Maine News Saturday May 2

FREEPORT EVENTS 

FREEPORT NEWS

Town of Freeport - Beginning Monday, July 6, the Town of Freeport will implement new Town Hall public hours to better align open hours with staff capacity and community usage patterns. Under the new schedule, Town Hall will be open: Monday: 7:30am - 5:00pm Tuesday: 7:30am - 6:00pm Wednesday: 7:30am - 5:00pm Thursday: 7:30am - 5:00pm Analyses of Town Hall activity showed very low transaction volumes during the 5:00 - 6:00pm hours, during which time multiple departments remain staffed. Adjusting hours allows the Town to focus staff coverage during times residents most frequently seek in‑person assistance. Online services such as some payments, permit information, forms, and requests are available 24/7 on our website at https://www.freeportmaine.com/184/Online-Services-Transactions The total number of hours Town employees work will be unchanged, and there is no reduction in staffing or services. The change aligns public hours with the staffing capacity approved through the Town’s budget, helping ensure that offices are routinely staffed whenever Town Hall is open. MAINE UPDATE Recent poll: Palmer leads Collns by 2%

Thom Hartmann -   Maine just handed Democrats a wake-up call that they’d damn well better actually listen to this time.

Governor Janet Mills suspended her Senate campaign yesterday, leaving Marine veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner as the presumptive Democratic nominee to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.

The message Maine voters are frankly shouting is the same one I’ve been hearing from listeners on my radio/TV show for years and the same one that pollsters across the spectrum keep picking up across the country: people are sick and tired of mealy-mouthed corporate Democrats who run on focus-grouped slogans and govern like they’re scared of their own shadow. They want fighters.

Mills was Chuck Schumer’s hand-picked candidate, recruited by Democratic Party insiders because they thought the 78-year-old two-term governor would be the safest, most “electable” option against Susan Collins. What Schumer and the “insider Democrats” got instead — and deserved — was a 30-point shellacking.

Platner, who launched his campaign last August by naming “the oligarchy” and “the billionaires who pay for it” as the enemy, outraised Mills every single quarter, packed wildly enthusiastic town halls all over the state, and even earned Bernie Sanders’s endorsement along the way. He turned Mills’s establishment alignment into a major liability and thus pushed her out of the race a full five weeks before the primary.

Press Herald - Special education rates are at an all-time high nationally. Depending on the study, Maine ranks second, sometimes third, in the nation, with just under 21% of the state’s 171,174 students qualifying for additional services in the 2023-24 school year. The national average is 15%. There is no clear reason for Maine’s high rates, though experts mention factors like the aftereffects of the COVID pandemic, an aging teacher population and state regulations.

Press Herald -  When Susan Tarpinian opened the original Morning Glory Natural Foods on Maine Street in Brunswick in 1981, her son, Toby, was just 2 years old. Now, he’s running the business, and has a brand new store for his own 2-year-old to toddle around in.

Tarpinian and his team decided to expand the business about a year ago, feeling cramped in the downtown store. The new location [in the former REAL school building in Brunswick Landing] offers the same natural food products as the Maine Street store, with the addition of a seafood counter and a butcher.  

Interview with the team behind Morning Glory here. 

How five Democrats running for governor agree and disagree with Janet Mills

Maine News Friday May 1

Clean Link -  The Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national non-profit organization that demarcates official Certified Green Restaurants, announces the winners of the 2026 Green Restaurant Award. These facilities support sustainability initiatives that aim for both conservation and cleanliness. To measure the efficacy of environmental efforts, organizations are measured alongside eight categories: energy, water, waste, chemicals and pollution, food, and building and furnishing. For each element implemented within a category, Green Points can be obtained. The cumulation of these points demonstrates foundational steps toward eco-friendly operations. Greenest Independent Restaurant: Maine Beer Company Tasting Room, Freeport, Maine

Troy Jackson - I proudly endorsed Graham Platner back in February because I saw in him the same thing Bernie Sanders did, and the same thing countless people all across Maine and the entire country did: a progressive champion with the guts to take power back from the corporate oligarchs who’ve dominated our political system for FAR too long.

Maine Bix -  Out of 149 U.S. metropolitan areas, Portland ranked second for livability in a barometer by RentCafe.com, an apartment search website. Washington, D.C., topped the list.

The rankings evaluated metro areas with populations of at least 300,000 across 17 metrics, including cost of living, health care access and community feel, grouped into three categories: location and community, quality of life and socioeconomic status.

While the city of Portland has a population of around 68,000, the Portland–South Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area totals more than 563,000. Researchers highlighted the region’s access to a large number of membership associations, local farmers’ markets, top universities and a robust network of health care providers.

“Although the cost of living here exceeds the national average, Portland’s steady job market, income gains and low unemployment rate make it appealing to renters looking for stability,” according to the report.

“But, it’s not just a spot where you can work hard,” the authors noted. “The metro area also stands out for its rich food scene, with 230 restaurants per 10,000 residents, an

Press Herald -   With Gov. Janet Mills' withdrawal Thursday morning, the Senate race in Maine now appears to be a competition between incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Democratic newcomer Graham Platner.

The Democratic primary takes place in June, and Platner will have to beat David Costello for his party's nomination, but he's almost certain to do so. That means Mills' announcement turns our attention to November's midterm election.

…Platner's campaign has spent more on advertising than Collins', but those figures may not show the full picture.  Platner for Maine had spent about $7.3 million on ads as of Thursday afternoon, according to the ad tracking site AdImpact. Collins for ME Senate had spent about $2.4 million.

Press Herald - For the first time, thousands of Mainers can take paid time off from work for life events and return to work. Over 2,000 Maine residents have already pre-applied for benefits. Starting May 1, the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave program will allow any employee in Maine to take up to 12 weeks off work for family or medical events such as childbirth, infant care, injury, illness or family caregiving duties — while still receiving a portion of their wages.

Platner pulls out of Senate debates after Mills ends campaign

Wabanaki Alliance -  The Wabanaki Studies bill being funded and signed into law, advancements made to improve the conservation easement statute to include tribes and tribal ties to land, more positive movement on taxation benefits, and waived admission fees for tribal citizens to state parks...

7 Oddball Maine Museums to Visit

JOBS

• Regional School Unit 05 posted a job opening for Athletic Coaching Positions 2025-2026 in Freeport. Apply here.
• L.L.Bean, Inc. posted a job opening for Assistant Manager, Retail (Stores) Communications in Freeport. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Thursday April 30

Graham Platner interviewed by Jon Stewart

The Hill -  Centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday broke ranks with Republican leaders and most GOP colleagues by voting for a war powers resolution sponsored by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to halt military actions against Iran, the first Republican senator to change her position on curtailing President Trump’s military authority.

Collins joined Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in voting to advance a resolution to withdraw U.S. military forces from the conflict with Iran unless Congress votes to authorize the use of force. She and Paul voted with most Democrats for a motion to discharge the resolution from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but it still failed by a vote of 47 to 50.

Maine News Wednesday April 29

                                                                                          FREEPORT EVENTS 

Press Herald - When Maine seemed poised to pass the nation’s first temporary ban on new data center development, the country started to pay attention. Then came the veto. Gov. Janet Mills shot down the measure late last week, saying she would have signed it if it included an exemption for a development proposed at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay. Critics were quick to condemn the move, while supporters praised Mills for defending local interests amid national scrutiny.

A jury has awarded $102.2 million in a lawsuit over artwork attributed to the late Robert Indiana, a longtime Maine resident who created the famous LOVE sculptures. In a case filed in New York just before Indiana's death in 2018, the group that owns the rights to his work sued his former associate, Michael McKenzie, who was found to have produced fraudulent pieces and violated copyright and trademark laws. 

What Maine put in a time capsule that’s meant to be unearthed in 250 years

How to stay safe amid elevated fire risk in Maine

FREEPORT -  Kati Sylvester is offering yoga classes in the Barn at Windpointe at the end of Litchfield Road. I enjoyed a good class last night.   To learn more, see the class schedule, go to: yoga.seekingwonderment.com - Katrina Van Dusen

Maine News Tuesday April 28

Press Herald - Maine marijuana growers are increasingly using radiation and other methods to remove contaminants like mold and yeast from their products, a process consumers are likely in the dark about. Despite state policy requiring remediated products to be labeled, that rule hasn't been enforced since at least November 2024. Supporters say the process is safe, while opponents argue there isn’t enough research on remediated cannabis. 

Supporters of a bill that would give certain lawmakers access to confidential child protective records will make another push this week, arguing the change is needed to hold the state accountable. They plan to rally on Wednesday, when the Maine Legislature returns to Augusta to act on bills vetoed by the governor. The measure could get a second vote on “veto day,” or it could go without another vote and die upon adjournment.

How to watch the upcoming primary debates in Maine’s races for governor, Senate, House

Graham Platner and his wife announce miscarriage

Pro-Collins super PAC launches $2M attack ad against Graham Platner

Portland City Council approves jetport parking plan

Maine Morning Star -   Energy affordability was top of mind for state lawmakers this session, as they passed an assortment of bills to try and bring down Maine’s high energy prices. But with a varied approach, it’s hard to tell exactly how much impact the legislation will have on residents’ bills. “I think it is a shift in emphasis and in direction going forward that I think will help us start to turn the tide or push down on the upward price pressure that we’re finding coming from lots of different angles within electricity rates,” said Heather Sanborn, the state’s public advocate. But, she added, there’s nothing among the list of new laws “that is immediately going to make bills lower.”

... Dr. Barbara Kates-Garnick, a professor of practice in energy policy at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, said the progress will have an impact long term. But in the immediate future, it’s unclear what ratepayers will see. “All of these measures make a difference, but whether or not, in the short term, we’re going to see the price decreases and impacts that people desire, I think the jury is really out,” Kates-Garnick said.

Bowdoin exhibit documents the Wabanaki experience through oral histories, photos (pressherald.com)

Jobs 

Patch - Gap posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate - Freeport Vlg Station in Freeport. Apply here.

Skechers posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate in Freeport. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Monday April 27

Maine Biz -  The Mount Desert Island YMCA found a housing solution for its employees when it bought a single-family home with six bedrooms and common spaces to use as shared housing.  The MDI YMCA bought 2 Rockwood Ave. in Bar Harbor from Tim and Susan Buell for $650,000. Erica Brooks of Swan Agency Portside Real Estate Group brokered the deal. Bar Harbor Bank & Trust financed the acquisition.

Hannah Pingree - In my community, when your house is on fire or you’re having a health emergency, we rely on our neighbors - even if we don’t agree politically. Because it’s up to all of us to show up for each other. That’s exactly how I think about politics.

Women's Tennis Sweeps Middlebury and Williams For First Time In Program History (bowdoin.edu)

Brunswick residents try to stop town from building new fueling station (wgme.com)

Press Herald -  The biggest change at Acadia National Park this year is for foreign tourists. An America The Beautiful Pass, which covers entrance fees at many national parks and federal lands, jumped to $250 for non-U.S. residents in 2026. The pass will still cost $80 for U.S. citizens and residents. Baxter State Park introduced a change to its reservation system for 2026 so campers will be able to book four consecutive nights at the same site online.

Why a small mountain town became the cannabis capital of Maine How ranked-choice voting will factor into the Maine governor primaries Maine businesses are cashing in on Hearts of Pine fever More Maine high schoolers are looking to Canada for college These Mainers nurture a passion for growing orchids Portland protesters demand release of 19-year-old in ICE detention

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Life as a Working Mom in Maine 

• Overall Rank: 6^th
• 10^th – Day-Care Quality
• 25^th – Pediatricians per Capita
• 5^th – Gender Pay Gap (Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s)
• 8^th – Ratio of Female Executives to Male Executives
• 13^th – Female Unemployment Rate
• 12^th – Parental-Leave Policy Score
• 9^th – Avg. Length of Woman’s Work Week (in Hours)
• 26^th – % of Single-Mom Families in Poverty

 For the full report:

Maine Morning Star - Maine enacted several new laws during the latest legislative session that aim to counter President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, codifying the pushback from local, community efforts.There’s a ban on immigration agents entering public schools, state libraries and hospitals without a judicial warrant, and a measure to protect tenants against the disclosure of their personal information. 

Gov. Janet Mills signed both into law last week. And earlier this month, she approved a measure clarifying that jails can refuse to hold people detained solely for a civil immigration violation, paving the way for the Cumberland County Jail to stop holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. 

Maine Morning Star -   Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have banned data centers larger than 20 megawatts until November, 2027 — which would have been the first such moratorium in the nation. “A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates,” Mills wrote in her veto letter to the Legislature. “But the final version of this bill fails to allow for a specific project in the Town of Jay that enjoys strong local support from its host community and region.”

Press Herald -  Intermed will no longer accept Martin’s Point Medicare Advantage insurance, starting in 2027. About 4,500 InterMed patients will be affected, according to the healthcare provider.

WBLM -  Education holds an important place for many Mainers. According to the U.S. Census, more than 35% of residents have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, ranking the state 18th nationwide and above the national average. Top ranked colleges

Maine News Sunday April 26

InterMed will no longer accept Martin's Point Medicare Advantage insurance, starting in 2027 (sunjournal.com)

FREEPORT EVENTS

Tidal chart for May in South Freeport 

May Events at Wolfe's Neck Center

MAY 2

Award-winning Maine novelists Monica Wood (author of “How to Read a Book” and “When We Were the Kennedys”) and Lewis Robinson (author of “The Islanders” and “Water Dogs”) will share the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick for a fundraiser to support literacy education.

The evening will feature Wood and Robinson reading from their work and in conversation about their inspirations and writing craft. A reception and book signing with the authors will follow. All proceeds will benefit Midcoast Literacy, a nonprofit organization that provides free literacy programs for people of all ages, including both native English speakers and multilingual families in Midcoast Maine. Tickets are $38 per person and can be purchased at midcoastliteracy.org or by calling 207-443-6384

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MAY 3 

O’Donoghue’s Pub, 103 Pleasant St., Brunswick: Open mic hosted by Billy The Kid, 3-7utiful

O Beautifal - Classical Uprising: Preforming Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St. 3 pm

MAY 5 

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

MAY 9 

Climate Solutions Dance Party: Dance your way into climate action!  in collaboration with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and SPACE Gallery.  The event is a celebration of the paperback release of Dr. Johnson’s New York Times bestselling book What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures —an inspiring collection of possibilities for building a better climate future.  The first 200 people to arrive will receive a copy of the new book. Grab your tickets before they sell out.  TICKETS

MAY 11
Join Maine Historical Society’s Donor Engagement and Events Specialist, Sophie Bray, for an entirely informal opportunity to socialize and converse. In Novare Res Bier Cafe, 4 Canal Plaza, Suite 1 Portland, ME, to mingle, hang out, and chat a little history. Our History Happy Hour offerings are held on the second Monday of every month at a different establishment in greater Portland from 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Join two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Alan Taylor for an engaging evening on the American Revolution. He’ll share the story of Joseph Plumb Martin, whose firsthand account reveals the hardships endured from Valley Forge to Yorktown.Taylor will then join MHS Executive Director Steve Bromage to discuss Maine’s role in the Revolution, his Maine roots, and his work on Ken Burns’s The American Revolution. The evening continues with a reception at MHS and access to Pathways to Freedom, featuring our rare Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence. Register

MAY 16

The Wolf's Neck Club will be selling perennials from our gardens as a fundraiser.   This year we will also have a Bake Sale on Saturday morning. The sale will be Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, 9-5, at the intersection of Birch Point and Wolf's Neck Roads.  For a successful Plant and Bake Sale, we need plants and baked goods and people to buy them. 

Pownal Community Day come celebrate with us a on Saturday, May 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Mallett Hall.

 This fun, family-friendly event is a great chance to gather with neighbors and enjoy a lively day in the heart of our community. Highlights will include a Garden and Plant Sale, live music, food, table sales, trucks, and plenty more to discover throughout the day.

Whether you’re stopping by to shop, listen to music, enjoy some great food, or simply connect with friends and neighbors, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

More details will be shared as the date gets closer—so for now, save the date and plan to join us for a wonderful day celebrating Pownal!

JUNE 14

The June 9th election is coming up, and absentee ballot applications are now available for residents who prefer to vote early.

There are three easy ways to request a ballot:

• Complete the request form and mail it or drop it off at the Town Office
• Call the Town Office during normal business hours
• Use the State’s online absentee ballot request service: Https://absenteeballotrequest.sos.maine.gov/

Ballots will be available on May 14th.

Thanks to Maine 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 Saturday April 25

Newsweek -  On prediction markets, Democrats’ implied chances of defeating Collins have now reached record highs.  Kalshi, a regulated U.S.-based prediction platform, currently prices a Democratic victory in the Maine Senate race at 73 percent, leaving Republicans—including Collins—at 27 percent. 

.Benjamin Freeman, Politics Growth at Kalshi and an election prediction specialist since 2019, flagged the shift on social media: “New all-time high. Democrats have a 73 percent chance of defeating Susan Collins in the Maine Senate race.”  Polymarket, a separate crypto-based platform popular among political traders, paints an even bleaker picture for the incumbent.  There, Democrats are priced at roughly 76 percent to win the seat, compared with 22 percent for Republicans, based on tens of thousands of dollars in matched wagers.

Troy Jackson - I have a plan to tax the ultra-wealthy and make real changes to support working people — because that’s what Mainers deserve. My Democratic opponents want to play it safe. They say they support the millionaire tax, but I'm the only one who wants to double it from 2% to 4% — so we can actually pay for what working families need, things like quality childcare and nursing homes, trade schools, property tax relief, affordable housing, and healthcare.

Freeport -  Obituary: Florris L. Bly (pressherald.com) — Florris L. Bly, 91, who once made her home here, worked as a legal secretary in town, and co-owned Arthur’s Market. 

Press Herald - Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have made Maine the first state to enact a temporary ban on new data center development. The bill would have prevented state, local and quasi-governmental agencies from issuing permits or other approvals for new data centers until November 2027. Without a moratorium, a handful of projects appear ready to move forward, including one at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay and another proposed in Sanford.

It’s official: passenger fares on Portland’s Casco Bay Lines are increasing again starting in June. Round-trip, peak-season adult tickets will rise from $14 to $16, 30-day passes from $48 to $51, and annual passes from $432 to $435. It’s the ferry service’s second passenger-ticket increase in the past three years. In 2024, Casco Bay Lines approved its first rate hike in 15 years, raising round-trip ticket fares by 82%.

U.S. forces aboard a Bath-built Arleigh Burke–class destroyer fired on and took control of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship crossing the Arabian Sea heading toward an Iranian port on Sunday. After six hours of repeated warnings and orders to evacuate the engine room, the Spruance disabled the Touska by firing several rounds into the engine room, according to videos of the exchange. U.S. Marines then boarded and took control of the Touska.

Judge gives Maine 30 days to review validity of trans referendum signatures

Cumberland fire chief was placed on leave over meeting misconduct 

Times Record -    A fuel island set to be constructed next to Brunswick’s Public Works facility is prompting alarm among nearby residents, who say they are worried about fumes, traffic, disruption and the future of Brunswick’s Senior Gardens — which will be demolished in the construction.  Several neighbors who live in the area of Water Street — which leads to Industry Road, where the Public Works building is located — told the Brunswick Town Council at its meeting Tuesday night that they’re concerned about the possible environmental impacts and the nuisance that a fuel station could create.

Press Herald -   The operator of the Amtrak Downeaster is hosting a pair of open houses next week, soliciting community feedback on the future of the rail line’s service.  The events will include an update on the new station proposed for Portland, a presentation highlighting recently completed projects and conversations about potential new investments and service changes, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority said in a Wednesday announcement.

“It’s a chance for the community to help design a passenger rail system that works better for everyone,” Patricia Quinn, the authority’s executive director, said in a written statement. Quinn will give presentations at both events.  Open houses will be held in  in Freeport, April 29 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Freeport Community Center

NY Times - Maine’s governor vetoed a bill that would have banned the construction of new data centers in the state, which would have been the first law of its kind in the U.S.