Once promising Maine carbon capture company shutters

MAINE PUBLIC • June 20, 2024

In March, Running Tide Technologies was riding a wave of success. It announced it had locked 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the ocean off Iceland. The company delivered thousands of carbon offset credits to companies eager to show reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions. It had brought in $50 million in start up investment. But last Friday Running Tide suspended operations and laid off its remaining staff. Founder Marty Odlin points to changes in the credit market and other factors that made it tough to keep investors interested. And just days before Running Tide closed, an Icelandic newspaper published a searing investigation, raising questions about its importation of Canadian wood chips coated with limestone that it dumped in the ocean. Odlin said some of the employees Running Tide had at its peak are ready to carry on its mission, and that at least three new companies have already been started by former workers.

FBI says the 1996 murder of Unity College student and her girlfriend is finally solved

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 20, 2024

The FBI announced on Thursday that it had identified the suspect in the murder of a Unity College student and her girlfriend in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, in May 1996. Laura “Lollie” Winans and Julianne “Julie” Williams were murdered at their campsite near the Skyland Resort. DNA from several items of evidence was compared with the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System and matched with a mouth swab containing the DNA of Walter Leo Jackson Sr. Jackson died in prison in March 2018 in Ohio. He had a lengthy criminal history.

Boothbay-based Bigelow scientists detect rare sign of climate resilience

TIMES RECORD • June 20, 2024

A team of Boothbay researchers examined 60 years of data (1958–2015) on microscopic plankton in the North Atlantic. In a study published in “Frontiers of Marine Science,” the researchers contributed the first basin-level view of how the distribution of mixotrophs varies, detecting an increase in abundance as the Gulf of Maine warms. The study confirms that the ocean is changing at the molecular level, and since mixotrophs are flexible in how they get food, they possess resilience to global warming. If mixotrophs replaced the base of the planktonic food web, it would impact all oceanic life, including local seafood and the imperiled right whales that Maine is federally required to protect. Plus, microbial life in the ocean produces half the oxygen on Earth. Huge changes in the planktonic community would alter how much oxygen is available for humans to breathe.

Opinion: Maine Legislature did a lot to protect Maine wildlife

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 20, 2024

Maine Audubon testified on 80 individual bills in Maine’s 131st Legislature. Five of the most important wins for Maine wildlife:
• LD 1895 is about promoting safe offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine.
• LD 958 will protect loons from lead poisoning.
• LD 670 will set bird-safe building guidelines.
• LD 57 adds animals to the Maine Endangered Species Act.
• LD 2101 improved the enforcement of shoreland zoning.
There are many more wins to celebrate — including increased funding for the management of aquatic invasive species, expanding the consideration of impacts to endangered species, and protecting the rights of Mainers to plant native plants. We fell short on some bills, though, including: efforts to advance smart growth principles. ~ Francesca Gundrum, advocacy director, Maine Audubon

Maine home insurance rates are rising. Blame climate change.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 20, 2024

Maine homeowners are facing the second-largest home insurance rate hike in the country, and climate change is to blame, according to an industry analysis. While Maine is one of the most affordable states for home insurance, premiums are expected to increase 19% this year.

Bangor sets new daily high temperature record during Maine heat wave

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 20, 2024

Thursday marked the third day of an oppressive heat wave that has been hanging over the state since Tuesday, bringing extreme conditions with it. Bangor on Thursday set a new daily high temperature record, reaching a high of 96 degrees. Millinocket saw a high of 97 degrees, breaking the daily record of 95 degrees, set during the 2020 heat wave.

Central Maine’s L.C. Bates Museum has preserved natural history for more than a century. Now it must preserve itself.

MORNING SENTINEL • June 20, 2024

Deborah Staber has been the director of the L.C. Bates Museum for more than 30 years. She can’t remember a time when there wasn’t some sort of renovation or preservation work going on at the museum. Staber describes the museum as “one of the last remaining collections of cabinets of curiosities in America.” In addition to the ongoing effort of preserving its extensive collection of natural and human history, Staber says the museum is always working to preserve itself, too. As the museum celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first taxidermized animal exhibits, Staber hopes that the renovation work now will help keep one of the country’s most unique and eclectic museums thriving through the next 100 years.

Opinion: Portland’s preserved lands deserve better protection

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 20, 2024

The Presumpscot River Preserve is one of the only conservation areas and trail networks within Portland city limits, the largest freshwater input into Casco Bay, an untouched nature preserve that provides essential habitats to hundreds of species. A Miami-based real estate developer pursuing a permit to build a major condo development abutting the Presumpscot River Preserve, proposes to demolish 14 acres of forested habitat and wetlands. This same developer built a retirement community in Saco that was plagued by construction deficiencies. We need to create affordable housing units, but when conserved lands are on the line, we need to be more discerning about the who and the how of housing development in Greater Portland. ~ Robert Benak, Protect Presumpscot

Letter: Climate report a call to action

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 20, 2024

The key takeaway from Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s recent greenhouse gas report should be that the state has a long way to go in cutting overall carbon pollution. Its optimistic conclusion that we remain on track is focused on net emissions, accounting for storing emissions in our trees and coastal wetlands. But this only works if today’s healthy forests and wetlands remain as they are for years. And we know that climate change threatens that stability — in fact, it’s happening right now via wildfires, devastating invasive species, droughts, storms, rapid sea level rise and record-breaking heat waves on land and sea. The report shows that we need to cut overall carbon pollution, not remain complacent with business-as-usual. ~ Dan Amory, Portland

Letter: Traffic considerations for Roux Institute

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 20, 2024

Since the Roux Institute site plan has been approved by the Portland Planning Board, tempered with concerns about so much traffic using one street for entry and exit, perhaps the Roux Institute could do something else to help alleviate the problem. They could rebuild the old railroad trestle to the Eastern Prom. It could be a pedestrian/bike/ebike path directly linked to the Eastern Promenade Trail or it could go big and make it a narrow gauge railway since the old railroad tracks are still there across from them. ~ Peter Ferrante, Portland

Letter: Prioritize housing over scenic views

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 20, 2024

A letter writer recently expressed concern for views to be lost if building height limits increase, (“Building height limits will forever eclipse scenic views,” June 14). When considering supporting this proposed height limit, I would ask our fellow citizens to consider that the loss of a view, no matter how lovely, can’t be compared to the lack of a home, no matter how humble. ~ Zoe Gaston, South Portland

Willard Beach added to list of state’s impaired waters

CAPE ELIZABETH SENTRY/SOUTH PORTLAND LEADER • June 19, 2024

Willard Beach will soon be added to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s list of impaired waters because of the persistent bacterial contamination in the water last summer. The designation does not mean the beach is unsafe for the public, city officials said at a City Council workshop last week, but recognizes the consistency of the issue and makes the city eligible for grants to fix it from the DEP. While only stormwater is expelled into the water at Willard Beach, it can sometimes be contaminated when damaged pipes in the sewer system leak into the stormwater system.

Heat wave trips up power plants, prompting New England grid operator to issue warning

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 19, 2024

New England’s grid operator said Wednesday it declared a low-level emergency the previous evening as some power plants failed to generate electricity in the year’s first heat wave, potentially leaving the region short of electricity in reserve that could be tapped in an emergency. A Power Caution is an advisory that available electricity is insufficient to meet anticipated demand in addition to operating reserve requirements. It is not a request that people limit their electricity use.

Maine Coastal Program seeks projects for 2024 funding

ELLSWORTH AMERICAN • June 19, 2024

The Maine Coastal Program is seeking information from coastal restoration and conservation partners for the department’s upcoming application(s) for projects in habitat restoration planning, design, engineering, construction and land acquisition.

Waterville man rescued after hiking accident at Gulf Hagas

MORNING SENTINEL • June 19, 2024

Joshua Steele, 38, was hiking the Rim Trail with friends near the Jaws Waterfall in Gulf Hagas around 4:30 p.m. Sunday when he slipped on some rocks. Gulf Hagas is a deep river gorge with a network of trails that cross rugged terrain. Rescuers reached Steele after dark. He was taken to CA Dean Hospital in Greenville.

Bar Harbor finalizes cruise ship rules

MAINE PUBLIC • June 19, 2024

Town officials in Bar Harbor have approved new rules for the town's cruise ship ordinance. At a meeting Tuesday evening, councilors approved rules establishing a new permit process requiring disembarkation facilities to submit a daily count of the number of people entering town from cruise ships. The council also directed the planning board to prepare a new cruise ship ordinance proposal for a future town vote.

All about Lupine

NEWS CENTER MAINE • June 19, 2024

Mainers and tourists alike love the Lupines they see in fields and along the sides of the roads that run through the state. Photographers go into a frenzy when the blossoms are at their peak, but Maine's beloved flower is not native to Maine, making it controversial. "This Lupine showed up in the state in larger proportions around 1950," Emily Baisden, seed program director with Wild Seed Project, revealed. "The story of Miss Rumphius that a lot of us grew up reading as children, there actually was a person in kind of midcoast Maine that would spread Lupine seeds.” Behind the beauty are some ugly facts. “It’s shown to out-compete some of our important native plants for pollinators and things like the Monarch butterfly that requires the Milkweed and is now endangered,” Baisden explained.

All options open for Wiscasset sewer plant’s move; more funding eyed

WISCASSET NEWSPAPER • June 19, 2024

The further the next sewer plant is from the river, the more it would cost, Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons told selectmen June 18. He said town-owned and other sites, by a voluntary sale or one through eminent domain, are all possibilities. “Every option’s on the table.” The topic came up when Simmons mentioned U.S. Sen. Angus King, I – Maine, is trying for more funds to help with the move. If the $6 million King now seeks for it from Congressionally directed spending comes through, it would bring the amount raised to $11 million of the “roughly” $36 or $37 million needed, Simmons said. “We’re making progress here ...” He added, this is a multi-agency process that will take multiple funding sources. 

Letter: We must embrace climate urgency

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 19, 2024

Climate change is the biggest threat to our national security, and we should call out the Democrats and Republicans who make excuses for their climate inaction by trying to scare us (again) with China and Russia. The time to act was yesterday. Every day we delay is a day closer to irreversible damage. Calmly but unwaveringly, we must insist that from Maine to Washington, our approach to climate change needs major shifts — immediately. ~ Bill Beckett, Watertown, Mass.

Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple a killer view — and united residents in outrage

ASSOCIATED PRESS • June 19, 2024

Suspicious deaths in an idyllic seaside community and detective work that points to poison sound like themes from a classic murder mystery. But the victims in this Maine whodunit were trees that stood in the way of a wealthy family's oceanfront view, allegedly felled by well-heeled killers who, while ostracized and publicly shamed, remain free. Wealth and hubris fuel the tale of a politically connected Missouri couple who allegedly poisoned their neighbor's trees to secure their million-dollar view of Camden Harbor. The incident that was unearthed by the victim herself — the philanthropic wife of L.L. Bean's late president — has united local residents in outrage.