Maine News Monday June 29

NY Times - Senator Susan Collins and Graham Platner are locked in a neck-and-neck Senate contest in Maine, according to a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll, as voters weigh a desire for Democratic control of the Senate against Ms. Collins’s record and controversy around Mr. Platner’s past conduct.

Mr. Platner leads the race by two percentage points among likely voters, capturing the support of 49 percent, compared to 47 percent for Ms. Collins. It is a slight advantage, but one that is considered too small for polls to measure reliably, and which could easily grow or shrink as campaigning ramps up.

FREEPORT

Press Herald - Dozens of restaurants, artists and marine specialists took over the lot behind L.L.Bean’s iconic Freeport location on Sunday for the 5th annual Maine Oyster Festival, where visitors enjoyed a full weekend of tastings and live music, complete with a shucking competition.

Solid majority of Mainers disapprove of Trump on cost of living

JOBS

• American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. posted a job opening for AE -
  Stock Associate - Evening (Off-Hours)
• Stock Associate - Evening (Off-Hours) in Freeport. Apply here.
• L.L.Bean, Inc. posted a job opening for Assistant Corporate Merchant in Freeport. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

UPCOMING

Jun 30 

Tonic, 7 Dunlap St., Brunswick: Open mic with Rexy Dinosaur, 6-8

JULY 1

Summer Storytelling Series: Flight Deck → Flight Deck Brewing, 11 Atlantic Ave, Brunswick 6:30 pm
Bob Marley - Comedian → The Inn On Peaks Island, 33 Island Ave, Peaks Island 7:00 pm

 July 3

Maine Historical Society 5 pm  Learn More

Free Coffee Friday! In-Person Curtis Memorial Library Library Lobby (below the mezzanine) 9:00 am

July 4

www.llbeanroadrace.com

Cook’s Lobster & Ale House, 68 Garrison Cove Rd., Bailey Island: Travis James Humprey, 5-8

Discovery Park, LL Bean, Freeport: Don Campbell Band, 7 pm
Freeport Fourth festivities kick off at 7 a.m. with a $10 pancake breakfast at the Harraseeket Grange. Also happening that morning is a 10K road race and 1-miler in support of the YMCA.  The Independence Day parade along Main Street steps off at 10 a.m.  

July 5
Memorial Park, 5 Park St., Freeport: Richard Reichner, 2-4

Women's History Walking Tour  10-30 AM  Maine Historical Society Learn More | Register

Routini Run  8:30AM - 9:30AM  21 Stanwood Street, Brunswick, ME bruns wickdowntown.org

JULY 17 

Maine News Sunday June 28

 JOBS 

• Under Armour, Inc. posted a job opening for Stock Keyholder, PT in Freeport. Apply here.
• Vineyard Vines, LLC posted a job opening for Crew Lead (Part Time Manager) - 58 Main St, Freeport, ME in Freeport. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Saturday June 27

Press Herald - Maine is full of roadside farmstands, many of which ask customers to serve themselves — Pine Ridge Acres’ store in Cumberland county is just one example. Columnist Leslie Bridgers explores how this system works, what happens when someone doesn’t pay and if honor-system farmstands are another one of those ‘only in Maine’ things. 

A housing project intended to help people facing long-term homelessness transition into stable housing was recently approved by the Portland Planning Board. The four-story, 33-unit Home For Good project on Forest Avenue will be at the site of a Tex-Mex restaurant that closed in 2022.

With the last day of school in the rearview mirror, students across Maine are heading into summer break. Many of their teachers, meanwhile, are transitioning to seasonal jobs, some for the fun of doing something different, others out of financial necessity.  The average salary for a public school teacher in Maine is $68,820, according to the statewide teachers union, while the average starting salary is just $45,830.

The state’s minimum salary is set to increase from $40,000 to $50,000 this year (and incrementally each year until 2029) thanks to legislation that passed this spring following years of advocacy from teachers.

But Maine still lags behind most states, per the National Education Association, and even the average wage for all teachers is on the lower end of the state’s area median income range (between $67,000 and $97,000).

Teachers, librarians and ed techs across southern Maine said they love their jobs but a teaching salary often just isn’t enough to cover childcare, pay rent or think about buying a home, especially for early-career educators, those in single-income households or parents. 

Seasonal jobs can help close that gap. The Press Herald talked to eight educators about the extra work they do in the summer, and why they do it.

Maine Morning Star - Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner wants to overturn the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections by any means possible. 

He supports a constitutional amendment and ethics rules on the high court, which the Sullivan oyster farmer included in his latest policy rollout Thursday to rid politics of corruption. He also supports more roundabout efforts, such as an ongoing attempt to use a Maine law to debunk the foundation of the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, he told Maine Morning Star. 

“Getting money out of American politics is the end state,” Platner said. “How we get there may take several different kinds of possibilities, but we should be right now aggressively pursuing every single one of them.” 

Maine Humanities Council - Our team here at Maine Humanities is taking the month of July to truly slow down.  We are taking the month as a time of rest, respite, and sabbatical. We work and live in a culture that often moves too fast for us to pause, reflect, and readjust. At Maine Humanities, we have realized that keeping this constant pace does not help us do our best work. We need space to reset our brains and our bodies so that we can return to our work and our partnerships with clearer minds and hearts.

To this end, our offices will be closed for the month of July. We are not the first non-profit to adopt a sabbatical month. We have learned from other non-profits we work with and are inspired by here in Maine.... How many of us have spent countless hours staring into our computers with back-to-back meetings, events, and obligations? Scheduling and rescheduling?  This type of stress gets trapped in our bodies and we need time to unplug and to just ‘be.’”

WCYY   -  Following the pandemic, many movie theaters throughout Maine closed their doors permanently. Many of those belonging to Cinemagic but other small theaters felt the pain as well.   That included the Nordica Theater in Freeport, Maine, which decided to permanently close. It looked to many in Freeport that the small theater would simply do what other vacant spaces do in Freeport, transform into something else.  

Instead, Patriot Cinemas decided to step up and reopen the movie theater after a six-year absence. Patriot Cinemas Opens New Location in Freeport, Maine | 

FREEPORT

The Freeport Wood Bank, supported by Freeport Community Services, provides free firewood to households that rely on wood heat. This past winter, demand was so high that supplies ran out before the season ended—highlighting how vital this resource is.  Now is the time to rebuild. Donations of split firewood or logs help volunteers prepare for the coming winter, ensuring no family is left without heat. Volunteers are also needed to cut, stack, and deliver wood—no experience required.  \

Maine News Wednesday June 24

Maine Biz - Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue, at 476 Stevens Ave. in Portland, will have its final day of operation on July 12.

Maine Morning Star -   The Republican-led U.S. Senate served up a rare public check on President Donald Trump’s agenda Tuesday when it voted to approve a House-passed War Powers Resolution to end hostilities in Iran.

Senate approval marked the first time both chambers have agreed in a rebuke of Trump over his war in Iran.

The concurrent resolution, which passed 50-48, does not require the president’s signature and its enforceability has been a perennial topic of debate. 

The Senate’s approval occurred against the backdrop of the administration’s peace deal negotiations with Iran, which have been criticized from both sides of the aisle.

Four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; Rand Paul of Kentucky; Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy, who recently lost his primary race after Trump endorsed an opponent; and Susan Collins, who’s fighting a tough reelection campaign in Maine. 

FREEPORT

Public Works is currently making temporary repairs to a sinkhole due to a collapsed pipe at a culvert near 29 Lower Mast Landing Road.  Traffic is reduced to one lane during this time and will return to two lanes later today (6/24), once the temporary fix is complete. The Town is in the process of hiring a contractor to fix the pipe. That work should be completed over the next 1-2 weeks.  View it on website

JOBS

• Dunkin' posted a job opening for Team Member in Freeport. Apply here.
• Allied Universal posted a job opening for Security Officer Mobile Patrol Driver in Yarmouth. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.