Crime/Public Safety/Drugs
Sender of Political Postcard Mailing Could Be in Hot Water
(St. George) The person or organization that sent a postcard mailing just prior to a May 13th town vote in St. George could find themselves in hot water. The postcard advocates a “No” vote on an article asking St. George voters if they want to transfer a piece of town-owned property to a developer, indicating it would be a free land giveaway. No problem there, writes the Pen Bay Pilot – but by law, such mailings must indicate the sender or source of the mailing, which the postcard did not. The complaint over the mailing was filed by St. George resident and State Representative Ann Matlack, who knows the law well – she’d been a sponsor of the amendment requiring the disclosure just a year earlier. The matter is on this week’s agenda of Maine’s Commission of Government Ethics and Elections Practices.
(St. George) The sender of a postcard mailed to St. George residents in May might have sent it to the wrong person, at least in one incidence. The Pen Bay Pilot reports the cards were mailed just prior to a May 13th town meeting and advocate for a “no” vote on an article asking St. George voters if they want to transfer a piece of town-owned property to a developer. The card indicated the transfer would be a free land giveaway. No problem there – except that, by law, such mailings must indicate the sender or source of the mailing, which the postcard did not. The complaint over the mailing was filed by St. George resident and State Representative Ann Matlack, who knows the law well – she was a sponsor of the amendment requiring the disclosure just a year earlier. The matter is on this week’s agenda of Maine’s Commission of Government Ethics and Elections Practices.
Court Orders Eliot Cutler Disbarred
(Augusta) The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has officially ordered one-time Maine gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Cutler, be disbarred. WABI-TV reports Cutler pleaded guilty last year to charges of possessing child pornography after police found thousands of pornographic images and videos of children on his electronic devices. He served just over seven months of a four-year sentence before being released in January. Cutler was previously disbarred in New York.
(Augusta) Already disbarred in New York, one-time gubernatorial candidate, Eliot Cutler will be disbarred in Maine as well. WABI-TV reports the Maine Supreme Judicial Court officially ordered the judgment, to which Cutler had agreed in February. Cutler pleaded guilty last year to charges of possessing child pornography after police found thousands of pornographic images and videos of children on his electronic devices. He served just over seven months of a four-year sentence before being released in January.
Civil Complaint Filed Against Bath Couple
(Augusta) Attorney General Aaron Frey has filed a civil complaint against a Bath couple in Sagadahoc County Superior Court. The suit claims 44 yo Andrew Pinkham and his wife, 43 yo Ranada Pinkham, targeted their neighbors, a Black family originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, with racist and xenophobic harassment. The complaint alleges the Pinkhams have been hostile to the Congolese family since they moved next door in April. The AG is asking the Court to bar the Pinkhams from having any contact with their neighbors.
(Augusta) A Bath couple is charged with targeting their neighbors with racist and xenophobic harassment. Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a civil complaint against 44 yo Andrew Pinkham and his wife, 43 yo Ranada Pinkham, claiming the Pinkhams targeted their neighbors, a Black family originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the complaint, the Pinkhams have used racial slurs and banged on the shared, interior walls adjoining the neighbors’ apartments at all hours of the day and night. Also that the victims’ children are fearful of playing outside because of the alleged harassment. Frey has asked the Court to bar the Pinkhams from having any contact with their neighbors.
Local Politics
U.S. CDC Backs Down on Transporting Dogs Across Border
(Undated) Bowing to pressure from mushers and other groups, the U.S. CDC has clarified and simplified the process for bringing dogs into the US from rabies-free and low risk dog rabies countries. The rule, set to go into effect August 1st, had caused alarm for some who said it would add unnecessary time and expense and would likely cut down on the number of dogs coming from Canada for such events as the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race in Fort Kent. The change now allows dogs to enter the US with a CDC Import Form online submission receipt as acceptable documentation. The form can be filled out the day of travel, and the receipt can be shown to airlines and border officials as a printed copy or by phone. The CDC heard from legislators and dog owners who offered up petitions with thousands of signatures protesting the original rule.
(Undated) Mushers, legislators, and those with service dogs said the U.S. CDC was barking up the wrong tree when it sought to impose stringent new rules on bringing dogs into the US from rabies-free and low risk dog rabies countries. The rule, set to go into effect August 1st, had caused alarm for some who said it would add unnecessary time and expense – up to $300 per dog – and would likely cut down on the number of pups coming from Canada for such events as the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race in Fort Kent. The CDC listened. A change now allows dogs to enter the US with a CDC Import Form online submission receipt as acceptable documentation. The form can be filled out the day of travel, and the receipt can be shown to airlines and border officials as a printed copy or by phone.
Pingree, King Absent from Netanyahu Address to Congress
(Washington, DC) Maine Congresspersons Chellie Pingree and Angus King yesterday were noticeably absent from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a Joint Session of Congress. Pingree said while she continues to support a strong US-Israeli relationship, the country did not have the right to violate international law. Pingree went on to say the attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists were a heinous crime and Israel has a right to defend itself. But, she said, she was horrified by the shocking loss of civilian life in Gaza, including thousands of children, and the ongoing famine conditions that threaten many more innocent lives.
(Washington, DC) Maine Congresspersons Chellie Pingree and Angus King yesterday were noticeably absent from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a Joint Session of Congress. King said, “While I am and always have been an unwavering supporter of Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself and defeat Hamas after October 7th, I strongly disagree with the Netanyahu government’s initial conduct of the war, and especially its current lack of postwar planning for Gaza and the risks that poses to long-term regional stability.
SW Harbor Has New Town Manager
(SW Harbor) The Southwest Harbor Select Board has approved the appointment of Karen Reddersen to serve as the next Town Manager. The Mount Desert Islander reports Reddersen currently works for the University of Maryland but has purchased property in SW Harbor and is familiar with the area. She’ll be the first town manager to live in SW Harbor in a decade. Reddersen will step into the role September 18th and work alongside current Town Manager Marilyn Lowell, who plans to retire September 30th.
(SW Harbor) Karen Reddersen has been appointed to serve as the new SW Harbor Town Manager. The Mount Desert Islander reports Reddersen currently works for the University of Maryland but has purchased property in SW Harbor and is familiar with the area. She’ll be the first town manager to live in SW Harbor in a decade. Reddersen will step into the role September 18th and work alongside current Town Manager Marily Lowell, who plans to retire September 30th.
Environment
Gathering of Sweetgrass Proposal from ANP Moves Forward
(ANP) When Acadia National Park was established in 1916, the land was placed under the regulations of the National Park Service. The rules, among other things, prohibited the gathering of sweetgrass from park lands – something that was a long standing tradition of native peoples for basket making and other uses. In 2016, the NPS issued new regulations allowing parks to enter into agreements with federally recognized tribes for the gathering of plants and plant parts. Acadia National Park yesterday released a statement saying NPS found no significant environmental impact from gathering sweetgrass. The decision opens the door for five federally recognized tribes in Maine to enter into plant gathering agreements with Acadia, once again allowing them to reconnect with their homeland. Stay tuned.
MPUC Approves Rules Allowing Solar Energy Projects on PFAS Contaminated Lands
(Augusta) Farmers whose lands have been contaminated and/or ruined by forever chemicals may soon be able to grow something unusual on those lands – solar energy projects. Susan Faloon with the Maine Public Utilities Commission confirmed to Star 97.7, the MPUC approved such lands to be used to bring in revenue from that source of clean power. The proposal was signed into law last year and will help provide an alternative source of income for land that can no longer be farmed. More than four dozen Maine farms have been found to have unsafe levels of harmful chemicals.
(Augusta) Farmers depend on the sun to grow their crops – now energy from the sun could be a lifesaver for those with farmland contaminated by forever chemicals. Susan Faloon with the Maine Public Utilities Commission confirmed to Star 97.7 the Commission approved those lands as sites for solar energy projects. The proposal was signed into law last year and will help provide an alternative source of income for land that can no longer be farmed. More than four dozen Maine farms have been found to have unsafe levels of harmful chemicals.
Infrastructure
Seawall Repair Update
(SW Harbor) John Goodwin, Jr. Construction reporting most of the major construction work on the Seawall Road repair is complete. They say they still have some shoulder work and paving to finish up and caution the area under construction is still closed to all traffic, including pedestrian and bicyclist. The project is still on track to have the road open tomorrow evening. Kudos again to Goodwin, Doug Gott & Sons, BFP Trucking, GT Outhouses, Rings Paving, Northeast Paving, and all the folks who turned out to bring the crews meals and baked goodies.
(SW Harbor) That Seawall Road repair is on track to have the road open Friday evening. John Goodwin, Jr. Construction reporting most of the major construction repair is complete. They say they still have some shoulder work and paving to finish up and caution the area under construction is still closed to all traffic, including pedestrian and bicyclist. Kudos again to Goodwin, Doug Gott & Sons, BFP Trucking, GT Outhouses, Rings Paving, Northeast Paving, and all the folks who turned out to bring the crews meals and baked goodies.
Human Interest/Entertainment
Writer Uses Fence to Perfectly Capture the Essence of Maine
(NYT) Heidi Julavits is a writer who grew up in Portland, Maine and has since lived away. Writing in the New York Times last week, Heidi captured perfectly the conflicting forces that make us Mainers. She says 23 years ago, she and her family bought a house in small town Maine. Over the years, traffic on her road increased until one day a woman plowed through the hedgerow that acted as a buffer between house (with young children) and road. So they decided to build a fence. That drew mixed reactions – such as a sign posted nearby that read, “Trump’s Border Wall, One Mile Ahead.” Eventually, the “all-in-good-humor furor” died down; but Julavits adds the varied responses summed up the paradox of the fence. “It was the most “From Away” thing I could have done,” she writes. “It was also the most Maine thing I could have done. People were discouraged from building fences; but because it was our property, nobody had the right to tell us what we could do on it.
Sports
The Red Sox absolutely crushed by the Rockies last night. Colorado winning it 20-7. Red Sox heading home for a night off tonight. They’ll be on the field at Fenway this weekend against the Yankees.