Author: Sonnie Shepherd
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01/23/26
Crime/Public Safety MSP Already Following ICE-Related Policies (Augusta) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a Cumberland County corrections officer recruit Wednesday evening. NewsCenter Maine reports the arrest prompted Sheriff Kevin Joyce to question the circumstances of the arrest and ICE’s enforcement priorities. During a press conference yesterday, Joyce told the media their hiring practice…
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01/22/26
Crime/Public Safety RSU 34 Threat Prompts Lockdown (Old Town) RSU 34 in Old Town received a threat Wednesday morning, resulting in a lockdown at multiple schools. Because the University of Maine borders one of the schools, notifications were sent to the UMaine campus, where students and staff were also told to “shelter in place”. The…
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01/21/26
Crime/Public Safety MEMA Urges Home Heating Safety (Augusta) Portable heaters, including electric space heaters, are involved in an average of 1600 fires a year, resulting in 70 deaths and 160 injuries during a recent two-year period. The Maine Emergency Management Agency urges people to use caution when heating their homes. They say install smoke alarms…
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01/20/26
Crime/Public Safety Portland Protests (Portland) A crowd of about 200 protesters filled Monument Square in Portland on Saturday in response to rumors of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents planning to descend on the city and on Lewiston. The Portland Press Herald reports while some have been protesting regularly, many were there for the first time,…
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01/19/26
Crime/Public Safety Local Fire Departments Make Safety a Priority (Maine) In a typical winter, the news is filled with stories of house and structure fires, sometimes accidental or caused by an electrical malfunction; but often, due to improper use of a wood stove, an electric or kerosene heater, a candle left burning. The Ellsworth Fire…
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01/16/26
Crime/Public Safety Mills Warns of ICE Activity in Maine (Augusta) There is widespread speculation across Maine that the Federal government plans to conduct federal operations in Maine soon, likely sending ICE agents to cities like Portland and Lewiston. While not confirmed, Governor Mills said in a statement, she is taking proactive steps to prepare, including…
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01/15/26
Crime/Public Safety Airplanes Seized by IRS at Maine Airfield (Eliot) The IRS in December seized six airplanes and an airstrip at a Maine airfield. The Bangor Daily News reports the scale of the seizure is notable because private planes are rarely seized in Maine. The seizure came to light yesterday when a search warrant used…
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01/14/26
Crime/Public Safety Fatal Crash Involves Maine DOT Workers (Waterville) Two workers with the Maine Department of Transportation were killed, a third person injured Tuesday morning in a work zone on I-95 Southbound in Waterville. Public Safety Information Officer Shannon Moss tells Downeast Digest the crash happened shortly after 9:30 a.m. MDOT had closed the travel…
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01/13/25
Local Politics Local Political Updates (Maine) Some updates on the political scene here in Maine. Democrat Graham Platner and his wife are in Norway for affordable in vitro fertilization treatment. The US Senate candidate said the couple has been trying to conceive for a year without success and that the cost of such treatments in…
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01/12/26
Crime/Public Safety ICE Protests (Ellsworth) Across the country and across Maine Saturday, protestors lined the streets to display their anger, however peacefully, against what they called the cold-blooded killing of an American citizen by a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The Trump Administration was quick to defend the…
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Downeast Digest~ Sonnie Shepherd 