Maine News Wednesday June 17

📊 Maine Senate Poll: Wick Research Overall 🟦Platner 48% 🟥Collins 45% Independents 🟦Platner 52% 🟥Collins 38% Women 🟦Platner 49% 🟥Collins 42% Men 🟦Platner 46% 🟥Collins 49% More In Touch With Working Class Mainers? 🟦Platner 50% 🟥Collins 41%

Maine Biz  -   Portland will not ask tax-exempt organizations to make property tax payments, ending months of debate and strong opposition from nonprofits and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. By a 2-7 vote Monday night, the City Council defeated a proposed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes ordinance, which had been floated as a potential revenue stream to offset rising residential property taxes that some councilors said are driving homeowners to leave the city.

Maine Monitor  State library officials are tightening behavior rules, soon requiring all Maine public libraries to ensure children and vulnerable adults are supervised and to call police if they’re left unattended. Freeport Community Library director and commissioner Wynter Giddings raised concerns about whether the commission can mandate annual training for all boards, as the panel also debated staffing levels, hours, and standards that could affect services statewide.

Press Herald - The Republican primary races in House District 58 and Senate District 4 have gone to ranked-choice tabulation, state officials said Tuesday. The ranked-choice count is expected to take days. Three legislative races will also be recounted.

MaineHealth received a $1.1 million federal grant to study whether childhood exposure to certain synthetic chemicals could influence obesity, diabetes risk and cardiovascular health later in life. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are linked to numerous health risks, including cancer high cholesterol and pregnancy complications.

 Attorneys for the seven school districts being sued by the Maine Human Rights Commission over their policies related to transgender students delivered oral arguments in Kennebec County Superior Court on Tuesday.  It was the first hearing in a case that’s occurring amid a shifting legal landscape for those policies in Maine and the country.  The commission, a quasi-state agency tasked with enforcing the Maine Human Rights Act, sued five school districts last November that adopted new policies in alignment with an executive order from President Donald Trump about the federal discrimination law Title IX. Two more districts were later added.  The president’s order interpreted that 1972 law to say that school districts that allow transgender students to compete on sports teams or use locker facilities in alignment with their gender identity are discriminating on the basis of sex. But the policies adopted by Maine districts directly violate the state’s Human Rights Act, which allows students to participate in school activities on the basis of their gender identity. Six of the districts filed a motion to dismiss, arguing the commission’s case isn’t valid, while a seventh district filed a separate motion, arguing its policies don’t actually violate state law. 

Brunswick’s town councilors Monday night approved an ordinance to curb rent increases at the town’s mobile home parks. Residents have long said that the price of living in Brunswick’s parks is becoming unsustainable, while services provided by landlords are falling behind. The new ordinance prohibits annual rent increases that exceed a certain affordability threshold, determined by the Northeast urban Consumer Price Index, without prior approval by a newly established five-member rent review board.

Maine Morning Star -   A petition to put publicly funded universal healthcare on the ballot next year is gaining traction with voters.

During last week’s primary election, supporters of the initiative — which filed with the Maine Secretary of State last year — collected more than 20,000 signatures, about a third of the amount a citizen-led referendum needs to get the question on the 2027 ballot.

Federal cuts to Medicaid passed under President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget overhaul, HR1, and increasing marketplace health insurance costs have helped catalyze the effort. The more than 120 volunteers who collected signatures at polling places across the state reported overwhelming support for the initiative, according to Healthcare for All Maine field director Sophie Garner, one of the field directors for Healthcare for All Maine, the group leading the citizen initiative.

“The deteriorating healthcare in the United States and particularly rural America, and now with HR 1… it’s sort of a stress test on what’s left of the healthcare system,” said Henk Goorhuis, board chair for Healthcare for All Maine. “People are definitely hurting, and looking for something better.”

The proposal would direct the Maine Legislature to develop a healthcare system that would ensure that all Mainers have “comprehensive, publicly funded healthcare coverage.” It should lower healthcare costs, ensure access for everyone to public and private providers of their choice, and codify payments to providers at prevailing rates. It would also direct the Legislature to establish a supervisory board to oversee the system that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate.

If passed, Maine would be the first state in the country to develop such legislation. Other states have considered universal healthcare, but none have successfully passed a comprehensive plan.

JOBS

  • Wolfe's Neck Center posted a job opening for Revenue & Payroll Specialist in Freeport. Apply here.
  • The Gap posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate - Freeport Vlg Station in Freeport. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

UPCOMING

The following closures in observance of the Juneteenth holiday:

Thursday, June 18: Town Hall Closed

Friday, June 19: Library & Recycling/Transfer Facility Closed

What’s more important this week than taking the time for a conversation about planetary sustainability? As luck would have it, Freeport Speech is bringing together global experts on Thursday, June 18, to do just that. Dr. Katherine Richardson is a professor in Biological Oceanography at the University of Copenhagen and leader of its Sustainability Science Centre, and Dr. Deborah Bronk is the CEO and President of Maine's Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and an oceanographer.  Bring a friend and join the conversation.  Freeport Performing Arts Center, Freeport Thursday, June 18  •  7 PM - 8:30 PM

Maine News Tuesday June 16

Newsweek -   Senator Susan Collins, a five-term Republican, trails her Democratic challenger Graham Platner by only two points, according to a new survey—the latest sign of a tightening race in a must-win state for Democrat hopes in taking control of the upper chamber.

Among the NY Times annual restaurant awards was this: Outstanding Restaurateur: Dana Street; Fore Street, Scales and Standard Baking Company, Portland, Maine

Maine Morning Star -  A report found Maine 14th out of all states on a number of factors that impact life satisfaction, ranking high on the environment and civil liberties but low on measures such as children and families, economic output and mental health. 

As the country approaches its 250th anniversary, the nonpartisan State of the Nation Project created the State of States report to assess each of the 50 states and Washington D.C. on 31 measures — such as income inequality, social isolation, youth depression, etc. — created by a board of academics and advisers to the last five presidents. 

Some of the overall takeaways include: states are becoming more alike in many ways but growing apart on issues that can drive feelings of division; only a small handful of states showed improvement on any measure of self-reported well-being; and a stronger economy does not seem to improve personal well-being, but it may build social trust.

Specifically, Maine received the top ranking for net greenhouse gas emissions and ranked third for air quality. Maine also ranked first for civil liberties, which the report calculated based on the rate of press freedom violations, such as assaults of reporters and restricting coverage, per 1 million residents.

On the other hand, Maine ranked low for fatal overdoses (43rd) and youth depression (42nd). Maine’s lowest rank of 44th was for economic output, which is based on real gross domestic product. 

WCYY -   For nearly six years, the old Sears location in Brunswick, Maine, has sat vacant. On a busy stretch of road in the city, it became a bit of an eyesore.  But back in March, it was announced that eyesore would be getting a makeover. Retail giant Hobby Lobby had leased out a portion of the more than 82,000 square feet that was once Sears and would open their fifth location in Maine.

Construction estimates suggested the new Hobby Lobby location would open sometime in September.   Now, it appears the store is going to open much, much sooner.  While no firm grand opening date has been set yet, all of the signs point towards a Hobby Lobby grand opening in Brunswick, Maine, in the next few weeks.

Press Herald -   A federal judge gave the Trump administration until July 3 to return signs it had removed from national parks and monuments, including climate change and Wabanaki displays at Acadia National Park....The ruling on Friday requires federal officials to restore dozens of Acadia’s displays on warming oceans and Wabanaki heritage by July 3. This legal victory ensures that the millions who visit Maine’s coast this summer will receive an unvarnished look at the state’s changing environment.

For months, hikers reaching the summit of Cadillac Mountain have found spectacular views but empty pedestals. The signs that once explained the summit’s Wabanaki origins or how a warming world is changing the park were gone, replaced by a silence that critics called political censorship.  

“It was a kick in the teeth,” said former Acadia superintendent Sheridan Steele, who oversaw the park from 2003-15. “The public puts its trust in the park service. They want truth. The parks want to give it to them. It would be such a shame to lose that.”

FREEPORT

There will be an emergency outage on Prout Road in Freeport from approximately 11:45am to 2:00pm today, June 16th, to remove a large tree threatening power lines. Contact information for CMP: 1 800-696-1000 Email:

Maine Monitor - Freeport's once-leading clam flats have already seen harvests plunge about 70%, and scientists warn a strong El Niño could worsen pressures from green crabs, invasive seaweeds, and harmful algal blooms. The story explains how warming waters and changing winters may further reshape shellfish harvesting from Freeport to Lubec, while also noting a few potential upsides like faster clam growth and more nutrients from rainfall.

JOBS

Tree Stuff  - We are hiring a fully remote sales person to manage large national accounts. We are looking for an individual with experience in longer form treecare sales. If you are interested in learning about joining the biggest and best team in Treecare, email MarkB@VerticalSupplyGroup.com 

  • L.L.Bean, Inc. posted a job opening for Assistant Corporate Merchant in Freeport. Apply here.
  • Albertsons Company Inc. posted a job opening for Night Crew Stocker in Freeport. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.
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