Maine News Tuesday September 15

A homemade 80-ton steel schooner trapped in a Maine backyard may finally see water — if voters agree (boston.com) — A long-running dispute in Freeport over Harold Arndt’s 80‑ton homemade schooner is heading to voters, who may decide whether he can build a temporary ramp to finally launch it. Supporters are racing to collect 774 signatures by Sept. 23 so the question appears on November’s ballot, amid town concerns about zoning, liability, and environmental impacts.

WHOM-   Okay, L.L.Bean fans... the wait is almost over. The iconic L.L.Bean Flagship Store in Freeport is reopening September 18 after nearly two years of renovations, and there are some pretty fun changes inside...

Here's what caught my attention: 

1. A brand-new entrance with a huge staircase. 
2. A bigger, two-level trout pond. Yes, really. 
3. An upgraded stream tank with even more fish. 
4. A new Custom Shop where you can personalize your L.L.Bean gear. 
5. A refreshed 1912 Café with more seating. 
6. A totally redesigned kids' area inspired by a Maine summer camp. 
7. An expanded Discovery Park with more room to hang outside. 
8. New displays showing off L.L.Bean's history and some of its most iconic gear. 
9. And yes... 24-hour shopping is coming back! 

JOBS

• C. & J. Clark International, Ltd posted a job opening for Asst Store Manager in Freeport. Apply here.
• Bowdoin College posted a job opening for Assistant Professor of Earth and Oceanographic Science in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

UPCOMING 

 Wolfe's Neck Center calendar

Freeport Farmers Market - Saturdays now through October: Through October 8:30am – 12:30pm at the BTLT Saturday Farmers Market at Crystal Spring Farm. 277 Pleasant Hill Road, Brunswick. The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust. Farmers Market was established in 1999 to advance the Land Trust’s mission of supporting local agriculture. With over forty vendors, many of whom have been with the Market since its inception, the Saturday morning market offers a variety of local, fresh produce

SEP 15

Improving Fish Passage at the Brunswick Dam – Panel Discussion. Free the Andro is hosting a panel discussion to explore restoring abundant and sustainable fish passage at the Brunswick Dam. Tuesday, September 15, from 5 to 6 p.m at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick

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

Weekly Irish Session16 Station Avenue, Brunswick 6pm

SEP 16

Food Pantry Wednesday 11AM - 1:30PM 53 Depot Street, Freeport, 

SEP 17
OPENING ARTISTS’ RECEPTION Nature’s  Palette: Art Inspired by the Season  Meetinghouse Arts Gallery · 5:00-7:00 PM  Free and open to the public, refreshments will be servedEfficiency Maine Annual Event 2026 → Harraseekett Inn, 162 Main Street, Freeport 4:00 pm

SEP 18

SEP 18-19

SEP 18-20

Maine Biz - L.L.Bean will mark the reopening of its Freeport flagship store with a month-long series of concerts and events. The store has undergone a $50 million makeover led by Freeport-based Zachau Construction. The 120,000-square-foot store is expected to open in September, with the grand opening set for Sept. 18-20.

Events will include cameos from Boston Red Sox and Portland Hearts of Pine players, as well as the Wallflowers, the band led by Jacob Dylan that rose to prominence in the 1990s with hits like “One Headlight” and “6th Avenue Heartache.”

Events will include a grand-opening weekend, Sept. 18-20, featuring an outdoor concert with country star Kip Moore.

A so-called heritage weekend, Sept. 25-27, will feature a vintage product drop and repairs for “well-loved” apparel.

A fall festival, slated for Oct. 2-4, will feature local makers, artists, music and food, presented by Visit Freeport.

A makers weekend, Oct. 9-11, will feature demonstrations by L.L.Bean artisans at work.

The annual pumpkin festival, Oct. 16-18, will include thousands of jack-o’-lanterns as well as fall crafts, treats and activities, presented by Camp Sunshine.

Events culminate with hometown weekend, Oct. 23-25, featuring players from the Boston Red Sox and Portland Hearts of Pine. The Friday night concert will spotlight Jacob Dylan and the Wallflowers.

L.L.Bean, founded in Freeport in 1912, operates 65 stores in 19 states, along with 25 stores in Japan and 14 stores in Canada.

SEP 19
Food Pantry Wednesday 11AM - 1:30PM 53 Depot St Freeport

SEP 20 

SEP 24

12:30 PM | Calderwood Improved-Access Trail Grand Opening

SEP 26

2-4 pm at Wolfe's Neck Center

OCT 1

Thursday, October 1, 4:30–6:30 PM, we’re bringing back the Great Golf Ball Drop at the state-of-the-art driving range at Maine Golf in Freeport, The event features a $1,000 cash prize for the golf ball closest to the pin, a Longest Drive Contest with $200 prizes for the top-finishing men and women, and special prizes for our youth divisions. golf balls are $5 each or 6 for $25. Each golf ball purchase includes entry into the Longest Drive Contest — (maximum 6 drives per person).  

OCT 4 

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | 50th Annual Pettengill Family Farm Day - 2026 is the 50th Anniversary of this beloved event! It is going to be an extra-special Farm Day. Live music, delicious food, vintage arts, crafts, and games, farmhouse and trail tours 31 Pettengil Farm Rd, Freeport

OCT 6
6:00 PM | Invasive Species Workshop Learn how to identify and manage invasive plants with experts from Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Bradley Room, Freeport Community Center Click Here to Register 

NOV 7

Twin Keys: A Love Story: Thomas Wolf with Jessica Chow Shinn and Michael Shinn, duo-pianists  2 PM

Maine News Monday September 14

Why you should vote for Troy Jackson anyway

Sam Smith – I learned 74 years ago, as a 12 year old stuffing envelopes  in a Philadelphia campaign that ended nearly  seven decades of Republican  rule, that politics isn’t about perfection. It’s about the best you can get when you go the polls.

Subsequent reporting on, and taking part in, elections in places like Cambridge Massachusetts and Washington DC taught me not to expect role models but to seek the best politics we coud find each time. Sometimes that even included a campaign you know you’re not going to win but will end in increased knowledge and support for your causes.

 Now we have Troy Jackson and Susan Collins to choose between. Jackson has been accused  of anger and mistreatment of women. He also had a bitter rivalry with former Republican Governor Paul LePage. And as one website reported, “He had intense public shouting matches and arguments in the Maine State House.”

Meanwhile Susan Collins voted for justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. She was the deciding in vote in favor of Trump’s Medicare cuts, and helped Trump double health insurance fees. She also wrote the bill to increase ICE funding.

When we go to the polls we are not choosing between personal moral models or choosing a minister. We are having an effect on the political future of our state and nation. We need to stop wondering who is a more decent human and pick the one who will most help the political causes we support. And Troy Jackson is clearly one of them. 

MORE NEWS

Sarah Sullivan, WBLM- If you're like me, you are very curious about the forecast that the Old Farmer's Almanac puts out every year, especially when it's talking about Winter.  This season, 2026 into 2027, the Almanac predicts that some of us will have a mild winter and others will freeze our faces off when Old Man Winter shows up.

The almanac says that the Southern part of the region will have a snowier, more challenging winter.  So, the bottom half of New Hampshire and Vermont into the Western part of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

If you live in the Northern part of New England, including the entire State of Maine and the upper two thirds of Vermont and New Hampshire, you could experience a fairly mild and dry winter. 

WMTW  - Some of the new features customers at the reimagined L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport can expect include a new first floor primary entrance centered by a grand staircase, a new 1912 cafe, a remodeled kid’s department, a new stream tank with twice the space for fish, and an expanded Discovery Park, the center of the Flagship campus, that adds green space and enhances outdoor programming. For more see Sept 18-20 below

JOBS

• Domino's Pizza posted a job opening for Delivery Driver (03020) - 208 Maine St in Brunswick. Apply here.
• Hannaford posted a job opening for PT Deli Service Associate in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

• Domino's Pizza posted a job opening for Delivery Driver (03020) - 208 Maine St in Brunswick. Apply here.
• Hannaford posted a job opening for PT Deli Service Associate in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Sunday Septemeber 13

Maine Democrats - When Susan Collins first ran for Senate, she promised to serve only two Senate terms.  Now, five terms later while she’s running for her sixth term, she’s refusing to rule out running for a seventh! That would be nearly 40 years in Washington.

She already had 30 years in Washington, and she spent those decades repeatedly turning her back on Maine by:

• Becoming another rubber stamp for MAGA’s extreme agenda.
• Casting the deciding vote to confirm far-right Justice Brett Kavanaugh — leading to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
• And voting with Trump 96% of the time, even at the expense of Mainers.

Hannaford recalls 81/19 ground beef sold at Yarmouth store (wmtw.com)

 

Maine News Saturday September 12

Press Herald  -Freeport’s housing market is now among southern Maine’s priciest, with median sale prices topping $900,000 alongside other coastal hotspots. A new report shows York and Cumberland counties hitting record or near-record medians, with rising inventory but fewer sales, making it even tougher for local first-time buyers to stay in the region.

Press Herald - Maine began its annual fall foliage reporting season Sept. 9, but forests across the state remain overwhelmingly green. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry rated both color change and leaf drop as “very low” in all seven foliage zones. Maine Forest Service experts expect color to develop along its typical progression from north to south, with trees at higher elevations generally changing before those at lower elevations. When the change comes depends on daylight, temperature, moisture and local growing conditions, according to University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

As days shorten and temperatures cool, trees stop producing chlorophyll, the pigment that gives leaves their green color. As chlorophyll breaks down, yellow and orange pigments already present in the leaves become visible. Other chemical changes produce the reds and purples associated with some species….The timing can vary considerably across Maine.

Students from Maine and other New England states will be able to attend the University of Vermont at a discounted rate — for certain majors

Maine News Friday September 11

Press Herald -  The Brunswick Town Council Tuesday approved a developer’s plan to transform a former Federal Street school into 26 rental units, most of which would qualify as affordable housing. The plan also calls for a daycare facility or community space in the building.

Recently, Princeton Review put out their 'Lots of Beer' list.  That is a list of the top beer drinking colleges in the United States.The Princeton Review website explains that the ranking is based on a survey of more than 170,000 students at nearly 400 colleges and universities.  One of the question they were asked how much beer was drank at the school. At the very top of the list was Waterville, Maine's Colby College.

Maine News Thursday September 10

POWNAL:  The playground at Pownal Road Field is closed until further notice.  Initially, repairs were planned for a substantial crack in a slide, and chips would be replenished. Further inspections of this structure have revealed the need for more repairs than originally thought.

At this time, the Town is researching options for updating this playground, which was installed in 2002. Options include deciding between repairs or replacement, including a new structure with new safety features.  At this time there is no set timeline for reopening of this playground. Updates will be shared as developments occur.  View it on website

News Center Maine -  More than 8,000 Mainers are without power Thursday afternoon, likely due to high wind gusts across the state. There have been reports of trees down in Sanford and several other towns throughout the day. As of 2:15 p.m., 8,132 CMP customers were without power. 83 Versant customers lost power as well. 

The highest wind gusts Thursday afternoon was reported in Augusta at 43 mph.Travel + Leisure named Portland one of the 14 best U.S. food cities, the only one in New England to make the list.

Maine Morning Star - Drawing on her own experience of being sexually abused as a child, Republican gubernatorial nominee Bobby Charles’ sister, Anita Charles, criticized his record on abortion at a Wednesday press conference in Portland. She also publicly opposed his education policy, divisive rhetoric and alignment with President Donald Trump, listing all of them as reasons she supports his opponent, Democrat Hannah Pingree. 

At the press conference, the educator from Lewiston said her brother’s campaign has been built on “denigrating others and targeting Mainers with mean-spirited rhetoric that aims to incite fear and hatred towards vulnerable groups.”

An hour later at his own press conference a block away, Charles expressed sorrow at his sister’s abuse, detailing how it impacted the family. He disagreed that either his remarks or his abortion and education policies were harmful, but softened some stances, such as conceding that abortions should be permissible in cases of rape.

The family conflict is playing out two months before the election, earning Pingree an unexpected supporter as she leads in the polls and fundraising. 

Anita Charles’ criticisms of her brother were first made public through an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald, where she cited many of the same issues. 

“Bobby and I have never agreed politically, but we have tried to maintain civil discourse,” she said at the press conference. “But now Bobby has placed divisive and often false rhetoric at the center of his campaign, and I can no longer remain silent.”

She also detailed experiencing sexual assault, saying her experience did not make her brother more sympathetic toward supporting women’s bodily autonomy.

Maine News Wednesday September 9

News Center Maine — Dead and dying clams and worms, brown water, and a strong odor of decay have been reported along parts of the Harpswell coast as the Maine Department of Marine Resources monitors a widespread algal bloom in Casco Bay.

Clam harvesters in Harpswell began reporting the unusual conditions, prompting the town's harbormaster to ask coastal residents and harvesters to document what they see and provide photographs, descriptions, and exact locations.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has also confirmed it is monitoring a bloom of the commonly occurring phytoplankton Karenia mikimotoi.

The bloom has been observed from Portland Harbor to Middle Bay, with additional reports from waters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to DMR. Phytoplankton counts in Portland reached 2 million cells per liter, according to officials.

DMR staff and members of the public have reported brown discoloration of the water and an accompanying odor.

Early reports indicate clam deaths in Middle Bay and Maquoit Bay may be related to the bloom, according to DMR. 

Gorham residents petition to delay Amazon facility

WebHub  - Vaccination in Maine (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• Overall rank: 5^th
• 17^th – Influenza Vaccination Rate in Children Aged 6 Months to 17 Years Old
• 19^th – Share of Teenagers Aged 13-17 with Up-To-Date HPV Vaccination
• 4^th – Share of Teenagers Aged 13-17 with Men ACWY Vaccination
• 4^th – Flu Vaccination Coverage Rate Among Adults
• 4^th – Share of Adults with Tetanus Vaccination
• 10^th – Share of Adults Aged 60 and Older with Zoster Vaccination
• 29^th – Share of Children 19-35 Months old Living in Poverty with Combined 7-Vaccine Series
• 17^th – Share of Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population without Health Insurance Coverage
• 28^th – Share of Children Under 6 Years Old Participating in an Immunization Information System

 Full Report

Maine News Tuesday September 8

QC Times - An established Freeport engineering firm, Bennett Engineering Inc., has been acquired by national company IMEG, but the local team will keep operating from its Freeport office under a transitional name. Leadership roles are staying in place to maintain client relationships while opening new project and career opportunities for staff, which could influence future commercial and institutional projects around town. 

Gubernatorial candidates present drastically different plans to improve healthcare costs, access

JOBS

• Tyler Technologies, Inc. posted a job opening for Cloud Observability Architect in Yarmouth. Apply here.
• Inspirations of Peoria posted a job opening for Housekeeper in Topsham. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Monday September 7

Good things in Mid Coast Maine

Maine Morningstar - -After some sparring, both candidates in Maine’s U.S. Senate race have agreed to a series of debates slated throughout October, though the formats have yet to be solidified.   emocratic nominee Troy Jackson and Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins have now both agreed to four debates by the same hosts. Collins’ campaign announced the incumbent accepted the debates last week, but did not specify dates or formats. Meanwhile, on Friday, Jackson’s campaign confirmed he accepted the debates as well, but laid out specifics. 

Maine News Sunday September 6

 Press Herald - Maine teachers rank 41st in the country for starting salary and 29th for average pay.  In an effort to address this, lawmakers included funding in the most recent biennial state budget to raise minimum salaries from $40,000 to $50,000 gradually over the next three years. The Maine Sunday Telegram compiled current pay data for most Maine school districts (representing 89% of all teachers). Here’s what we learned

Patch - Maine vs. Massachusetts law on not criminally responsible cases (wmtw.com) — A recent comparison of Maine and Massachusetts insanity laws highlights how judges, not juries, usually decide not-criminally-responsible cases in Maine, including one involving a Freeport man. The piece explains the high legal bar for such defenses, references several Maine cases, and outlines how severe mental illness and postpartum conditions can affect criminal responsibility determinations. 

JOBS

• General Dynamics Bath Iron Works posted a job opening for Planning Technician - Outfit Fabrication in Brunswick. Apply here.
• Northbridge Companies posted a job opening for Cook/Chef, Full time in Brunswick. Apply here. 
• You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.