Crime/Public Safety

First Responders Weekend at Owls Head Transportation Museum

(Owls Head)  This Saturday and Sunday, June 27th and 28th, is First Responders Weekend at Owls Head Transportation Museum.  The Pen Bay Pilot reports the new event is designed to help visitors better understand what it takes to be a first responder – firefighter, EMT, or other emergency worker.  Meet these lifesavers and learn about the training, teamwork, and dedication behind emergency response.  Both days of the event this year will feature a tribute to those lost in the Searsmont lumber mill fire.  There will also be a benefit silent auction, with all proceeds going toward the Firefighter Foundation.  The museum is located at 117 Museum Street in the Knox County town of Owls Head.

Virginia Vacationer Charged with Assault, Kidnapping

(Franklin)  A Virginia man vacationing with a woman at a camp in Franklin is being held on $50K cash bail after he allegedly beat and kidnapped her.  The Ellsworth American reports 23 yo Aaron Camarillo-Rivera faces multiple charges, including domestic violence aggravated assault with strangulation. The victim said the pair had been drinking in Bar Harbor June 15th, and the suspect became “very drunk”.  Once back at the camp, the two went out in a kayak, and Camarilla-Rivera reportedly became angry and threw the paddles at the woman, hitting her.  After returning to the rental, the woman said she was showering when Camarillo-Rivera attacked her.  Camarillo-Rivera was hospitalized and treated for stab wounds the woman said she inflicted in self-defense before dialing 9-1-1.  The woman, who reportedly had visible bruising and welts, was treated by EMTs.  The suspect was taken into custody once released from the hospital. 

MTA Campaigns Against Distracted Driving

(Augusta)  Distracted driving – probably the most prevalent danger on the road these days.  In an effort to combat the issue, the Maine Turnpike Authority is joining an international awareness campaign urging motorists to stay focused behind the wheel.  MaineBiz reports the “Put Your Mind in Drive” campaign promotes attentive driving and highlights the role transportation agencies play in protecting motorists, road workers, and communities through technology, communication, and public education.  MTA is encouraging employees and others to take the “Be Safe Together” pledge and commit to safer, more attentive driving habits.  Learn more at i b t t a dot org.

Local Politics

Castine’s New Municipal Fellow to Help with Town Projects

(Castine)  The town of Castine will have a helping hand this year in Municipal Fellow Gabe Palmer.  A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, Palmer says both of his parents are public servants, so he was raised with a service ethic.  The River Observer reports Palmer will be working on a number of different projects, including grant writing, comprehensive plan implementation, and area housing, with his position funded by a grant.  In other Castine news, the town tells Downeast Digest a winner of bids to operate a childcare facility at the “Round School” on State Street is expected yet this week.

Judge Blocks Bans on SNAP Benefits Use for Soda, Candy

(AP)  The federal government cannot block benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, from being used to purchase soda, energy drinks, candy and other goods considered “junk” foods.  At the start of June, 23 states had been granted permission by the USDA to implement such restrictions.  Activists who opposed the ban claim it stigmatized a single group of people for choices everyone in America makes.  On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled the Agriculture Department has not been following the definition of “food” as outlined by Congress. In her ruling, Jackson said states can take lawful steps to improve the health of SNAP households, but that they cannot violate the law and their own regulations along the way.

Economy

Code Officer Shortage

(Maine)  Maine is facing a critical shortage of code enforcement officers.   The Portland Press Herald reports many longtime employees in the field are expected to retire in the coming years.  The issue is exacerbated by the state’s desire to combat the housing crisis, which requires code enforcement officers to sign off on housing production work.  By law, every municipality must employ such an expert to enforce state and local ordinances on shoreland zoning, land use, plumbing, waste disposal and building codes.  Without a code enforcement officer, developments can be delayed for months.  In an effort to bring more young people into the service, institutions like Central Maine Community College are launching code enforcement officer programs as part of their Workforce and Professional Development offerings.

Robbins Lumber to Sell 1,000 Acres of Forest Land

(Searsmont)  Shortly more than a month after a deadly fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber Mill in Searsmont, the family that owns the company is selling more than a thousand acres of forest in the midcoast.  According to The Bangor Daily News, the Robbins family has owned the parcel in Montville, which contains about $1.2M worth of timber, a third of which is white pine, for nearly three decades.  Two firefighters were killed in the May 15th tragedy, and multiple others critically wounded, including three members of the Robbins family.  

Education

Blue Hill Harbor Students Launch May Term Dinghy

(Blue Hill)  Blue Hill Harbor School students this month successfully launched “Blue Harbor”, a seven foot, student-built dinghy, constructed entirely by hand in just seven days.  The Penobscot Bay Press reports the project was part of the school’s “May Term” curriculum.  The compact wooden dinghy was designed and crafted by students Christopher Jordan, Trysten McDonald, and Cole Radcliff and launched from the Blue Hill Town Landing, cheered on by an enthusiastic group of teachers, family members and classmates.  Blue Hill Harbor School is an independent nonprofit high school of about 30 students from nine surrounding communities.  Founded in 2007, its curriculum advocates project-based learning focused on relationships, rigor, and student engagement with their own interests.

Environment

Rodenticides Devastating Natural Wildlife

(Maine)  The use of rodenticides for pest control is becoming rampant, and that’s a problem, environmentalists say, for the state’s natural wildlife.  While effective in killing unwanted pests,, those pests are often then eaten by predators, who are poisoned in turn.  Wildlife rehabbers say they’ve seen eagles, owls, foxes and others become deathly ill, and often dying from such poisonings.  A panel of pest management strategists recently spoke at the Camden Public Library and displayed rodenticide-free options that included snap trap boxes and the Smart Home Defense system.  The Maine Legislature last year passed a law they say is a first step in limiting the use of anticoagulant rodenticides by individuals.  But advocates working to eliminate the use of such poisons say more action is needed.

Ag Allies Support Conservation Efforts

(Penobscot)  If you listen closely to the song of the Bobolink, you may hear them belting out “You’ve Got A Friend in Me”, especially for Ben Gifford, owner of Salt Run Farm in the Hancock County town of Penobscot.  Penobscot Bay Press reports Gifford is participating in the statewide Ag Allies conservation program, focusing on protecting at-risk grassland birds, specifically the Bobolink, by altering traditional farming schedules.  Salt Run Farm intentionally delays its first hay cutting to allow Bobolinks and other grassland birds to nest safely and rear their young in the tall blades.  Gifford is one of 15 local landowners in the Penobscot area participating in the initiative, which offers on-farm incentive payments to help offset any economic losses or drops in hay quality.  Statewide, Ag Allies collaborates with more than 100 landowners to preserve breeding habitats.

Human Interest

Court Rules Maine is Owner of 1893 Shipwreck

(Bar Harbor)  The State of Maine has won a federal court ruling declaring it the rightful owner of a ship that sank near Bar Harbor in 1893.  The Portland Press Herald reports the wreck was found by a group of divers a few years ago.  The explorers hoped to salvage its cargo, which consisted of thousands of granite pavers. The Maine State Museum and a private company had been fighting with the National Park Service and others over ownership of the Delhi, a two-masted schooner that transported granite from the state, for two years.  The ship sank shortly after leaving port 130 years ago after striking ice and sinking with the thousands of pavers. 

Young Entrepreneurs Market Goods in Ellsworth

(Ellsworth)  A group of young entrepreneurs will be at the Franklin Street Parklet from 11 to 1 this Saturday, selling everything from jewelry to lemonade.  The market began when Kate Kana’s kids caught the entrepreneurial bug.  The Castine mom of two helped her children pedal their wares in front of their home.  It wasn’t long before other youngsters caught the bug as well.  On Saturday, up to 40 talented elementary age business folks will be at the Parklet with everything from advice to zebras … well, maybe not zebras, but we guarantee there WILL be a lot to choose from!  Ellsworth is one of multiple markets planned this summer.  The Young Entrepreneur’s Market – Saturday, 11 to 1 at the Franklin Street Parklet.  

National News 06/25/27

Judge Questions Tarps Covering Removal of Trump’s Name from Kennedy Center

(Washington, DC)  While a ruling by a U.S. District Court judge resulted in the successful removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center. that judge is now pressing for an explanation of why tarps continue to cover the building’s exterior.  The tarp-covered scaffolding hiding the removal of Trump’s name remains up almost two weeks after the removal of the illegally posted moniker.  The Washington Post reports Judge Christopher Cooper on Wednesday ordered the center’s board of trustees to file updates about the covering and plans for maintaining operations and arts programming after July 5th, the date it had intended to close for two years for renovations.

Federal Judge Bars Trump from Implementing Proof of Citizenship Requirement to Vote

(AP)  A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred the Trump Administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote.  The Associated Press reports the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston converts a preliminary injunction issued a year ago which temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.  In her ruling, the judge wrote the Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”  Trump’s order would have also prevented mail-in ballots from being counted if they arrived after Election Day, even if postmarked by then, and punished states that did not comply by withholding certain federal money.

Tickets for Obama Center Museum Sold Out Through September

(Chicago)  Tickets for the Obama Center in Chicago have sold out through early Fall, with the next batch of tickets available to the public in early July.  The Chicago Sun Times reports tickets for September 2026 through January 27 will become available to the general public on July 8th.  The vast majority of the campus, which includes a playground, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, a sledding hill, and gardens, is free and open to the public, with the museum tower the only ticketed venue.  The first month of tickets sold out within hours of being released in May, and the rest of the first block of tickets were gone by Tuesday of this week.  The opening on Juneteenth was attended by former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and their wives.  President Trump, an often vulgar critic of the Obamas, was not invited.  

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