Lawrence Best – THE BIDDEFORD GAZETTE

According to blogger Mat Zucker, it is becoming more and more important for news outlets to have a pithy, clever tagline that differentiates them from an overflowing pot of news sources and media sites.

“The motto of a news organization is more than just marketing,” Zucker writes. “It’s a declaration of journalistic purpose. These short phrases encapsulate an outlet’s mission, values, and unique approach to reporting.”

Help the Gazette create a tagline, get a gift certificate to Reilly’s Bakery *File photo*

As the Biddeford Gazette begins its second year, I’m asking our readers for suggestions and ideas about a possible tagline for our humble, hyper-local organization.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are a couple of ideas that have been rattling around in my mind.

We could co-opt the New York Times famous tagline: “All the news that’s fit to print,” how about this?

The Biddeford Gazette — All the Biddeford news that’s fit to publish on the internet.

Or maybe we could bend this oft-mentioned piece of writing advice:

Biddeford Gazette — An economy of words; a wealth of Biddeford information

One of my favorite potential taglines came to me last year while talking with former mayor Marty Grohman:

The Biddeford Gazette — We’re free, and we’re worth it!

Of course, we could always take the serious and boring route:

The Biddeford Gazette — Your trusted source for Biddeford news and information;

According to the experts, your tagline should really describe your brand and reputation. So, how about:

The Biddeford Gazette — There’s no such thing as a day off in our newsroom?

But my all-time favorite has to be this one from a former colleague who wished to remain anonymous:

The Biddeford Gazette — Where cranky, old-school journalists go to die in southern Maine.

What do you think should be our motto? Send your suggestions to biddefordgazette@gmail.com

If we pick your original suggestion, you get a $20 gift certificate to Reilly’s Bakery. Yum!

A busy week!

It’s been a busy week here in the Biddeford Gazette’s newsroom.

We started off the week with a rather interesting story featuring local author Susan Graham’s new book about the “Great Fires of 1947” and how that disaster impacted several Biddeford neighborhoods.

That story was one of the most popular pieces we have published. Dozens of people emailed me their own recollections and the stories that were passed down from generation to generation.

Speaking of fires, we also published an exclusive interview with Biddeford Fire Chief Lawrence Best about the city’s ongoing discussions about a potential substation that would be located in the eastern part of the city.

Of course, we updated a story we first published last year about more than $500,00 of fines the city of Biddeford is facing in IRS penalties for failing to submit employee health insurance records in 2021.

Our original story about the city’s financial problems – including the city’s IRS exposure — was first published in the Biddeford Gazette on March 10, 2025.

All I can say is that I am happy that we now have a new city manager, a new finance director, a new mayor and a relatively new city council.

Our exclusive reporting continued this week on an updated story about a complaint the city filed against the University of New England in York County Superior Court.

Finally, we received a press release a couple of weeks ago from State Rep. Marc Malon of Biddeford about a new bill he introduced.

We could have just copied and pasted Malon’s press release, but we decided to dig a little deeper about his proposal to prohibit the use of credit cards for online sports gambling.

At first blush, I considered Malon’s proposal to be yet another example of government overreach into private affairs, but he convinced me otherwise.

In closing, a funny story about the power and benefit of local news, the flexibility of the internet and accessible reporters. Malon really liked the story, but he was a bit uncomfortable with our original headline: “Online gambling addiction troubles Biddeford lawmaker.”

When Malon texted me to ask if we could change the headline, I was more than happy to oblige. Some people were inferring that Malon was having personal problems with a gambling addiction.

One of my old editors – Harry Foote – was likely rolling in his grave. I had forgotten the most basic fundamentals of headline writing: Short, clear in subject-verb-object order.

And that’s a wrap! Stay warm and be safe!

P.S. Oh, yeah. . . . almost forgot to mention: The Biddeford Gazette is now a registered and incorporated as a non-profit entity in the state of Maine!

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

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According to organizers, the relief effort to help families that were displaced by last week’s fire on Brackett Street has received wide and ‘overwhelming support” from the community.

Jessica Johnson, a downtown business owner and former city council candidate, has been coordinating the effort to help provide essential items and clothing for people who “lost everything” during Wednesday’s fire.

“On the one hand, it’s heartbreaking to hear the stories of total loss, on the other hand, it is so heartwarming to see the response,” Johnson said. “This is an awesome community, and people from all over are pitching in and doing whatever they can to help.”

On Monday evening, Johnson coordinated a drop-off event at the Academy of Dance on Elm Street in Biddeford. There, volunteers spent several hours sorting through piles of donated clothing and small household furnishings.

*Mayor Marty Grohman joined volunteers for a photo during the distribution event that took place at the Academy of Dance (Contributed photo)*

“It was so amazing that Amanda and Nate Braley were willing to let us use their business space to get things organized,” Johnson said.

According to Johnson, four roommates and a family of six were living in the house that was destroyed by the fire at 10 Brackett Street.

But Johnson said a mother and her infant who were living next door were also displaced because of water, smoke and fire damage to their apartment at 12 Brackett Street.

Johnson said representatives of the American Red Cross were on the scene almost immediately and helped the family with emergency funding via donated debit cards.

Johnson says she has set up a GoFund Me account to help raise money for the displaced families. A link to that account can be found on the Biddeford Maine Facebook group, where she is an administrator.

During a brief interview Monday morning, Fire Chief Lawrence Best said he was proud of his department and impressed by the coordinated response of out-of-town firefighters who responded to the call.

“These are always tough situations.” Best said. “Our crews and those who responded from other departments did an extraordinary job and demonstrated sheer professionalism and commitment.”

According to Best, the apartment building next door suffered damage from wind-driven fire. No occupants from either building next door were injured, he said.

Two Firefighters were transported to the hospital due to heat exhaustion and were later released.

Eleven fire companies from surrounding communities responded to the scene. Four other communities, including Portland, South Portland, Waterboro and Hollis responded to Biddeford to cover other emergencies in the city.

*Crews spent hours battling the blaze at !o Brackett Street (Seaver photo)*

The State Fire Marshall’s Office is investigating the fire and no cause has yet been determined.

Johnson said any leftover funds from the relief effort’s fundraising campaign will be donated to the non-profit Pillars of Pride organization, an extension of the Biddeford Education Foundation,, which is a 501(c)(3) organization.

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

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Tag: Lawrence Best

Relief effort continues for fire victims