Source : Good News Network- Feb 9, 2021

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and it seems as though the whole world could use a little bit of extra love this year. Essential workers and first responders have been performing their duties honorably in the midst of a global pandemic that doesn’t seem to have a clear end in sight. Judy DeFelice, owner of Happy Hearts Daycare, had the inspired idea to teach the children she watches about the importance of showing gratitude by making a tree of hearts.

In years past, the people of Camden, Maine would look to the top of Mt. Battie to see a large glowing star during the holiday season. For 54-years the star would take its place from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, acting as a symbol of hope to the community. Those who are involved with the project thought that people could use a little bit extra hope this year, so they decided to leave the star past the holidays, until the pandemic is over.

Like most cities, Portland, ME has placed restrictions on indoor dining. This isn’t so much a problem during the summertime as it is during the winter when the snow falls and there’s always a crisp chill in the air. While many restaurants have been using electric and/or gas outdoor heaters to keep their guests comfortable, Jocelyn Olsen and Colin Greig hope to further the comfort of guests by supplying restaurants with heated cushions.

As the novel coronavirus has posed an array of challenges for restaurants around the world, many of them are in desperate need of financial relief. Chefs in Maine have helped to bring assistance to their community through the Maine Restaurant Relief Fund, which has generated over $140,000 and distributed grants to 19 restaurants in all 16 of Maine’s counties.

Getting out of the house was pretty hard for a lot of people last year. Over the last year, more people than ever have been running their lives almost exclusively from home; computers quickly became the main way they accessed their work, education, entertainment, relationships, and even personal trainers! Home gyms are practically the “norm” these days.

There are many things that Maine is known for: lobsters, beautiful coastlines, and – of course – being the home of Stephen King. King and his wife Tabitha live in a Victorian-style mansion in Bangor, Maine complete with wrought iron fences that feature bats and gargoyles. It’s practically something out of one of King’s prolific horror novels! Pretty soon, they will be opening their home to the public. Not for tours – but for a place where writers and literary scholars can come to hone their craft.

The Freeport,ME Community Came Together to Save Laughing Stock Farm

Ralph and Lisa Turner run Laughing Stock Farm in Freeport, Maine; an organic vegetable farm that supplies local restaurants with fresh produce. When COVID-19 hit the states, local governments ordered restaurants to close down in order to help stop the spread of the deadly virus. Without restaurants to sell their produce to, Ralph and Lisa found themselves to be in quite the pickle. That is, until their neighbors swooped in to help.  

It didn’t take long for Ralph and Lisa to start to panic once they heard the news that restaurants in the area were shutting down.“In a period of about four hours on one day in March, 75 percent of our business went to zero,” Ralph told the New York Times.“So our first step was to panic. That was step one.”