Casco Bay News Tuesday November 10

Statewide and town by town election returns for Maine

Wolfe;s Neck Center -   We are excited to release the reservation schedule for the 2027 season. Secure your perfect Campsite, Cabin, A-Frame, L.L.Bean Wicked Easy Camping or Comfort Camping site. Click here

Maine Morning Star -  Federal officials on Monday announced $10 billion in awards across all 50 states in the second year of the Rural Health Transformation Fund, grants created by Congress to bolster rural health in response to concerns about Medicaid cuts.

Texas received the largest grant for the 2027 fiscal year — almost $282 million — followed by Alaska, Montana, California and Oklahoma. Maine was awarded more than $190 million, roughly the same amount it received in the first year of the program.

The five-year fund is providing $50 billion in grants meant to address rural healthcare access and health improvement, with $10 billion available each year until 2030.

Maine Morning Star - Democratic wins across the country open a path to get rid of the Electoral College by way of a compact Maine signed onto two years ago.  

Currently, votes in a presidential election don’t go to candidates but to a state’s electors. Each state gets a set number of electors equivalent to the size of its congressional delegation. Every state has two U.S. senators but the number of U.S. House of Representatives members vary, based on population size. A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes, a simple majority, to win the presidency. 

In 2024, the Maine Legislature adopted something called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which Democratic Gov. Janet Mills allowed to become law without her signature. States that are part of the compact pledge their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate with the most overall votes across the country. However, it would only take effect once states with a total of 270 Electoral College votes have joined. 

Including Maine, 18 states and the District of Columbia have ratified the agreement, giving the compact a total of 222 electoral votes. 

But Democrats took control of several more state governments during the midterm elections, opening up the possibility of securing the 48 more needed to reach the threshold. 

WMTW -  Should the Amtrak train station in Portland be moved? That's the $48 million question.The Portland City Council held a workshop Monday evening regarding the proposed relocation of the train station.

….The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) was awarded $48 million in federal funding to relocate the train station along St. John Street, near Northern Light Mercy Hospital.

NNEPRA said the current train station is inefficient, costly and creates delays. The Rail Authority added that if Portland's train station is relocated, trains would no longer have to backtrack to the main line, which will save 15 minutes on every trip.

…. City officials will have to agree with NNEPRA's preferred location, as the Rail Authority said there will not be another project if the current proposal does not go forward. NNEPRA said the $48 million in federal funding it received will not be able to be used for an alternative project or location.

Press Herald -   A state senator from Cape Elizabeth and a lawyer from Yarmouth are competing to win enough support from Maine lawmakers to become Maine’s next attorney general.

Sen. Anne Carney, a Democrat who has served in the Senate since 2020, and Tim Shannon, a lawyer who previously served on the Yarmouth Town Council, are hoping to succeed Attorney General Aaron Frey, a Democrat who is termed out this year after first winning the state’s top legal job in 2018.

…Carney wrote in a statement she is “talking with legislators one by one and working hard to earn each of their votes.”

“This is a moment when Maine needs an attorney general ready to defend our constitutional rights and our state from day one,” Carney wrote in a Friday email. “Every legislator represents an important part of Maine, and I’m building a coalition that reflects the statewide nature of this job and the urgency we all feel.”

Meanwhile, Shannon, 54, said he would focus on pushing back against Trump if elected. “The Trump administration is a threat to our country, our state and our democracy, and it’s had a negative effect right here in Maine,” Shannon said in a Monday phone interview, adding he has received “lots of support” from the Democratic lawmakers he has spoken with so far.

UPCOMING

Town of Freeport Calendar

NOV 10 

Complete Streets Committee →  30 Main Street, Freeport  7:30 am

Special Town Council Meeting → 30 Main Street,5:30 pm

Town Council Organizational Meeting →6:00 pm

Conservation Commission → 5 Depot Street, Freeport 6:30 pm

NOV 11

 

Town Services Closed in Observance of Veterans Day → Freeport, ME 04032

Listening Session #2: Meetinghouse Arts & First Parish Church → Meetinghouse Arts, 40 Main St, Freeport 6:00 pm

NOV 13

Mast Landing Brewing Company – Comedy 7

PM - 9PM 

200 Lower Main Street, Freeport

NOV 21

Casco Bay News Monday November 9

Maine Biz -   Portland Water District was awarded an $8.1 million grant to lead a regional watershed protection initiative safeguarding Sebago Lake, a drinking water source for more than 200,000 people.

The money came from the Regional Conservation Partnership Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Additional financing comes from $10 million in partner contributions.

WalletHub today released its report on the Most Charitable States, along with expert commentary, to highlight where people spend the most time and money helping others. WalletHub also released a Charity Calculator to help donors decide where and how to give.

Generosity in Maine (1=Most Charitable; 25=Avg.):

• Overall Rank: 10^th
• 6^th – Charities per Capita
• 12^th – % of Population Who Donated Time
• 15^th – % of Population Collecting/Distributing Food
• 11^th – Volunteer Rate
• 21^st – Volunteer Hours per Capita

Press Herald -   Freeport Community Services is looking to raise $3.5 million to expand its food pantry and thrift shop, which funds essential programs for Freeport and Pownal residents. The expansion push comes as FCS works to accommodate greater needs in the community, staff said. In addition to the food pantry, the Community Center offers home heating assistance, support for families in need during the holidays and age-friendly groups and classes.

The Community Center’s current footprint is ill-suited for the number of people it serves, said Jennifer Hazard, FCS communications and engagement director. The food pantry is located in four rooms of a former historic home, meaning that only a few clients can shop at a time while others wait.

...The expansion, set to break ground in 2027, will open up the food pantry to accommodate more visitors and include an activity area where children can play while parents shop.

....The thrift shop also will be expanded to accommodate shopping, donation drop-offs and processing all on one side of the center, said Liza Moore, who chairs the FCS capital campaign committee.

Press Herald -   Brunswick operates a public fitness facility at the Brunswick Recreation Center, at 220 Neptune Drive. It has cardio machines, free weights and strength training equipment.

Paid membership costs residents $20 monthly or $220 annually, and nonresidents $30 or $330. Day passes cost $5 and $10, respectively. Active military personnel, students and adults 65 and older qualify for discounts.

A free basic membership gives residents and nonresidents access to an indoor walking track and basketball and pickleball courts. The center is open seven days a week. runswick acquired the former Navy field house after Brunswick Naval Air Station closed. The Parks and Recreation Department moved there in 2013, and renovations were completed in 2022.

Friends of Casco Bay – Even with autumn rains, Casco Bay remains extra salty because it hasn't received its normal influx of fresh water. Maine’s rivers, streams and groundwater tables are at record low levels. And the State's recent report on Combined Sewer Overflows showed lower-than-normal amounts, partly because of the drought and partly because of continued improvements to sewer systems, including separating stormwater from wastewater and building storage tanks like those along Back Cove.

Climate change means our weather patterns increasingly swing between prolonged dry periods and intense precipitation. Despite the drought, stormwater remains the largest unmanaged source of pollution to Maine waters.

Brian Tyler Cohen  - New England will have zero Republican Senators for the first time since the GOP was founded in the 1850s.

Casco Bay News Sunday November 8

 wmtw.com — Freeport’s two preliminary rainfall reports show 1.41 inches and 1.12 inches as rain adds up across Maine. Nearby reports include 1.23 inches in Brunswick and 1.04 inches in Yarmouth, with the regional list reflecting amounts reported to the National Weather Service

CUToday.info (cutoday.info) — Cumberland County Federal Credit Union packed 550 pounds of food for Freeport Community Services during Maine’s second annual CU Kind Day. The October volunteer effort brought credit unions together statewide to support food banks, help families and provide supplies to local nonprofits.

pressherald.com — Freeport Democrat Amy Leshure won the District 3 county commissioner race with 72.8% of the overall vote, defeating independent Robert Vail. State Sen. Mattie Daughtry also secured another term representing a district that includes Freeport, as neighboring Harpswell voters strongly backed Democrats across the ballot. 

Casco Bay News Saturday November 7

 Freeport Democrat Amy Leshure won the District 3 county commissioner race with 72.8% of the overall vote, defeating independent Robert Vail. State Sen. Mattie Daughtry also secured another term representing a district that includes Freeport, as neighboring Harpswell voters strongly backed Democrats across the ballot.

Press Herald -  The new Maine Legislature, when it convenes next month, will look much bluer. Riding a national wave, Maine Democrats flipped 17 Republican-held seats across both chambers on their way to huge majorities — their largest in the state House since the 2008 election, and their largest in the state Senate since the 1984 election.

Battleground districts all across the state went to Democrats, and some non-battlegrounds, too. Even the district currently held by Rep. Laurel Libby, one of the stars of the Maine Republican Party, flipped this cycle.

In the upper chamber, Maine Democrats will hold a two-thirds supermajority: 24 seats to Republicans’ 11. In the Maine House, Democrats and the independents who caucus with them will hold 90-61 majority.

Press Herald - Freeport residents denied a ballot measure aimed at launching a ship that has been stranded in a Freeport neighborhood for decades.  Voters also filled three Town Council seats Tuesday and elected two to the Regional School Unit 5 board.  According to unofficial vote counts from Tuesday’s election, 3,025 residents voted against the ship launching referendum, while 2,405 voted for it.

....On the Town Council, two district seats and one at-large seat were up for grabs on Election Day. Joanna Benoit, the council chairperson, was reelected to her at-large post. Benoit ran unopposed. In District 3, Matthew Pillsbury was the lone candidate and was reelected to his seat.

James DeGrandpre won the only contested seat on the council, for District 2. DeGrandpre received 875 votes while Steve Doran trailed with 319.

Voters also confirmed two uncontested candidates to the local school district board, which covers Freeport, Pownal and Durham. They are Anna Child and Anthony McElligott.