Maine News Friday June 5

FREEPORT EVENTS
FREEPORT TALE

FREEPORT

Developers break ground on dozens of new homes in Freeport (wgme.com) — Dozens of new homes are now under construction at 45 Depot Street, bringing 45 one- and two-bedroom condos at what developers call “attainable pricing” right in downtown Freeport. Town leaders say the Depot Housing project marks a key step in long-planned downtown revitalization, joining another 51-unit building across the street as part of a broader transformation of the area

JOBS

• Hannaford Bros Co posted a job opening for FT Meat Market Manager Trainee (H) in Yarmouth. Apply here.
• Dog House posted a job opening for HVAC Parts Coordinator in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

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Maine Morning Star -  In fall, hoards of winter ticks latch on to New England’s moose — sometimes upward of 50,000 per adult animal.  Over the course of the winter, the ticks drink their fill of blood, weakening adult moose and sometimes killing calves. 

“Essentially, they get the life sucked out of them,” said Henry Jones, New Hampshire Fish and Game moose project leader.

This onslaught, bolstered by climate change, is a major factor behind the ongoing decline in the health and numbers of New Hampshire’s moose over the last two decades, Jones said. So far, researchers have been unsure how to help. But a team of New Hampshire researchers have a new hypothesis: Could the way forests are logged make moose more, or less, likely to encounter parasites? 

A new study, approved to move ahead by the Governor and Executive Council on Wednesday, June 3, aims to answer that question — and determine whether a different approach to forest management could help “zombie moose” evade the parasites draining them of life and energy. 

Maine Morning Star - Paul LePage, who is currently running for U.S. Congress in Maine’s 2nd District, is once again facing scrutiny over his Florida residence after one of his Democratic opponents released documents showing the wife of the Republican former governor has claimed a Florida property tax exemption since 2018.

Matt Dunlap, one of four primary candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s seat, shared the documents at a Thursday press conference with reporters. 

Maine Morning Star independently verified the public records, which include tax records that show a property in Ann LePage’s name has received an annual $50,000 homestead exemption from 2018 through 2025.  To qualify for the homestead exemption in Florida, the property must be the owner’s permanent residence, or the permanent residence of a dependent. 

Sam Smith - When I first heard Graham Platner willingly describe some of his past sins from which he had morally matured, I tried to recall, in my seven decades of covering news, when some other politician had been as decently public about their wrong doings. I have still failed to come up with an answer.

Now Platner is being accused of further sins which he denies. Was he unique but not unique enough?

Well, in the first place, you vote practically for candidates based not primarily on their personal behavior but on their political action.  

Secondly, if we knew as much about all members of Congress as we now have heard allegedly about Platner he would be far less newsworthy.

Which is why this Maine voter plans to stick with Platner despite his alleged misdoings. His victory would be a tribute to his open recovery from some past wrongs and a role model for others.

Maine News Thursday June 4

FREEPORT

Work Continues on Flying Point Road: This project, extending on Flying Point Rd from Pleasant Hill Rd to Upper Mast Landing Rd, will continue over the next couple of weeks. The project involves total reconstruction of the road: grinding the existing pavement, grading, ditch work, improving drainage, adding calcium and 4 inches of asphalt, and readjusting driveways as needed for slopes. Next spring Crooker Construction may add another inch and a half of asphalt after determining the condition of the road after a year. One lane of traffic at a time will continue to remain open. Both lanes are open at night.

Housing Development Construction on Depot Street

As two new housing developments are now underway on Depot St downtown, it is suggested that drivers seek alternate routes out of downtown at Mill St, Grove St and West St for the immediate future.

Crack Sealing South Street/South Freeport Road - This crack sealing project is about half finished now, having begun on South St at Bow St, and continuing on South St to South Freeport Rd, past South Freeport Village Market and up to Smelt Brook Rd (at which point Maine DOT maintains South Freeport Rd as it continues back up to Rte 1). The rubberized crack fill preserves the road by keeping water from getting in and disrupting the foundation. Flow of traffic will continue as the work is done, which should last for another couple of weeks.

Town Hall Beautification

Work continues to progress on the Town Hall Beautification Project at 30 Main St, and the front entrance to Town Hall will remain closed until the project is complete. Your patience is appreciated as this project moves to its next phase of more specialized portions of work.

Town of Freeport - At the May 18th Annual Summit of the Greater Portland Council of Governments, the town of Freeport was recognized as a Housing Champion for its role in helping the senior housing development at Varney Road (known as Varney Heights Senior Apartments) become a reality....Varney Heights is just one of the exciting new housing constructions sprouting up in Freeport. After Project Review Board approvals over the winter, The Dash, a three-story apartment complex featuring 51 studio and 1-2 bedroom units began construction at Depot and Mill Streets this spring, while Depot Terraces on Depot Street, a 45-unit condominium building that will feature 1-2 bedroom, energy-efficient units, breaks ground the first week of June.

 Interactive Polls 

MAINE POLL - Senate Graham Platner: 48% Susan Collins: 43% UMass Lowell https://

YARMOUTH

Press Herald - The long line to enter Yarmouth High School and participate in local democracy surprised Yarmouth residents Tuesday evening.  “It’s a more exciting year than usual,” said Spencer Jones, who was elected to moderate the town’s annual meeting.

Over 440 Yarmouth voters showed up to the town meeting in what Town Manager Scott LaFlamme called an “unprecedented scenario.” Last year, 137 town citizens attended, according to Town Clerk Lisa Grant.“Evenings like tonight remind us that democracy works best when it’s rooted in a community, grounded in respect, and carried forward through genuine conversation,” said LaFlamme in his opening remarks to the crowd packed into Yarmouth High School Performing Arts Center.

JOBS

• Skechers USA, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Key Holder in Freeport. Apply here.
• Dunkin' posted a job opening for Team Member in Freeport. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Press Herald -   An analysis by researchers from Cornell University, Yale University and Microsoft Research predicts that former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah will win in almost all of the 1,000 ranked-choice voting simulations in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. It also showed a close race between Jordan Wood and state Sen. Joe Baldacci in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District seat.

A new website launched by immigrant rights advocates features a map that tracks and verifies ICE sightings across the state. LighthouseME.org was released alongside a report that found a majority of the people in Maine who were arrested by the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year had no criminal histories or convictions.

4 Maine companies make Forbes list for best culture

Troy Jackson - I’m deeply proud to have cosponsored and passed some of the strongest and most progressive reproductive health protections anywhere in the country. We made Maine the first state in the country to expand abortion access later in pregnancy after Dobbs. We eliminated criminal penalties for healthcare providers doing their jobs and strengthened privacy protections. We made sure no town in the state could restrict access through local ordinances, tackled cost barriers, and expanded access to birth control and prenatal and postpartum care. While I was Senate President, Maine proved to be a national leader in reproductive rights

WMTW - A strip mall that is located across from the Maine Mall will eventually be torn down to make way for new hotels.  The Mall Plaza in South Portland, which was sold last year, is home to a number of businesses, including Dick's Sporting Goods, Mr. Bagel, Petco, Hunt's Photo & Video and House of Nails. New Gen Hospitality, the same company that owns Home 2 Suites, plans a $13 million development at the Mall Plaza that will include two hotels. South Portland city officials said New Gen Hospitality plans to build the hotels in the lot over the next several year

Maine Morning Star - On Wednesday, gubernatorial candidate and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson was joined by representatives for Maine nurses, teachers and labor unions outside Maine Medical Center in Portland, who all vouched for his plan to regulate AI.

“AI may be new, it certainly is new to a lot of us, but the political question is old: Who benefits, who pays and who decides?” Jackson said “Under the Jackson administration, I can assure you that tech billionaires will not be deciding this alone and not be getting their way.”

His proposal, called “Agency over AI,” bans corporations from using the technology “as cover for throwing workers out on the street.” Any major employer that attributes mass layoffs to AI will lose every state contract and tax break, the plan states. It also bans routine use of AI in classrooms or for homework. The plan notes that he’d support a comprehensive law to stop companies “harvesting, selling and exploiting Mainers’ data,” but did not say how his proposal would or would not differ from earlier iterations the Maine Legislature has failed to pass.

Under Jackson’s plan, in his first 100 days he will regulate data centers, which power the technology, so they don’t “raise power bills, drain the local water supply or make nearby homes unlivable.” 

Kelli Brennan, a nurse at Maine Medical Center and co-president of the nurses union that has endorsed Jackson, said that nurses have demanded transparency on AI usage and asked MaineHealth to cancel its contract with Palantir, a tech company specializing in AI that has powered federal immigration enforcement surveillance.

“It is essential that we have elected officials who are willing to stand up to the tech billionaires and protect the working class from the serious threats of unregulated AI,” Brennan said. “When Big Tech gains access to vast amounts of healthcare data, patients and nurses worry about who can see that information and how it is being used.”

.... On the same day, gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah released a similar plan to address AI use, proposing a moratorium on data centers until they can be regulated, require educator approval before any AI tool is used directly with children and ban AI from making final decisions about a person’s benefits, healthcare, education, housing, public safety or access to state services.

“AI is moving faster than Maine families, schools, workers and communities can keep up with,” Shah said in a statement. “Maine can use innovation where it helps people, but we cannot let Big Tech write the rules, exploit our kids, surveil workers, replace human judgment or stick ratepayers with the bill.”

Maine Morning Star -  The Maine Department of Transportation plans to cut up to $400 million from its planned projects due to a funding gap... The department will do so by cutting or delaying another $150 million in bridge, highway, intersection and multimodal improvements this month, at the start of Maine’s peak construction season, as well as cutting an additional $200 million or more from other projects planned for the state’s next three-year work plan. 

Portland Weekly - In City Hall news, the City Council approved next year's $364 million budget on Tuesday following several hours of debate over amendments. For Portland residents' wallets, the biggest change will be a 4.9% increase in property taxes and the expansion of metered parking until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Oh, and all meters will be 50 cents more per hour. 

Maine News Wednesday Jun 3

Press Herald --  Freeport residents ages 16 and up can audition at Freeport High School on June 14 or 16 for the Freeport Players’ summer production of the musical comedy “Once Upon a Mattress.” Rehearsals run through July and early August, with performances scheduled for Aug. 7-9 and 14-16, offering plenty of chances to get involved onstage or in the audience.

Senate poll - Maine Platner 49% Collins (Inc) 45%

Press Herald - Nearly half of Mainers can’t afford basic needs according to a new report from the Brookings Institution, a public policy nonprofit. While the findings are mostly in line with national averages, research revealed the affordability crisis is moving into the middle class. Staff Writer Gillian Graham digs into the key takeaways here.

Maine BIz -   West Marine stores in Portland and Southwest Harbor are among 59 locations targeted for closure by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based West Marine Inc., according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Latest controversy dampens some Maine Democrats’ enthusiasm for Platner

We profiled every major Maine candidate. Read the stories

Graham Platner - A "reporter" with Fox "News" asked me if I thought I was too extreme or too radical to defeat Susan Collins here in Maine. Here’s what I told him:

I don’t think it’s radical to try to bring down costs for working Mainers.

I don’t think it’s radical to try to make sure that our communities don’t get hollowed out because housing has become unaffordable for young people.

I don’t think it’s radical to try to create a health care system that doesn’t exist just to screw over working people all for the benefit of a health insurance CEO.

There’s nothing radical about thinking that the working people of Maine should be able to afford groceries, buy a home, or have a health care system that isn’t collapsing before their eyes.

What’s radical is somebody like Susan Collins who has, for decades now, passed policies that only support corporations and billionaires – to the detriment of working people.

What’s radical is supporting, over and over again, illegal and insane foreign wars that have done nothing to benefit the people of Maine and have, in fact, sent the cost of everything from gasoline to groceries through the roof.

What’s radical is pretending you’re concerned about women’s rights or our democracy as you vote to confirm people like Brett Kavanaugh and refuse to stand up to a dictator president who is sending armed masked agents across the country to kidnap and murder American citizens.

Jobs

• SAS Retail Services posted a job opening for Retail Merchandiser in Freeport. Apply here.
• Albertsons Companies, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Sales and Store Support in Freeport. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.