Maine News April 22

Maine - 2026 US Senate Graham Platner 51% (+6) Susan Collins* 45%

Maine House Democrats - We just finished up the second session of the 132nd Legislature in Augusta....Some highlights include:

+Ensuring tax fairness with a millionaire's tax!

+Supporting education and child care by overhauling the state school funding formula to ensure every town receives its fair share, raising starting salaries for teachers, clearing the child care waitlists, and guaranteeing free meals for public pre-K students.

+Making a $68 million investment to build affordable homes and providing annual property tax relief by increasing the Property Tax Fairness Credit from $1,000 to $1,500.

+Protecting women’s rights from the Trump Administration by ensuring funding for reproductive health care centers and starting a program to track sexual assault forensic examination kits.

+Protecting immigrants by prohibiting ICE from accessing dorms, schools, libraries, and hospitals without a warrant from a judge.

+Introducing first-in-nation legislation that will put a temporary ban on data center development, giving the state time to put guardrails in place that will protect Maine’s natural resources and ensure electric costs for consumers aren’t driven up by big corporations.

Press Herald

The small mountain town doesn’t immediately seem like one of Maine’s most vibrant cannabis markets. Bethel, a community of about 2,500 in the White Mountains, has about one dispensary, grow, or manufacturing facility for every 200 residents — the highest concentration of cannabis businesses of any Maine municipality with more than 1,500 residents. To locals, the surprise isn’t the number of shops, but how they all manage to stay in business.
A Maine island airline says the United States Postal Service owes nearly $400,000 for mail deliveries dating back to 2023, prompting it “to make a small stand” Tuesday. Penobscot Island Air says it has ferried mail on 75 days so far in 2026 without payment. A USPS spokesperson said Tuesday that the agency will be reaching out to the airline “to resolve the matter.” But the airline says it has already been in regular contact with USPS, to no avail.

I traded my car for the Metro bus in Portland. Here’s how it went.

EVENTS

Tidal chart for May in South Freeport

APR 23

Archery Hunter Safety: Addendum Course - Freeport - L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Programs, 11 Desert Rd, Freeport 1:00 pm
Baby Storytime Merrill Memorial Library , 215 Main St , Yarmouth 10:15 am
Storytime Stroll - Brunswick Downtown Association , 124 Main St Ste 107 , Brunswick 12:30 pm

Business After Hours: with CMP at Goodfire Brewing Co
Thursday, April 23 5:00–7:00

APR 24
Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection at Meetinghouse Arts 40 Main St , Freeport
7:30 pm

Art Van

Friday, April 24 • 10:30 AM
@ Bradley Room at Freeport Community Center

Age-Friendly Freeport & Pownal is hosting the Art Van every second and fourth Friday. Join us in the Bradley Room to make art and see what the Art Van has in store. Free and open to all!

APRIL 25

Visit Freeport & Meetinghouse Arts present

OPEN STUDIO SATURDAY

Saturday, April 25 • 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
@ Various Venues in Freeport!

Visit Freeport & Meetinghouse Arts invite you to join us on a journey through Freeport, Pownal, Durham & New Gloucester to explore the artist & maker studios often hidden on side streets and
country roads. You’ll be invited into their working studios to view their newest projects up close. Learn about their inspirations and process in intimate conversations that are sometimes not possible at art show openings.

Earth Day Festival -Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary, Brunswick

Freeport Folio presents

Pressure Makes Diamonds | Poetry Workshop with Joseph Coleman

Saturday, April 25 • 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
@ Freeport Community Library

In this workshop, “Pressure Makes Diamonds,” students will use the pressure of workshopping an original poem and then reading that poem at an open mike that same evening. The instructor will provide prompts and each student will get a typewriter if they would like to experience what it was like pre computers. As a Barnum and Bailey Ring Master would yell out when a rogue elephant dashed for the exits: “The Show Must Go On!” or in this case: “Poems Must Be Read!”

APR 26

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

FHS Annual Meeting

Sunday, April 26th at 3:00 PM

Meetinghouse Arts, 40 Main Street

As America marks the 250th anniversary of the War of Independence, come learn about Freeport's revolutionary-era history through the people, stories, and sounds that bring the era to life with a preview of our upcoming Summer exhibition.

Our Contact Information
Freeport Historical Society
45 Main Street
Freeport, ME 04032
2078653170
http://www.freeporthistoricalsociety.org

Shuck Yeah! Oyster Shucking and Cooking Class

Sunday, April 26 • 3:00 PM
@ Wolfe’s Neck Center

Join Chef Malcolm Kelly to learn about how to safely shuck an oyster along with some tasty recipes. Using oysters from Quahog Bay Conservancy, you will learn raw, grilled and baked oyster preparation and enjoy these yummy bivalves.

APRIL 27
Royal River Conservation Trust:

Join us on Monday, April 27th, from 5:30–7:30 PM for an open house at our office, 52 North Road in Yarmouth. Whether you’re an experienced paddler or just paddle‑curious, this casual gathering is a great chance to learn about the many paddling opportunities throughout the Royal River watershed. We’ll review maps, share stories, and highlight both well‑known and more remote paddling areas on the Royal River and beyond. Snacks and beverages will be provided. RSVP

POWNAL MEETINGS & EVENTS

April
27th 6:00 PM Public Hearings
27th 6:30 PM Select Board meeting
28th 6:30 PM Conservation Commission Meeting
29th 6:30 PM Capital Asset Plan Funding Committee Meeting
May
16th 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Pownal Community Day

APRIL 30
The inaugural Wolfe’s Neck Center “Twilight Meeting” for Freeport community and local partners. Updates on Wolfe’s Neck Center campus stewardship, farm operations, education programs, historical buildings and research. Expect a 45-minute presentation, 15 minutes of small group Q&A, and light refreshments. RSVP here

MAY 1
Maine Democrats Biennial Convention. 1 Thompson Point, Portland. 9 am
Wolfe's Neck Center - Our beloved Farm Cafe opens on May 1 and you’re going to want to see this menu! Chef Macolm Kelly has outdone himself, offering a variety of rotating freshly made pastries, breakfast sandwiches (beginning May 22) and salads, all made with Wolfe’s Neck meats and produce. Hours: 8am-1pm

Sample items:
Squash Muffins
Egg & Bacon Breakfast Sandwich
Garden Salad
Roast Beef Sandwich

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.

MAY 20

Ambassador Nathaniel Fick and Rachel Wilson, who've seen it all and whose first-hand experience will serve to educate us all, on Wednesday, May 20, at 7 pm at the Freeport Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available for $20 (plus Eventbrite fee) through a link on our website FreeportSpeech.org or on Eventbrite. Ambassador Fick will be available for a book signing after the discussion.

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

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 Tuesday April 21

Freeport, Bow Street - Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22 — and we've been celebrating it longer than most.Back in January 2014, we became one of the first grocery stores in Maine to stop selling tobacco products. We ditched single-use plastic bags before the law required it. And every Earth Day, we give away free reusable bags to every customer — all day, while supplies last — because small actions add up.

NBC News - Graham Platner, a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and grew deeply disillusioned with war, is seeking a boost to his Senate campaign in Maine over voter opposition to the U.S. war in Iran.

Backlash to the Middle East conflict is playing to his strengths both against Democratic primary rival and two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who also opposes the war, and longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who has so far voted to allow President Donald Trump to continue waging it.

Press Herald

Thanks to support from a newly created Office of Seafood in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maine fishermen will finally be eligible to tap into the same federal programs and safety nets as the state’s potato and dairy farmers. The move officially recognizes fishermen and aquaculture producers in coastal states like Maine as essential food providers.

The Electric Tool Lending Library is returning for an extended season/ Borrowing starts 4/24 and will run through mid-November. Tools can be borrowed by Freeport residents 18 or older free of charge & have a library card.

Maine Morning Star - Curt Brown spent his childhood harvesting lobsters along the coast of Maine. As an adult, he went on to earn a Master of Science from the University of Maine, observing the very waters where he spent years fishing for the crustaceans.

With a rapidly changing climate, many researchers worry that Maine’s lobsters will eventually move north to colder waters. Brown isn’t so sure, though, seeing all of the forces affecting the ecosystem as highly complex. His studies in marine biology and policy, along with his continued work as a lobsterman, have helped him understand that the lobster industry depends upon various factors, some beyond man’s control.

Last year, the state of Maine’s lobster fisheries harvested 78.8 million pounds of lobsters, and according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), commercial harvesters earned $619 million.

Synonymous with the New England state, lobsters have a documented history in Maine that dates back to 1605. Recent studies, though, show that climate change and a shift in currents are warming up the local waters. In a now well-quoted 2015 study led by Andrew Pershing, researchers found that the surface temperature of the Gulf of Maine is warming 99 percent faster than the rest of the ocean.

Some say this could lead to lobsters moving north to Canadian waters in search of colder temperatures and many wonder what the future of Maine’s fishery will look like.

Big Country - One major change the Maine Wildlife Park revealed in a Facebook post is allowing credit cards to pay for entry. The park used to only accept cash and checks, so if your wallet was empty of dollar bills, you'd have to run to the ATM to get in. Taking my kids to the park last year, I didn't realize it was cash only and expected to use a card, only to be met with panic that the plastic was not an option. Yes, luckily, there was an ATM, but it's exciting knowing that now there's one more way to pay.

JOBS

Dunkin' posted a job opening for Assistant Manager in Freeport. Apply here.
L.L.Bean, Inc. posted a job opening for Trade Compliance Analyst in Freeport. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.