Maine News Tuesday June 23

Election Time  For the first time since March, Susan Collins is projected to win Maine's Senate race.  

Susan Collins    56.9% 

Graham Platner 43.1%

News Center Maine -  Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner has won the endorsement of a prominent reproductive rights group: Planned Parenthood. 

“Reproductive health care is health care. Abortion is health care,” Platner said at a news conference at his Portland campaign office on Monday.  The head of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund described Platner as a "champion" of reproductive freedom and rejected Republican Sen. Susan Collins chiefly because of her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018.  

Four years ago this week, Kavanaugh and three other justices confirmed by Collins were in the majority that overturned Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 case that had established a national right to abortion.

...“When Susan Collins told us that Brett Kavanaugh had assured her that Roe was settled law—it was the law of the land and that a woman's right to choose was in no way, shape or form under threat—she either lied to us or she was tricked," Platner said. "Neither one of those is something we want out of our United States Senator for the state of Maine.”

UPCOMING

Town Manager's Office Drop-In →  30 Main Street, 4:00 pm
Town Council Workshop →  30 Main Street, 6:00 pm
American Promise CEO and co-founder Jeff Clements will be on Peaks Island on Tuesday, June 23, for a conversation about the growing movement to restore voter authority over money in elections through the For Our Freedom Amendment.  Please join us. No RSVP is needed.

Conversation with American Promise CEO Jeff Clements
Tuesday, June 23 from 6:15-8:15 p.m.
New Brackett Church
25 Church Ave
Peaks Island
*5:35pm ferry from Portland, 8:45pm return ferry from Peaks

Jun 24
Get Out! Nature Walk: Shorebirds and Coastal... →  Littlejohn Island Preserve - Parking Lot, 180 Pemasong Ln, Yarmouth 2:00 pm

Jun 26 

Art Afloat Launch Party & Chamber Choice Awards Presentation

Join us as we celebrate the official launch of Art Afloat, a one-of-a-kind public art exhibit featuring 36 artist-created lobster boats displayed at Meetinghouse Arts in downtown Freeport. Hosted by the Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce, Art Afloat brings together artists, supported by local businesses and community in a celebration of creativity, Maine's maritime heritage, and Freeport spirit! The exhibit (and auction) includes works by professional artists as well as two boats created by students from Freeport High School (RSU 5). The evening will also feature the presentation of the 2026 Chamber Choice Awards, recognizing outstanding businesses and individuals who help make the Freeport community thrive.  Throughout the summer, the boats will remain on display in front of Meetinghouse Arts and will be available through an online auction benefiting future community initiatives, including the new Youth Philanthropy Project at Freeport High School. Art Afloat Launch Party & Chamber Choice Awards Meeting House Arts 40 Main Street Friday, June 26, 2026 4:00–6:00 PM RSVP   July 4 On July 4th, join Maine Historical Society at City Hall Plaza for patriotic songs by Julia Haven. Then head back to the MHS campus for a free, open-to-the-public event with refreshments in the Longfellow Garden, live music, and MHS's signature exhibition, Pathways to Freedom: Maine Stories of the American Revolution. Plus, get up close to our rare Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence, exactly 250 years to the day it was printed. Learn more

Maine News Monday June 22

Tipp Gazette - One of the Navy Blue Angels’ lead solo pilots hails from Freeport bringing local roots to one of the world’s most elite flight demonstration teams. Lieutenant Commander Connor O’Donnell, a Yarmouth High graduate and Naval Academy alum, now flies high-profile shows while racking up more than 1,200 flight hours and over 200 carrier landings.

Hello Homestead -   Disease-carrying ticks are on the rise in Maine, and that’s bad news for pet owners.   Just like their humans, pets that spend any time outdoors are vulnerable to tick-borne diseases. Lyme, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis have been on the rise among pets, with cases of one disease doubling over the last year.

Ticks have become a common enemy for Maine humans and animals alike. In recent years, the disease-carrying arachnids have spread throughout the state and are now present year round. People who spend time outside are already reporting high tick activity this spring. And pet owners need to take the same precautions they do for themselves when it comes to their four-legged companions.

WGME  - A big weekend of Maine high school championships ended with baseball, softball, and lacrosse titles decided across all classes, but there was also standout news for Freeport. Local golfer Eli Spaulding, now at Loyola University, dominated the Philadelphia Amateur Golf Championship 9–8, adding to his resume as reigning Maine and New England amateur champion.

WGME - Trek Across Maine raises more than $719,000 as hundreds ride across Maine 

The Fat Boy restaurant in Brunswick reopens June 26 to begin its 71st season 

Maine Morning Star -   [The] effort to repeal recreational cannabis had seemingly gone quiet after the campaign missed the winter deadline to submit signatures to get on the November ballot. Now with about 40,000 of 67,682 signatures needed (at least 10% of total votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election), the campaign is eyeing the November 2027 ballot, said Caroline Alcock of Massachusetts, the group’s general consultant.  

The campaign appears to be almost exclusively driven by out-of-state interests, meanwhile local cannabis supporters are getting organized in opposition....

The proposed ballot referendum would do away with the commercial cultivation, sale, purchase and manufacture of cannabis starting in 2028, while still allowing personal use and possession of up to 2.5 ounces. It would also create new testing and tracking requirements for medical cannabis, which the Maine Legislature rejected earlier this year. The petition is valid until the spring of 2027....

JOBS

• First Atlantic Health Care posted a job opening for Dietary Aide / Kitchen Staff in Freeport. Apply here.
• TIBCO Software, Inc. posted a job opening for Public School Clinician Immigrant and Refugee Services Brunswick Jr. High and High School in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

MAINE NEWS SUNDAY JUNE 21

News Center Maine -  Downtown Portland was awash in rainbow colors, music, and celebration Saturday as thousands of people gathered for the city’s annual Pride Parade, one of Maine’s largest LGBTQ+ events.

For many attendees, Pride is more than a parade. It’s a day to celebrate identity, honor those who came before them, and advocate for equal rights.

Air Show Features Blue Angels Team (tippgazette.com) — A Blue Angels team profile quietly includes a point of local pride: Lead Solo pilot Lt. Cmdr. Connor O’Donnell grew up in Freeport and graduated from Yarmouth High in 2011. The piece outlines his Naval Academy background, flight hours, and carrier landings, placing his achievements alongside fellow pilots and officers as the squad marks its 80th year.

WMTW -   A young black bear that wandered through downtown Portland on Friday was safely tranquilized and relocated after entering a parking garage beneath the Portland Harbor Hotel.  The Portland Police Department responded to reports of the bear near York Street at about 10:30 a.m. Officers monitored the animal’s movements and established safety perimeters as it traveled through several downtown areas before entering the basement-level garage near Union and Fore streets.

Maine Game Wardens and state wildlife biologists responded to the scene, tranquilized the bear and transported it to a suitable habitat, where it was released.  No injuries were reported.