Eclipse
(Undated) – Heavy traffic was spotted headed north into Maine along the Interstate yesterday as folks were flocking here to catch a view of the total solar eclipse. The path of totality cuts from Jackman to Houlton, and eclipse enthusiasts have booked about every room for last night that was to be had. The moon will move in front of the sun beginning around 2:30 this afternoon with the full blockage lasting just over 4-minutes at about 3:30. Public safety officials have advised motorists to be patient on the highways as heavy traffic is expected.
FEMA Center Not Busy
(Ellsworth) – If your property suffered damage from a pair of storms in January, there might be some assistance available from the federal government. FEMA has set up shop at the Moore Community Center in Ellsworth, staffing the temporary assistance office from 8am to 6pm daily. Residents of 8-coastal counties from York to Washington are potentially eligible for grants and low interest loans from FEMA and encouraged to pay a visit to the disaster recovery center. Media reports say only one family had visited the center in the 3-days it has been open.
COVID Relief Funds
(Ellsworth) – Having millions of dollars to spend seems like a good problem to have, and the County Commissioners in Hancock County are dealing with that. The County receivedmore than $10-million dollars in the America Recovers Program Act or ARPA funds. It still has more than $4-million dollars to spend, and time is running out. The Ellsworth American reports some of the money will buy new tasers for the Sheriff’s Department and new locks and a second holding cell at the county jail. The ARPA funds have already paid for significant broadband expansion in several Hancock County towns, and premium pay for frontline workers during the pandemic.
Cruise Ship Lawsuit
(Bar Harbor) – With the first big cruise ship set to drop anchor in Bar Harbor in less than a month, the town has found itself hit with a lawsuit to uphold a limit on cruise ships imposed by an ordinance change a couple of years ago. Charles Sidman filed the suit in both state court and with the local Appeals Board. The ordinance limits cruise ships to bring no more than a thousand passengers a day to shore. A court upheld the ordinance in February but the town is appealing. The town council said it would allow ships that had already booked stops in Bar Harbor to make those stops, but would accept no new ships with over a thousand passengers. Sidman’s suit asks that the limits take effect immediately.
Power Restored Downeast
(Bangor) – Last Thursdays snowstorm knocked out electricity to hundreds of thousands of Mainers, but for Eastern Maine, the power is now back on everywhere. Versant Power had all their customers back on by Saturday. Central Maine Power reported more than 26-hundred outages as of this morning. The heavy, wet snow brought down tree limbs and broke utility poles across the state. The hardest hit areas were in Southern Maine which also has the highest population.
Joseph Brennan Obit
(Portland) – Tributes poured in this weekend from across the political spectrum remembering former Maine Governor Joseph Brennan. Brennan passed away at his home on Munjoy Hill in Portland according to his family. Brennan served the maximum two consecutive terms as Governor from 1978 to 1986. He then served two terms in Congress, but came up short in a bid to return to the governorship. Brennan was the Attorney General for Maine prior to becoming governor. He was 89 years old.
Sports
- It’s Purdue vs. Connecticut tonight for the men’s NCAA College Basketball Championship.
- South Carolina wins the NCAA Women’s Championship Game, beating Caitlin Clark and Iowa 87-75
- The Red Sox finish their west coast trip with a 12-to-2 win over the Angels yesterday. Tanner Hauck got the win, pitching 6 scoreless innings. The Red Sox have today off as they prepare for tomorrow’s home opener against the Orioles.
- The Celtics are off today after beating the Portland Trailblazers 124 to 107.
- Bruins are off until tomorrow when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes