Gov. Mills proposes higher minimum wage for farmworkers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 20, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday proposed raising the minimum wage for farmworkers to match the current Maine minimum wage of $14.15 per hour for all other workers. Farmworkers are exempt from Maine’s minimum wage laws, and most farmworkers fall under the federal $7.25 minimum wage, which was set by Congress in 2009. “Maine’s agricultural industry, along with the hardworking farmers and farmworkers who sustain it, are a cornerstone of our economy – and we cannot achieve a healthy industry without supporting both in a balanced way,” Mills said.

Climate change is causing a longer and more intense allergy season across Maine, report finds

MAINE PUBLIC • March 20, 2024

Climate change is making allergy season longer and more intense across Maine. A recent report from the research and journalism nonprofit Climate Central says the shortened winter season has given pollen-producing plants more time to grow more allergens. The report looked at data for over 200 U.S. cities and measured the days between the first Fall and last Spring freeze each year since 1970. The data for Maine showed the growing season for pollen plants increased by nearly two weeks for Portland and Presque Isle. Dr. Susan Anenberg chairs the Environmental and Occupational Health department at George Washington University, and is an advisor to Climate Central. “We want to break that sequence by mitigating climate change reducing greenhouse gases that are contributing to climate change. And that will slow the impact that humans are having on that allergy season," Anenberg said.

Town of Raymond reaches settlement with Donald Buteau over shoreland zoning violations on Sebago Lake

SUN JOURNAL • March 20, 2024

The town of Raymond has reached a settlement in the more than two-year-old shoreland zoning violations case involving Auburn businessman Donald Buteau and his real estate holding company Management Controls. At least two sources, who couldn’t speak officially, said the settlement involves paying all the town’s attorney fees, a fine and restoration of the lakefront. Specifics of the settlement, including the amount of the fine and the cost of restoration are being withheld until a town meeting scheduled April 2.

Maine board defeats rule to phase out sales of new gas-powered vehicles

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection voted Wednesday to defeat a rule requiring electric vehicles to make up an increasing percentage of new car sales over the coming years, instead expressing a desire for lawmakers to decide the issue. The “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule that the board defeated in a 4-2 vote would have required battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to make up 51 percent of new car sales for 2028 models and 82 percent of new sales by model year 2032. Steven Pelletier, a wetland scientist and forester from Topsham, and Barbara Vickery were the lone members to support adopting the rule, which the Natural Resources Council of Maine and several allies proposed earlier in 2023.

Livestock owners face penalties when animals trespass in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

Escaped livestock and poultry rarely respond to a polite request to go home. Property owners may need to seek help from the farmer, but if the animal owner doesn’t solve the problem, there is recourse.The state can levy stiff fines against the critter’s owner under Maine’s animal trespass laws. Larger animals like cows, horses, sheep, pigs or goats can trample or uproot plants or make a meal of whatever is growing. Pigs are prized for their ability to turn over soil as they root around for tasty grubs. But your neighbor will likely be less than thrilled if the turned up soil contains their prize flower garden. Chickens, turkeys, geese and other poultry will happily feast on any new garden or lawn growth. In extreme cases under the law, repeat offenders may have their animals taken away from them. In an apparent recognition of the futility of controlling them, cats are not subject to Maine animal trespass laws.

Maine Board of Environmental Protection rejects Advanced Clean Car II Act

MAINE MORNING STAR • March 20, 2024

The Board of Environmental Protection received nearly 3,000 public comments on a proposed rule to bring more zero-emission vehicles to Maine that was ultimately voted down Wednesday. Four members voted against implementing the rule and two voted in support. Though, for many board members, it wasn’t an easy decision. While Maine was deliberating its own cleaner air standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized its strongest regulations yet for passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032. The standards will hasten the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies.

In a boost for EVs, EPA finalizes strict new limits on tailpipe emissions

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • March 20, 2024

After nearly a year of frantic lobbying and debate, the EPA has finalized strict new rules on vehicle emissions that will push the auto industry to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles. The EPA expects that under the new rules, EVs could account for up to 56% of new passenger vehicles sold for model years 2030 through 2032, meeting a goal that President Biden set in 2021. The regulations are a cornerstone of the Biden Administration's efforts to fight climate change.

Maine board rejects mandate to boost electric vehicle sales by 2032

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 20, 2024

The state Board of Environmental Protection rejected a mandate to dramatically step up sales of electric and hybrid vehicles in Maine, dealing a blow to environmentalists who urged steps to curb tailpipe emissions, but pleasing car dealers and Republicans who saw the move as government overreach that would make private transportation unaffordable for many Mainers. The citizen board’s 4-2 vote Wednesday coincided with a Biden administration rule released hours earlier for the strongest-ever limits on tailpipe pollution, a move also meant to boost electric vehicle sales.

Letter: Reconsider Mack Point for wind port before it’s too late

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

I agree that Searsport is an appropriate place for the wind port plant. I also agree with the Sierra Club that Mack Point is the better option for its physical location. Although Sears Island may financially be the best choice, it fails in other considerations. When one considers the ecological damage that any industry could do to Sears Island, it should be the very last option for development. Reconsider the Mack Point option while we still can. ~ Mary Brann, Searsport

As oceans grow hotter than ever for 2nd year, scientists fear irreversible shift

WASHINGTON POST • March 20, 2024

At this time last year, scientists watched in disbelief as the world’s oceans surged to record levels of warmth and wondered what could have triggered it. The jump in sea surface temperatures was more dramatic than anything seen before. Now, the unprecedented streak of ocean heat is entering a second year. Scientists say it could represent a major change to Earth’s systems that cannot be reversed on any human time scale.

Troubled solar company loses lucrative Knox County airport contract

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

The owner of a Hermon-based solar company said he is “working on resolutions” after a lucrative contract to install a solar array at the Knox County Regional Airport in Owl’s Head was canceled on Friday. “I can’t really say what’s going on,” Michael Griggs, owner of Pine Tree Solar, said. The $1.23 million contract was unanimously approved in February 2023 by the Knox County commissioners and was to have been completed by December 2023.

Biden requires automakers to ramp up electric, hybrid vehicles in his most ambitious climate plan yet

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 20, 2024

The Biden administration announced new automobile emissions standards Wednesday that officials called the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles. The new rules relax initial tailpipe limits proposed last year but eventually get close to the same strict standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency. The new standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of planet-warming carbon emissions over the next three decades and provide nearly $100 billion in annual net benefits, the EPA said.

Opinion: Offshore wind makes sense for Maine, but at Mack Point

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

Now that Gov. Janet Mills has announced that Sears Island is the preferred site for Maine’s wind port, many people are asking how they can help defend the island from development. Our position has been that if a wind port is needed in Penobscot Bay, it should be built on Mack Point, not Sears Island. We still believe this. Mack Point has the required 100 acres, it has been an industrial site for more than a century, the owner welcomes the development, and per the 2007 Sears Island Planning Initiative Consensus Agreement, the state is obligated to give “preference” to developing Mack Point over Sears Island. Now Mills has submitted a bill that would allow a permit for a wind port located in a protected “coastal sand dune system” on Sears Island. We fully support Maine’s plan to develop floating offshore wind as a key part of the state’s effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but we continue to believe the port that will make that possible must be located on Mack Point. ~ Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island

Gorham’s Bobcat Betty recovering from injuries

AMERICAN JOURNAL • March 20, 2024

The bobcat severely injured when hit by a car earlier this month in Gorham will require six more weeks of rehab. The bobcat was taken to the Saco River Wildlife Center in Limington and then to Norway Veterinary Hospital for X-rays. She suffered a fractured leg bone and pelvis and was severely anemic and had lung contusions. When she’s fully recovered, she likely will be released back in Gorham.

Spring starts off with a winter storm watch and snowfall

NEWS CENTER MAINE • March 20, 2024

Most of us will see on-and-off rain showers Wednesday, but if you live a little farther north, temperatures will stay cold enough to allow for some scattered snow showers. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for the eastern half of the state, which shows we’re expecting some decent snowfall.

Opinion: PFAS law will hinder Maine’s climate efforts

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 20, 2024

Over the last several years, Maine has taken a leadership role in addressing greenhouse gas emissions through the installation of renewable electricity and in adopting air-source heat pumps to displace carbon-intensive heating fuels. However, all of this is predicated on technologies from heat pumps and advanced refrigeration. The Maine State Chamber is concerned that, unchanged, the PFAS law the Legislature passed in 2021 will hinder Maine’s climate action efforts and stand in the way of its ability to meet important goals, including installing 275,000 high-efficiency heat pumps by 2027. ~ Linda Caprara, Maine State Chamber of Commerce

Column: This is the best kept winter mountaineering secret in Baxter State Park

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

Perhaps the best kept winter mountaineering secret in Baxter State Park is South Branch Pond. Whether there would be adequate snow to ski into the pond was a concern. History told us snowfall through the winter would result in hefty accumulations by early March. Not this year. The park received record low snow amounts and unusually heavy rainfall. Most of us hired Matagamon Campground just outside of the park to shuttle our gear by snowmobile on the park Perimeter Road as far as the beginning of South Branch Pond Road. After the snowmobile and trailer departed with our sleds and gear, we began the 11 mile journey to South Branch Pond Road. Our plan was to haul gear on sleds for the remaining 2.2 miles. Rangers advised against skiing or snowshoeing on the pond because it was heavily puddled and thin in places. That eliminated the possibility of a coveted ski south on the winter Pogy Trail. Mountaineering would be our focus. ~ Ron Chase

Climate change is making allergy season more dangerous for some children

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2024

Since 1970, allergy season in 138 U.S. cities has expanded by at least seven days, including in Portland and Presque Isle, according to an analysis released Wednesday by Climate Central, a science and journalism nonprofit. That means children who are still developing will experience longer and more intense exposure to seasonal allergens, driving up discomfort and emergency department visits. Nearly one in five U.S. children suffers from seasonal allergies, and almost 9 percent suffer from asthma. In Maine, some 18,000 children 18 and younger suffer from asthma, or about 9 percent of that population. An increasing contributor is the carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, which makes plants produce more pollen, warms the planet and extends the growing and allergy seasons.

Owner of sunken historic fishing boat leaking fuel off Maine’s coast has been charged

CBS 13 • March 19, 2024

The owner of a sunken 80-foot-long fishing boat that’s sitting at the bottom of New Meadows River in Harpswell and leaking oil is now facing charges. The boat, the sardine carrier Jacob Pike, sank in Harpswell during January’s twin storms and record-high tides. The harbormaster hasn’t received a plan yet for raising and disposing of the sunken boat. The town is summonsing the boat’s owner, Cyrus Cleary, for the crime of abandonment of a watercraft. Cleary could be fined the cost of removal plus 50 percent of that cost.

Maine gets first application from a farmer who wants to sell contaminated farmland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 19, 2024

The state began accepting applications for assistance from commercial farmers impacted by forever chemicals on Monday and it has already received an application from a farmer who wants Maine to buy their contaminated farmland. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry isn’t releasing any details about the first application for a share of a $70 million Fund to Address PFAS Contamination.