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Janet Mills joins growing chorus opposing major utility merger

MAINE PUBLIC • August 19, 2026

Gov. Janet Mills joined officials from four other New England states in opposing a major acquisition in the electricity industry that the governors suggest could impact rates and infrastructure improvements. The proposed merger of Florida-based NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, which is headquartered in Virginia, would reportedly create the world’s largest regulated electric utility. The proposal is being reviewed by federal regulators. But in a joint statement released Tuesday, five governors said the deal would “concentrate an unprecedented amount of leverage in NextEra,” with potential ramifications for ratepayers.

Maine’s top court denies appeal of controversial Bar Harbor aquaculture lease

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 18, 2026

Maine’s highest court on Tuesday denied a second appeal of a state decision to grant a roughly 20-acre aquaculture lease in the waters off Bar Harbor to a Trenton-based mussel grower. The decision comes almost seven years after Acadia Aqua Farms first applied to lease about 40 acres in Eastern Bay to grow blue mussels. It also leases waters in Deer Isle, Blue Hill Bay and Frenchman Bay. The Bar Harbor proposal was met with organized opposition from residents and waterfront landowners.

Letter: How Maine farmers can hack the market

CENTRAL MAINE • August 18, 2026

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of driving to Maine’s North Country where we saw firsthand our enormous fields of potatoes, buckwheat and other vegetables. We stopped at Bouchard Family Farm in Fort Kent where we were told that carrots and other local vegetables are sold to the public one day a week. Why don’t more Maine farmers do what Bouchard is doing, and run co-ops? Better yet, use building space next to a Hannaford store. That way, Hannaford becomes David. Maine farmers become Goliath! ~ Louise Haggett, Old Orchard Beach

$13.4M job to close troubled Bucksport landfill starts years after state order

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 18, 2026

Work has started to permanently shut down a dormant landfill that for decades took waste from Bucksport’s former paper mill, three years after the Maine Department of Environmental Protection ordered it to close after finding it wasn’t complying with its operating permit. The 109-acre property off River Road/Route 15 is owned by Montreal-based scrap metal company American Iron & Metal, which bought the Verso paper mill and its holdings, including the landfill and three area dams, following the mill’s 2014 closure. The long-awaited work likely marks the end of AIM’s apparent efforts to delay an end-of-year closure deadline, which have fed local frustration and distrust. The landfill and a dam the company is seeking to abandon have become complicated and costly mill legacies for the town to navigate.

A few of the roughly 150 shipwrecks in the waters around Acadia National Park

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 18, 2026

There may be more than a thousand shipwrecks along Maine’s coastline, and researchers have identified 150 vessels around Acadia, including MDI and the Schoodic Peninsula, according to a 2009 inventory completed by marine archaeologists. While some remain unidentified — their port of departure, passenger manifest and captain unknown — more than a few have storied histories, and their tales of misfortune still linger around Mount Desert Island.

Column: This easy Maine bike trail winds through a stunning coastal marsh

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 18, 2026

One of our favorite places to ride is the Eastern Trail, the southern Maine section of the developing East Coast Greenway trail system that, when complete, will travel 2,900 miles from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida. The ET covers 65 miles consisting of several on-road, multi-use off-road sections through a dozen towns from Kittery to South Portland. It is the off-road sections that I prefer to ride. All totaled, there are now 23 miles of it between Kennebunk and Bug Light in South Portland after a 1.6-mile “Fill the Gap” section connecting Scarborough and South Portland was opened this summer. ~ Al Raychard

Biddeford woman hurt when jet skis collide in northern Oxford County

SUN JOURNAL • August 17, 2026

A Biddeford woman was injured Sunday when two jet skis collided on Richardson Lake in Richardson Township in northern Oxford County.

Mice may drive Lyme disease more than deer

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 17, 2026

For more than three decades, researchers have been tracking ticks, mice, oak trees and other wildlife in a forest to better understand what makes Lyme disease more likely to spread. Their latest findings challenge some long-held assumptions — including the idea that deer are a major driver of Lyme disease risk. Researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, a nonprofit environmental research group, found that white-footed mice, not white-tailed deer, are closely linked to the number of young blacklegged ticks, the life stage most likely to infect people with Lyme disease.

Desert of Maine celebrates 100 years of ecological wonder

TIMES RECORD • August 17, 2026

Intensive farming practices in the 1800s stripped away the topsoil at the Tuttle family’s farm in Freeport, revealing sand dunes left behind by retreating glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. The 25-acre ecological oddity became a tourist attraction by 1926, welcoming city dwellers who traveled up Route 1 for a taste of the rural life. Today, the desert is home to mini golf, play areas, a campground and dozens of interpretive signs and educational activities that tell the history of the property and of Maine tourism itself. One hundred years later, visitors exploring the dunes at the Desert of Maine can view the early stages of forest succession in real-time as trees start to encroach on the sandy landscape.

Maine struggling to get homeowners to test and treat private wells for arsenic

MAINE MONITOR • August 17, 2026

Just 53 percent of Mainers on private well water had tested for arsenic as of 2023, the latest figures available. The number has not moved much since 2014, when around 48 percent of Mainers on well water reported having tested it for arsenic, and is far short of the goal set by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to have tested 65 percent of wells by 2020. Low-income households making below $25,000 were least likely to have had their wells tested, according to the data collected by the Maine CDC.

Kittery enacts water usage restrictions amid persistent dry conditions

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

Kittery residents are now under a strict and mandatory water conservation order. Town officials notified residents last week of the “Level 3,” or severe, order from the Kittery Water District, noting that the order is an effort to combat issues caused by persistent dry conditions.

Midcoast Maine is experiencing a severe drought

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • August 17, 2026

The Midcoast has returned to severe drought conditions, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The dry weather has turned lawns brown. Rainfall has been scarce this summer. In July, 0.16 inches of rainfall was recorded at Mirror Lake in West Rockport. This was the fourth least rainfall for any month since the Maine Water company began keeping records in 1913.

Group restoring Casco Bay’s eelgrass meadows one seed at a time

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

A combination of factors — including climate change and destructive invasive species like the green crab — have wiped out more than half of the Casco Bay eelgrass population in recent years. A team led by the Collaborative for Bioregional Action Learning and Transformation, or COBALT, along with students and staff at Bowdoin College’s Schiller Coastal Studies Center and other local partners, are working to understand and potentially combat the decline — by transplanting eelgrass seeds from healthy meadows to unhealthy meadows.

Unprepared hikers will be billed after getting rescued in the White Mountains

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 17, 2026

Four unprepared hikers from New Jersey will be billed after they needed to get rescued in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The four, all 18, set out about 3:30 p.m. Friday to hike Franconia Ridge in Franconia. They didn’t pack headlamps nor enough food and water for an up to 9-hour hike. By 8:48 p.m., they called for help, saying one member of the party was struggling to breathe and had sore legs and they were low on food and water. “Due to the hiker’s lack of preparation, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department intends to bill the hikers for the cost of the rescue,” the department said.

8 best bike routes in Greater Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

I talked to cyclists in Greater Portland who have biked here much longer than I have, and here are some of our favorite routes in the area. Be careful; you might end up obsessed.
• Portland to Mackworth Island
• Portland to Cousins Island
• Portland to Brunswick
• Back Cove and Eastern Promenade
• Eastern Trail
• Short Lighthouse Tour
• Long Lighthouse Tour
• Cape Tour

11 safety tips for cycling in Greater Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

An escalating number of crashes involving pedestrians in Portland has raised concerns about the safety of the city’s streets. While Portland and neighboring communities are implementing new traffic safety measures, individual pedestrians and cyclists can also take steps to keep themselves safe on the road. On the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s bikeability map, most of the roads on the Portland peninsula are red, meaning they’re high stress roads. But there are plenty of low and moderate stress roads stretching from Saco all the way to Brunswick to keep cyclists occupied. Regardless of the road you’re biking on, there are essential tips and rules to follow to ensure you stay safe and feel comfortable on your bike.

10 places to rent a bike in Greater Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

Do you want to ride a bike but you don’t want to purchase one yet? Are you looking for a fun day trip while you visit Portland? Here are 10 places in Greater Portland where you can rent a bike. 

12 group bicycle rides in Greater Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

It’s safer and more fun to ride your bike with others. Here are 12 group rides, with different speeds and route length, to try out in Greater Portland. 

8 great deals you can get with Bicycle Benefits

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2026

With the purchase of a $5 Bicycle Benefits sticker, you can unlock a host of discounts and deals in Greater Portland. Just ride your bike to one of the listed establishments, present your sticker-decorated helmet to the cashier and enjoy your bounty. You can purchase these stickers at most participating businesses around the city. There are a dozen great benefits, from bicycle repairs to snacks to physical therapy.