REGIONAL INFORMATION CULTURAL ARTS ABOUND Cultural opportunities within the Capital Area include Shakespearean plays performed at the Theater at Monmouth throughout the summer and concerts performed by the Kennebec Performing Arts and the Augusta Symphony Orchestra. Other venues for performing arts include Gaslight Theater in Hallowell, the University of Maine at Augusta, Johnson Hall in Gardiner, Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney, and state of the art facilities at Cony High School and Winthrop High School. Two of the area’s historic theaters, the Colonial Theater in Augusta and Johnson Hall in Gardiner, are going under major renovations to preserve the history of the buildings and to become beacons for the arts in the region. SENIOR CITIZEN ASSISTANCE General information is available from the Bureau of Elder & Adult Services, State House Station 11, Augusta, Maine 04333 Phone: (207) 287-9200 or 1 800-2622232 or call Spectrum Generations, One Weston Court, Augusta, Maine 04330, Phone: (207) 622-9212 or 1-800-639-1553.
SHOPPING Each community in the Capital Area offers its own unique downtown shopping experience. Visit the varied selection of large stores or a growing number of small to mid-size specialty shops. Your shopping experience will include visiting several shopping centers, mini-malls and traditional Main Street settings of the downtown business districts.
TRANSPORTATION Interstate 95, the backbone of highway transportation in Maine, serves the Capital area. In addition, many other major highways converge in the Capital helping to make it a true center of commerce and travel.
The Capital Area is home to several shopping centers with an extraordinary retailer mix with the likes of Walmart, Home Depot, Old Navy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Target, Lowes, Best Buy, and more. Whatever your shopping pleasure, you are sure to discover it in the Capital Area.
Kennebec Explorer provides local public bus transportation and several taxi companies service the area.
TAXATION The tax structure of Maine is comprised of state and local taxes. The state collects retail sales and use taxes, income taxes and business related taxes. At the local level, real estate, personal property and excise taxes are collected. Additional detailed information may be obtained from municipal offices or from the Bureau of Taxation, State House Station 24, Augusta, Maine 04333-0024. Phone: (207) 287-2076. 47
Portland and Bangor are about an hour’s drive away and Boston is less than a three-hour drive.
Rental cars are available at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Greyhound buses serve Augusta, and Concord Coach Lines Bus Company operates a major transportation hub in Augusta providing direct transport to Boston and New York City. Cape Air provides scheduled flight service to Boston and beyond from the Augusta State Airport. Charter air service and flight instruction courses are available from Maine Instrument Flight. UTILITIES Maine Natural Gas and Summit Natural Gas of Maine both deliver natural gas to industrial, commercial, and residential customers