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Common Ground Country Fair Tickets On Sale Now

LINCOLN COUNTY NEWS • August 6, 2026

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is celebrating the 50th annual Common Ground Country Fair this year from Friday, Sept. 25 to Saturday, Sept. 27 in Unity, with advance tickets on sale now.

Gray joins growing list of towns with data center moratoriums

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2026

It took less than 10 minutes of debate for the Gray Town Council to unanimously approve a temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers. The moratorium comes in the wake of Gov. Janet Mills’ veto of LD 307, which would have established a first-in-the-nation statewide moratorium on the approval of new data centers lasting until November 2027. Since the failure of LD 307, multiple towns have passed moratoriums, including Gorham, Scarborough, Brunswick, and Westbrook. The Greater Portland Council of Governments released a booklet to serve as a starting point for communities on data center policy, with sample language on conditional data center approval.

Last lawsuits over abandoned Belfast salmon farm go to Maine supreme court

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • August 6, 2026

It’s not over till it’s over. Nordic Aquafarms may have left Belfast’s shores without ever turning a spadeful of dirt on its proposed multimillion-dollar land-based salmon farm, but legal issues are still churning in its wake. The last two unresolved lawsuits are now before Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court. Plaintiffs are seeking damages, reimbursement of litigation expenses and attorney fees in two cases, one involving slander of title and the other eminent domain.

Maine farmers want Hannaford to buy more local produce. What’s the holdup?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2026

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association started a petition in March to pressure Hannaford, the state’s largest grocer with 68 stores here, to adopt a Maine-first produce sourcing policy. In April, the petition and its then-2,500 signatures accompanied a strongly worded letter from MOFGA to Hannaford. Now, more than 6,000 people have signed on. The farmers argue that, by choosing to primarily source from local producers, Hannaford can eliminate most of the supply chain and shore up produce stock, preventing sudden shortages and bolstering Maine’s agricultural economy. In particular, MOFGA said, carrots, onions and potatoes are ripe for local partnerships. Affordability is a top concern for the company. Talks between MOFGA and Hannaford are ongoing.

Marsh flies swarm your beach day? File a greenhead report.

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 6, 2026

A unique kind of beast emerges from the marshlands of the East Coast each July. New England beachgoers know them well: With bulging, Kelly green eyes, and mouthparts that slice into their targets’ skin like scissors, greenhead horseflies can’t be ignored. But with enough data, they can, perhaps, be avoided — at least, that’s what web developer turned volunteer insect data collector Greggory Hogan hopes. On Hogan’s website, The Greenhead Report, users track and compile data on the insect that disrupts beach days and the East’s coastal economy every July and August. At first, Hogan hoped the site — one of many “side projects” — would inform his own beachgoing habits. 

Letter: Concerned by our climate? You should not vote Republican.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2026

Denial of the irrefutable findings of climate scientists is widespread, and this denial has become ideological gospel in the Republican Party. While the rest of the world endeavors to limit greenhouse gas emissions by rapidly developing sources of renewable energy, our government and special interests actually work to sabotage such efforts here in America. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have targeted solar and wind energy projects through federal permitting roadblocks, funding cancellations and the rollback of tax incentives. The Republican “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” ended electric vehicle tax credits last September. According to the Cato Institute, Trump has pushed the most aggressive environmental deregulatory effort in the nation’s history, with broad Republican support. ~ Richard Fortier,New Gloucester

Researchers aim to help Maine companies boost climate resiliency

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 6, 2026

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is taking its coastal resilience expertise from town halls directly to grocery aisles. Hannaford hired GMRI to assess flood risks at low-lying pilot stores in South Portland and Portland as sea levels rise. The goal is to use the vulnerability data to build a climate plan for Hannaford’s total footprint across the Northeast.

Letter: Maine’s Wabanaki people deserve better than more pollution

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 6, 2026

I write to thank the Bangor Daily News for publishing John Krueger’s July 27 commentary “Environmental justice requires a higher standard for Juniper Ridge expansion.” As a society, do we really want to support the expansion of a landfill that could be contributing to disproportionate rates of cancer among Wabanaki people living near Juniper Ridge? We owe them something better than cancer-causing pollution. ~ Claire Millikin, Owls Head

Iberdrola must open its books as CMP seeks greater profits in ongoing rate case, Maine utility regulator says

MAINE MONITOR • August 5, 2026

The proceedings over Central Maine Power’s latest request for a rate increase have taken another unprecedented turn. On Wednesday, the Maine Public Utilities Commission asked the electric utility to hand over internal documents from its multinational parent company, Iberdrola, which could offer insight into how the company estimates how much it needs to earn to cover expenses and appease investors. “This appears to be the first time that any multinational corporation in the U.S. has been forced in a rate case to divulge its own internal math,” said Seth Berry, who leads Our Power, a nonprofit that advocates for affordable clean energy in Maine. The electric utility has asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission for permission to raise distribution rates for customers. The PUC already rejected a request by CMP in 2025 to raise distribution rates.

Courts rule Trump administration can’t cancel $22B in climate grants

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 5, 2026

Two courts this week dealt blows to the Trump administration’s attempts to withdraw clean energy and climate grants. A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency could not terminate $20 billion in clean energy grants awarded to nonprofit groups. And a federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration’s attempt to halt a court order to restore $1.6 billion in climate justice grants, saying the Environmental Protection Agency must reinstate the money.

Opinion: The first big energy test for Maine’s next governor

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2026

A problem Maine has never seriously confronted: we plan the grid to serve peak demand but make almost no coordinated effort to reduce those peaks instead of buying new equipment. We treat demand as something to serve rather than manage, and doing so may be the single largest untapped source of savings on Maine bills. Maine keeps sizing infrastructure to a handful of peak hours without asking whether those hours can be reduced at lower cost.

Wabanaki advocates are opposing repeal of ash quarantine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 4, 2026

State officials have proposed ending a ban on the transport of firewood and ash products across much of Maine — a restriction meant to slow the spread of an invasive, tree-killing beetle — because they say people are not following the rules. That’s prompted pushback from a number of Wabanaki tribes, their members and researchers concerned about the impacts on brown ash, a culturally significant species to the Indigenous nations in Maine. Since the emerald ash borer was discovered in Maine in 2018, tribal members have found themselves in a race against the beetle. They’re not willing to give up now. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry says the quarantine, intended to silo two growing infestations in the northern and southern parts of Maine, is no longer effective.

Rangeley outing club fosters community on the trails

RANGELEY HIGHLANDER • August 5, 2026

Each week, around a dozen members of Trails for Rangeley Area Coalition circle up in Rangeley, discuss the coming hike, apply bug spray and sunscreen and take off to a trailhead. Each week brings a different outing. Some days bring paddlers out on Rangeley Lake; others see hikers in the alpine zone of Saddleback Mountain. Throughout the summer season, the coalition, also called TRAC, meets for twice-weekly hikes, paddles and bike rides across the region. What started as a trail conservation club has grown into one seeking to promote recreation, socialization and education.

Thirsty for drought info? Quench your thirst with this central Maine guide

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 5, 2026

With central Maine in the midst of a drought, officials say there are ways residents can help conserve water to ensure it’ll still flow when they turn on their taps:
• Fix household leaks, such as from toilets, faucets and showers.
• Limit outdoor watering to essential uses only, and avoid watering during the day when evaporation is highest.
• Plant native or drought-resistant plants.
• Run full loads in dishwashers and washing machines.

Anger over stolen lobsters underscores Maine’s complicated relationship with tourism

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2026

In late July, Lindsay McDaniels, who makes a living hauling traps off Mount Desert Island, reported 30 hardshell and jumbo lobsters missing from her stash at a dock in Northeast Harbor. The marina’s surveillance footage showed two men walking off with her lobsters, which McDaniels had planned to sell for between $300 and $500 that same day. “It appears they are from away,” McDaniels wrote. The theft is an example of the sometimes tense relationship that locals have with summertime tourism, which brings millions of visitors and seasonal residents to the island to enjoy Acadia National Park and its surrounding beauty. Amid that beauty are communities of hard-working locals who live on the island year-round, many of whom rely on the working waterfront.

Opinion: We can reclaim control of the climate change fight

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2026

On Feb. 12, the Trump administration repealed the scientific finding that authorized the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Quiet actions like this one strip away tools we’ll need for the next crisis. The repeal joined dozens of similar moves: agencies gutted, international commitments abandoned, clean-energy tax credits rolled back. Together, they explain why so many of us feel like we’ve lost control of the climate fight. That feeling doesn’t have to be permanent. Climate agency is the necessary solution to the biggest problem we’ll face for the rest of our lives. We already have plenty of it — scientific knowledge, technical solutions, and a clear understanding of what to do differently. What we’re not doing is closing the gap between knowing and doing. We are not helpless. The raw capacity to act — civic engagement, legal and political tools, consumer and investor influence, citizen and business leadership — is available but underused. We haven’t turned enough of that capacity into assertive power. ~ Tom Bateman, Rockport, professor emeritus, University of Virginia

Watch what it’s like to visit Maine’s largest puffin colony

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2026

For bird lovers, few Maine experiences are more difficult to book than a trip to Machias Seal Island. The following video was filmed by R. Riley Smith during her Aug. 1 visit. It offers a close-up look at puffins and other seabirds from the island’s observation blinds.

Maine blueberry farmers hopeful for 2026 after ‘devastating’ losses last year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 5, 2026

A change in the weather could still create a bad turn as the Down East blueberry harvest continues this month. Maine farmers provide almost all of the country’s domestic supply of wild blueberries, which play a big role in the region’s economy. Still, numerous growers said things are looking better on the barrens than they did last year. They’re hoping the weather cooperates while still trying to recover from 2025 — and in some cases, reconsider how they operate amid years of economic and climate headwinds.

Unusual whale sightings in Maine draw onlookers to shores of Penobscot Bay

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2026

On Sunday at a lobster bake and art show in Northport’s Bayside enclave, more than a hundred people were treated to a special show: a humpback whale swimming back and forth just offshore for an hour. It was one of dozens of close-to-shore humpback sightings in Penobscot Bay that have been a source of wonder and delight for Mainers and visitors over the last month. Whales are commonly found in Maine waters, but typically are seen farther offshore.