Drinking Habits
Performances: Aug. 8-10 and Aug. 15-17
Fri/Sat, Aug. 8/9--7:30 pm
Sun, Aug. 10--3 pm
Fri/Sat, Aug. 15/16--7:30 pm
Sun, Aug. 17--3 pm
at Freeport Performing Arts Center
30 Holbrook St, Freeport
FPAC is air-conditioned, and accessible.
Freeport News Wednesday
Press Herald - Freeport recently celebrated the groundbreaking of a new youth golf center
named in honor of the owner's late daughter, Alexa Rancourt. The Maine
Golf Center commemorated the start of work on a $3 million youth golf
facility last week, and the centerpiece of the event was the
announcement that an education facility will be named the Alexa Re
Rancourt Golf Learning Center, bearing the name of the former
professional golfer from South Portland, who died of a fentanyl overdose
in January 2024. Thus far, $2.7 million of the $3 million has been
raised.
Maine News Wednesday
Times Record - Columnist Susan Olcott focused this week on efforts to protect Maine's beach-nesting bird populations as people head to the coast in hopes of cooling down. The column highlights some of these efforts and explains why beachgoers might see sections of the sand blocked off with ropes or fencing.
Press Herald - Maine is denying the U.S. Department of Justice access to its voter registration records, state officials said Tuesday, rejecting an unprecedented request for sensitive voter data that the Trump administration has now delivered to all 50 states. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows responded to the request by telling the DOJ to "go jump in the Gulf of Maine."
Press Herald - Genesis HealthCare, which owns several skilled nursing, assisted living for seniors and rehabilitation centers in Maine, has filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to ensure its long-term stability. The company, headquartered in Pennsylvania, operates 11 facilities in Maine, including Sedgewood Commons in Falmouth, Pine Point Center in Scarborough and Springbrook Center in Westbrook.
Maine News Tuesday
Press Herald - More smoke from Canadian wildfires is expected to make its way through Maine this week, keeping air quality down across the state. Over the weekend, the smoke triggered an air quality alert in the state designating conditions as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” because of particulate pollution. While those alerts have since been lessened to “moderate,” it may stay that way for some time.
Press Herald - Lyme disease cases are on pace to break records this year, as reported cases of the tick-borne disease have already reached 1,875 in Maine, which is 20% higher than the same January-July period in 2024. Cases of anaplasmosis, the second-most common tick-borne disease that’s also transmitted by the deer tick, are also skyrocketing, with 890 cases reported so far in 2025.
Maine News Monday
Press Herald - A Portland doctor and the city’s mobile outreach team have teamed up to care for unhoused pregnant and postpartum women battling addiction through a new effort called Project Lifeline. The partnership brings prenatal and addiction care directly to the streets, the Maine Monitor reports.
Maine second best state in which to retire
Wallet Hub - Health Care in Maine (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- Overall Rank: 6th
- 29th – Hospital Beds per Capita
- 10th – Physicians per Capita
- 22nd – % of Insured Adults
- 23rd – % of Insured Children
- 16th – % of At-Risk Adults with No Routine Doctor Visit in Past Two Years
- 27th – % of Adults with No Dental Visit in Past Year
- 14th – % of Medical Residents Retained
For the full report
Freeport News Saturday
New golf center in Freeport honors late champion, raises mental health awareness. The Alexa Rancourt Golf Learning Center in Freeport honors its namesake while promoting mental health and substance use awareness through the sport. (NEWS CENTER Maine)
Maine News Saturday
Portland Press Herald
U.S. government runs out of money to pay Maine defense lawyers appointed in federal cases
The U.S. Department of Education on Friday agreed to release the remaining portion of $28 million in funding to Maine. The Trump administration had frozen more than $6 billion in education funding nationally. Last week, the administration agreed to release $1 billion of that funding, including $6.5 million earmarked for Maine.
Shelters and mental health advocacy groups in Maine are raising alarms about an executive order signed Thursday by President Donald Trump that makes it easier for cities to forcibly remove and involuntarily hospitalize homeless people. The order seeks to shift federal funds and policies away from harm reduction and toward civil commitment. Local advocates compared it to "signing a death warrant."
Maine News Friday
Press Herald
Since 2014, annual traffic fatalities in Maine have increased by 37%, according to the national study by the nonprofit TRIP. Nationally, traffic deaths since 2021 have declined by 13% — but in Maine, they have increased by 17% over that period, the study says. However, some officials at the Maine Department of Transportation say TRIP’s study doesn’t paint the whole picture.
If you’re thinking Maine summers, known for their warm days and cool nights, aren’t like they used to be, you’re right. They’re not just getting hotter — they’re also getting stickier. The state’s biggest cities have seen a gradual rise in temperature and dew points since the late 1940s. The long-term pattern is clear: Maine’s increasingly warm summer season air is holding more water vapor than some 75 years ago
The Maine Department of Transportation is adding traffic cameras in multiple locations across Interstate 295 and Interstate 95 over the next couple of months. What is the purpose of the cameras? The traffic cameras will not be used to monitor speeding or issue tickets, but rather to better track delays and respond to road emergencies.
Maine news
Press Herald - Maine’s summer real estate market is underway, and June was a busy month for both buyers and sellers, with more inventory to choose from but higher prices as well. Homebuyers in Maine paid a median of $425,000 last month — the same as in May, when the state set a new record high. Meanwhile, 1,441 homes changed hands, an increase of more than 10% compared to June 2024, and a 17% increase from May.
Press Herald - For the first time ever, Maine’s state budget includes a dedicated, ongoing revenue stream to support affordable housing production — a historic milestone and long-standing goal of MAHC.
This new funding comes from increasing the real estate transfer tax on the portion of sales over $1 million, while removing it on income-eligible first-time home buyers. The revenue will grow over time, and is a long-term, consistent investment in building homes for Maine people.
Several new laws will also remove outdated barriers that have prevented homes from being built in the right places. LD 1829 reforms zoning to allow housing on smaller lots in community-designated growth areas, grants a one-story height bonus for affordable housing and provides training for planning board members.
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