Crime/Public Safety/Drugs

Group Provides Therapy in Times of Tragedy

(Bangor)  Pet Partners of Eastern Maine has parlayed tragedy into healing following a plane crash earlier this year at Bangor International Airport.  In the days following the fatal disaster, Pet Partners’ Therapy Animal Teams visited some of the emergency response teams that had helped at the scene.  That opened conversations about how to broaden such therapeutic services; because, they say, healing doesn’t happen in isolation but through connection. Recently, the group was invited to the 101st Air Refueling Family Day, where Pet Partners’ therapy animal teams brought connection and joy to nearly 800 airmen and their families.  The dogs even got a chance to get up close and explore an Air Force jet!  They say the day was a powerful reminder that even from some of the hardest moments, people can come together to create something healing and meaningful.

Local Politics

Manchin Endorses Collins

(Maine)  Calling her “the soul of the Senate”, longtime Democratic centrist Joe Manchin of West Virginia this week threw his support behind Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins in her bid for reelection.  The Portland Press Herald reports Manchin, who became an Independent during his last year in office, worked with Collins after the January 6th riots at the Capitol to update the Electoral Count Act.  Collins was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump after he was impeached for the riots.  But she’s also seen as toeing the line with Trump on such issues as voting to install Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, a move many believe led to the overturning of the landmark Roe vs. Wade.  Collins is in a tough fight in the midterms against Democrat Troy Jackson to retain her Senate seat.

Economy

Homebuying Classes

(Stonington)  Buying a home can be a daunting process, especially in today’s economic climate.  If you’re considering especially a first purchase, Homebuyer Education classes are being offered on Saturday, September 26th at the Island Connectivity Hub in Stonington and by Zoom on Friday, October 30th.  The class is $45, but worth the cost of learning how to work with lenders and real estate agents, how credit works, the costs of buying and owning a home, steps in the mortgage process, and caring for your home and budget once you get the keys.  Classes are sponsored by Community Action in Aroostook, Washington, and Hancock Counties.  Register at the link you’ll find with this story on our website.  homebuyeredu@acap-me.org.

Maine Property Tax Rate

(Maine)  Politicians are sometimes infamous for taking facts and revising or reducing them in order to make a pitch for their campaign.  More than one candidate is touting Maine’s high property tax rate as reason for change.  According to the nonprofit research group, The Tax Foundation, Maine does, indeed, have the fifth highest property tax burden among the 50 states, behind Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York, respectively.  However, the Portland Press Herald reports that burden is offset by a lack of local sales taxes, “which enables the state to maintain one of the lowest combined sales tax rates in the nation.”  The Foundation ranked Maine 26th overall in total tax burden on residents and businesses.  

L.L. Bean Reopens Flagship Store

(Freeport)  Maine-based retail giant L.L. Bean this week reopened its flagship store in Freeport.  The Portland Press Herald reports the building was closed and the store operated out of a tent for two years during a $50M renovation that included a new, two-tiered trout pond and first floor shoe department front and center.  A new grand staircase takes shoppers to the second floor for overhead views of the pond and main entryway.  The store was founded as a mail order business in 1912 by avid outdoorsman Leon Leonwood Bean after he became tired of cold, damp feet during hunting trips.  The year before, Bean had invented the Maine Hunting Shoe, later called the Bean Boot, by combining lightweight leather uppers with waterproof rubber soles. If you’re a hiker or just into outdoor fashion, you’ve no doubt owned a pair.

Environment

Green Ellsworth Talks Food Waste Prevention

(Ellsworth)  It’s apple picking season – but if you pare the peels for pie or other goodies, what will you do with those scraps?  Join Green Ellsworth on Tuesday, September 22nd for a free Food Waste Prevention Program and panel discussion.  City officials will be on hand at the Moore Community Center from 9 to 2, along with other experts to discuss ways to help activate communities, municipalities, farms, local businesses and nonprofits to address the issue of food waste.  They say 40% of our waste stream is currently composed of organic matter, and that raises the cost of collecting and transporting such waste that could easily be composted.  Bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy in the park, or pick up takeout from a nearby eatery – we’re pretty sure there will be bins on hand in which to recycle any leftovers!

Green Ellsworth Everybody Harvests Garden

(Ellsworth)  The vision of Green Ellsworth, a citizens’ initiative, is an equitable community guided by sustainable environmentally informed approaches to growth that ensure access to land, water, and other resources for future generations.  The Everybody Harvests Community Garden is now open for personal harvesting on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 to 6.  Those hours will change to Saturdays only from 10 until noon in October.  Current harvests include several types of beans, eggplant, garlic, herbs, leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes and more.  Community Liaison Mary Blackstone tells Downeast Digest the garden, located at the Whitney Community Forest, is a teaching garden – and volunteers are welcome to come grow, harvest and learn.  For more information, visit greenellsworth.org.

Education

Ellsworth Phys Ed Teacher Named Teacher of the Year

(Ellsworth)  Ellsworth High School Physical Education Teacher Julie Hammer brought home the gold this week.  Mrs. Hammer has been named the Secondary Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.  Hammer grew up in the Brewer area and earned her teaching degree at UMaine.  Before joining the staff at EHS, she taught phys ed at Old Town High School for 12 years and has coached softball, basketball, and varsity field hockey.  An advocate for public health and wellness, she’s publicly campaigned for maintaining physical education as a core graduation requirement at Ellsworth High.  Congratulations, Julie!

Human Interest

Ribbon Cutting Planned at City’s Composting Facility

(Ellsworth)  Celebrate the City of Ellsworth’s year-long free food scrap collection pilot program with a ribbon cutting at the Ellsworth Transfer Station on Tuesday, September 22nd, at 3 p.m.  The initiative is made possible through a state-funded Community Action Grant and managed in partnership with Chickadee Compost, based in Surry.  Bring your apple cores and other food scraps for a ceremonial, no-food-waste pitch following the ribbon cutting!

Covered Wagon Rides

(Jonesboro)  If watching Outlander or other time-traveling series made you wish you could go back in time, head for Jonesboro this weekend.  Whispering Pine Riding Stable is offering covered wagon rides from 1 to 4 p.m. for just $20 per person for 30 minute rides.  The wagons are pulled by two percherons – yep, those big, powerful draft horses that are generally heavier and more solidly built than a Clydesdale.  Create a family memory!  Reservations are required.  Make yours at the number you’ll find with this story on our website.  (207) 271-3338.

Trail Follows Route of Donn Fendler’s Ordeal

(Baxter SP)  Back in 1939, 12 year old Donn Fendler became separated from his family and spent nine harrowing days wandering barefoot off-trail through uncharted wilderness on and near Mount Katahdin.  The ordeal led to a book and the movie “Lost On A Mountain in Maine”, produced by Sylvester Stallone.  These days, hikers can follow that exact historic route – albeit planned and much better prepared.  According to the Bangor Daily News, the remote, four-mile footpath runs along a section of the old Wuh-SAW-ta-cook (Wassataquoik) Tote Road in the northeast corner of Baxter State Park.  Disoriented, but remembering his Boy Scout training, Donn found a small brook and followed it to where it fed into the rugged Wassataquoik Stream, then following telephone lines along the river to emerge at camps on the East Branch of the Penobscot.  Mainer Ryan Wilford retraced Fendler’s journey – you can view it on You Tube.

Infrastructure

State of Maine Targets $22M for SR 15 Improvements

(Maine)  The State of Maine has targeted $22M toward comprehensive improvements for State Route 15.  According to Penobscot Bay Press, the project focuses on coastal and village infrastructure in Hancock County, including $12M in upgrades for the Deer Isle Causeway and between $7M and $10M for safety improvements for Main Street in Bucksport.  The causeway links Little Deer Isle to the mainland, and has become vulnerable to sea level rise and storms driven by climate change.  The Bucksport corridor is in need of corrections of severe safety, intersection, and pedestrian issues.  The improvements are part of the Maine Department of Transportation’s three year rolling plan, with groundbreaking expected in 2028.

National News 09/16/16

Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Efforts to Restrict Mail In Ballots

(AP)  The Supreme Court has rejected a push by President Trump to restrict mail-in voting in this year’s midterm elections.  The Associated Press reports the Trump administration had made a last-minute push to empower the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver ballots in states, including Maine, that refused to submit copies of eligible voters to the federal government.  Election officials argued an overhaul by mail was neither necessary nor possible to implement, as balloting begins in November’s elections.  Trump denounced the court’s decision against his ongoing attempts to sway the elections in Republicans’ favor, even as his approval rating sinks amidst the ongoing war against Iran, inflation, and economic turmoil.

Regulating Artificial Intelligence a Growing Concern Among Candidates

(AP)  Pressing issues for midterm and 2028 candidates include a failing economy, rising oil prices, an ongoing war in Iran with no exit strategy, and now, regulating Artificial Intelligence.  Former President Barack Obama is encouraging those with White House aspirations to develop a “very clear plan” to address AI concerns. Top candidates such as Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia are pressing for sweeping action in Washington.  Even Vice President JD Vance has expressed caution, as a growing number of experts send increasingly dire warnings about the technology.  President Trump, meanwhile, is leading the opposition to recent calls by tech leaders seeking greater government oversight, including warnings from Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Anthropic’s Dario Armodei.  

Judge Rules Trump’s Name Must Remain Off Kennedy Center

(NYTimes)  A federal judge on Tuesday ruled The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could not honor President Trump with an inscription on the institution’s exterior, blocking an effort by the center’s board to restore Trump’s name on the building.  In his ruling, Judge Christopher R. Cooper wrote, “Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.”  The current board, seated by Trump, had threatened to close the building immediately unless Trump’s name was restored, an ultimatum Trump had issued in order to fundraise for the center.  

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