Driving to Augusta this morning on Route 202, it became visibly obvious that political season's upon us.

There were signs all over the median -- from Susan Collins. Ethan Strimling and many others.

A week ago, the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel started publishing a series of profiles about people running for the 1st Congressional District seat in Maine, the seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Allen as he opposes Collins for Senate.

The profiles have been informative, even to me -- and I've been a journalist in Maine since 1995. I knew a fair amount about Chellie Pingree, Mark Lawrence, Strimling and the other more prominent candidates.

But today's piece (by reporter Paul Carrier) about Dean Scontras, an Eliot businessman and political newcomer, was very informative. I hadn't read much about Scontras, his views and his family life, until today.

The series is another example of how the KJ and Sentinel benefit from being part of the same company as the Press Herald and how our policy of liberally sharing one another's "copy" is good for our readers.

The Press Herald series ends tomorrow with a profile of Republican Charlie Summers, who just recently returned from Iraq.

As always, I'd be happy to hear from you about this series, our relationship with the Press Herald and/or our political coverage in general.