In the past two weeks, we have been asked several times why we did not cover the Rally for Democracy on April 19 on Boothbay Common.

My answer was simply, we didn’t have anyone available. I did offer the coverage of the event on my weekly story list but, with a small staff, there are only so many stories we can get to in a timely manner.

I did not get an official word of the event from Lincoln County Indivisible until Wednesday afternoon, April 16 and, by that time, our reporters and the rest of the staff were in the throes of getting the April 17 issue completed. That issue was the largest issue of 2025 so far, with six candidate profiles to process, publishing loads of letters, celebrating Volunteer Week, coverage of upcoming town meetings to inform residents about what they were to be voting on, spring sports reports, reporting on meetings, placing a half dozen or more obituaries, etc.

Also, on Tuesday afternoon, April 15, we learned of the death of one of the region’s most respected and beloved citizens, Coach I.J. Pinkham, who spent 40-plus years guiding our successful Seahawk boys varsity basketball teams. Our minds, the rest of that week, were on giving him his due in the next issue and we were asked to help secure photographs we had on file for the family for his celebration of life, which will be held Saturday, May 17 at 10 a.m. at Boothbay Region High School.

Also, staff members were working on stories and photos for this spring’s special supplements, Home & Landscapes, Windjammer Days, Summertime and Dining Guide. 

Speaking of staff – Not that it’s a secret, but like any successful business, we try to avoid paying overtime if we can help it and eating up 40 hours with their coverage of meetings, writing and more, is fairly easy each week.

Other organizations and businesses submit press releases to us and we welcome them. We did put the notice of the rally online as the notice arrived too late for the April 17 print issue. We even made sure it got into our Morning Catch email blast on April 17. We would have welcomed a followup article from Lincoln County Indivisible.

As rallies of this type will most likely continue, we are not saying we will cover them with our small and busy staff, but we do feel that rallies are important and are a true expression of democracy.