Maine News Tuesday July 14

WCYY - For many years, the Broad Arrow Tavern was a restaurant that just seemed to be part of the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, Maine.

Sure, guests of the hotel ate and drank at the Broad Arrow. But the tavern was always incredible welcoming and comfortable to the everyday residents of the town.

In 2024, both guests of the Harraseeket Inn and locals were sad to see that the Broad Arrow Tavern had closed, seemingly permanently.

Shared on social media by The Harraseeket Inn & Event House, the Broad Arrow Tavern is ready to roll again.

The restaurant will be revived with its relaunch menu officially unveiled by the hotel.

The Broad Arrow will once again feature wood-fired pizzas in several varieties as well as a couple of other wood-fired specialities.

Press Herald -David Bartner, who grew up in Kennebunk, was nominated for his first Emmy last week for his work on the Apple TV documentary series "Mr. Scorsese." Bartner graduated from Kennebunk High School and credits a film class taught there with nurturing his love of movies.

Press Herald -In parts of Maine, heat index temperatures will likely exceed 100 degrees today, with a possibility of thunderstorms, high winds, hail and even tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. The humidity is expected to ease Wednesday, but the heat is forecast into Thursday with highs in the low 90s.

UPCOMING

JULY 14

Conservation Commission → 5 Depot Street  6:30 pm

JULY 15

The Freeport Project Review Board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 6:00pm in the Freeport Town Hall Council Chambers at 30 Main Street, Freeport, Maine, to discuss an application for Subdivision Review.  The applicant is seeking approval for a minor subdivision, Maeve Woods at Harper’s Trail. The project proposes a four-lot open space subdivision on an approximately 12-acre parcel along Harper’s Trail, an existing private way, located off Beech Hill Road. The plan proposes a single-family dwelling on each lot. The subject premises is located at Tax Assessor Map 21, Lot 84 (0 Harper’s Trail) in the Rural Residential 1 (RR-1) District. Jackson Built, Inc (Heather Jackson), applicant and owner; Jason Vafiades, Kingsland Development Company, LLC, representative.

The public is welcome to attend and may choose to attend in person, or on Zoom.  The meeting agenda (including information on how to join on Zoom) and supporting materials can be viewed at the Freeport Town Office or in the meeting agenda at this link. 

JULY 16 

Winslow Park, 50 Winslow Park Way, Freeport: Coastal Winds, 6-7:30, park has $3 entry fee 

Bandstand By The Sea, 1410 Harpswell Neck Rd., Harpswell: Harpswell Concert Band, 6-7:30

Thursday, July 16, 2026 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (music starts at 6:30 PM) Kresge Auditorium, Bowdoin College, 239 Maine St, Brunswick, ME  More info: FreeportSpeech.org

Pastel for Beginners at the Yarmouth Farmers Market Yarmouth Farmers Market, 200 Main St, Yarmouth  3:30 pm

Thursday Night Concert Series at Winslow Park

For more info on the artists and to see the Memorial Park summer concert schedule, visit the Meetinghouse Arts website

JULY 16 — COASTAL WINDS: Enjoy the vibrant sounds of the Coastal Winds, a community band featuring over 35 skilled woodwind, brass, and percussion instrumentalists from the Freeport area.

JULY 23 — THE FLUKES:A Fun-Loving Ukulele Society, The Flukes bring joy to all ages with their performance, playing tunes from Bach to the Beatles.

JULY 30 — THE DELTA KNIGHTS BAND: Led by frontman Rob Babson, The Delta Knights Band has spent 30 years as a Southern Maine staple, delivering a tight, expert blend of blues, R&B, and classic rock.

AUGUST 6 — VINYL FOSSILS…Don't miss this six-piece band performing classic rock and roll music.

AUGUST 13 — CAROLE WISE | MARK ABRAHAM | DENNY BREAU | APRIL REED-COX: Four gifted Maine musicians unite to perform a harmonious, authentic blend of original songs celebrating friendship and collaboration.

AUGUST 20 — CORMAC MCCARTHY: Don't miss Cormac McCarthy's enthralling Americana set, showcasing his expertise as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and storyteller.

AUGUST 27 — BESS JACQUES & THE STRAYS: Bess Jacques & The Strays deliver a vibrant, nostalgic blend of jazz and pop, featuring lush vocal ballads and hard-swinging originals from their debut album.

Winslow Park Concerts are a community collaboration between Meetinghouse Arts and the Town of Freeport  View it on website

JULY 16
Don't miss an entertaining evening with authors Jennifer Finney Boylan and Ernest Thompson. 7-830 PM (Music starts at 6:30  pm) Bowdoin’s Kresge Auditorium, 239 Maine St, Brunswick, ME .... More infoFreeportSpeech.org

Pastel for Beginners at the Yarmouth Farmers Market →
Yarmouth Farmers Market, 200 Main St, Yarmouth
3:30 pm

JULY 17

JULY 18
Discovery Park, LL Bean, Freeport: Skosh, 7 pm

JULY 19
Memorial Park, 5 Park St., Freeport: Arcadia Band, 2-4 PM

JULY 22
Waves for the Bay: Friends of Casco Bay Members Annual Meeting:  5:30-7:30 pm. Where: Portland Yacht Services, 100 West Commercial Street, Portland, ME. The event will be held outside on a gravel surf

AUG 20
As global tensions escalate in the Middle East, you have a rare opportunity to hear direct analysis and ask questions of three world-renowned experts in our intimate Freeport Speech venue.  Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (music starts at 6:30 PM) Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St.  Get Ticket 

Maine News Monday

Press Herald - Are you experiencing delays in receiving your mail? If so, you can join the other Mainers who have reported difficulties. Don’t feel hopeless. There are some steps you can take to help ensure your mail arrives on time. Read more.

Maine Morning Star -  The Maine Supreme Judicial Court Friday affirmed the Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to remove a question about transgender sports from the ballot this November because its campaign committee  did not collect enough valid signatures.  The group, called “Protect Girls Sports,” initially submitted enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, proposing an initiative that would restrict what school sports teams, bathrooms and facilities trans students can access. Bellows later determined that the campaign had failed to qualify, after thousands of signatures were invalidated.

That ruling was upheld by the Superior Court in June and the campaign appealed that decision to the Supreme Judicial Court, which upheld the lower court and secretary’s decision in a ruling on Friday.

“The petition fell below the constitutional threshold for an initiative petition to be submitted to the voters of Maine,” the court said in its unanimous decision. 

Maine News Sunday Jul 12

JOBS 

• Skechers USA, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate in Freeport. Apply here.
• Albertsons Companies, Inc. posted a job opening for Baker in Freeport. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

 ace under a tent, rain or shine.

Maine News Saturday July 11

CNBC -   Maine has America’s lowest violent crime rate, with just 100 incidents per 100,000 people in 2024. After a horrific mass shooting spree in 2023 in Lewiston that left 18 people dead, Maine legislators passed a series of reforms that earned the state “most improved” honors in 2024 from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The Pine Tree State’s laws offer a wide range of protections against discrimination. But the state has some challenges when it comes to health. Maine ranks No. 42 for drug deaths and No. 35 for frequent mental distress, according to the United Health Foundation. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 232 out of 290 points (Top States grade: A+)

Strengths: Crime, Inclusiveness, Air Quality

Weakness: Health

 Financial Times -  “Graham Platner is what happens when pundits ignore obvious red flags . . . and sell voters an idealised version of a candidate who does not actually exist,” said Jessica Mackler, president of Emily’s List, a group that recruits and trains women as Democratic candidates.

“The lesson here is that we always have to be looking at these races and primaries through the lens of what it takes to win a general election, and that is what went horribly wrong in this situation.”

Under Maine state law, the Democratic Party now has just over two weeks to find a new candidate to take on Collins — a five-term incumbent with a record of defeating well-funded challengers — in November. State party officials have said they intend to pick Platner’s replacement at a nominating convention to be held later this month.

Press Herald - A ballot question limiting transgender students’ rights in sports and access to school facilities will not appear on the November ballot, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday. The decision comes after an appeal by its proponents, who argued the rules for out-of-state signature collectors were unlawful. The court unanimously held that Secretary of State Shenna Bellows had a right and an obligation to invalidate those signatures.

JOBS

• Circle K posted a job opening for Store Assistant Manager in Freeport. Apply here.
• National Health Care Associates Inc. posted a job opening for Dietary Aide in Yarmouth. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Friday July 10

Press Herald - The median statewide home sale price reached a new record of $436,000 in June, according to data released Thursday by the Maine Association of Realtors. Hannah LaClaire breaks down the data and shares three big takeaways regarding the current housing market. 

New - Senate poll - Maine Collins 48% Jackson 47

Polling Numbers

Press Herald -   A ballot question limiting transgender students’ rights in sports and access to school facilities will not appear on the November ballot, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday

The citizens’ initiative, filed by a group called Protect Girls Sports, initially qualified for the ballot but later met a legal challenge over the signature collection process, which a group of citizens said broke several state rules and resulted in invalid signatures.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows agreed and rejected nearly 4,000 signatures, leaving the group 500 names below the required threshold. A Superior Court judge upheld that call last month, but the group appealed.

Protect Girls Sports argued to the Supreme Judicial Court on July 1 that the secretary of state’s rules for out-of-state signature collectors were unlawful, and that she did not have the right to invalidate more than 1,000 signatures on that basis.

The high court, in a unanimous per curiam decision Friday, said Bellows had not only the right but the obligation to invalidate those signatures.

“As a result of the Secretary’s proper invalidation of the signatures collected by these four circulators, the petition fell below the constitutional threshold for an initiative petition to be submitted to the voters of Maine,” the court wrote. “The Secretary thus correctly determined the petition to be invalid.”

The referendum would have required participation in school sports and use of facilities including bathrooms and locker rooms to be based on a student’s sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.

Although the question will not appear on the November ballot, the petitioners are allowed to keep collecting names; per the state’s constitution, their initial signatures only remain valid for a year after the petition was filed with the secretary’s office. In this case, that occurred on Nov. 3, 2025.

Maine News Thursday July 9

Press Herald - With Graham Platner announcing Wednesday that he will withdraw from Maine’s Senate race after days of speculation, the question now becomes: Who will replace him?... Party officials are planning an in-person convention of about 600 people for the purpose of selecting a new Senate nominee, according to a person familiar with the planning who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to disclose details of the ongoing discussions. 

FREEPORT

Lower Mast Landing Road: Updated Closure for Roadwork -Due to a collapsed pipe in a culvert near 29 Lower Mast Landing Road, crews will be working on the road to replace the pipe.  Construction will end on July 11th

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 Intercept -  In group chats of progressive activists and political operatives concerned with the state of the Senate race in Maine Wednesday morning, a link to an anonymous Google Doc was making the rounds. It disavowed Graham Platner, the disgraced Democratic nominee whose campaign was throttled by a rape accusation on Monday, and called to replace him with Troy Jackson, a recent gubernatorial contender the document deemed “the one candidate who can hold Platner’s coalition together.”

Platner suspended his Senate campaign on Wednesday evening, and there is no clear alternative to his candidacy. His campaign’s swift downfall has presented Democrats and his primary supporters with several bad options: The party establishment could pick a candidate and inflame an already frustrated base that scoffed at its efforts to anoint Gov. Janet Mills as the nominee, or it could bend to Platner’s past demands and let him influence the selection of his successor.

In either case, a base already exhausted by months of Platner scandals is at risk of fracturing and failing to consolidate behind a potential replacement — and Democrats are at risk of once again losing a key seat they need to pick up for control of the Senate to Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

NOTUS’ Emily Kennard reports on the fallout from the Platnerpocalypse inside Democratic politics. Has the progressive, populist push for more “outsider” candidates come at the expense of rigorous candidate vetting? A lot of people point at Maine and say obviously, yes. But progressives insist the party cannot turn away from outside-the-box candidates, even as they struggle with the aftermath of their strong support for Platner as red flag after red flag was waved. 

JOBS

• Banana Republic, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate - Main St - Freeport in Freeport. Apply here.
• Regional School Unit 05 posted a job opening for Long-Term Substitute Art Teacher in Freeport. Apply here.
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Wednesday July 8

Matt Kerbel, Wolves and Sheep -  As of this writing, Graham Platner has not yet formally withdrawn from the Maine Senate race, but his departure should be inevitable. His party support cratered—and justifiably so—in the wake of the sexual assault allegation against him that surfaced on Monday. He has canceled public events while considering his next steps, and if he doesn’t yet realize that his candidacy is no longer viable, he will soon.

This could be a blessing in disguise for Maine Democrats. Maine election law has a provision allowing party nominees to withdraw for any reason as long as they do it by a specified date, which in this case is next Monday. After that, the party has two weeks to find a replacement. Given that Platner was polling even with Susan Collins in a state that Kamala Harris won by seven points while the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is running away with her contest, it’s fair to say that from an electoral perspective Democrats will be better off without Platner on the ballot.

Maine Biz  -     Portland-based Maine Community Bank launched a dedicated merchant services division to meet growing demand for card processing, point-of-sale systems and e-commerce solutions. The division will operate effective immediately.

JOBS

Advantage Solutions posted a job opening for Traveling Retail Merchandiser in Freeport. Apply here.

U-Haul International, Inc. posted a job opening for Storage Facility Housekeeper in Brunswick. Apply here. 

You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.