Crime/Public Safety/Drugs

Authorities Arrest DHHS Subcontractor Employee

(Orrington)  Authorities last week arrested an employee of a subcontractor working for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services on multiple charges, including kidnapping, assault, and unlawful sexual conduct.  Ellsworth detectives report the company was collecting urine samples when 27 yo Robert J. Perales allegedly groped and physically restrained a woman from leaving after she gave a sample, a requirement in her bid to get her children back from state custody.  According to The Ellsworth American, Perales is employed by Dominion Diagnostics, a subcontractor of Peak Outcome Partners at Kingsland Crossing in Ellsworth.  Perales was taken to the Hancock County Jail, made an initial court appearance Friday, and is due back in court in November.

Handler Found Not Guilty in Death of State’s First Comfort Dog

(Bangor)  The handler of the state’s first comfort dog, a chocolate lab who died last year in a hot car, has been found not liable on an animal cruelty charge.  The Bangor Daily News reports Baxter was paired with the Maine Department of Public Safety in 2022 to provide comfort to workers at emergency call centers. The young dog died in a vehicle operated by former State Director of Emergency Communications Brodie Hinckley.  Hinckley said he left the car running with the air on, but apparently failed to check on the pup for at least four hours. The car inexplicably shut off, leading to Baxter’s death in a car that possibly reached 125 degrees or more.  Prosecutors argued Hickley failed to implement critical safeguards and had no backup measures in place to protect Baxter.  However, after six hours of testimony, a judge found Hinckley not liable in Baxter’s death.

Big Brother Increasing in Maine

(Maine)  We already know Big Brother is watching through our smart phones and other “smart” devices.  Now, the Portland Press Herald reports, surveillance technology is growing across Maine…at the grocery store, beside schools, in gas station parking lots.  Flock and other automated license plate readers are reportedly being employed by a growing number of police departments, and worksite cameras are even monitoring productivity.  The state prohibits private companies from using ALPRs, bans the use of facial recognition by law enforcement, and requires companies to notify employees if they are going to be surveilled at work.  But experts say technology has advanced faster than state law, and companies have found loopholes. The bottom line, say some, is that there is a fine line between public safety and privacy.  

Hancock Maine VFD Installs Fire Danger Signs

(Hancock)  New Smokey Bear Fire Danger signs are up at the Hancock Maine Volunteer Fire Department’s Route One station.  The frame was completely built by members who donated their time, and Chief Chris Holmes says they’ll do their best to update the signs daily with the current fire danger.  Folks can also view the current fire weather at mainefireweather.org.

Orland Receives No Bids on Old Fire Station

(Orland)  A September 3rd deadline for placing bids for purchase of Orland’s old fire station on School House Road again came and went with no takers.  The River Observer reports the old station was initially offered for sale in April, with minimum bids set at $300K.  When no potential buyers came forward, the town reduced the minimum by $100K and again put the building up for sale in July.  An offer by H.O.M.E., Inc would enable the nonprofit to take over the old station with a proposed $10K payment and expansion of its services to the town over the next five years valued at $250K.   No decision yet, but the Select Board is facing a dilemma because it previously informed voters that selling the old station would help raise funds to offset the nearly $4M loan used to construct the new fire station on Gray Meadow Road.

Bucksport Approves Funding for First Responder Course

(Bucksport)  Every first responder who has been on the job for any length of time will tell you there are some calls that stick with you – not always in a good way.  The Bucksport Town Council has approved funding for a critical first responder course, designed to help local fire, police, EMS and dispatch personnel process the severe mental and emotional trauma of dealing with highly stressful emergency calls.  Penobscot Bay Press reports Deputy Fire Chief Michael Denning advocated for the course, sharing his own personal experience with PTSD.  Currently, the training course is open to Bucksport public safety personnel only but may be expanded to neighboring Hancock County towns as well.

Local Politics

Maine’s Rural Counties Likely Hardest Hit with Medicaid Cuts

(Maine)  Washington County could be the hardest hit when Medicaid cuts go into effect in January.  That’s according to data The Maine Monitor received from the state under a public records request.  The 2025 so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Republican lawmakers last year is estimated to cut Medicaid spending nationally by $911B over a decade.  The bill requires some who qualify for Medicaid to work in order to receive health benefits, affecting 8.6 percent of the population in Washington County.  That’s far ahead of the next highest counties, Aroostook and Somerset, each with about 7% affected.  In total, more than 78K people could be subject to the new work requirements.

Area Faith and Community Leaders Speak Out Against Planned ICE Facility in Newport

(Newport)  More than a dozen local leaders sent a letter to the Bangor attorney who owns a Newport building he reportedly plans to rent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The Portland Press Herald reports eleven pastors and multiple heads of area community and cultural organizations signed a letter to Bangor attorney Charles Cox, requesting that he not rent the Newport property to ICE.  In the letter, signers told Cox, “We appeal to your conscience and ask you to reconsider your decision to host an agency that threatens the neighbors we are called to love.” The signers said they felt strongly that aiding ICE abets a clear and present danger to the most vulnerable, especially people of color, refugees, Muslims, and migrant workers, citing multiple examples, including the killing of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero in Biddeford by an agent with a reported history of violence, the monthslong detention of Portland’s Olivia Andre, and the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

Economy

Passamaquoddy Tribe Passes on Buying Eastport Grocery

(Eastport)  By a count of 237-152, voters in the Passamaquoddy Nation voted against purchase of the closed R&M Foodliner in Eastport.  The vote leaves the town of Eastport without a full-sized grocery store after the long time owner/operator decided to retire and was unable to find a buyer for the grocery.  Eastport residents will now have to make the 35-40 minute drive to Calais, although sources say other potential buyers, including Edwards Brothers, have expressed early interest in possible purchase of the property.

Cooper Flagg Opens Card Shop in Bangor

(Bangor)  One person showed up and camped out with his dad at 3 a.m.  By sunrise, it appeared about a  thousand people were in line for Saturday’s opening of Cooper Flagg’s new card shop in Bangor.  NewsCenter Maine reports the basketball phenom and Newport native was in town for the ribbon cutting, with customers getting the opportunity to buy directly from Flagg.  Visitors to the new Flagg Trading Company will find shelves stocked with baseball, Pokemon, and, of course, Cooper Flagg cards.

Education

EEMS Kicks Off the Year with Kindness

(Ellsworth)  Students and staff at Ellsworth Elementary Middle School started the year fighting – fighting bullying and meanness, that is.  Last week was Week One of their Kindness Kickoff, and the school reports they had an amazing week seeing kids go out of their way to show kindness to one another, starting with a grand entrance complete with smiles and fist bumps.  Kids carried cards on which they could earn stickers for sharing, helping others, loaning school supplies, and even showing compassion on the bus rides back and forth to school.  In an age where social media has made unkind comments and actions far too common, it’s great to see kids feeling good about BEING good.

Human Interest

Union River Sculpture Trail Moves Ahead

(Ellsworth)  The Union River Sculpture Trail in Ellsworth is a growing art form – literally.  Heart of Ellsworth reports the piece known as Emptiness Beyond arrived on the trail in August, with another temporary sculpture installed on the library lawn Saturday.  The trail has reached another exciting milestone with the purchase of its first permanent sculpture, Celeste Roberge’s Chaise Gabion, a popular piece that has been on display just outside the entrance to the Ellsworth Public Library.  The public is invited to a ribbon cutting celebrating the purchase on Wednesday, September 30th from 2 to 3 p.m.

Infrastructure

Ellsworth Road Work

(Ellsworth)  A reminder about upcoming road work that may impact traffic this week in Ellsworth.  Beginning at 7:30 tomorrow morning, public works crews will be on Christian Ridge Road near 425, resulting in alternating one-way traffic.  On Wednesday, Church Street between Spring Street and Bayview Avenue will be closed beginning at 7:30 a.m for catch basin work. Also Wednesday, crews will be working near the Union River Bridge downtown, with three lanes reduced to two that day beginning at 4 a.m. while crews install a hydrant.  Finally, the Maine Department of Transportation continues with rumble strip work along some 14 miles of Route One in Ellsworth as part of a statewide safety project.  That project may result in temporary lane closures and alternating one-way traffic near active work areas.

National News

Contractor Blames Its Own Repairs on Reflecting Pool Debacle

(Washington, DC)  A contractor this week did what President Donald Trump and his administration have refused to do.  Atlantic Industrial Coatings has confirmed errors in its own work and flaws in the repair plan on the renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool caused the pool’s new blue liner to peel and break loose, according to government documents reviewed by The New York Times.  The administration has repeatedly blamed vandals wielding knives or box cutters for damage to the liner, even after the Justice Department dropped charges it had brought against people it had accused of vandalizing the national landmark.

Computer Experts, Leaders Send Strong Warnings About Artificial Intelligence

(NYT)  First, Microsoft founder Bill Gates came out with dire warnings about AI, prophesying its rapid acceleration will trigger profound economic and social upheaval.  Then, Friday, Stephen Witt, author of a book on the history of AI, penned an essay in the New York Times that sounds like a scene straight out of a horrifying science fiction drama.  Witt warns researchers in Silicon Valley and around the world are beginning to recognize AI may no longer be entirely within human control.  He contends swarms of AIs are breaking out of their containers, colluding in secret, covering their tracks, cheating on tests and even mounting assaults on other computers.  And, he says, it’s not far-fetched to fear these digital brains are capable of working together on their own accord to develop bio-weapons that could wipe out mankind.  Despite such dire predictions by experts, President Trump this weekend dismissed AI leaders’ calls to slow down, citing Chinese competition.  

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