This Week's Haul, March 26: The more things change...

And: Jamie Lee Curtis as Jessica Fletcher? Sold.

Downtown Bangor graffiti, circa 2006-ish. Whatever happened to that random bulletin board-looking thing on the corner of Hammond and Main? Did this person ever get back what belonged to them?

Good morning from eastern Maine, where this week, if I’m being perfectly honest, not a lot happened to me personally. I was sick all weekend. It snowed. I got an oil change. I gave my dog a bath. Oh! I did more digging in my ancient external hard drive and unearthed some more old photos, as seen in the featured image in this post. Bangor-area graffiti, circa 2006-2008. I’ll share some more of these over the coming months. Otherwise, though: a wet, dreary late March week. Give me sunshine, please.

• Welp, they talked a lot about how crime is rampant in Maine, a state that has consistently ranked as one of if not THE safest in the nation, and they managed to blame Democrats and immigrants for everything else they perceive as bad. One thing they did not do at the Republican gubernatorial debate in Bangor this week, though: award the winner a sword.

• I am not generally a board game person - I do not excel at learning lots of new rules very quickly - but I think this lobster fishing board game created by two Waldo County residents looks extremely adorable.

• Sing it with me, people! 🎶They paved the old Bangor Drive-In, and put up a $17.5 million Amazon warehouse. Shoooo bop bop bop bop!🎶

• We’re not getting a new Bangor Parks & Recreation facility, at least not anytime soon. Bangor’s kids and seniors can enjoy the asbestos and cramped quarters and bad location and 1950s Cold War-era vibe of the current headquarters for years longer!

• A movie reboot of “Murder, She Wrote” starring Jamie Lee Curtis as coastal Maine’s favorite fictional amateur sleuth? Sign me up.

  

Every week I peruse Bangor Daily News stories in the newspapers.com archive from issues published 20, 30, 40, 50 and up to 120 years ago. Usually, I’m looking for big anniversaries, notable moments, quirky anecdotes, ways to compare and contrast the present with the past and bits of crowd-pleasing nostalgia. Sometimes, though, I’m just struck by the stories contained on an entire page, like this one published 30 years ago, on March 29, 1996. Nearly every story on this page reflects something that is different now. We adopted term limits for Maine legislators in November 1996. Maine privatized liquor stores in 2003. The Bangor Garden Show ended in 2010. Maine’s education standards have been updated and amended multiple times. The only thing that’s still sort of true is the fact that some people still want to pretend that LGBTQ+ people don’t exist or believe they are bad for some bizarre reason, and don’t want them talked about in schools. And I wonder what happened to that kid at Hermon High School that tried to run over the principal.

Music & Dance

March 26: Swingmatism, jazz ensemble, 6:30 p.m., Bangor Public Library, Bangor

March 27: Bangor Contradance feat. Beat Bucket and caller Chris Ricciotti, 6 p.m., UU Church, Park Street, Bangor

March 27: Contradance feat. BAMU and caller Alice Slater, 7 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington

March 27: Classic Albums Live performs the Eagles’ greatest hits, 7 p.m., Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono

March 27: Subsonic Vibes electronic night feat. DJs Witty Bop, Betty Bop, UG and Jephirsun Danger, 9 p.m., The Old Town Theatre, Old Town

March 28: Last Saturday at the Legion feat. Quantum, Asa Irons and The White Falcons, 7 p.m., American Legion Hall, Belfast

March 28: Orono Contradance feat. Tough End String Band and caller Chrissy Fowler, 7 p.m., Keith Anderson Community Center, Orono

March 28: Spring Eclipse Metal Festival feat. Dead In Your Eyes, Viqueen, Krull, Wormhole, Earthwyrm, Castle Crusher and The Burial Curse, 4 p.m., Hey Sailor, Searsport

March 28: Trey Songz, 8 p.m., Cross Insurance Center, Bangor

March 29: Classical Uprising presents “Passion for the Planet,” 3 p.m., Gracie Theatre, Husson University, Bangor

March 29: The Met Live in HD presents “Tristan und Isolde,” noon, Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono

March 29: Isidore String Quartet, 3 p.m., First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, Blue Hill

Theater & Comedy

March 26-29: Grand Players present “Little Women: The Musical,” daily at the Grand Theatre, Ellsworth

March 26-29: Belfast Maskers presents “Below the Belt,” new play, 7 p.m. nightly and 2 p.m. Sunday, Basil Burwell Community Theatre, Belfast

March 27: High Stakes House of Comedy presents Annie Powell, Dennis Price and Adam Hatch, 8 p.m., Hollywood Casino, Bangor

March 28: Live recording of “It’s Your Funeral” podcast, 7 p.m., Next Generation Theatre, Brewer

Art, Books, Film & Culture

March 26: “A Guide to Local Government,” presentation by the League of Women Voters Maine, 6:30 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill

March 26: Discussion group on the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, 5:30 p.m., Edythe Dyer Library, Hampden

March 27: Screening of “Hamilton: An American Musical,” 3:30 p.m., Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill

March 27: Preview screening of Ken Burns’ “Henry David Thoreau,” 7 p.m., Gracie Theatre, Husson University, Bangor

March 29: Points North Recovery Film Series screens “A Phantom Song” and “Recovery in Maine: Wabanaki Voices,” 3 p.m., Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft

March 30: “Why bowling balls end up in our recycling bins (and what state lawmakers are doing about it),” presentation by Erin Victor, 3 p.m., Norman Smith Hall, University of Maine, Orono

March 31: Opera House Arts Film Club screening of “Dr. Strangelove,” 6 p.m., Stonington Opera House, Stonington

March 31: “Hungry Now,” documentary screening from Waldo County Bounty, 6:30 p.m., Colonial Theatre, Belfast

April 1: “Phenomenal Spring,” storytelling with Danielle D’Auria, Bob Duchesne, Chuck Loring and Aislinn Sarnacki, 6:30 p.m., Bangor Public Library, Bangor

Fairs, Festivals, Markets, Outdoors & Misc.

March 26-29: Maine Science Festival; panels, workshops, demonstrations and other events throughout downtown Bangor; mainesciencefestival.org.

March 28: 45th annual St. George River Race, pickup starts at 8:30 a.m., downtown Searsmont; register for race here

March 28: Guided early spring nature walk, 3 p.m., Fields Pond Audubon Center, Holden

March 29: Seed Swap and Scion Exchange, 12-4 p.m., MOFGA headquarters, Unity

The Final Four of the March Madness of Maine Characters has arrived, and quite frankly, this is not how I expected things to go. I really thought both Pennywise and Bananas T. Bear would make it quite a bit farther, and I did not anticipate Charlotte the Spider and Joe Bornstein making it as far as they have. But, here we are, friends: nearly at the end of this month-long journey, and wow, we’ve learned almost nothing. Exactly as I’d hoped. Here are your penultimate matchups to vote on!

Joe Bornstein vs. Joshua Chamberlain

I’ll tell you one thing: they both mean business.

Paul Bunyan vs. Charlotte the Spider

I really appreciate the fact that the physically largest - well, other than Cassie the Casco Bay Sea Monster, I guess - character in this whole thing will be taking on the physically smallest one. Vote with your hearts, folks.