Leslie Bridgers

Portland

Features Editor at The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram

Native Connecticutian, Bowdoinite, Woodfords Cornerer, editor of @MaineToday, features editor for @PressHerald

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Articles

Chez Rosa to move to larger space in Kennebunk

3 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

After five years, Chez Rosa, a French bistro in Kennebunkport, is moving across the bridge to a new space in Kennebunk. The new location will allow the restaurant to expand, open a patio and provide parking for both its customers and employees, said Yazmin Saraya, a pastry chef who owns the restaurant with her husband, Chef Kyle Robinson. The space, at 173 Port Road, is the former home of Old Vines Wine Bar, which closed after 10 years on May 3.
As Portland’s gotten cooler, are more Maine college grads staying? | Column

3 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

From what Jack Selig saw of Maine on a family vacation to Bar Harbor as a teenager, it was both similar to his home state of Arkansas in ways he liked — the natural beauty and access to the outdoors — and different enough that going to college here would offer something new. As a student at Bowdoin, Maine only grew on him, and by his junior year, he was already thinking it would be fun to move to Portland after graduation.
You don’t have to like soccer to enjoy the Hearts of Pine | Column

3 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

I’ll admit, since retiring my shin guards in sixth grade, I’ve been in the “soccer is boring” camp — an increasingly unpopular group of close-minded sports fans who, at least in my case, may have some unresolved issues from being ridiculed for their love of baseball. What can I say, hurt people hurt people. But seeing the enthusiasm surrounding the Hearts of Pine’s inaugural season has inspired me to reconsider my stance and give The Beautiful Game another shot, if for no other reason than FOMO.
Roadwork ahead: Use caution heading to these Maine summer hot spots | Column

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

How cruel a joke it is that, just as the weather starts cooperating enough for construction crews to get to work fixing our roads and bridges, tourists start flocking to our state, swelling traffic counts and compounding backups. We need to get places, people! Whether it’s work or camp or our own in-state travel destinations.
I’m a birder now (and other signs of aging) | Column

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

It was about this time last year that I noticed it or, I should say, noticed them: blue jays and bluebirds, cardinals and robins and — well, that was about all the species I could identify. But I wanted to learn more. I asked a friend who’s a birder to help get me started, and we went for a walk around the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth, binoculars around our necks, looking for feathers and listening for chirps, which, I learned, is pretty much the extent of birding.
The biggest difference between Miss Maine’s 2 high-profile contestants

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

Beauty pageants aren’t something we report on regularly in this newspaper, only when someone noteworthy is competing. The last time we covered the Miss Maine USA pageant, as far as I can tell, was in 2017, when the first Muslim contestant entered the competition, wearing a hijab with her evening gown and a “burkini” as her swimsuit. This year, we’ve had two occasions to write about contestants in the upcoming pageant, for very different reasons: One is the to compete for the Miss Maine title.
Want to visit Maine’s children’s museum? You’ll need a kid with you

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

Ever since I saw the first colorful photos from inside the impressive new Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine when it relocated to Thompson’s Point in 2021, I figured someday I’d find a reason to check it out in person, even though I don’t have kids. There have been opportunities I’ve let pass, like when friends have been with their families, but I didn’t want to have to go at their pace or wind up watching their children.
We know about Tesla, but what are Mainers saying with their Subarus?

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Leslie Bridgers

Apr. 24—There a lot of ways you can divide our state into "two Maines." North and south. Coastal and inland. Subaru drivers and pickup truck owners. In reality, the Toyota RAV4 was the most popular non-pickup in the state among 2024 new vehicle registrations, according to automotive information services company Edmunds. But maybe more significant than statistics are our perceptions of what Mainers drive — and what those vehicles say about them.
We know about Tesla, but what are Mainers saying with their Subarus?

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

There a lot of ways you can divide our state into “two Maines.” North and south. Coastal and inland. Subaru drivers and pickup truck owners. In reality, the Toyota RAV4 was the most popular non-pickup in the state among 2024 new vehicle registrations, according to automotive information services company Edmunds. But maybe more significant than statistics are our perceptions of what Mainers drive — and what those vehicles say about them.
German beer garden opening in Skowhegan

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Leslie Bridgers

A German-inspired beer garden and restaurant serving craft beer and locally sourced food is slated to open this spring in downtown Skowhegan. The Biergarten, a 125-seat venue, will be located in the Spinning Mill, a mixed-use development at 7 Island Ave., which also includes a 21-room boutique hotel and 41 apartments. The Biergarten space, on track to open in early June, features indoor and outdoor patio seating and also a performance stage.