Ben Bragdon

1 week ago | sunjournal.com | Ben Bragdon

100 years ago: 1925“Students of the University of Maine have voted against participation in a ban on petting parties, cribbing, intoxication, possession of liquor and petty thievery, which Dr. Clarence Little, the institution’s president, says must go.

2 weeks ago | sunjournal.com | Ben Bragdon

The owners of Sonder & Dram at 12 Ash St. in Lewiston opened the new upstairs Sonder Lounge on Wednesday with plans to ease into an expanded schedule in the coming weeks and months. The lounge is in the former bon Vivant space at 133 Lisbon St., and there is a stairway connecting to the main bar area downstairs. The former restaurant space has a much larger and more modern kitchen, which will begin playing a bigger role in the near future with expanded and elevated food offerings.

2 weeks ago | sunjournal.com | Ben Bragdon

I must have asked it a hundred times over the course of three periods. “Why aren’t there more people here?” I’d say, hands upraised in wonder, head spinning to behold all the empty seats around me. On The Colisée ice, where the Maine Nordiques perform their magic, an early game brawl was just concluding and the scrapper from the other team was taunting the crowd on his way to the penalty box. Whoops, strike that.

2 weeks ago | sunjournal.com | Ben Bragdon

PARIS — Police were able to stop and arrest an armed Lewiston man early Saturday after he called 911 and threatened to drive into a tree unless police stopped him, according to a Paris Police Department Facebook post. Jonathan Blouin, 22, was arrested and charged with driving to endanger, refusing to submit to arrest, operating under the influence, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and leaving the scene of an accident.

2 weeks ago | sunjournal.com | Ben Bragdon

NEW GLOUCESTER — With the height of wedding season still months away, industry insiders say the growth of wedding venues over the years, coupled with an increasingly tight economy, means that for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine’s many venues feel like they’re being left at the altar. Weddings are a $1 billion-a-year industry in Maine. About 10,000 weddings are held every year in Maine, depending on who you ask.