5 Maine communities selected for federal energy transitions initiative

MAINE PUBLIC • September 16, 2024

Five Maine communities have been selected for a federal program designed to support energy transitions in rural coastal and island communities. Brooklin, Chebeague Island, Cranberry Isles, Passamaquoddy Tribe at the Pleasant Point Reservation and Washington County will get technical and planning assistance to make their energy systems more resilient. Nick Battista of the Island Institute said these communities are often at the end of a long extension cord, making them more vulnerable to outages, and at a disadvantage as they try to incorporate renewable energy sources.

Maine congressional delegation presses Navy for help with Brunswick chemical spill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

Maine’s federal lawmakers are asking the U.S. Navy for help cleaning up last month’s accidental release of toxic firefighting chemicals that the Navy left behind at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, the largest such spill in Maine in at least 30 years. The Navy still owns the airport hangar where 51,000 gallons of toxic firefighting foam was discharged after an overhead fire suppression system with a deficient service record malfunctioned.

New conservation projects to receive $4 million under the Land for Maine's Future Program

MAINE PUBLIC • September 16, 2024

Twelve new conservation projects will receive close to $4 million in funding under the Land for Maine's Future Program. The latest round of projects includes four former dairy farms, which will be preserved for agricultural purposes. Others include part of the Stonington Lobster Cooperative and two other parcels along the midcoast and in Hancock County, which will be preserved as working waterfronts. Nearly 300 acres near the Branch Lake recreation area in Ellsworth will also be conserved.More than 640,000 acres have been conserved since the Land for Maine's Future program was established through a voter bond back in 1987.

Common Ground Country Fair kicks off 3-day run Friday in Unity

MORNING SENTINEL • September 16, 2024

The 48th annual Common Ground Country Fair, which celebrates rural living and features more than 1,000 exhibitors and speakers, is set to kick off Friday and continue through Sunday in Unity. The fair at 294 Crosby Brook Road bills itself as emphasizing vibrant communities, sustainable living and local economies, while highlighting organic agriculture. It is hosted by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, or MOFGA.

Federal official highlights new Maine hybrid ferry

MAINE PUBLIC • September 16, 2024

The acting administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, Veronica Vanterpool, joined Maine Transportation officials in Rhode Island Monday, highlighting construction of a hybrid ferry being built there for the Maine State Ferry Service. The Maine Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Joyce Taylor, said the new vessel, the Captain Almer Dinsmore, will serve two purposes. It will "serve our clients and our customers that are out on the islands here in Maine, or visit Maine," she said. Taylor added, "we also want to do what we can to support using less fossil fuels." The Dinsmore is to run between Lincolnville and Islesboro.

Brunswick Town Council to address foam spill at Brunswick Executive Airport

WGME • September 16, 2024

Monday night, the chair of the Brunswick Town Council, Abby King, will address last month's firefighting foam spill at Brunswick Executive Airport. She is expected to address an inspection report revealing potential problems more than a year ago. Last month, thousands of gallons of foam spilled at the airport, leading to a big environmental cleanup involving PFAS, or “forever chemicals.” Thursday, lawmakers called for the resignation of Kristine Logan, the executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. Logan previously said they had "clean tests" of the fire suppression system at that hangar. It’s been revealed that the agency had an inspection report from July of 2023 showing there were deficiencies. “I have friends who have farms not that far from that spill,” State Sen. Mattie Daughtry said. “It not only could be costly to them, but to the state and the town…when there reports saying there were deficiencies in that system.”

Augusta officials consider limiting city plantings to ‘natives’ only

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • September 16, 2024

A proposed city policy would ban the planting of non-native plant species as part of a new effort to foster food sources for animals. The proposed policy, under consideration by a newly active Augusta Conservation Commission, would require all future plantings within city limits to be species native to the region. Exceptions would be made for decorative annuals, plants for food and sports fields or lawns.

Maine woman rescued from New Hampshire trail after injuring hip

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2024

The New Hampshire Fish and Game wardens rescued a Maine woman who had slipped and fallen during a hike on a New Hampshire trail on Friday. Ethel LaFlamme, 58, from Greene had been hiking the Champney Falls Trail, a popular hiking spot for viewing the Champney Falls, when she slipped and injured her hip.

Column: Uncharted territory for the average global temperature

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 16, 2024

No sirens are blaring, nobody even looks frightened, but they should be. Last week the world moved into uncharted territory. The “aspirational” goal of never allowing the average global temperature to rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial norm (more than 1.5 degrees C) has been breached for a whole year — and probably for ever. ~ Gwynne Dyer

$3.8 million in Maine conservation projects will protect more than 3,500 acres of land, waterfront

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

More than 3,500 acres of land across the state will be protected through a state conservation program, the governor’s office announced Monday. The land, which includes farmland, working waterfronts and undeveloped areas for recreation and wildlife habitats between Berwick and Hancock, will be preserved using $3.8 million from the Land for Maine’s Future Program. Since 1987 LMF has conserved more than 542,000 acres of land, created 100 miles of coastal access, preserved 42 farms and 9,819 acres of farmland, conserved 30 working waterfront properties and converted 158 miles of former railroad corridors to recreational trails

Acadia Mountain Guides Climbing School partners with Dartmouth to offer mountain medicine program

MAINE PUBLIC • September 16, 2024

Acadia Mountain Guides Climbing School is partnering with Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to offer a new mountain medicine program. The program is the first of its kind on the East Coast, and will include courses on wilderness rescue, mountain skills and emergency medicine. The goal is to bring medical and rescue skills into one program, said Acadia Mountain Guides owner Jon Tierney. A mountain guide, nurse and paramedic, Tierney has seen firsthand how rescue situations affect care.

Fewer piping plover pairs on Maine beaches, but lots of chicks

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

The number of breeding pairs of piping plovers on Maine beaches was down this year, but the fledged chicks they produced surpassed the state’s recovery goal for the endangered shorebird. The plovers fledged 237 chicks for a productivity rate of 1.66 chicks per pair, which surpasses the state’s recovery goal of 1.5.

Gorham Connector’s estimated cost is up, traffic counts down

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

Traffic counts are down where the Maine Turnpike Authority plans to build the Gorham Connector, fueling calls for the agency to back off the increasingly controversial highway project that’s meant to address commuter congestion west of Portland. The authority also released a 2023 revenue study last week that estimates the full cost of the connector will be at least $331 million. Project engineers HNTB said at a community meeting in March that the cost would be “something north of $200 million,” a 5-year-old estimate that turnpike officials have stated repeatedly and said hadn’t been updated.

Organic dairy farmer appreciates extraordinary everyday moments

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

An interview with Annie Watson, an organic dairy farmer. She’s run Sheepscot Valley Farm in Whitefield since 2013 with her husband, Michael Moody. They live on the farm with their three sons. he’s also president of the Maine Dairy Industry Association and a board member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). She’ll be giving a keynote address Friday at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, which runs Friday through Sunday.

Opinion: Trump’s view of immigrants threatens Maine’s economy, communities

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

Trump’s use of the southern border crisis – largely people fleeing poverty and violence – to frighten Americans is morally reprehensible and engenders real fear among immigrants in Maine and across our nation. Do Maine lobster boat captains who hire immigrants to pull traps or managers of lobster processing plants share Trump’s brutal opinion of immigrants? Do blueberry farm owners in Washington County or potato growers in Aroostook County who depend on immigrants to help harvest their crops? Would the state’s restaurants and hotels echo Trump’s vicious claims about immigrants? Contrary Trump’s distorted representation of immigrants, in this state and nation new immigrants contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of life. ~ John Ripton, Kennebunkport

Letter: Reflecting on climate change denial

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024

The first predictions about climate change were voiced decades ago. Now the data for human involvement are all but definitive. Why deny this? One reason is the enormity of the threat. Another is the surety of painful changes and choices to come. Marshaling the will and resources to tackle this threat is almost mind-boggling. ~ Tom Meuser, Portland

Libbytown celebrates small park with a big impac

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 15, 2024

A small triangle encircled by linden trees overlooking a bustling highway, Thomas Park might not seem like much. But for the residents of Portland’s Libbytown neighborhood who worked for years to have the park recognized, it represents a serene escape from urban life. Sold to the city in 1913 by the prominent Thomas family for just $1, Portland’s so-called “newest old park” celebrated its 111th anniversary on Sunday. Thomas Park was always intended for outdoor recreation but fell out of use half a century ago. That is, until February when city council members unanimously designated the greenspace as a city park thanks to community efforts.

State commission responding to storm damage explores public flood insurance

MAINE MONITOR • September 15, 2024

While Maine has seen seven federal disaster declarations for severe storms and flooding in the past three years, statewide enrollment in federally-backed flood insurance policies is dwindling. Only 1.3% of all homes and buildings in Maine are covered under the National Flood Insurance Program. Public infrastructure has been repeatedly damaged, including the coast’s working waterfronts, and the state has been reliant on federal disaster assistance to rebuild. At a meeting earlier this month, members of the state Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission wondered whether a public insurance option offered by the state could protect both the uninsured and the state’s own public infrastructure.

Maine’s high court is about to weigh a major legal battle on beach ownership

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 15, 2024

Since statehood, Maine courts have held that individuals can own land as far as the low-tide line, but the public is allowed to “fish, fowl and navigate” between the high and low tide marks. The language stems from a 1647 colonial ordinance that was enacted 170 years before Maine’s statehood. In 1989, it was at Moody Beach that the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld this private ownership system. Now more than 30 years later, two dozen people are asking the high court to reconsider their ruling.

Column: Subtle signs of fall creeping up on Tripp Pond

SUN JOURNAL • September 15, 2024

We headed to the Promised Land for our September exploration of 3-mile long Tripp Pond in Poland. This optimistic name, given to the area by early settlers, refers to the fertile farm country surrounding the northern end of the pond. The eastern side of the pond is flanked by Route 11 and a long line of cottages. The western shoreline and northern end of the pond feature long stretches of unbroken forest and hidden marshes. ~ Michael Perry