Maine News Saturday

Press Herald 

  • A central Maine factory that makes cigar tips, golf tees and Lincoln Logs will shut down in April, putting 115 people out of work and forcing a national toymaker to find another company to make its iconic wooden building sets.  Pride Manufacturing Co. LLC informed its workers and filed notice with the state Department of Labor this week of the plant closure and pending mass layoffs, according to Peter Bennett, a Portland lawyer who represents the company.
  • Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris said on Friday that she’s willing to prosecute unlawful use of force by federal agents. Sartoris said she believes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have different standards and training than local law enforcement. Sartoris said in an interview Friday that ICE agents “don’t seem to understand that they have limitations under the law.”
  • We began hearing whispers last weekend about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descending on Maine. ICE’s presence in the state is not new, but what set the latest reports apart were claims that a looming surge in Portland or Lewiston would be larger than past ones. With next steps uncertain and rumors continuing to circulate, immigrants and advocates across Maine are taking no chances as they prepare for potential ICE encounters.
  • Two state referendum drives are being funded almost exclusively by out-of-state sources . A citizen initiative to end recreational marijuana sales and add tracking and testing requirements to medical marijuana received a $2 million from a Virginia-based dark money group. And a citizen initiative to remove transgender protections for students is mostly funded by an $800,000 contribution from conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein, founder of Wisconsin-based Uline Corp.
  • Portland Back Cove Festival will not take place this year


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