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
November 1, 2023

Augusta car crash injures several Gardiner students, 1 seriously, police say

Police say a single vehicle carrying four juveniles Wednesday struck a pole on Cony Road, injuring one student seriously and closing the roadway.
Published
October 24, 2023

Special education teacher, housing specialist vie for Gardiner City Council seat

Veronica Babcock and Michael Hawkins are facing off for a chance to represent Ward 2 on the City Council.
Published
October 22, 2023

Augusta’s long-running UVM Haunted House continues to deliver thrills, scares

Hundreds of people from across the region and state are expected to line up for this season’s frights put on by the United Volunteers of Maine at the Marketplace at Augusta.
Published
October 21, 2023

Augusta man indicted for vandalism at Law Enforcement Memorial

A Kennebec County grand jury has indicted Justin Larrabee on charges related to the defacing of the Maine Law Enforcement Memorial over Memorial Day Weekend, and a second incident that took place several days later elsewhere in Augusta.
Published
October 19, 2023

Prosecutor in Kennebec, Somerset counties hired to lead new public defender office in Augusta

Beginning in November, Frayla Tarpinian, who has worked in the Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney’s Office for more than a decade, is to oversee the first brick-and-mortar public defender office in Maine.
Published
October 17, 2023

Months after placing Kennebec County emergency management director on paid leave, officials will not say why

While John Brenenstuhl has not been coming in to work since Aug. 14, he has been assigned special projects.
Published
October 13, 2023

Lottery winnings give Gardiner woman a chance to invest in son’s Poopah Scoopah business

Ricci Abbott, who won $10,000 on Sunday, is the second person with Maine ties to take home a large lottery prize this week.
Published
October 13, 2023

Antisemitic message found at Augusta’s Cony High School

Principal Kimberly Liscomb said the student who wrote the message has been identified and ‘consequences and education have been implemented.’
Published
October 11, 2023

Augusta woman, 31, dies in Wayne crash

Police say Taylor Perkins was driving on Main Street when her vehicle left the road late Thursday or early Friday.
Published
October 10, 2023

Rumford, Dixfield women identified as victims of deadly crash in Albion

Kandi L. Carrier, 38, of Rumford, died Friday after the van she was riding in collided with a pickup truck. The van’s driver, Mandy L. Thibodeau, 46, of Dixfield, was injured and is in fair condition at a Bangor hospital.