Patch - Several Freeport students earned honorable mentions in a New England-wide high school sports writing contest, highlighting local talent in journalism. Their recognition comes from a competitive field of more than 90 entries, showcasing how Freeport teens are standing out regionally for thoughtful, sports-centered storytelling.
Thursday, June 11 - Boating Safety Course- Yarmouth Yarmouth Public Safety, 178 North Rd, Yarmouth. 9 am.
Susan Collins: 44%
Graham Platner: 43%Susan Collins 43.7% (incumbent)
Graham Platner 43.1%
Undecided 13.2%Press Herald - The Maine Department of Transportation is planning to delay up to $400 million in road and bridge repairs due to a budget shortfall. The crisis — caused by a failed bond bill, federal volatility and rising material costs — has contractors scrambling for answers.
MS NOW - For four election cycles, Jared Golden won a congressional district that, on paper, should have landed with Republicans. Now he is leaving, and the question hanging over Maine’s second district — one that could help determine control of the House — is whether any Democrat can do what he did.
FREEPORT AREA
IAs of Monday, June 8, Fat Boy in Brunswick, Maine, has remained closed since its last day of the 2025 season in September.
....Adding to the uncertainty is that the property is once again listed for sale. Fat Boy went up for sale in 2024, just a few years after it was purchased from the Burton family in 2020.
The listing remained active for over a year, dropping in price, but it still opened for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
It was quietly removed in May 2026, only to be relisted that same month for $695,000, but now with new listing agents Joseph Italiaander and Nate Roop of The Boulos Company
JOBS
Sam Smith - Because the choice for Maine governor is so close, I've waited for the day before the primary to say who I'm voting for. In fact, I can't think of another election in which I was ready to vote for five different candidates, each qualified for the job. Because of her impressive record it looks like I'll be going with Shenna Bellows. My second, third and fourth choices remain for a few hours yet in uncertain order but include Nirav Shah, Troy Jackson and Hannah Pingree.
As for senator, I'm quite happy with Graham Platner, in part because he's one of the few politicians I've ever known about who admitted to some his poor choices when he was young and how he has improved with time. Typical politicians deny or hide the faults of their past as exemplified by Donald Trump who doesn't come close in decency to Platner.
TOWN OF FREEPORT
Road striping will begin throughout town at 8am on Tuesday, June 9th. Work will continue through the end of the day or into Wednesday, depending on weather and progress. Drivers are asked to stay 500 feet back from the paint truck and its following truck. The paint is engineered to dry very quickly, but if you pass the trucks, you may leave a trail on the road and get paint on your vehicle.
JOBS
National Memo - Maine Sen. Susan Collins failed to report up to $395,000 in stock trades, violating a law that she helped pass. The Stock Act requires members of Congress and their spouses to disclose stock transactions within 45 days of a trade being ordered. A review of the Republican senator’s disclosures from 2013 to 2018 shows 24 transactions that were reported more than 100 days late.
All of these trades were made by Collins’ husband, Thomas Daffron, a former lobbyist. The late-reported items include shares of Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, and CVS.
....Collins supported the Stock Act when it was introduced in January 2012 and helped shepherd it into law by becoming the first Republican to back the measure. It ultimately passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Barack Obama.
“At a time when polls show low public confidence in Congress, there is a strong desire to address the concerns that underpin the public’s skepticism and assure the American people that we put their interests above our own,” Collins said in defense of the law.
Collins has since opposed efforts to completely ban stock trading by members of Congress, an idea supported by the vast majority of voters and members of her own party. A Brennan Center survey found that 81 percent of adults support such a ban.
... In 2001, she reported her net worth as between $111,000 and $315,000. According to Quiver Quantitative, which tracks the wealth of lawmakers, her net worth in 2013—less than a year after marrying Daffron—was $3.8 million. Today, it is $6.9 million.
The Falmouth Spur bridge and surrounding roads could be getting major overhaul
Maine Morning Star - The campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner raised more money on Friday than any day since Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign, a day after accusations of toxic behavior were reported by some of his exes.
The campaign shared the figures while Platner and other progressives, including U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, rallied in Bar Harbor ahead of the primary on Tuesday.
By 7 p.m., the campaign reported raising $200,000 from more than 5,000 donors. The average contribution was $40, according to the campaign.
Newsflash - The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections.
Shenna Bellows - As I’ve traveled the state, I’ve heard from so many Mainers about their kids and grandkids who are working two or three jobs and barely keeping their heads above water. Young people are leaving the state because they can’t find housing they can afford or a job that pays the bills. That’s why my top priority as your next Governor will be an Economic New Deal for Maine....
Invest in start-ups and small businesses through the Maine Transformation Fund, not unlike the microlending program I set up when I was a small business development volunteer in the Peace Corps in Panama.
Create more housing through a Maine Housing Corps to train young people as carpenters, electricians, and plumbers and rehabilitating derelict housing stock to get it back into the market as affordable housing.
Bring down electricity costs by capping the profits of foreign-owned power companies to 6%.
Chris Hayes: "If Susan Collins is re-elected, remember this, she will continue to rubber stamp the Trump agenda and all that means, and mark my words, there will be more chances for her to install right wing justices in the court to help cement conservative control of that institution for another generation. Sam Alito is 76 years old. He’s all but confirmed he’s retiring soon. Clarence Thomas is 77. He’s already threatened to quit at least once. If Republicans hold the Senate, it seems essentially assured that both men will announce their retirement. Donald Trump will replace them with ideological zealots four decades their junior, and Susan Collins will hem and haw about how concerned she is and then she’ll vote to confirm then anyway, as she did with Brett Kavanaugh. So that is what the stakes are in the [Maine] Senate race.”
News Center Maine - Robert Peck of South Portland filed on Thursday a federal lawsuit against immigration enforcement agents saying they violated his First and Fourth amendment rights following an incident in January when agents threatened to arrest him for observing them in public.
Amid an immigration enforcement surge in Maine, Peck was watching U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents on the road in Scarborough at what Peck and his attorney described as a safe distance. Peck eventually stopped his car on Milliken Road, where he saw an immigration enforcement vehicle pull over, and two masked agents came to the window of his car, accusing him of violating a federal law that prevents civilians from forcibly impeding law enforcement.
Peck’s lawsuit described the agents, who were captured on video, as attempting to “chill and punish protected free speech by falsely claiming that this statute makes it a crime for Americans merely to observe the public activities of federal agents.”
The most recent lawsuit was filed in United States District Court under the Maine Civil Rights Act, citing a right for Americans to peacefully observe public government actions. The complaint, which Webbert provided to The Maine Monitor, stated that, in response to the sweeping immigration action unfolding in Maine and across the county, Americans observed, documented and protested the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “terror campaign targeting immigrant communities of color.”
10 places where you can get seeds for free (pressherald.com)
Maine Biz - The University of New England earned a STARS Silver Rating for its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This is the first time UNE has participated in the internationally recognized assessment.
With more than 1,300 participating institutions in 53 countries, STARS is regarded as the leading framework for assessing sustainability in higher education. “A silver rating for our first time participating is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Alethea Cariddi, UNE’s director in the Office of Sustainability.
Jobs
