Local Politics

War Powers Resolution Vote

(Washington, DC)  The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted 52-48 to defeat a “discharge” motion to move a war powers resolution that would have forced President Trump to receive congressional approval before launching more attacks against Iran. Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins towed the party line, while Independent Senator Angus King voted with the Democratic caucus.  The Portland Press Herald reports the House may take up similar resolutions later this week; but an attempt to curb Trump’s military action was always likely to face a veto from the President, who has not ruled out the use of ground troops.  As of yesterday afternoon, six US soldiers and at least a thousand civilians in Iran had died as a result of the US invasion.

Economy

UMaine Uses Satellite Data to Help Oyster Farmers

(Orono)  The University of Maine is “shelling out” a free satellite-driven model to help oyster farmers predict when their crops will reach market size.  The Portland Press Herald reports the project brings high-tech precision to the hunt for the best tidal sites along the state’s coast.  Satellite data from NASA was used as the foundation of a January research study reported in the journal Aquaculture.  The accuracy of the study, which relies on  sea surface temperature, chlorophyll levels, and water cloudiness, was verified by testing it against oyster growth rates at five Maine oyster farms. Scientists say in the world of the eastern oyster, hotter is better, producing market size oysters of two inches in just one year, compared to four in cooler waters. The researchers also hope to use observations from NASA to identify what kind of plankton is present at various sites, allowing the model to expand to scallops and mussels.

Gas Prices Rise

(Undated)  Average US retail gasoline prices rose above $3 a gallon this week, the first time since November, as the conflict in the Middle East worsened.  Reuters reports higher prices at the pump mark a major risk for Trump and his fellow Republicans as they head into midterm elections in November, with many Americans already struggling to keep up with rising costs for daily goods.  Nearly half the respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll said they would be less likely to support Trump’s Iran campaign if oil and gas prices continue to rise in the US.

Mainescape Transitions to New Ownership

(Blue Hill)  Gardeners are already thinking spring, buying seeds and readying seedlings to go into the ground as soon as it thaws. Those who visit the popular Mainescape Garden Center in Blue Hill will find something different this year – new ownership.  Don and Althea Paine posted on FB, hanging up their garden tools is bittersweet; but that after nearly 50 years, it’s time to pass the reins to a younger generation.  They say they’ll still be around, along with Abby Rose.  The new owner is Spencer Janney, who says he has a real passion for having his hands in the dirt and a deep love for animals.  Janney also owns a small brewery, Naiad Country Brewery in Orland, and hopes to create some great synergy between the two businesses, installing production brewery equipment on site at Mainescape.  Visit the space and welcome Spencer, along with Spring, on  South Street in Blue Hill.

Environment

Woodpeckers Help Detect Invasive Species

(Augusta)  Be on the lookout and keep your ears open for woodpeckers.  The Maine Department of Agriculture says the tough-beaked birds can help spot invasive species, such as the emerald ash borer, which continues to be detected in more towns across the state.  They say to watch for light patches of missing bark, dark chips on the snow, and the tell-tale “S” shaped tunnels under ash bark.  If you see something suspicious, report it to maine dot gov forward slash d a c  f  to help protect the state’s ash trees and working forests.

Education

WCCC Offers EMT Class

(Calais)  Are you one to whom people look in a crisis because of your calm, take-charge presence?  Are you stuck in a boring career that’s going nowhere?  Looking for a career working with people, making a real difference, often literally saving lives?  Washington County Community College is offering Emergency Medical Technician training via a combination of online classes and in-person labs March 25th through June 27th.  In-person training will take place in Calais and Columbia.  The course is designed to prepare students to sit confidently for the National Registry EMT Certification Exam and provide them with the knowledge and skill necessary to care for the sick and injured in a pre-hospital setting.  Students will earn seven credits upon course completion.  You need to be referred by a local EMS agency who will help you get signed up.  Contact WCCC or your local first responders for more information. 

STEM Academy Senior Symposium At EHS

(Ellsworth)  A group of Ellsworth High Schoolers is taking their findings out of the classroom and into the community for the first time.  Four seniors – Tyler Hollenback, Kaylee Bagley, Alexa Hidri, and William Blaisdell – have spent hours designing, testing, and analyzing their own original experiments.  You can learn about their work and support them at the first ever STEM Academy Senior Symposium on March 25th, as they present their poster sessions and discuss their experiments, professional internships, and more.  The Symposium will run from 4:30 to 7:30 at Ellsworth Elementary Middle School during STEM Activity Night. 

Health

Flu and COVID Season

(Undated)  You still see people out and about with masks – perhaps with good reason.  The CDC estimates 25 million people have been infected with flu this season, far more than the estimated three to nine million that have become  ill with COVID since October.  Public health experts say unusual flu strains have played a role, while mutations to the coronavirus have left it less adept at attacking our lungs.

Human Interest 

Pie Weekend in Rockland

(Rockland)  The City of Rockland has declared March 13th through the 15th Rockland Pie Weekend.  Not only is 3/14 the official mathematical pi day, but the weekend heralds in Pies on Parade, a community-wide event that provides an opportunity for people to sample the delicious dessert in all forms to benefit AIO Food and Energy Assistance, which serves all of Knox County.  The delicious smell of fresh-baked pies will be wafting from the doors of more than two dozen businesses that weekend to help raise funds for the nonprofit, which provides food and essential services to those in need.  Pies on Parade is a long-held community tradition that was on a five-year hiatus until last year, due to COVID.  It’s a big slice of sweetness with a generous helping of … well, helping.  March 13-15 in Rockland.

Ellsworth Spring Cleanup

(Ellsworth)  It’s time for spring cleaning – and that means a couple of community-wide events to help spruce up Ellsworth’s roadsides and the all-important Card Brook, the city’s urban stream. Sign up to tidy up a road segment or two, then pick up your free yellow trash bags at City Hall beginning April 13th.  The week-long roadside cleanup officially starts April 18th, with bags picked up that day and the week after.  Be sure and wear bright or reflective clothing to stay visible while working.  You’re also asked to separate any recyclables that will be then donated to the SPCA of Hancock County.  We’ll have information on the Card Brook Cleanup coming up.  For more information, contact City Planner Brittany Merrill.

(Ellsworth)  It’s time for spring cleaning – and that means a couple of community-wide events to help spruce up Ellsworth’s roadsides and the all-important Card Brook, the city’s urban stream. 

Because Card Brook, an important Union River tributary, flows right through the City, it tends to collect a lot of unwanted trash.  This year’s cleanup is set for Saturday, May 9th.  Volunteers meet in the parking lot at 55 Foster Street at 9 to check in, enter a raffle, and receive instructions and supplies.  Clean up activities continue until Noon – stay for all or part – followed by a cookout next door at the Ellsworth Moose Lodge.  Wear sturdy footwear, suitable for wet and muddy conditions.  Inclement weather date is May 16th. Contact City Planner Brittany Merrill to sign up … or just show up on May 9th.  We’ll let you know about the roadside cleanup in a separate newscast.

Infrastructure

Aging Sewer Structure a Barrier to Housing

(PPH)  Well, that stinks.  We all know there’s an affordable housing crisis here in Maine.  The Portland Press Herald reports part of the problem may be hidden away underground in the state’s aging sewer infrastructure. If you live in Ellsworth, you know our wonderful Public Works crews are constantly grappling with such, and it’s an expensive problem to fix.  The lack of sewer infrastructure along Route 90 in Rockport has delayed construction of a development that would add hundreds of housing units there.  Maine’s sewer infrastructure is aged, overtaxed, and in some cases, nonexistent, with many wastewater treatment systems dating back to the 1970’s.  Legislators say we can’t solve the housing crisis without the infrastructure that supports development.  But the problem is always too many projects and too few funds … and wastewater doesn’t top the list.  It’s underground and out of sight … until it fails.

Technology

City of Ellsworth Adapts to Use of A I

(Ellsworth)  “If we don’t get on the bus, we’re going to get run over by it.”  Those were the words of City of Ellsworth Communications Director Amy Kenney, who spoke to the Ellsworth American recently about the use of Artificial Intelligence, or A I.  Anyone living in this technology age, especially those who didn’t grow up with it, knows that to be true.  Across the state and country, the use of A I has grown in scale, with multiple cities in Maine utilizing its benefits – Lewiston, Caribou, and Brewer among them.  In Ellsworth, IT Director Jason Ingalls says it’s mostly used in the IT Department, though others are exploring its uses.  Ingalls and others caution there are “gotchas”, and people must still know their jobs.  But more and more, employees and employers everywhere are learning its usefulness in helping with “first steps” in tasks such as producing memos, gleaning information, and generating ideas.

National News

FBI Director Guts Intelligence Before Iran Attack

(Washington, DC)  Just days before the US launched its military operation in Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel gutted the counterintelligence unit tasked with monitoring threats from Iran.  Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, they were ousted for one simple reason – their involvement in the investigation of Trump’s alleged retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.  As a result, intelligence experts say Patel hamstrung the DC-based counterintelligence unit that handles cases ranging from mishandling of classified documents to tracking foreign spies on US soil, adding to concern inside the Justice Department that counterterrorism investigations in the way of military operation in Iran could be hampered by a mass exodus of national security experts.

Americans Struggle to Leave Middle East

(Middle East)  US citizens traveling and working in the Middle East say it’s been mayhem trying to get back home in light of the Trump Administration’s stirring of tensions there.  While the Administration Monday urged US citizens to leave more than a dozen countries, it initially provided no support or avenue for them to do so.  Many say they found American embassies at a loss, with embassies in Beirut, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Jerusalem closing, at least temporarily.   Only after citizens expressed incredulity at the Administration’s laissez faire, did it take action.  On Tuesday, the State Department said it was facilitating charter flights from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.  The BBC reports some 9K Americans have successfully managed to return to the US from the region, some paying exorbitant fees to be transported across borders to safety and flights out.

Spain Denies US Permission to Use Its Military Bases

(Guardian) Spain has denied US permission to use jointly operated bases in its attacks against Iran, with Madrid stepping up its criticism of the “unjustified and dangerous military intervention.” The Guardian reports Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, explicitly condemned the US and Israel’s “unilateral military action” against Iran, warning it is contributing to “a more hostile and uncertain international order,” making the world less stable. Spain also condemned the retaliatory attacks by Iran on Gulf states. Britain also initially refused to allow use of its bases, but on Sunday relented, amid Iran’s counterattacks. Trump threatened to cut off trade with Spain as a form of punishment, telling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings with Spain,” adding, “We could use their bases if we wanted to – nobody is going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.”

© 2026 Downeast Digest.  All rights reserved.