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
July 10, 2021

Gardiner’s Johnson Hall announces construction start, matching gift challenge

To help Johnson Hall reach its $5.5 million fundraising goal, Peter and Sandra Prescott and Team EJP have made a match challenge gift of $250,000 to help raise the final $850,000 needed to renovate the historic opera house and 400-seat theater.
Published
July 8, 2021

Headstones damaged by fallen tree at historic Gardiner churchyard

Maple tree estimated at 200 years old split during Tuesday’s storm, damaging historic headstones that volunteers have been working for years to reassemble and put back where they belong.
Published
July 7, 2021

Gardiner groups to host public input meeting on Heart of Gardiner plan

People who live or work in Gardiner, as well as visitors, are invited to share their ideas for a vibrant downtown area at a July 14 meeting — part of an effort to draft a downtown master plan for the next decade.
Published
July 5, 2021

Emergence of browntail moths across central Maine shows growing scope of outbreak

While the moths do not pose the same risk as the caterpillars, with their toxic, rash-causing hairs, the moths clearly illustrate the spread of the invasive species into central Maine.
Published
July 4, 2021

Clary Lake boat parade draws hearty souls on chilly, wet Fourth of July

To mark Independence Day, about a dozen owners of watercraft brave elements for a celebratory parade around Clary Lake in Jefferson.
Published
July 4, 2021

Police investigate burglary at Dairy Queen in Augusta

Police: Employee working an early shift Friday at the soft serve ice cream and fast-food restaurant on Civic Center Drive found the front door broken and someone had gotten into the cash register.
Published
June 28, 2021

Hot weather sends central Mainers searching for relief

Summer’s first hot spell brings humid conditions to region, sending people scrambling for ways to beat the heat, which is expected to moderate for the Fourth of July weekend.
Published
June 27, 2021

Mixing business and pleasure at Augusta’s downtown waterfront

Richard Parkhurst has leased out four spaces on Front Street in Augusta this summer to businesses that will help draw people, and attention, to the Kennebec River.
Published
June 25, 2021

Viles Arboretum prepares for opening of new Education Center in Augusta

The Education Center is expected to help the nonprofit organization diversify its offerings and programs, particularly the children’s summer camp that starts Aug. 2.
Published
June 24, 2021

Kennebec County Republican Committee votes to censure Collins

While the move is only procedural and unlikely to affect Sen. Susan Collins, experts say it is part of a populist shift in the Republican Party from the local to the national level.