Maine News Thursday 'August 20

News Center Maine - An affordable senior housing community, described as "Maine's first affordable senior housing community with programs and services for LGBTQ+ and older adults," opens Wednesday.  Equality Commons is a 54-unit community that is opening next to the Equality Community Center (ECC) at 25 Casco Street in downtown Portland, according to a release from the Equality Community Center.  The community for residents aged 55 and older will provide "affordable homes and a safe, inclusive place for LGBTQ+ older adults and their allies to age with grace and dignity," the release stated.  

Maine Morning Star  -   Incarcerated Mainers are pushing back against a longstanding loophole in the Department of Corrections disciplinary policy that allows staff to issue punishments before and regardless of a finding of guilt.  “It flat out just denies incarcerated people their due process rights,” said Foster Bates, president of the Maine State Prison branch of the NAACP.

Language to this effect can be found in the department’s disciplinary policies dating back to at least 1991, but Bates and other incarcerated residents are bringing it up as the department is accepting public comment on proposed changes to the rule, which is set to close Friday.

Discretion in prison discipline is a common feature across the country, though it is not always explicitly written into policies as seen in Maine, prison policy experts said.

 FREEPORT

WHOM -  The Polo Ralph Lauren outlet store in Freeport is closing its doors for good this week, with the final day of business set for Friday, August 21, according to WMTW.  The store has been a very familiar part of Freeport’s shopping scene for decades, making the announcement a notable change for both locals and visitors who have made a habit of browsing its racks for classic Ralph Lauren styles. 

Looking for high school or college students to move a truck full of stuff from Freeport to Portland. Stuff is currently in garage and will need to be carried up 4 flights of stairs. Might take two trips with a pick up or two. Will pay by hour or… (Nextdoor Cushing Briggs-Pleasant Hill)

JOBS

  • Desert of Maine posted a job opening for Housekeeping at Luxury Campground - Part-time/Seasonal in Freeport. Apply here.
  • Regional School Unit 05 posted a job opening for Substitute Custodian in Pownal. Apply here. 
  • You can search for other jobs near Freeport here.

UPCOMING

Wolfe’s Neck Center calendar

Freeport Farmers Market - Saturdays now through October: Through October 8:30am – 12:30pm at the BTLT Saturday Farmers Market at Crystal Spring Farm. 277 Pleasant Hill Road, Brunswick. The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust. Farmers Market was established in 1999 to advance the Land Trust’s mission of supporting local agriculture. With over forty vendors, many of whom have been with the Market since its inception, the Saturday morning market offers a variety of local, fresh produce

AUG 21
Free Coffee Friday! In-Person Curtis Memorial Library Library Lobby (below the mezzanine) 9:00 am 
Summer Sunset Dinner: Music, Meals, and Drink for Charity → Replenova Farm, LLC, 1252 Royalsborough Rd, Durham  5:00 pm


AUG 22 
Cook’s Lobster & Ale House, 68 Garrison Cove Rd., Bailey Island: Travis James Humprey, 5-8

AUG 23 
Music in the Parks (Freeport)  Memorial Park, 19 Bow St 2:00 pm

AUG 25
Town Manager's Office Drop-In → 30 Main Street, Freeport 4:00 pm
Annual Meeting with Bustins Island → 30 Main Street, Freeport 5:00 pm



AUG 27
Art Afloat Closing Celebration
 Harraseeket Inn 5–7 PM RSVP
Bandstand By The Sea, 1410 Harpswell Neck Rd., Harpswell: Pat Colwell & the Soul Sensations, 6-7:30

AUG 28
Brickyard Hollow Brewing, 149 Maine St., Brunswick: Vanessa Jones, 6

AUG 29
Cook’s Lobster & Ale House, 68 Garrison Cove Rd., Bailey Island: Travis James Humprey, 5-8

AUG 30
Memorial Park, 5 Park St., Freeport: Heyday Suite, 2-4
Vesta, 424 Walnut Hill Rd., North Yarmouth: Bess Jacques Trio (Bess, piano/vocals; Evan Haines, guitar; Sheldon Perkins, drums), 4-6

SEP 7 
Join Freeport Speech for a special evening featuring Emmy-winning comedy writer Lew Schneider (Everybody Loves Raymond, The Goldbergs) in conversation with local educator and producer Brett Pierce as they discuss how Lew learned to make people laugh and evolved to keep people laughing over a 40-year career. Where: Kresge Auditorium, Bowdoin College, 239 Maine St, Brunswick, ME Cost: $20 general, $10 students (proceeds benefit Meetinghouse Arts) Get your Tickets now. For more information, visit FreeportSpeech.org

SEP 2
Join Lew Schneider and moderator Brett Pierce at Bowdoin's Kresge Auditorium on September 2, for "We Might As Well Laugh..."—a Freeport Speech event exploring how shared laughter draws us together through life's absurdities. 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM (pre-lecture music starts at 6:30 PM) Kresge Auditorium, Bowdoin College, 239 Maine St, Brunswick. $20 general, $10 students (proceeds benefit Meetinghouse Arts). Get tickets

SEP 4



SEP 12


NOV 7

Twin Keys: A Love Story: Thomas Wolf with Jessica Chow Shinn and Michael Shinn, duo-pianists  2 PM  Crewe Center for the Arts