Maine’s climate action will rise from the ashes in 2026
Press Herald - An environmental advocacy group is suing the federal government to force regulators to decide if the American horseshoe crab, facing steep population declines and demand for its blood from the biomedical industry, should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Biological Diversity announced Monday in a news release that it has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service, also NOAA Fisheries, for failing to issue an initial finding as petitioned by the group in February 2024.
Filed in federal court in Annapolis, Maryland, the lawsuit is asking a judge to force the agency to complete the initial review.
American horseshoe crabs live along the coast from Maine to Louisiana, and have lived unchanged for hundreds of millions of years. The arthropods are fished most in the Delaware Bay area, where they are used as bait in eel and whelk fisheries. However, most are harvested for their blood for biomedical purposes, including drug safety and medical devices.
Press Herald - Donations have allowed Maine’s public broadcasting network to stave off staffing and programming cuts after the Trump administration clawed back federal funding that made up about 12% of its annual budget, CEO and President Rick Schneider said.
Maine Public lost nearly $5 million over two years when Congress agreed last summer to cut more than $1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Leaders of the CPB — a private nonprofit agency that previously steered federal funding to PBS, NPR and hundreds of public television and radio stations across the U.S. — voted Monday to dissolve the organization created in 1967.
Press Herald - Public health experts in Maine expressed concern about the potential fallout after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed the childhood immunization schedule on Monday. Under the new schedule, the U.S. CDC will no longer recommend vaccinations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, COVID-19, influenza and rotavirus for all children.
Press Herald - Mobile home parks have been a hot-button issue in the last few legislative sessions. A new state report offers a series of recommendations to expand existing mobile home parks in Maine and build new ones, allow homeowners to obtain traditional mortgages at more favorable rates and overhaul the state’s oversight of parks. The report also includes a model rent stabilization ordinance for municipalities but no mandate.
Press Herald - Former Republican Senate majority leader Garrett Mason announced Wednesday he is running for governor, adding his name to a crowded field of two dozen candidates vying to replace Gov. Janet Mills. Mason, 40, made his announcement in a YouTube video.
“I’m excited to do it,” he said. “And I know I’m the best candidate to lead our party forward.” Mason served in the Maine Senate from 2010 to 2018 and was Senate majority leader from 2014 to 2018. He ran in the Republican primary for governor in 2018, finishing a distant second to Gorham businessman Shawn Moody. Mason is the 11th Republican to enter the governor’s race, which includes close to two dozen candidates overall. Mills, a Democrat, is term limited and is running for U.S. Senate.
Winter storm closings and cancellations
Midcoast Now - Brunswick councilors elected new leadership on Monday in their first meeting of 2026. Councilor-at-Large Nathan MacDonald will serve as chairperson, while District 5 Councilor Jennifer Hicks has taken the vice-chair seat. Also during Monday’s meeting, Town Clerk Fran Smith swore in four councilors elected in November and three school board members. They include three newcomers on the council — Richard Ellis, Corinne Perreault and Ramona Thieme — and another newcomer, Elizabeth Ketner, on the school board.
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