Story planning, Sebago and Snoop

About once a quarter, us editorial folks take an afternoon to get out of the office, escape our phones, desks and deadlines, and talk about story ideas. While we have weekly in-house meetings to talk about stories we're working on, these offsite meetings are a chance for us to really brainstorm and think far in advance for upcoming issues. And we also get a little food and beverage into us, which really seems to help the story-planning process.

Last Friday, we walked from our office to Sebago Brewing Co. in the new Hampton Inn. It was the first offsite meeting for both Senior Writer Randy Billings, who joined Mainebiz in late December, and Staff Writer Matt Dodge, who's been writing for Mainebiz as a freelancer but joined us as a full-time employee last month. We shared some guac and chips while we hashed out stories for the next few issues, discussing business trends, topics we've been mulling over and other tips and ideas we've heard from business and economic development people.

From left, that's Matt, me and Editor Carol Coultas. Oh, and the remnants of a shared tiramisu there in the middle.

In case you don't recall, last Friday was the day that both President Obama and rapper Snoop Dogg were in town (but not for the same event, of course). While enjoying our meals, we happened to notice this eye-catching bus pull up to the light outside Sebago's window. We were pretty sure it wasn't the president's ride, which means it had to be Snoop, right?

It's never dull working in the Old Port.

Do you have a story idea for us? Tell us about it!