Maine News Friday
The Maine ICE Watch Hotline (207) 544-9989 is operated by the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition in partnership with Presente! Maine and other Maine organizations. Volunteer verifiers are community members trained in legal observation and de-escalation. They serve the community by bearing witness and collecting photos and/or videos for families affected by immigration enforcement. Save the hotline number in your phone today.
Press Herald
Over the last decade, Portland’s track record of seeing large-scale housing projects cross the finish line has been good. The vast majority of developments with 50 or more units approved by city officials have been built. That’s starting to change. Over the last three years, four developments of at least 50 units have been permitted but not constructed. Developers say high costs and the city’s inclusionary zoning policy are to blame.
As Mainers, like many people across the country, feel the pressure of rising prices, affordability has moved to the heart of state lawmaking. In her final State of the State address, Gov. Janet Mills announced a range of proposals to cushion costs for Mainers. Democrats have offered a slate of bills to lower costs, while Republicans are pushing to bring Maine into line with new federal tax policies.
Two of Maine’s nearly two dozen candidates for governor are set to face off in a one-on-one debate Feb. 25, and they’re already sparring over accusations of racist rhetoric. The clash comes after Troy Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate, said he is frustrated by what he considers racist narratives Bobby Charles has pushed about immigrants. Charles, a lawyer and former U.S. assistant secretary of state, dismissed the accusations as hogwash.
- Is Maine considering a law to require annual registration of lawnmowers?
- Families, lawyers work to locate Maine immigrants moved out of state
- Maine fisherman lost at sea remembered for his love of country and Aroostook County
- Maine State Police called immigration authorities about 60 times last year
- Former Sen. George Mitchell resigns from Mitchell Institute
- Pete Hegseth will visit Bath Iron Works on Monday
- Murder conviction vacated in Pleasant Point stabbing death
- What a Brunswick family’s cemetery reveals about Maine’s Black history
Music
FRIDAY, Feb. 6
Cadenza, 5 Depot St., Freeport: An Evening of Dance and Music with Maine Middle Eastern Ensemble, Josie Conte and Josephina Gasca, 7-8:30, $30-$35, show will also be livestreamed on Cadenza's Facebook page
SATURDAY, Feb. 7
Pat’s Pizza, 791 US 1, Yarmouth: Denny Breau, 6:30
Cadenza, 5 Depot St., Freeport: Anni Clark, 7, $30-$35, show will also be livestreamed on Cadenza's Facebook page
TUESDAY, Feb. 10
Tonic, 7 Dunlap St., Brunswick: Open mic with Rexy Dinosaur, 6-8
FRIDAY, Feb. 13
Cadenza, 5 Depot St., Freeport: Casco Bay Tummlers, 7, $30-$35, show will also be livestreamed on Cadenza's Facebook page
SATURDAY, Feb. 14
Cadenza, 5 Depot St., Freeport: Coleman Martin & Stan Davis: ”Old Tricks and New Trouble”, 7, $30-$35, show will also be livestreamed on Cadenza's Facebook page
Thanks to Bob Greene
Maine News Thursday
Bad news of the day - : Anyone know Abby L ? Your pizzas were delivered to my house
Press Herald
Many of Maine’s health systems are teetering on the edge of financial viability, less than a year before the bulk of federal Medicaid cuts will start hitting hospital budgets. About 40% of the state’s hospitals are currently losing money, and the pending cuts are expected to cost them millions more. Most of Maine's health systems are still recovering from years of significant losses driven in part by rising costs, hospital officials say.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s recent decision to pull its detainees from the Cumberland County Jail could leave local taxpayers on the hook, county leaders say. ICE already owes the county more than $1 million in unpaid payments, apparently due to last fall’s government shutdown. Under a federal contract, ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service pay the county $150 per day for each person the jail holds for them.
Mainers will not weigh in on whether to cease recreational cannabis sales in Maine — at least not this November. Organizers of the petition drive seeking to close Maine’s recreational cannabis market and strengthen oversight of the medical marijuana market failed to submit their petition signatures by Monday’s deadline. That does not necessarily mean the effort is dead, but it does mean it will not go to voters this year.
Are Republicans trying again to impeach Shenna Bellows?
Maine officials concerned by ‘lack of cooperation’ from UPS in ballot investigation last fall, records show
In Maine U.S. Senate race, Democrats burn cash while Sen. Susan Collins stockpiles it
Freeport News Thursday
Newscenter Maine - Freeport firefighters were among several neighboring departments that spent hours battling a destructive overnight house fire in nearby Durham, which left one resident displaced but uninjured. Crews shuttled water from multiple towns for more than eight hours before the blaze was brought under control, and investigators are still working to determine the cause.
Brunswick News Thursday
Press Herald - Up to $600,000 in town funds will be set aside to finish Brunswick’s multiyear sidewalk reconstruction project, which has run more than $1 million over budget to date.
The most recent appropriation to the Maine Street streetscape project will allow for construction on the Lemont Block of downtown. The block is located on the west side of Maine Street between Town Hall Place and Pleasant Street and is home to businesses including the Lemont Block Collective, Maine Street Bistro, Broadway Delicatessen, Pura Vida Day Spa and Gulf of Maine Books.
The Lemont Block has a narrow, steep sidewalk that has presented challenges for the project, Town Manager Julia Henze told the Town Council at Monday night’s meeting.
To maintain compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the town proposed extending the curb into the street, a project that could cost up to $600,000. This also allows for space for outdoor dining and vendors in front of the storefronts.
Events
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday February 6
Saturday February 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stories We Thought We Knew: Reconsidering Freeport Histories |
10:00 AM, Saturday, February 7 at South Freeport Church Parish Hall Gather at 9:30 for Coffee and Tea |
Freeport Historical Society invites you to a morning of shared storytelling and reflection that begins with a simple question: What happens when a story you’ve always believed turns out to be incomplete? History often reaches us shaped by the values, silences, and assumptions of its time—and when new information comes to light, it can change far more than our understanding of the past. At this gathering, Kathleen Sullivan will share how a discovery about her house at Porter’s Landing—and its connection to the Atlantic slave trade—upended the romantic story she had long associated with her home. She will reflect on how this discovery reshaped her understanding of the house, her community, and herself. Together, participants will consider the profound implications such moments have for how we understand the world today, and how the stories we tell—especially those left unexamined—become the histories we inherit and pass on. Attendees are invited to listen, reflect, and share their own moments of unexpected learning as we explore what it means to reconsider history together. |
| |||||
|
Town Council
Tuesday, February 17 Regular Council Meeting
| |||||
|
April 2026 | 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.
Short Term Change in Town Clerk Desk Hours
Due to staffing needs, these hours will likely be in effect until April. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Town Clerk's Office Hours of Operation:
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 7:30am - 5:00pm
- Tuesday 7:30am - 6:00pm
- The office will be CLOSED from 2:00pm - 2:30pm each day for lunch.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)