Maine News Saturday September 26

WMTW -   Harriet Beecher Stowe School in Brunswick was closed Thursday after officials discovered a malfunction in the building's main fire alarm panel during a routine maintenance inspection. The Brunswick School Department said it made the decision to cancel classes after consulting with the Brunswick Fire Department, which determined the school should not operate without a fully functioning fire alarm system.

Press Herald - The nor’easter moving north along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast this weekend will bring hazardous beach conditions, rain and gusty winds to southern Maine. The storm has slowed and was moving into southern New England on Friday, said Jerry Combs, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Gray.

While there may be a chance of rain Saturday morning and afternoon in Maine, the odds increase Saturday night and into Sunday and Monday. The rain may start sooner in York County, Combs said. Southwestern Maine can expect 1 to 2 inches of rain, but Combs said he is not expecting any flooding.

Press Herald -  Former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree continues to hold a comfortable lead over Republican Bobby Charles and independent Rick Bennett in the race to become Maine’s next governor, a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll shows.

Pingree — a 49-year-old Democrat from North Haven who led a policy office under Gov. Janet Mills and is the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree — has had double-digit polling leads over Charles and Bennett since winning the crowded Democratic primary in June. That trend continued in the latest poll of the race.

Pingree garnered support from 48% of respondents, compared to 36% for Charles and 8% for Bennett in the poll of 309 likely Maine voters that was conducted from Sept. 15-17 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points. Among the respondents, 8% said they “don’t know” or refused to say whom they will for in November.

$1.8 million: The amount made by softshell clam harvesters in Brunswick in 2025. An algae bloom in Casco Bay is threatening the industry and caused the Department of Marine Resources to close certain harvesting locations in Brunswick and Harpswell.  “This is the biggest mortality event I’ve ever seen along the Brunswick shores and in particular in Maquoit Bay, but it’s also the most dense I’ve ever seen softshell clams in this town,” said Dan Devereaux, Brunswick coastal resource manager.

The Brunswick Visitor Center is closed for renovations through Sunday.