Maine News Thursday

Press Herald -  Likely Democratic primary voters support political newcomer Graham Platner by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over Gov. Janet Mills, according to a new independent poll.  And the survey from Emerson College released Thursday found both candidates leading Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in a hypothetical general election matchup.

The poll found that 55% of those likely to vote in the June 9 primary preferred Platner, while 28% chose Mills. Thirteen percent were undecided. The survey got responses from 530 voters, a relatively small sample size.

In hypothetical general election matchups, 48% chose Platner over Collins (41%) with 12% undecided. Mills led Collins by a smaller margin, 46% to 43%, with 11% undecided. Nearly 1,100 Mainers were surveyed about the hypothetical matchups. The poll of likely Democratic primary voters had a 4.2% margin of error, while the hypothetical general election matchups had a 2.9% margin of error.

On paper at least, former Gov. Paul LePage lives in an apartment above a barber shop next to an Enterprise Rent-A-Car near the Augusta Memorial Circle rotary. But would LePage, now running for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District — and who has ping-ponged between Maine and Ormond Beach, Florida – actually live in the apartment if he wins in November?

2 young men died in a paper mill. It’s raising questions about safety in one of Maine’s iconic industries.

Maine Morning Star -   Lawmakers in the Maine Legislature have granted initial approval to a proposal to expand free breakfast and lunch to all children enrolled in public preschool. Currently, all Maine students enrolled in public K-12 schools can eat for free since the state adopted the program in 2021, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if a preschool is not located within a public school, those young learners can’t access the universal benefit...

How a chemical spill in Brunswick has affected Casco Bay (pressherald.com)

Maine Morning Star -  Maine lawmakers passed a bill to help houses of worship and other nonprofits improve security in an attempt to meet the moment of heightened attacks, uncertain federal funding and new federal grant rules requiring compliance with the Trump administration’s agenda. 

“I am not someone who typically likes the idea of sending public money to religious institutions,” Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) said on the Maine House of Representatives floor on Tuesday, “but here I am, as Maine has been put into this unwelcome position by our federal counterparts.”

LD 2107 would establish a grant program within the Maine Emergency Management Agency  available to nonprofits to improve their security to protect against hate crimes and terror attacks. The Maine Senate backed the measure 21-14 on Wednesday, after the House voted 76-68. It needs enactment votes in both chambers and to be funded before it can head to the governor’s desk. 

A NatGeo photographer turned a road trip on Maine’s Route 1 into a film

POWNAL 

If you’ve captured a moment that represents the heart of our hometown, we want to see it. Selected photos will be featured on the town website, with full credit given to the photographer. Join us in highlighting the moments, places, and people that make our community something special. Send your photos to info@pownalmaine.org

The Board of Appeals and the Planning Board both need an alternate committee member. Alternates serve to fill the roster when another committee member cannot attend a meeting. If you are invested in the future of Pownal and know (or would like to learn about) our town development processes, either of these positions could be a good fit for you. If you are interested please submit a completed Volunteer Form 

 Nomination papers for the upcoming town election  are open for the following boards and committees:

• Select Board
• Cemetery Commission
• RSU 5 Board of Directors

Each position carries a three‑year term. Candidates must collect a minimum of 25 signatures and no more than 100 signatures to qualify. Completed nomination papers are due by April 9 at 4:30 PM.

The following individuals have taken out Nomination Petitions which are being circulated in the Town of Pownal:

• Meaghan L. Arena for RSU #5 Board of Directors
• Melissa M. Jordan for RSU #5 Board of Directors  
• Lorraine S. Merrill for Pownal Cemetery Commission
• Katherine (Kate) Day for Pownal Town Select Board



Election Date: June 9th, 2026

Maine News Wednesday

Press Herald - Pediatricians say vaccine hesitancy has surged in Maine over the past year, weakening protections against preventable and dangerous diseases.

Janet Mills for Maine -  Governor Mills has a record of stepping up and delivering for Mainers. On day one as Governor, Janet Mills expanded health care to more than 100,000 Maine people. She has fought for education, fully-funded schools for the first time in Maine history, guaranteed access to free school meals and made community college free for all Maine students. While Senator Collin's pivotal vote for Brett Kavanaugh stripped reproductive healthcare away from 1/3 of all American women, Governor Mill's was committed to expanding reproductive care across the state. And as Trump's tariffs push housing prices even higher, Governor Mills has made the biggest investment in housing in Maine history. 

NOTE: We have not endorsed any Maine candidates but will publish information about the most progressive ones.

The Portland Planning Board on Tuesday recommended against mandating a 750-foot buffer between large downtown entertainment venues. The 5-0 vote sets the stage for a City Council decision next month that could clear the way for a proposed 3,300-seat Live Nation venue. While the planning board's vote is only a recommendation to the council, Tuesday’s vote could sway councilors to lift a moratorium on large venues.

South Portland School Department proposes closing Kaler Elementary

Inside Climate News   - When reports emerged last August that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) planned to cancel $7 billion in grants for solar panels for low-income households, including an estimated 20,000 households in Maine, Sen. Susan Collins seemed to defend the move.

“It is no surprise, now that control of the White House has changed, that the new administration would consider terminating this IRA program,” she was quoted as saying, referring to the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

While Collins did call the termination “abrupt” and “unfortunate,” her primary concern seemed to be rehashing the IRA’s partisan passage. “Not one Republican voted for the Inflation Reduction Act that included this grant program,” Collins said, highlighting her own opposition to the 2022 law many have called the most significant piece of climate legislation in United States history.

Collins, who recently announced she would run this year for a sixth term in the Senate, has largely stood by during the Trump administration’s all-out assault on federal climate and clean energy policy. At key moments—as when the Department of Energy released a so-called “critical review” of climate science by five hand-picked climate skeptics—Collins did not speak out, at least publicly, in opposition.

Maine Morning Star -   More than 600 Bath Iron Works employees are on strike this week, after the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Association rejected the company’s latest offer.  Union membership voted Sunday to reject General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works’ proposal, and a statement from the union said the offer doesn’t address low pay, affordable insurance and retirement income security.

Press Herald -   Portland’s director of housing and economic development was issued a summons for assault and placed on paid leave last week, officials said. Gregory Watson, 54, was accused of assault after a Feb. 20 incident on Congress Street, Portland police confirmed Tuesday. They issued a summons on March 18, as first reported by WGME.  Police department spokesperson Brad Nadeau declined to share further details about the alleged assault. No filings about the case were available at the Cumberland County Courthouse as of Tuesday.

Events

MARCH 26  2026 

Science for Self Reliance: Greenhouse & Garden Watering in Person -  5 pm - Morell Meeting room

 

The Untold Stories of Portland's Irish Domestic Servants Thursday, March 26, 1:00 p.m. Online on Zoom Learn More | Register

MARCH 27

MARCH 28

No Kings  -  811 am. 134 Maine Street (Main & School St) 

MARCH 29

MARCH 30

Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD, known online as "Your Local Epidemiologist", is a prominent epidemiologist, data scientist and science communicator who gained widespread recognition for her analysis and translation of complex scientific data during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Dora Anne Mills is the Chief Health Improvement Officer at MaineHealth. She is a board-certified pediatrician and a prominent figure in Maine's public health landscape, having served as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Pr, evention for 15 years.  8:30 PM Freeport Performing Arts Center (30 Holbrook St, Freeport)

Tickets are on sale now for $20. All FS 2026 events on FreeportSpeech.org.

MARCH 31
Appointments Committee - 30 Main Street - 4:30 pm

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

Chinese in Maine: From Struggle to Success, Book Talk with Gary Libby Tuesday, March 31, 1:00 p.m. Online on Zoom Learn More | Register

POWNAL MEETINGS & EVENTS

April

1st 7:00 PM Economic Development and Sustainability Committee meeting

6th 7:00 PM Board of Appeals meeting

7th 6:30 PM Future Facilities Committee meeting

13th 6:00 PM Public Hearings

13th 6:30 PM Select Board meeting

15th 6:00 PM Planning Board meeting

11th 6:30 PM Open Mic Night

27th 6:00 PM Public Hearings

27th 6:30 PM Select Board meeting

28th 6:30 PM Conservation Commission Meeting

29th 6:30 PM Capital Asset Plan Funding Committee Meeting

May

16th 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Pownal Community Day

APRIL 1 

Planning Board, 30 Main St, 6 pm

April 4

Poetry Workshop Freeport Community Library, 12 pm

 

April 5

O’Donoghue’s Pub, 103 Pleasant St., Brunswick: Open mic hosted by Mike Aron, 3-7

April 6

Coffee with Council Leadership - 8 am 30 Main St 

Board of Appeals -  6:30 pm 30 Main St

Sustainability Workshop - 6:30 pm Freeport Community Services, 53 Depot Street

April 7 

April 9

Visit the Village Corridor Initiative page for more information

April 11

Open Mic Poetry with Betsy Sholl - Free tickets can be reserved here now for our next Freeport Folio Open Mic Poetry featuring Betsy Sholl, Poet Laureate of Maine 2006-2011. We have also invited the to be crowned 2025-2026 Maine State Poetry Out Loud Champion. The event is on April 11th, 1pm at the Freeport Community Center. Tickets are free but seats are limited

More Freeport Folio events

April 25 Poetry Workshop with Joseph Coleman at Freeport Community Library
April 25 Community Poetry Reading at the Freeport Community Library
April 30 National Poetry Month Statewide Grand Finale: Maine Poet Laureates Public Reading. A first-time, historic gathering of all Maine State Poet Laureates
July 30, Open Mic Poetry with Featured Poet Richard Blanco
October 1 Open Mic Poetry with Featured Poet Samaa Abdurraqib
October 31 Dead Poets Poetry Death Match

LADIES OF FLAME  7:00 PM A beloved all-women musical ensemble that performs a lively selection of heartfelt songs and popular hits. Reserve tickets

APR 24
ERICA BROWN & THE BLUEGRASS CONNECTION: Friday, April 24 at 7:30 PM A fun and energetic five-piece band featuring some of the finest musicians in New England.

MAY 1
Maine Democrats Biennial Convention. 1 Thompson Point, Portland. 9 am 

MAY 8-9 

First Parish Hall, 40 Main St, Freeport (lower side door) 

5:30 pm doors, 6 pm show.

TICKETS : https://our.show/crabcakes/fp 

MAY 20 

Are You Cyber-Savvy? Understanding thet Geopolitics and Personal Threats of Cyber Attacks, which will be held on Wednesday, May 20, at 7:00 pm at the Freeport Performing Arts Center.  You will hear from Nathaniel Fick, a Maine resident, former American diplomat, technology executive and author of the memoir One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer.  Ambassador Fick was selected to lead the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy in 2022. Ambassador Fick will be joined by Rachel Wilson, Head of Cybersecurity for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Ms. Wilson transitioned from a career leading counter-terrorism and cyber-exploitation missions at the National Security Agency to protecting the financial sector.  Tickets go on sale a month before the event.

Thanks to Patch for some of the above

Thanks also to Bob Green for his music contributions to this list, He notes, "It is strongly recommended that you call ahead to confirm any performances and the conditions for entry. "

Maine News Tuesday

Eli Seaver  -  Governor Mills has a record of stepping up and delivering for Mainers. On day one as Governor, Janet Mills expanded health care to more than 100,000 Maine people. She has fought for education, fully-funded schools for the first time in Maine history, guaranteed access to free school meals and made community college free for all Maine students. While Senator Collin's pivotal vote for Brett Kavanaugh stripped reproductive healthcare away from 1/3 of all American women, Governor Mill's was committed to expanding reproductive care across the state. And as Trump's tariffs push housing prices even higher, Governor Mills has made the biggest investment in housing in Maine history. 

Rep Melanie Sachs -   Since 2013, the number of family child care providers in Maine has significantly declined, hitting rural communities the hardest. Meanwhile, according to a report prepared for Maine DHHS, the average cost of care continues to rise, with the cost of infant care in Maine between $997 to $1,188 per month and child care for a four-year-old ranging between $715 to $1,020 per month. On top of that, waitlists for child care in Maine average six months. Families are forced to make impossible choices about who will go to work and who will care for the kids – or they’re forced to choose between child care costs and paying for basic necessities.

 Maine Morning Star -   The clean energy sector in Maine grew in 2024 — employing more than 16,000 workers, making it New England’s fastest-growing clean energy workforce in recent years, according to a new state analysis. 

“Maine’s growing clean energy workforce offers a wide range of quality career opportunities, and interest in these skilled trades continues to grow because they meet the needs of workers and employers while advancing the state’s climate and housing goals,” said Laura Fortman, commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor, in a press release. 

The Maine Department of Energy Resources last week released its Maine Clean Energy Industry Report for 2024, the most recent data available on the sector. But those numbers don’t account for the fallout from decisions by President Donald Trump’s administration in the last year. 

In 2024, the clean energy sector added 100 new businesses and 614 jobs. Those jobs represent a 4% increase from 2023, a higher rate than Maine’s overall job growth. 

The state’s clean energy economy contributed $3 billion in 2024, making up roughly 3% of Maine’s total output.

“Maine’s clean energy growth is not just an environmental success story — it’s an economic one,” said Mike Duguay, commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, in a press release. “Surpassing 16,000 clean energy jobs demonstrates that innovation, workforce development, and smart public investments are creating real opportunity across our state. From small businesses to advanced manufacturers, clean energy is strengthening Maine’s competitive edge and positioning us for long-term economic resilience.” 

But the 2024 data reflects a period before the second Trump administration began to slash clean energy and environmental programs and funding. 

Maine Morning Star  -  No New England airports are expected to see U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers taking over security duties for now, despite a presidential order aimed at assisting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees working without pay during a partial government shutdown, the regional president of the TSA officers’ union said Monday.

“We’re not really having those problems that you’re seeing on the news,” Mike Gayzagian, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2617 headquartered in Boston, said in an interview Monday. “Hopefully we maintain that, but we’ll see what happens.”

Spokespeople for Logan International Airport in Boston or Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut both confirmed a lack of ICE presence at their terminals.

Why the Trump administration is investigating Maine’s abortion laws Federal judge denies Maine ICE observers’ request for temporary restraining order against DHS Maine renews attempt to expand state landfill Hundreds go on strike at Bath Iron Works Five fun things to do in South Portland Why the Trump administration is investigating Maine’s abortion laws