Maine News, Tuesday May 12

FREEPORT EVENTS
FREEPORT TALES

The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, representing over 100 organizations across Maine, can confirm that the increase in detentions in our neighborhoods and calls to our Immigrant Defense Hotline correspond with a shift in national enforcement strategy by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security. 

Over the last two weeks, the hotline  and community networks have reported an uptick in detentions, with enforcement increasingly affecting visible and well-established immigrant communities. 

Our Coalition's observations parallel recent reports of ICE and DHS increasing their presence in Maine, including bids for local business cooperation agreements with ICE. 

In Maine, these arrests continue to follow the broader trend of targeting Black and brown immigrants, including individuals actively navigating immigration proceedings. 

Maine Biz -  Cumberland and York counties continued to be Maine’s most expensive markets, with median prices of $590,000 (up 5.36%) and $500,000 (up 4.38%), respectively.

Press Herald - Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee in Maine’s U.S. Senate race, receives thousands of dollars per month from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in disability payments. He has said he gets free health care and about $4,800 a month for a variety of injuries connected to his military service, for which the VA gave him a 100% disability rating. 

Maine Biz -   A new University of Maine System Business & Law Clinic is offering free support to startups and early-stage businesses while giving law and graduate business students hands-on training.

The clinic, a partnership between the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maine Graduate School of Business, was recently launched at the Maine Center. It is housed at 300 Fore St. in the Old Port neighborhood of Portland.

In its first semester, eight law and business students worked with more than a dozen businesses across Maine, gaining practical experience in legal and business development services.

The clinic, which aims to expand to 12 students, is touted as the first of its kind in the nation.

Meet the southern Maine veterinarian who treats everything from house cats to tigers

ICE activity is increasing in Maine, immigration rights advocates warn

We interviewed the Maine governor candidates. Here’s what they said.

Maine’s housing market showing signs of life after slow start

Maine Wire -   The Portland Police Department will recognize National Police Week through May 18, honoring law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty while recognizing the service, sacrifice, and commitment of those who continue to protect their communities.

National Police Week is dedicated to honor, remembrance, and peer support, bringing together law enforcement officers, survivors, and citizens to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Police Week is a time for our community and our profession to pause and reflect on the extraordinary dedication of our officers,” said Portland Police Chief Mark Dubois. “Every day, they answer the call with courage, professionalism, and a deep commitment to serving others, often in moments of great uncertainty and risk. Their work is not always seen, but it is always felt in the safety and strength of our community.”

Maine Morning Star -   Permanent free community college. A bell-to-bell cellphone ban. A pay bump for teachers.  These are among the significant changes the Maine Legislature made this year to strengthen public and higher education statewide, passing laws aligning with longstanding Democratic priorities.

“It was a more active session than what we’ve seen in a while in terms of education-related decisions that had seemed pretty hard to make,” said Amy Johnson, co-director of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute. “But they passed some pretty big, impactful policies.”

The changes will make public and higher education more accessible, reduce the local strain on school district budgets and compensate educators fairly, all while President Donald Trump’s administration is making deep cuts to the U.S. Department of Education. 

MSN -   A new Republican poll shows Senator Susan Collins  (R-ME) leading presumptive general election challenger Graham Platner (D) by 11-points in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.  The survey, released Friday by the National Republican Congressional Committee, was conducted before Governor Janet Mills (D), the preferred choice of the party establishment, abandoned her Senate bid, effectively handing Platner a clear path to the Democratic nomination. 

JOBS

Albertsons Companies, Inc. posted a job opening for Deli Clerk in Freeport. Apply here.

Circle K posted a job opening for Store Assistant Manager in Freeport. Apply here. 

You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Monday May 11

Early voting begins today.  June 9th is the official voting day. 

Inside Climate News -   Last summer, the wild blueberry fields at Crystal Spring Farm turned red too soon.  Severe drought had gripped most of the state of Maine. At his farm near the town of Brunswick, Seth Kroeck knew the leaves were changing color prematurely because the blueberry plants were stressed. Berries shriveled before they could ripen.  The farm’s 2025 harvest was almost a total loss.

As the climate changes, these losses are getting more common for wild blueberry farmers. And, experts say, the solutions are pricey. .Wild blueberries are an iconic food in Maine, like lobster rolls or whoopie pies. But they aren’t the same as the fruits sold by the pint in a grocery store.

....Maine’s farms contribute almost the entirety of the United States’ commercially sold wild blueberries. The industry harvested nearly 88 million pounds of fruit in 2023, bringing $361 million in revenue to the state, according to the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine.

Maine Morning Star -  Gerald Talbot, a civil rights leader and the first African American to serve in the Maine Legislature, died Saturday at the age of 94.  Talbot, who was born in Bangor in 1931, was an advocate for civil and human rights. He travelled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the 1963 March on Washington, and in 1964 he helped reestablish the NAACP in Portland, where he served as president for three terms. In that role he helped pass the Maine Fair Housing Bill and Maine Human Rights Act. 

In 1972, he was elected to the first of three terms in the Maine Legislature. During his tenure, he introduced legislation related to an array of social justice and human rights issues including the treatment of migrant workers, tribal sovereignty, and creating a holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. He also sponsored the first gay rights legislation and passed a landmark bill to have the “n-word” removed from maps and place names in Maine.

Maine Morning Star -   With the June 9 primary elections less than a month away, Maine voters can vote absentee in person at their municipal clerk’s office starting Monday. Under the state’s semi-open primary system, voters registered with an official political party can cast a ballot in their party’s primary election while unenrolled voters can choose to cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primaries. 

....While voters will be able to rank the primary candidates, the general election for governor and the Legislature do not use ranked choice voting. However, both primary and general elections for congressional races are ranked.

JOBS

Patch - What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• 774-212-3816 50% off your first mow if you hire us for bi weekly mowing!!!! (Nextdoor Cushing Briggs-Pleasant Hill)
• The Gap, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate - Main St - Freeport in Freeport. Apply here.
• Circle K posted a job opening for Store Assistant Manager in Freeport. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Sunday May 10

Jobs 

• Albertsons Company Inc. posted a job opening for Night Crew Stocker in Freeport. Apply here.
• Sam's Club posted a job opening for Stocking Team Associate in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Press Herald-  Just 12% of Maine's school buildings were assessed for radon in the past five years, and nearly a quarter of those had elevated levels of the cancer-causing gas. It’s common for districts, especially small rural ones with other financial and safety challenges, to overlook a health issue that can seem invisible.

The Maine moms who make their restaurants happen

 

Get your fill of Maine theater, classical music and dance

Portland’s Maine-born population has dropped to 40%.

 

Where are Portland residents moving? U-Haul gives us a sense.

Maine News Saturday May 9

Press Herald -  A plot of woods situated across from Brunswick High School along Maquoit Bay is now officially open to outdoor recreation with the completion of a deal permanently protecting the land, the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust announced last week. The announcement comes following an August 2025 vote by the Brunswick Town Council to accept $2 million from the local land trust organization to create a conservation easement on 240 acres of Maquoit Woods. The funds for the purchase came from an anonymous supporter of the land trust.

Press Herald - Brunswick’s town councilors Monday voted to extend a temporary measure preventing mobile home park owners from raising lot rents for another 180 days. The vote comes as the town crafts an ordinance to address rent practices that park residents say are pricing them out of their homes.

Maine Senate candidates outline priorities on energy, national issues
Hannah Pingree grew up in Maine politics. Is she the next governor?

Press Herald  -  Fewer visitors came to Maine last year, but those who did spent more. The Maine Office of Tourism reported there were 14.15 million visitors in 2025, down 4.4% from the year before. Even so, visitors last year spent $9.37 billion, up 1.4% from 2024. Less than 5% of visitors came from other countries in 2025, with most — 3.6% — coming from Canada. That number is down from 2024, with 5.4% of visitors coming from Canada. FREEPORT WGME -  Freeport’s sewer system is getting a more than $20 million overhaul that will modernize treatment plants, add a new admin and lab building, and shift to UV disinfection. Funded largely by federal grants but adding a 10% surcharge to local sewer bills, the multi-phase project tackles decades-old corrosion and capacity issues and will roll out over the coming years.