BREWER — Decades past, Brewer third-graders learned about Maine by reading books and memorizing key (albeit boring) dates and people.

Friday, October 4, 2013 the Public Works (including the landfill) and Water departments will be closed all day for safety training. Crews will only be responding to emergencies. If you have an emergency, please contact the Police Department at 989-7001.

BREWER, Maine — Sale of Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer expected Friday. A couple who have decided to purchase the financially strapped Penobscot Ice Arena on Acme Road say they know all about the facility’s problems and bad reputation.

BREWER, Maine — The old State Street School is coming down and a developer plans to build a 48-unit affordable housing project in its place, D’arcy Main-Boyington, Brewer’s economic development director, told city councilors Monday while discussing a tax break for the project.

BREWER, Maine — The American flag flew high atop a ladder truck along Parkway South on Wednesday at the Brewer Public Safety building.

Brewer Days, an end-of-summer tradition, will be held Friday, Sept. 6 – Sunday, Sept. 8, at Brewer Auditorium and Doyle Field.

BREWER, Maine — Some of the children who went to Brewer Middle School, which opened 87 years ago, may return as seniors to live within its walls, Brewer Housing Authority executive director Gordon Stitham said Friday.

Last week, we looked at the city of Brewer’s recent economic development efforts. But there are other ways the city is working to draw businesses to Brewer, most notably, its efforts to enhance the community to make it a more attractive venue.

There’s an old saw that says people from Brewer will go to Bangor, but people from Bangor won’t go to Brewer. In 2008, the city of Brewer conducted an extensive survey that revealed that people on the eastern side of the Penobscot River preferred to shop in Brewer if they could get what they needed there. Since those on the Bangor side generally have what they need in Bangor, they’re less apt to go to Brewer.

The communities of Bangor, Bradley, Brewer, Eddington, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Milford, Old Town, Orono, Orrington, and Veazie all have extensive trail systems and opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of our area but it’s very difficult to get to one trail system from another or even find the trails if you’re not familiar with the local land trust’s website. Recently representatives of these twelve Penobscot Valley communities began work on creating a regional, connected trail system with a website that will connect visitors to information about all the trails in the area. Please help us by ranking them in order of preference in this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S5H8T2R by July 31st. The survey also asks if you have any other ideas for names to throw in the mix and we welcome more options.