Crime/Public Safety/Drugs
Rumble Strips Save Lives on Maine’s Rural Roads
(Maine) There are increasing rumblings across Maine – rumble strips, that is. The Maine Monitor reports they’re saving lives. With miles of rural roadways, distracted and sleepy drivers can be deadly accidents waiting to happen. Back in 1993, there were no rumble strips on the state’s roadways; but researchers found installing the centerline strips on those rural two-lane rounds reduced head-on and opposite sideswipe collisions by as much as 48 percent. Maine DOT officials say the strips are one of the most cost effective countermeasures and that the benefits of rumble strip installations are at least 14 times the cost.
Officials Prepare or Mass Casualty Event
(Wesley) It’s a scenario everyone hopes will never happen; but for which agencies and first responders know they must be prepared … and at their best. Hancock and Washington County officials gathered in Wesley yesterday morning to prepare for the unthinkable – a mass casualty event on Route 9 involving a school bus and a fuel truck. Participants included Hancock County EMA Director Andrew Sankey, Washington County EMA Director Lisa Hanscom, and members of DEP, Versant Power, Maine State Police, the CDC, fire and EMS and representatives from Calais and Downeast Community Hospitals. This was the second gathering involving creating the scenario, breakout groups, and discussion of possible casualties. The next step will be creating and responding to the mass casualty itself – the date for that has not yet been set.
(Wesley) It’s every community’s nightmare. But if it happens, Hancock and Washington County police, fire, EMS, hospitals and others want to be sure they’re 110% prepared. Those personnel, along with members of the Maine State Police, EMA Agencies from the two counties, Versant Power, the CDC and others gathered in Wesley Tuesday morning to prepare for a mock mass casualty event involving a fully loaded fuel truck crossing the centerline on Route 9 and striking a school bus filled with students. Yesterday’s meeting was the second of two designed to create the scenario, and included breakout groups to prepare for all possible issues and actions. The date for the actual staged mass casualty has not yet been set – but we’re sure they’ll be ready.
Rockland PD Loses Recently Retired K9 Marek
(Rockland) Our deepest condolences this morning to the Rockland Police and Knox County Sheriff’s Departments on the death of recently retired K9 Marek, who passed away peacefully at home this week, surrounded by family. During his five years of service with Knox County, Marek was deployed more than 300 times, helping locate criminal suspects, lost people, evidence, a suicidal teen, and a Domestic Violence suspect hiding in a house with a gun. He then transferred to Rockland, where his accomplishments were no less impressive. Marek retired in December following a cancer diagnosis. A public service will be held next Wednesday in Rockland.
Local Politics
Attempt to Overturn State Budget Fails for Lack of Signatures
(Augusta) Governor Janet Mills’s $11.3B state budget will not be going to the voters. The Bangor Daily News reports a Republican-led attempt to overturn the budget approved by Democratic lawmakers in March failed to collect the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot ahead of today’s deadline.
Senate Looks at More Extreme Medicaid Cuts
(NYT) In Washington, Senate Republicans this week released legislation that would cut Medicaid far more aggressively than would the House-passed bill to deliver President Trump’s domestic agenda, while also salvaging or slowing the elimination of some clean-energy tax credits, setting up a fight over their party’s marquee policy package. The New York Times reports The Senate bill would expand Medicaid work requirements to include the parents of older children, not just childless adults.
Obamacare Costs Could Surge Next Year
(KFF) An estimated 4 million Americans will lose health insurance over the next decade if Congress doesn’t extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, which expire at the end of the year. KFF Health News reports Florida and Texas would see the biggest losses, in part because the two states have not expanded Medicaid eligibility.
Health Consequences of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Give MAGA Backers Pause
(KFF) Speaking of healthcare, a new poll finds most adults oppose the GOP bill that would extend many of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts while reducing spending on domestic programs, including Medicaid. According to KFF Health News, the poll reveals most Trump backers support the plan … until they learn millions would lose health coverage, and local hospitals would lose funding.
NAACP Snubs Trump, Vance
(The Hill) The NAACP said this week it will not invite President Trump to its annual convention – breaking a 116-year-old tradition of inviting the sitting President, according to The Hill. Vice President JD Vance was also snubbed. The civil rights organization accused Trump of having a “facist playbook” and pushing un-American initiatives, and saying their annual convention is meant to be a safe space for all people who believe in multiracial democracy and building a more perfect union.
Cumberland County Residents Push Back on ICE
(Portland) Dozens of Cumberland County locals this week filed into the Board of Commissioners’ meeting to demand officials stop working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to WMTW, one Brunswick resident told the meeting what they are witnessing with ICE agents is inhumane and unconstitutional, and cooperation by county law enforcement makes them “complicit in the violence”. Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce noted the jail currently houses 90 federal detainees – compared to 58 last year, but added his office’s work is already distanced from that of the federal agency, adding “They have their little corner of the law; we have ours, and the two don’t play well together.”
Governor Mills Signs Minimum Wage Bill for Farmers
(Augusta) Maine’s agricultural workers will begin earning at least the state’s minimum wage beginning next year, thanks to a bill signed this week by the Governor. Governor Mills last year vetoed a similar bill after lawmakers reportedly made changes she said would have exposed farm owners to lawsuits and loss of property. This week’s bill corrects a grievance that excluded farm workers from wage and hour laws, allowing employers to pay them as little as $7.25 an hour – the federal minimum wage. Another bill currently pending would protect farm workers from punishment or pink slips if they speak out on poor working conditions.
Economy
Aroostook County Rolls Out Welcome Signs
(Presque Isle) Road signs designed to help welcome visitors from Canada to the region began going up around Aroostook County this week. WAGM reports the Maine Department of Transportation has installed the new bilingual signs from the Maine Office of Tourism in Houlton, Fort Fairfield, Van Buren, and Madawaska. The signs are yet another effort by the state to soothe tensions created by the imposition of tariffs by the Trump Administration, and the President’s comments about wanting to annex the state’s neighbors to the north.
Environment
FBC Donates “Accessible Land” to Town of Sullivan
(Sullivan) The Town of Sullivan Tuesday received a 1.15 acre parcel of land on Long Cove from Frenchman Bay Conservancy. The land sits along Route One, and the transfer ensures permanent access for local marine harvesters who rely on the stretch of shoreline for their livelihoods. The gift, funded in part by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, will allow harvesters to walk directly onto the mud flats and not have to worry about losing private access by permission – a growing concern as shoreline privatization continues to swallow up land along the Schoodic Scenic Byway and other areas.
Cleanup Grants
(Hancock, Washington Counties) Entities in Hancock and Washington Counties were recently awarded grants to help with the cleanup of contaminated sites. MaineBiz reports the Hancock County Planning Commission will use $500K to conduct environmental site assessments and develop reuse plans in Gouldsboro, Hancock, and Stonington. Bar Harbor’s $510K will help clean the MDI YMCA site on Park Street of metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. And the Sunrise County Economic Council in Machias received a million dollars that will go toward a revolving loan fund and prioritize sites including a former town dump, the Machias Valley Airport, and a waterfront site with a history of railroad and industrial use.
Health
Emergency Department Visits Run High in Maine
(Maine) Maine has the fifth highest rate of emergency department visits in the country, and hospital officials say the situation will likely get worse with cuts to Medicaid and further contraction of services. The Maine Monitor reports hospitals in the state saw 555 such visits per one thousand people in 2023 – that’s according to an analysis from the American Hospital Association and the Kaiser Foundation. Steven Michaud, President of the Maine Hospital Association, said the statistics have been true for decades, largely because of the state’s rural nature and limited access to primary care doctors. Nevertheless, experts say it becomes more concerning as hospitals across the state cut services and even close altogether, as in the case with Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville, which stopped services last month.
Human Interest
Sullivan Skate Park Fundraiser
(Sullivan) And roll on over to the Sullivan Skate Park this Saturday for the Skateboard Jam and Best Trick Contest. All ages and skill levels are welcome. The competition runs from 11 to 3, with prizes and trophies awarded. Entry fee is just $5 and donations are welcome. Proceeds will go toward a new concrete skate park. The park is located at 1776 US Highway One.
Sports
(Ellsworth) Another Championship in the books for the Ellsworth Eagles! The Class B North boys’ high school baseball team defeated the Hermon Hawks 8-5 last night in Orono. The team was escorted back into town with a well-earned convoy of lights, cheers, and sirens. Other playoffs – Mount Ararat beat Bangor in that Class A North game, in Class C, Washington Academy beat Dexter with a single run, and Machias fell to Bangor Christian 5-4 in Class D.