NEWSLETTER: Not Your Father’s Biddeford

New mayor; changing business hours at City Hall and approaching holidays

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping, but it feels good to approach the holiday season with some enthusiasm and contentment.

This week, we are asking our readers to tell us what they believe were the Top-Ten news stories in Biddeford for 2025.

We are also soliciting ideas about holiday coverage and feature stories that you may enjoy learning about.

Of course, we expect to once again offer an exclusive, sit-down interview with Santa Claus, but we also want to highlight and celebrate the diversity of Biddeford’s holiday season.

This is a great opportunity for you or your organization to share news and events about the holidays and community celebrations. CONTACT US

Now that the local elections are over, we are returning to a much more manageable schedule, focused on original, in-depth reporting.

For the time period between Oct. 1 and Nov. 12, we published an average of more than one story per day. Now, we anticipate two-to-three stories per week, not including obituaries, public events or business profiles.

Our annual Veterans’ Day parade this year highlighted the strength of what can be accomplished by collaboration between the cities of Biddeford and Saco. The bridge at the bottom of York Hill was dedicated in honor of Gen. Wallace Nutting, a native of Saco and former mayor of Biddeford.

Nutting was always very bullish about both cities, and he was perpetually on the hunt for partnership opportunities. It seems only fitting that a bridge connecting the two cities would be named in his honor.

This week’s news highlights:

Despite a recommendation by City Attorney Harry Center to send the issue back to the planning board, the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 to deny a citizen-based appeal of the controversial pier being proposed by the University of New England.

Biddeford’s Policy Committee tackled both next steps for an updated Comprehensive Plan and a review of the council’s Code of Ethics.

From our friends at Saco Bay News, we learned this week that three former York County corrections officers were indicted on charges that they facilitated the delivery of contraband items to prisoners.

What’s on deck:

On Saturday, we sat down with Biddeford Mayor-Elect Liam LaFountain for an exclusive, free-ranging interview about a number of issues facing the city.

We also met with folks from the Age Friendly Saco program to highlight the many services they provide to seniors and how they hope to work closely with the Age Friendly Biddeford program.

On Tuesday, the Biddeford City Council will tackle the issue of business hours at City Hall.

Currently, City Hall is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7 a.m. to 5 pm; and on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In an effort to minimize public confusion, the council will consider streamlining business hours at City Hall to 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

And that’s a wrap for this week.

Remember: What do you think were the Top-Ten news stories in Biddeford this year? Drop us a line at BiddefordGazette@gmail.com

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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

c.) 2025 All Rights Reserved

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