Maine
Missing fishermen braved ‘wild’ weather as they tried to get home
Chester and Aaron Barrett, the father-and-son fishermen from Addison who went missing over the weekend, had planned to drag for scallops close to home on Monday, according to a friend.
But they needed to get Chester’s boat, Sudden Impact, from Edmunds back to South Addison, their friend Chris Beal said Monday. When they set out on Saturday morning, they ran into foul weather after rounding West Quoddy Head in Lubec.
“They were in a rush to fish today,” said Beal, a fisherman who has known the Barretts for decades, during an interview on Monday.
The Barretts texted someone else during the trip and indicated they would try to seek shelter from the rough seas as soon as possible.
“It’s wild out here,” they said in a text, according to Beal.
They headed for Cutler.
But the Barretts and their scallop dragger did not make it to Cutler and were reported overdue that evening. After a Coast Guard search late Saturday and on Sunday, the boat is believed to have sunk en route.
Dean Barrett, Chester’s nephew and Aaron’s cousin, said he wasn’t sure if they checked the weather forecast before they left Edmunds and tried to make it home. He said his uncle is an experienced diver and so knew the hazards of the sea, but that the stretch of coast between Lubec and Cutler can be unforgiving.
If the tide and wind are running against each other, it can amplify the size of the swell and waves, he said.
“You’ve got 17 miles of raw ocean,” Dean Barrett said.
Beal echoed the assessment of that section of coastline.
“It’s a horrible place to be” in bad weather, Beal said. “There’s zero islands to shelter behind.”
The loss of Sudden Impact underscores the dangers of fishing in general and the hazards that draggers in particular can face. The Barretts were not fishing on Saturday, but draggers can capsize even in mild weather if their gear catches on the bottom.
During a 10-month span over a decade ago, from March 2009 to January 2010, three draggers capsized and sank in Cobscook Bay, taking the lives of five fishermen on two of the boats. The crew of the third boat, Miss Priss, were rescued by a nearby vessel and survived.
Last week, the Barretts and everyone else who had been fishing scallops in Cobscook Bay this winter found out they would have to move their boats elsewhere to continue through the end of the season in March. That came after state officials enacted an emergency closure of Cobscook Bay, including Whiting and Dennys bays, in order to protect the broodstock. For years, that area has been considered the most productive scallop-fishing grounds in Maine.
Now, other fishermen who have gone out looking for the Barretts think they may have located the missing boat via SONAR. It may be submerged near Moose Cove in about 160 feet of water, officials have said, but the weather on Monday remained too windy following an overnight snow storm for recovery efforts to proceed.
Beal said that Aaron Barrett, whom he has known since Aaron was a child, worked on Beal’s boat for roughly five years before Chester Barrett won a scallop license in a state lottery three years ago. Since then, Aaron has worked with his father during scallop season.
“Everybody’s just in shock,” Beal said, adding that he did not know the Barretts would be out on the water on Saturday. Scallop fishermen can only fish during certain days of the week, and draggers are not allowed to fish on weekends but can relocate from one fishing area to another any time.
“We kind of knew” they likely had sunk when they didn’t make it back to South Addison by the end of the day, Beal said. “We was holding hope they made it in somewhere.”
Brigitte Beal, Beal’s wife, said she and her husband and the Barretts — Chester, his wife Melanie and Aaron — owned neighboring camps at Schoodic Lake for 20 years.
“Chet and Aaron were remarkably hard workers, a very close father-and-son relationship, very well-known in our tight community, always willing to help, first with a joke, very family-oriented guys,” Brigitte Beal said. “We surely have lost two incredibly respected members of our community.”
Dean Barrett said his uncle and cousin were outgoing, friendly people but largely kept to themselves. His uncle enjoyed hunting deer, while his cousin was more partial to fishing for bass.
“Uncle Chet loved to hunt,” he said. “They’d always make time to be up at Schoodic Lake.”
Aaron didn’t have any of his own kids but had a girlfriend who lived in Bangor with two children from a prior relationship, Dean Barrett said. Aaron would take them fishing with him sometimes on trips to Schoodic Lake, he said.
Dean Barrett said he and another fisherman are planning to recover Sudden Impact from where they believe it came to rest on the bottom near Moose Cove. He said they tried on Sunday, but had to stop after the Coast Guard said conditions were too unsafe.
He said he and the other fishermen have larger fishing boats, and that he is sure they can resurface the sunken vessel between the two of them.
“I’m going to try to get it tomorrow,” Dean Barrett said.
Maine
This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage
A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million.
Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic.
It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”
MORE: Laid-Back Costa Rica Is Getting a $7 Million Mega-Penthouse
The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors.
The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch.
The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”
MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test
There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow.
Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said.
Maine
NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion
Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.
As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.
The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.
Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.
Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”
After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.
Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.
In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.
First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.
Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.
Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.
Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.
If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.
Maine
Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition
For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.
That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.
So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.
It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.
But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.
Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine
Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.
Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.
Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.
There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.
Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter
While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.
Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.
All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.
TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine
Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.
This list was updated in March of 2026
Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka
Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine
Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!
Gallery Credit: Getty Images
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling