BANGOR – Dirigo Reads, a program that aims to put a book in the hands of every Maine first grader each month during the school year by 2025, is announcing the addition of 24 schools that will participate in the program during the next school year. This brings the total number of participating schools to 50 for the 2021-2022 school year, and nearly doubles the number of estimated first graders in Maine to receive new books every month through the program.

“Last year, Dirigo Reads gave out more than 8,000 books to first graders in Maine,” said Karen Cashman, co-founder of Dirigo Reads. “In the span of two school years, Dirigo Reads has put more than 11,300 books in the hands of Maine kids. We are excited to continue seeing this program grow thanks to the enthusiasm of the schools, teachers, kids, parents, and the partners involved with this program.”

Spring in the vegetable or flower garden is a carefully orchestrated series of events. The goal is to keep things moving forward with the warming season, taking into account weather predictions and, because those are just predictions, average spring warming trends where you garden.

Many gardeners use Memorial Day as a turning point in their gardening calendar. But Memorial Day weather in San Diego is very different from Memorial Day weather in Concord, New Hampshire.