Maine News Monday June 22

Tipp Gazette - One of the Navy Blue Angels’ lead solo pilots hails from Freeport bringing local roots to one of the world’s most elite flight demonstration teams. Lieutenant Commander Connor O’Donnell, a Yarmouth High graduate and Naval Academy alum, now flies high-profile shows while racking up more than 1,200 flight hours and over 200 carrier landings.

Hello Homestead -   Disease-carrying ticks are on the rise in Maine, and that’s bad news for pet owners.   Just like their humans, pets that spend any time outdoors are vulnerable to tick-borne diseases. Lyme, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis have been on the rise among pets, with cases of one disease doubling over the last year.

Ticks have become a common enemy for Maine humans and animals alike. In recent years, the disease-carrying arachnids have spread throughout the state and are now present year round. People who spend time outside are already reporting high tick activity this spring. And pet owners need to take the same precautions they do for themselves when it comes to their four-legged companions.

WGME  - A big weekend of Maine high school championships ended with baseball, softball, and lacrosse titles decided across all classes, but there was also standout news for Freeport. Local golfer Eli Spaulding, now at Loyola University, dominated the Philadelphia Amateur Golf Championship 9–8, adding to his resume as reigning Maine and New England amateur champion.

WGME - Trek Across Maine raises more than $719,000 as hundreds ride across Maine 

The Fat Boy restaurant in Brunswick reopens June 26 to begin its 71st season 

Maine Morning Star -   [The] effort to repeal recreational cannabis had seemingly gone quiet after the campaign missed the winter deadline to submit signatures to get on the November ballot. Now with about 40,000 of 67,682 signatures needed (at least 10% of total votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election), the campaign is eyeing the November 2027 ballot, said Caroline Alcock of Massachusetts, the group’s general consultant.  

The campaign appears to be almost exclusively driven by out-of-state interests, meanwhile local cannabis supporters are getting organized in opposition....

The proposed ballot referendum would do away with the commercial cultivation, sale, purchase and manufacture of cannabis starting in 2028, while still allowing personal use and possession of up to 2.5 ounces. It would also create new testing and tracking requirements for medical cannabis, which the Maine Legislature rejected earlier this year. The petition is valid until the spring of 2027....

JOBS

  • First Atlantic Health Care posted a job opening for Dietary Aide / Kitchen Staff in Freeport. Apply here.
  • TIBCO Software, Inc. posted a job opening for Public School Clinician Immigrant and Refugee Services Brunswick Jr. High and High School in Brunswick. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.