Crime/Public Safety/Drugs

Hancock County Law  Enforcement Activates License Plate Reading Cameras

(Ellsworth)  While a growing number of municipalities are removing them due to privacy concerns, Hancock County law enforcement agencies have officially activated thirteen new stationary license plate reader cameras across six strategic locations. Sources report the program has been in development by local police chiefs for three and a half years. Cameras went live last month, with a goal of tracking down vehicles linked to crimes and scanning for “hot plates” – vehicles flagged for involvement in criminal investigations, stolen vehicles, or missing-person alerts. While exact street-level coordinates have not been made public, sources say there are three cameras in Bucksport, including at the intersection of Route 1 and Main Street, as well as at sites in Sullivan and on MDI.  Brewer police this month cut ties with license plate readers after discovering a problem with their software that led to the cameras failing to purge data gathered in accordance with state law.  

Local Politics

Supreme Court to Hear Lobsterman’s Case Against ETD’s

(Maine)  In a case that could have broad consequences for the American commercial fishing industry, the Supreme Court this month will review a Maine lobster fisherman’s challenge to a government requirement that boats be equipped with electronic tracking devices.  The Portland Press Herald reports the rule was implemented in order to comply with a federal data collection mandate for tracking crustacean populations and managing declining populations.  Lobsterman Frank Thompson and the Pacific Legal Foundation argue such monitoring violates Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless searches because it tracks private use, even when not on the job.

H.C. Commissioners Table City’s Request for Assistance

(Ellsworth)  In a unanimous vote this week, the Hancock County Commissioners tabled a request from the City of Ellsworth for help in funding a new access road leading to the future Hancock County Judicial Center.  A state agreement requires the City to design and build a $1.75M road extension off High Street.  City Manager Charlie Pearce proposed using leftover ARPA funds for the project; but those funds must be spent by the end of this year, making that unfeasible.  According to the Ellsworth American, Commissioners may consider the matter in future deliberation and could consider it during the upcoming 2027 county budget cycle.

House Passes AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act

(Washington, DC)  Wednesday marked a momentous step forward for AM radio and the millions who depend on it here in Maine and across the nation.  Maine Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden co-sponsored the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, overwhelmingly passed by the House. While you may listen to FM … or even more contemporary, an internet-based station such as Nice & Easy …  in your vehicle, AM radio is a vital part of the National Emergency Alert System, providing a free, resilient lifeline during power outages, major disasters, and more.  The bill requires AM radio to be standard in all new vehicles sold in the U.S. AM signals travel much further and bend over terrain better than FM or digital signals, working when cell towers are down.  FEMA relies on AM radio to transmit critical safety instructions directly to drivers and reach those in rural areas with spotty coverage otherwise.

Economy

Waldo County Woodshed Receives $10K Grant

(Belfast)  Many more families will be staying warm this winter, thanks to a generous $10K grant from United Midcoast Charities received by the Waldo County Woodshed this week.  Founded in 2015 by Belfast businessman Bob MacGregor, the nonprofit wood bank was the first created in Downeast Maine, serving close to 200 families each winter – up from 20 their first season.   Volunteer-run, the New York Times covered the concept of wood banks – like food banks, but for warmth – in Maine in 2021.  The Waldo County Woodbank has expanded from one site to ten, and wood banks have since sprouted in Surry, on MDI, and in other locations.  With oil prices skyrocketing, they’ll likely have their wood … and their work … cut out for them this year.  

Education

RSU 24 Officials Battle Transgender Student Issue

(Sullivan)  Sullivan-based RSU 24 continues to grapple with the school board’s passing of a restrictive transgender student policy that aligns with the Trump administration’s stance on Title IX. The Maine Monitor reports the policy bans transgender students from participating on athletic teams and decrees they must use bathrooms and sports facilities based on their gender at birth.  RSU 24 is one of several school districts across the state being sued by the Maine Human Rights Commission, which contends state law protects transgender individuals from discrimination. This month, a local activist group obtained and released close to a thousand pages of the district’s internal emails and text messages via an FOAA request that revealed conservative board member Carla Jung closely coordinated behind closed doors with conservative political groups to draft the restrictions and to shift the board’s legal representation to the more conservative Steve Smith Trial Lawyers in its defense against the state.

Drought Hits Mid-Coastal Region Hardest

(Bangor)  Nowhere has this season’s drought hit Maine harder than an arc around the midcoast and Penobscot Bay, stretching up to the Bangor area.  The Bangor Daily News reports for the second consecutive season, national drought monitoring maps have turned the area increasingly dire shades of orange.  The latest map shows conditions as “severe” along most of the coast approaching Washington County. Two major weather factors have contributed to more intense drought conditions in the area:  cooler air off the Gulf of Maine that forms a layer that stops rain from developing along the coast, and a jet stream that nudged storm systems onto different tracks, diverting precipitation away from coastal Maine.

Infrastructure

ANP Projects to Address Congestion

(ANP)  Upcoming construction at Acadia National Park will focus on easing congestion, as park visits topped 4 million in 2025.  The Bangor Daily News reports Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider and other park officials presented a citizens advisory group with plans to be carried out over the next several years.  Among them, a traffic and parking monitoring program that will provide visitors with real-time updates on the number of parking spots available at the park’s busiest destinations.  This fall, the park also plans to create a bus express lane for the Island Explorer, Acadia’s fare-free shuttle system, on the Park Loop Road just north of the Sand Beach entrance station, an infamous chokehold.  Island Explorer ridership is anticipated to exceed 500K for the 2026 season.

Human Interest

Maine Gets First Gold Star Monument

(Columbia Falls)  Maine unveiled its first Gold Star Families Monument Saturday in Columbia Falls.  The Machias Valley News Observer reports the monument was placed on lands owned by and with the assistance of Worcester Wreath, founders of Wreaths Across America.  Gold Star Families are those with a family member who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  The double-sided black granite monument tells a story on four granite panels labeled Homeland, Family, Patriot, and Sacrifice.  

Former BDN Reporter to Appear on Jeopardy

(Bangor)  I’ll take Occupations for 20:  A former Bangor Daily News reporter who chronicled eastern Maine culture and offbeat history.  Answer:  Who is Emily Burnham.   Look for her next Wednesday on Jeopardy!.  Burnham announced her upcoming appearance on FB this past Monday, saying she’s been  holding her tongue since July. She says she comes from a total Jeopardy family and has taken the show’s test many times over the years. She says getting to hold the buzzer and meet Ken Jennings were definite highlights.  The show will air September 23rd at 7:30 p.m. on ABC affiliates in Maine.

Christian Bale Opens Foster Care Village

(Undated)  With all the emphasis on the recent Emmy awards, we think Christian Bale is more than deserving of a different kind of praise.  Although Bale hung up his Batman cape in 2012, last week he opened his Together California foster care village in Palmdale.  The 11K square foot community was more than two years in the making, and Bale says the village of 12 furnished homes, plus apartments, aims to keep siblings entering the foster care system together – something that doesn’t always happen.  With more than 30,000 children in the system, LA has the highest population of children in foster care in the United States.  Bale told ABC, “It’s our job to turn their heartbreak and their pain into love, and hope, and a sense of the future”.  Give that man an Emmy for “acting” with compassion.

National News  09/17/26

Canada Could Become EU’s First Associate Member

(NYT)  Under President Donald Trump, Canada and the European Union have been faced with an increasingly challenging relationship with the United States.  As a result, the New York Times reports the EU has invited Canada to work toward becoming its first “associate member”.  The title is meant to emphasize the nation’s growing closeness to the 27-country bloc as both face deteriorating relationships with the U.S. because of the Trump administration.  Trump’s relentless trade war with Canada and withdrawal of support for NATO and Ukraine have left a vacuum that has left both the EU and the nation looking for new partners as the alliances established after World War II shift, leaving the United States increasingly more isolated and vulnerable.

Kennedy Center Closed, Defying Court Orders

(NYT)  Defying court orders, officials at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts late Tuesday afternoon announced what they called an emergency closure to the public, ordering everyone in the building to leave.  Turmoil over the building simmered to a head after a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the exterior of the facility; an action to which Trump responded by putting up scaffolding to hide the removal. The Center’s Trump-appointed Board then said it would close the Center unless Trump’s name was restored.  Attorneys for Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democratic Ex Officio board member whose lawsuit is at the center of the court case, signaled they would view any closure as in direct conflict with a court order.

Speaker Cancels Votes and Sends Congress Home

(Washington, DC)  Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Wednesday abruptly cancelled Thursday’s votes and sent Congress home.  Members from both parties contend the decision was made because Republican Senator Thomas Massey of Kentucky filed Articles of Impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.  Tuesday night, the House, including multiple Republicans, voted and passed a War Powers Resolution to end what they call the illegal war in Iran.  A vote on Hegseth’s impeachment was expected today. Instead, those votes were denied and members of Congress sent home.  This week, Trump approved a $2.8B arms sale to Israel that included 40K one-ton bombs, among the largest deliveries of U.S. munitions to that country.  Israel partnered with the United States on February 28th to invade Iran, a plan that has resulted in skyrocketing oil prices and inflation and has yet to have any type of exit strategy.

Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates

(NYT)  The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a point, a move designed to fight persistent inflation, and likely the first of more hikes to come.  The New York Times reports the decision puts its new leader, Kevin Warsh, at odds with the President, but was supported by all 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee. The move lifts rates to a new range of 3.75 to 4 percent.  According to the Consumer Price Index, consumer prices have risen 47% since January 2012.

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