. It is filled to the brim with the things th
  
  Read more

• Healey-Driscoll Administration launches new workforce training opportunities

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced the opening of applications for expanded Pathmaker workforce training programs across advanced manufacturing, AI, defense, climatetech and life sciences. The coordinated initiative will help Massachusetts businesses build skilled talent pipelines while connecting residents with career opportunities in some of the state’s fastest-growing industries.
  “We want Massachusetts businesses to have access to the incredible workforce our state has to
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Executive Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial Kate Gilbert guest speaker at BHWF

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Public art champion, Kate Gilbert, first became aware that art has the potential to spark dialogue during a drive with her parents to a Hamden, Connecticut, supermarket in the late 1970s. She remembers her father expressing his displeasure upon seeing what he felt had been beautiful cars covered in asphalt in the parking lot; while her mother defended the art installation as a comment on the environment. Then eight-years-old, Gilbert was simply happy to climb the structures.
  “It stopped us in
  
  Read more

• Details unveiled for proposed 31 St. James Ave. redevelopment project

  23-10-2026 07:00 via Beacon Hill Times
  Details of a proposed office-to-residential redevelopment project that would transform an 11-story, block-long building at 31 St. James Ave. in the Back Bay into 476 residential units were discussed during a city-sponsored meeting held virtually on Oct. 14.
  The Vanbarton Group, a New York-based real estate firm that specializes in office-to-residential redevelopment projects, intends to convert the building into housing while maintaining 12,000 square feet of existing ground-floor restaurant spa
  
  Read more

Follow @NewslockerMaine on Twitter!