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Who is the real Graham Platner?
Maine Biz - Unity Environmental University, a private liberal arts institution based in New Gloucester, has signed transfer agreements with 11 community colleges in Maine and New Hampshire that will allow incoming students to apply associate’s degrees toward bachelor’s programs in environment and sustainability-related fields.
The agreements include partnerships with Central Maine Community College, Kennebec Valley Community College, Washington County Community College and York Community College.
Freeport gardeners can look forward to Farthest Field Farm’s Memorial Day weekend seedling sale on May 23–24, featuring organically grown vegetable and herb starts. The article also highlights several other Midcoast farms and nonprofits in Brunswick, Bowdoinham, Freedom, and beyond offering seedling sales, preorder options, and community-focused programs to help residents kick off their gardens this month.
Press Herald - The health plan that covers 26,000 state employees and retirees under 65 is changing its coverage rules for the highly popular weight loss medications known as GLP-1s, marketed under brand names such as Wegovy and Zepbound. With open enrollment beginning this week, state employees will be required to enroll in a guided nutrition and lifestyle program for their insurance to continue covering the costs of GLP-1s for weight loss.
...As energy costs continue to rise, it drives up the prices of everything else. High electricity costs keep us dependent on expensive fossil fuels and our money flows out of state. The costs weigh on Maine families and businesses.
We must move faster and do more to bring down energy costs in Maine. My plan focuses on four actions:
- Right-sizing utility profits to lower delivery costs
- Lowering energy costs for manufacturers and Maine’s heritage industries
- Increasing efficiency and saving energy
- Creating a new Maine Generation Authority to power Maine’s future
The details matter. Read my full plan here.
Yahoo - Maine Democrat Graham Platner is targeting the oil industry and the federal gasoline tax in his campaign for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Susan Collins.
Platner — who last month became his party's presumptive nominee for the marquee race when Gov. Janet Mills (D) dropped out — released an energy platform Friday, with a focus on policy changes he argues would reduce people's bills.
Democrats nationwide are relying on pocketbook issues to retake Congress during the midterm elections. But unlike other contenders in Maine and elsewhere, Platner has been less vocal about whether he would pursue a data center moratorium because of their potential effect on energy prices. His new plan doesn't touch on the debate.
"Nine hundred dollars more. That is what the average Maine household paid this winter compared to the year before — just to heat the house, keep the lights on, and get to work," Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, says ...
His ideas, including a fund for clean energy projects and a national freeze on electricity rate increases, "simply require the political will: to end Big Oil’s stranglehold on our energy policy, to slash prices for consumers, and to build the energy of the future."
Collins has touted her seniority in the Senate and her leadership of the Appropriations Committee. She has prioritized the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and suggested President Donald Trump’s administration has withheld funding. The Department of Health and Human Services recently released millions of dollars after Collins and other senators pushed for it.
Jobs - Under Armour posted a job opening for Seasonal Stock Associate in Freeport. Apply here. Walgreens posted a job opening for Inventory Specialist in Yarmouth. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.
Maine Democrats - Susan Collins:
- Votes with Trump 96% of the time
- Voted for the Big Ugly Bill, which has caused rural hospitals to close and more than 61,000 Mainers to lose their healthcare coverage
- Voted to let ACA tax credits expire
- Voted for dozens of anti-choice Trump judicial nominees
The best restaurants in Brunswick
Maine Morning Star - After years of educators, districts and school leaders advocating for higher teacher salaries, Maine passed a law late last month to incrementally raise the minimum educator salary to $50,000 by 2029. While that still might not be enough to keep up with the rising cost of living, Deering High School teacher Lily Withington said, “it feels like the bare minimum, at least.”
Maine Morning Star - Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old asylum seeker and Portland resident, will be released this week from an immigration detention center in Texas where federal authorities held her for six months, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree’s office announced Wednesday evening.
