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January 6, 2026, In a press release sent to the Biddeford Buzz, York County Commissioner Justin Chenette has announced he will seek a second four-year term in the 2026 election for District 3 (Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Hollis, and Buxton). Justin Chenette (submitted photo) Chenette is the first millennial and first openly LGBTQ+ individual ever elected to the commission and was selected by his fellow commissioners to serve a term as vice chair. “Since taking office, county gov

December 19, 2025, The City of Biddeford will receive sealed bids for the Alfred Street Sewer Separation Phase 3 Project until 2:00 p.m. prevailing local time on January 22nd, 2026 at the Biddeford City Hall, 205 Main Street, 3rd floor – Engineering Dept., Biddeford, Maine 04005. Bid documents shall be in clearly marked sealed envelopes titled Alfred Street Sewer Separation Phase 3 Project. All bids will be opened and read aloud at the Biddeford City Hall at 2:00 pm on Janu

Please note, some local sources are incorrectly referring to this committee - THIS IS A INSTITUTIONAL ZONE REVIEW COMMITTEE, NOT A "UNE REVIEW COMMITTEE". December 18, 2025, On Tuesday, the City Council authorized the creation of an ad hoc Institutional Zone Review Committee. This committee was formed for the purpose of reviewing all Institutional Zone provisions of the Biddeford Zoning Ordinance, including but not limited to the Institutional Zone and the Institutional Maste

By Haley Thompson President, Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club BIDDEFORD/SACO/DAYTON, Maine – December 18, 2025 – This holiday season, the Biddeford Saco Rotary Club once again demonstrated the power of community through its annual Adopt-A-Family Program, ensuring that 200 local children experienced the joy of Christmas morning. Despite the growing need, Rotarians and their helpers remained undeterred—managing every aspect of the program, from shopping and wrapping to organizing

December 17, 2025, Biddeford wastewater customers can now expect to receive their wastewater bills reliably and predictably from Maine Water. Recently, the city transitioned to leveraging Maine Water's billing and customer service expertise to stabilize the administrative processes for sewer billing. The city contracted Maine Water Company to handle all billing, collection and customer service inquiries for the city’s wastewater operations. The complex changeover required mig

By Jessica Johnson December 9, 2025, Every long distance runner ( well most) dream of running the Boston Marathon, nevermind 3 and as of next year, four. This weekly installment is going to detail my training, the good, the bad and the ugly (there can be a lot of ugly), and how I balance my life with the organized chaos of being a wife, mom, seamstress, adult educator, and a middle school teacher while training for a marathon.(I will give you a hint: It can be messy) I will

December 4, 2025, The Saco School Department and City of Saco marked a historic milestone today as families, city officials, students, educators, and construction partners gathered for the official groundbreaking of its transformative new PreK–5 school campus, representing the long-awaited transformation of the district’s elementary learning environments. (L-R) Saco School Department Assistant Superintendent Meg Parkhurst, City of Saco’s City Council member Jeffrey Onnen, Cou

📰BIDDEFORD | City of Biddeford Files Court Challenge for UNE Pier Approval BIDDEFORD, Maine (December 4, 2025) — The City of Biddeford has filed a Complaint for Review of Final Agency Action in Maine Superior Court seeking a judicial determination that the Saco River Corridor Commission's (SRCC) 2024 approval of a new pier at the University of New England (UNE) is unlawful and invalid. The filing asserts that the SRCC did not apply a binding 2001 permit condition requiring a

Karen Garnett kgarnett@biddefordschools.me BIDDEFORD, Maine– December 1, 2025 – Biddeford School Department is proud to be chosen as a convoy stop for this year’s annual Wreaths Across America “Escort to Arlington” – known as the world’s largest veterans parade. The official presentation will take place on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 9:15 a.m., at Biddeford Middle School, offering students a meaningful opportunity to hear directly from veterans and community leaders about s

November 25, 2025, This morning, city hall personnel confirmed that Brian Phinney, Biddeford's Chief Operating Officer (COO), has formally announced his intended retirement from public service effective January 15, 2026. "Brian has been a huge help to me since I joined the City a few months ago, said City Manager Truc Dever." Dever went on to say, "I appreciate all that he has done for the City of Biddeford and for this community. I wish him all the best in retirement." In a

-Ribbon Cutting & Grand Opening, Bounce Pickle + Play and Match Point Kitchen- “It's amazing, I'll tell you what. Strange twist of fate, literally 30 years ago, I managed the bookland that was next door to here. So to see the plaza go down and come back as it has, is just remarkable." Alex MacPhail, Executive Director, Biddeford Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry November 20, 2025, This evening, the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry Board of Directors, Executiv

“I think it has been really successful. We are at the half way point of the time set aside and the students have already completed 2/3's of the entire workload”, said Delilah Poupore, Executive Director for Heart of Biddeford. November 16, 2025, If you were downtown today, you may have noticed some younger looking individuals carrying around ladders, totes, lights, and some even climbing trees. Great news, this was not a rebellion! UNE students hang lights from tress in dow

📰BIDDEFORD | New Executive Director | Biddeford Saco Chamber of Commerce 🎊 CONGRATULATIONS ALEX MCPHAIL! November 15, 2025, The Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry has hired Alex MacPhail (resident of Saco) to be their new executive director. Alex MacPhail MacPhail will start as executive director on Monday, Nov. 17, according to a press release from the chamber’s board of directors. In the role as executive drector, MacPhail will be responsible for member engag

Have you ever had someone come up to you and question you about something, and rather than answer the question, you think, “who are you to even be asking me this?”... Well, in the most anecdotal fashion, that’s exactly what happened at tonight’s UNE Pier appeal hearing; according to the Zoning Board of Appeals and city procedure, the individuals who filed the appeal, can not legally be recognized (qualified) as appellants, therefore, the appeal was denied. November 13, 2025,

⚠️SCHOOL CLOSED ON 11/12/25 - WATER MAIN BREAK November 11, 2025, Attention, a notice was sent out this evening at approximately 6:00 PM to parents of students who attend Saco Middle School informing them of a school closure tomorrow (11/12/25) due to a water main break. The message that was sent to parents can be viewed below and is attached: "Saco Middle School will be CLOSED tomorrow, Wednesday, November 12, 2025, due to a water main break at the school. We are assessing t

📰BIDDEFORD | Building Fire | Morin Street November 9, 2025, According to reports, The Biddeford Fire Department is currently on scene in the area of Morin Street, for a working building fire. It is reported to be fire in an "exhaust system of the building". As of the now it is considered a "small fire", but because of the contents of the building, several departments are on scene out of an abundance of caution. Authorities are asking individuals to please avoid the area. Cur

Interviewer: "So right now, if we get a really heavy rain, there's the possibility that sewerage could overflow and end up in the river?" Answer: "That is correct." - Jeff Demers, Director, Biddeford Public Works November 2, 2025, This past week The Biddeford Buzz, along with WGME CBS 13 News, Portland, and Spectrum News Maine, were invited by the City of Biddeford Government to tour the various sewage facilities and learn more about the upcoming sewer bond (Question 1) that

-Mayor Marty Grohman Takes Jabs at Mayoral Opponent Liam LaFountain... Little to No Mentioning of opponent Norm Belanger- "It’s disingenuous for my opponent [Liam LaFountain], who is the Council President, to now claim that he’s pro-business, when he has relentlessly driven up the costs of business: like making it cost ten thousand bucks to hook up a sink." - Marty Grohman By MARTY GROHMAN - November 2, 2025, In Biddeford, the mayor doesn’t have a vote. The Council has all th

"Michael Tosi, 42 years of age of Biddeford, has been charged with Criminal Mischief and Violating Condition of Release" October 28, 2025, Acoording to a release from the Biddeford Police Department, they are actively investigating multiple incidents of damage to residences and vehicles in the downtown area that have occurred over the past several weeks. Officers have been collecting evidence, reviewing surveillance footage, and conducting interviews to identify those respons