Maine News May 27 Wednesday

FREEPORT TALES 

Maine Biz -  Maine employers added 1,700 nonfarm wage and salary jobs in April, fueled by hiring momentum in health care and professional and business services.  Gains were partially offset by a decline in construction jobs, though employment in that sector remained roughly in line with year-ago levels, the latest monthly barometer from the Maine Department of Labor shows.

Maine nonfarm wage ands salary jobs increased by 1,700 in April, according to preliminary estimates from the Maine Department of Labor. 

Maine’s unemployment rate edged down slightly to 3.1% in April, marking 52 months below 4%.

The rate compares to 3.2% in March and 3.3% in April 2025, Maine’s jobless rate has been below the U.S. average for more than 18 years and remains below the state’s long-term average of 5.4%, dating back to 1976.  Unemployment averaged 4.4% for New England and 4.3% for the U.S. in April.


News Center Maine -   When Nirav Shah announced he was running to be the next governor of Maine, his first campaign pillar was “to feed kids,” and with two weeks before the primary, he explained how.  In Freeport on Tuesday, Shah spoke to the press and supporters about his plan to combat hunger.  Focusing on out-of-school programs and streamlining bureaucracy, Shah said he wants to ensure that no Maine child or family is food insecure. The plan involves at least $60 million in spending from the state’s rainy-day fund, something Republicans have long opposed.

Press Herald - The Portland Teachers Union is urging voters to reject the school district’s proposed, $179.3 million budget. The “vote no” campaign is a first for the union, which has never asked voters to vote against a budget until now. Union leaders say the potential budget prioritizes administrators while cutting essential positions. 

JOBS
  • Advantage Solutions posted a job opening for Traveling Retail Merchandiser in Freeport. Apply here.
  • McDonald's posted a job opening for Shift Managers - Opening, Day, and Closing Shifts in Freeport. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.
Already overwhelmed this election season? Unsure where to start? Check out our 2026 voter guide, which covers everything from the federal level to local races, referendums, and measures across Maine. It includes an election timeline and candidate profiles.

 After a record year for pedestrian deaths in Cumberland County in 2025, District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris has announced a new policy requiring law enforcement to treat all crashes involving pedestrians or bicyclists that result in injury as potential criminal or civil matters and refer them to her office for review….

Under the policy, police agencies in Cumberland County must secure crash scenes, preserve physical and digital evidence, and forward complete investigative reports to the district attorney’s office for review of possible charges or civil enforcement actions, the office said in a press release.

Maine Morning Star -   The Trump administration had given Maine a deadline of Friday to rescind its policy denying immigration authorities covert license plates. The state didn’t budge, leaving the threat of a lawsuit lingering.   Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows had received a request from federal authorities for undercover license plates a week before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s large-scale operation in the state began in January, and amid a major surge in Minnesota where federal agents shot and killed U.S citizens. 


FREEPORT NEWS

Town of Freeport- Public Works will begin crack sealing on South Street at Bow Street, and continuing on South Street to South Freeport Road, past South Freeport Village Market and up to Smelt Brook Road, at which point Maine DOT maintains South Freeport Road as it continues back up to Rte 1. The rubberized crack fill preserves the road by keeping water from getting in and disrupting the foundation. This project is scheduled over the next 2-3 weeks and traffic will continue to flow around as the work is done.

Maine News Tuesday May 26

Hannah Pingree - I've spent my entire political career standing up for my neighbors and my state - and working to improve the lives of Maine people. From serving as Speaker of the Maine House to chairing my local school board, I’ve learned that when something needs to be done, Mainers know how to come together, roll up our sleeves, and make big things happen.

JOBS

  • Advantage Solutions posted a job opening for Traveling Retail Merchandiser in Freeport. Apply here.
  • McDonald's posted a job opening for Shift Managers - Opening, Day, and Closing Shifts in Freeport. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.


Maine News Monday May 25

Press Herald - County Commissioners - With few competitive races, it is easy for a commissioner to remain in office for decades. Recent budget crises have brought more attention to the often ignored role. Read more from The Maine Monitor.

Maine Morning Star -   Three Democrats running for governor — Hannah Pingree, Shenna Bellows and Troy Jackson — have joined forces and announced that they will be ranking each other on the June 9 primary ballot. In a joint statement Friday, the candidates highlighted their experiences working together and alignment on several issues.

“I’ve worked with Shenna and Hannah a long time, and I respect the hell out of them,” Jackson said. “I’m running to win this race for working class people and end the status quo, but I ask that if you plan to vote for me, you rank them right after.”

While the statement did not mention their other two opponents, Nirav Shah and Angus King III, the strategy is a way to utilize the ranked-choice system and potentially overcome the challenge of splitting votes between similar candidates. If no candidate receives more than 50%, the race will enter into a ranked-choice run-off, where the second choice of the bottom candidate gets reassigned until someone gains a majority. 

Maine Morning Star -   An asylum seeker in Maine was supposed to have his first hearing in court on Thursday. It’s now slated for 2028 because the Trump administration fired the immigration judge who had been set to hear his case. “I was excited about it because I was ready to respond in my [hearing], to know the decision and how things are going to be,” said the man who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “It’s stressful. You are ready and waiting for something, and they change and change.” 

News Center Maine -    Three people sustained suspected serious injuries in an accident that occurred early Sunday morning in Brunswick.   Brunswick police responded to a crash on Route 1 near Ormsby Way at approximately 3:20 a.m., according to a police department release. A car with three people inside was traveling southbound on Route 1 when it went off the left side of the road, officials said. It then struck the cable barrier and rolled. Neither the driver nor the rear-seat passenger had a seat belt on, officials said, and both were thrown from the car. All three people in the car are believed to have sustained serious injuries, according to authorities. They were all transported to the hospital. Route 1 was reduced to one lane for several hours after the accident.

JOBS

  • Banana Republic, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate - Main St - Freeport in Freeport. Apply here.
  • Dunkin' posted a job opening for Team Member in Freeport. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

Maine News Sunday May 24

Maine Biz -  When it comes to quality of life and other factors important to military retirees, Maine ranks among the top 15 most desirable states, according to a new analysis by financial website WalletHub.

To determine the best and worst states for military retirement, researchers compared the economic environment, quality of life, and health care in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which were further broken down into 28 relevant metrics.

....South Carolina, North Dakota and Wyoming were No. 1, 2 and 3 on the list, respectively. Holding its own at No. 14, Maine was sandwiched between Alabama (No. 13) and North Carolina (No. 15). At No. 51, Oregon was at the back of the pack. Alaska was listed as the state with the most veterans per capita, while New Jersey has the fewest.

Press Herald - Maine’s wild blueberry harvest depends on the annual migration of 21 million honeybees trucked 1,500 miles from Florida to the state’s blueberry barrens, where a Sidney family’s apiary helps pollinate one of Maine’s signature crops. We have the details on the logistics, economic pressures and family teamwork behind modern beekeeping.

Free speech group sues ICE over ‘database’ agents

New book shows Mainers really love their reading nooks

Deep State Tribunal -    Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner admitted owning the Reddit account that mocked a wounded American soldier. Archived comments show him calling the Purple Heart recipient a “dumb” soldier who “didn’t deserve to live,” shocking veterans.  Platner now dismisses years of extreme posts as trolling during a “dark time,” saying they do not reflect who he is today. His record of online contempt for police, rural white Americans, and political opponents fuels concerns about his judgment....

When confronted in television coverage about other inflammatory posts, Platner again confirmed the account and dates, saying he made the comments in 2020 and 2021 but insisting they no longer represent who he is. In one now-deleted post on whether people grow more conservative with age, he wrote, “I GOT OLDER AND BECAME A COMMUNIST,” reinforcing a pattern of intentionally provocative rhetoric. In another exchange, he appeared to embrace a blanket condemnation of law enforcement, replying “ALL OF THEM, IN FACT” after another user wrote “COPS ARE BASTARDS.” 

Maine News Saturday May 23

If you live in Freeport or drive through for L.L. Bean, this guide points you toward Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, a quieter coastal escape with forested trails, Casco Bay views, and rich birdlife many visitors miss. It also spotlights eight other lesser-known Maine coastal walks, from Ogunquit’s Marginal Way to Monhegan Island’s Cathedral Woods, all offering big scenery with fewer crowds.

NY Times looks at Platner


JOBS 

  • McDonald's posted a job opening for Crew Members - Opening, Day, and Closing Shifts in Freeport. Apply here.
  • Dunkin' posted a job opening for Crew Member in Yarmouth. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.
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