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
January 11, 2022

Frigid conditions make ice, but break no records in central Maine

While this arctic blast has sent temperatures plummeting to their lowest levels in four years, no temperature records were broken in the Augusta area.
Published
January 10, 2022

Arctic temperatures raise risk of ice dams on Kennebec River

With the coldest temperatures in nearly four years settling in across central Maine this week, ice is expected to form quickly on lakes and rivers.
Published
January 9, 2022

Small businesses embrace downtown Augusta during COVID-19 pandemic

More than a dozen businesses opened in 2021, marking a recent record for business growth as certain people shift from working for others to working for themselves.
Published
January 6, 2022

Gardiner imposes mask mandate for public meetings, library

Decision comes as highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads across Maine and daily case counts remain high.
Published
January 5, 2022

Freezing rain, slick conditions cause crashes across central Maine

Slick roads send vehicles spinning throughout central Maine on Wednesday as freezing rain fell across the region.
Published
January 4, 2022

Central Maine government officials consider renewing pandemic precautions as omicron variant surges

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Maine, local governments have taken different tacks in how they conduct public meetings and carry on municipal business.
Published
December 31, 2021

Maine Local Market launches Winter Fires, extending options for customers

The owners of Maine Local Market launched Winter Fires Friday, on the last day of 2021, to give customers an outdoor dining option overlooking the Kennebec River even as they shift to takeout meals as COVID-19 infections continue to spread in Maine.
Published
December 31, 2021

Kenney Awards shifting to outdoor summer event to celebrate 90 years of chamber of commerce

Following a virtual ceremony because of the pandemic, the annual Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce Kenney Awards will be held in-person in July at Mill Park to celebrate the business organization’s 90 years in Augusta.
Published
December 29, 2021

Escalating construction costs challenge Gardiner’s Johnson Hall heading into the new year

While fundraising continues for the $5.5 million renovation of Gardiner’s historic opera house, pandemic-driven inflation is expected to increase the final project cost.
Published
December 21, 2021

After slick conditions midweek, forecasts call for some in central Maine to see a white Christmas

A weather system expected to move across central Maine Tuesday prompted school districts in the region to cancel school Wednesday.