Jessica Lowell

Kennebec Journal

Jessica Lowell covers business and economic development and general news in the Gardiner area. After short but intense aspirations to be an opera singer (age 4) and a deep-sea diver (age 6) her most enduring passion has been telling stories. A University of Maine graduate, she worked for newspapers in New Hampshire, upstate New York and Wyoming, where she has won awards for investigative and explanatory journalism. She’s a fellow of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. After several years out of journalism, she returned to Maine and to writing, where she spends her free time enjoying both trees and the ocean, two commodities that Wyoming lacks.

Latest

Published
December 11, 2023

Storm brings heavy rain, power outages to central Maine

Flood alerts popped up Monday in the wake of a storm that threatened to bring heavy rain to central Maine. Over 3,000 people were without power in central Maine.
Published
December 9, 2023

Wander Pizza to return to Augusta in the new year

Under new ownership, the popular pizza place returns to Augusta after an 18-month hiatus.
Published
December 7, 2023

$2.9 million in upgrades on horizon for Gardiner wastewater treatment plant

GARDINER — City officials are poised to move ahead with the second phase of improvements to the Gardiner wastewater treatment plant. The second phase, estimated to cost about $2.9 million, would replace the plant’s electronic control system and related equipment, upgrade the chemical feed system and blower, repair the roof and replace the boiler, among […]
Published
December 4, 2023

Thousands without power as central Maine deals with season’s first snowstorm

Reported snowfall totals in the region ranged from 5 to 11 inches Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Gray.
Published
December 3, 2023

Agriculture businesses across Maine poised for expansion with injection of federal grant funding

Five Maine farms have secured more than $1 million in federal agricultural grants to develop and sell products that range from soap to salami, making their products available more widely and helping the businesses to grow sustainably.
Published
November 29, 2023

Augusta Downtown Alliance seeks new executive director as leader exits for Waterville job

Michael Hall is leaving the Augusta Downtown Alliance after nearly eight years to become communuity development specialist for the city of Waterville, where among other things he’ll focus on developing upper-floor housing in the city’s downtown.
Published
November 22, 2023

Jury finds Augusta man not guilty of murdering Richmond man

A jury acquitted Tyon Shuron of murder and felony murder charges but convicted him on a charge of witness tampering.
Published
November 20, 2023

Jury begins to weigh fate of Augusta man in Richmond murder trial

Tyon Shuron, 46, is accused of killing Andrew Sherman at Sherman’s Richmond home in the early hours of Sept. 29, 2019.
Published
November 19, 2023

Man accused of killing Andrew Sherman of Richmond takes stand in his own defense

Tyon Shuron, 46, has been charged with murder in the death of Sherman and with witness tampering related to the case.
Published
November 19, 2023

Gardiner officials approve sewer rate increase, to go into effect in January

The increase, to be applied only to the quarterly minimum charge, will recoup what the city has spent for several emergency repairs and higher costs for chemicals and electricty, and for planned plant improvements at a time when revenue has been flat.