Maine congressional delegation welcomes release of supplemental work visas

MAINE PUBLIC • November 18, 2024

Maine's congressional delegation is welcoming a federal decision to release additional temporary work visas. The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday it would release an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2025. That's on top of the baseline 66,000 visas mandated by Congress. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King said the decision will provide relief for Maine businesses struggling with a tight labor market. Dozens of Maine businesses, including many in the tourism sector, rely on the foreign guest worker program to staff seasonal, non-agricultural positions. According to federal data, more than 27,000 workers were approved for Maine-based employers in 2024.

Boil water notice issued for more than a dozen Bangor properties

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 18, 2024

A broken water main led the Bangor Water District on Monday to issue a boil water notice for properties near the break. The district said Monday morning it had begun repairing the water main break on 1st Street between Union and Cedar streets in Bangor.

Budworms ravaged Maine’s forests for years. They’re starting to come back.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 18, 2024

A spruce budworm outbreak has plagued Maine’s northern borders for nearly two decades, with the tree-killing moths making sporadic incursions from Quebec but never reaching numbers that suggest a repeat of the outbreak that ravaged the state a half-century ago. This summer, though, state entomologist Michael Parisio’s heart sank as he surveyed the northwestern woods of Aroostook County by plane. A 3,000-acre hot spot of partially denuded spruce-fir forest suggested the once-a-generation outbreak everyone had feared might have begun. University of Maine modeling shows that more than 178,000 acres are on the verge of defoliation.

Organic carrots have been recalled due to potential E. Coli contamination

MAINE PUBLIC • November 18, 2024

Organic carrots sold at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Shaw's, Target, and Walmart have been recalled by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention due to potential E. coli contamination. One death and 15 hospitalizations across 18 states have been linked to the whole and baby carrots produced by California-based Grimmway Farms. The Centers for Disease Control said th actual number of infected individuals is likely much higher than reported. No cases have been reported in Maine.

Feds recognize Wabanaki name for Yarmouth waterfall on Royal River

FORECASTER • November 18, 2024

The Yarmouth Community Alliance for Racial Equity reached out to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to rename the waterfall to its earliest name, Pumgustuck. The name will soon appear on federal maps. Ron Siviski, a member of the Maliseet First Nation, said recognizing the name Pumgustuck “speaks to respect and sparks curiosity” about Indigenous histories, writing Wabanaki knowledge back into the spaces where it had often been erased.

Maine CDC study shines new light on how PFAS moves from soil to livestock feed

MAINE PUBLIC • November 18, 2024

A new study led by the Maine Center for Disease Control sheds some light on how harmful PFAS chemicals move from the soil into crops used as livestock feed. Researchers hope it will help farmers manage grazing to reduce the risk of contamination. One of the key findings is that as farmers made multiple cuts of hay or grass during a single season, PFAS levels in those crops tended to be higher in the second or third cuts. Tom Simones, assistant state toxicologist at the CDC and lead author of the study, said beef farmers could feed their cattle first cut hay to lower the risk of contamination.

Maine to explore electrifying ports in bid to cut pollution from cruise and cargo ships

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 18, 2024

With more than 100 ships docking in Portland last year, Maine is looking to cut pollution from diesel fumes by electrifying the downtown port and others in the state. Powering as many as three ships in Portland alone could require the same amount of energy it would take to light up to 25,000 homes. To figure out the details, Maine is launching a $1 million study to determine the scope and cost of electrifying ports in Eastport, Portland, Searsport and Rockland.

Maine farmers are joining a movement to protect organic growing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 18, 2024

As the organic movement grows into an increasingly valuable industry and national standards are adopted, ideological and political disagreements are being raised about what an “organic” label can, or should, certify. The USDA has allowed hydroponic farms that grow produce in water, and “confined animal feeding operations” — commonly known as factory farms, which give animals little or no access to pasture — to be certified organic. To many small growers who see “organic” as a complete system that focuses on soil health and animal welfare, that’s a betrayal. One way they’re pushing back is by adding a certification from the Real Organic Project, which evaluates them with stricter standards and openly opposes the USDA’s practices. In Maine, 59 farms are listed on Real Organic Project’s directory, out of more than 1,000 nationwide.

Underfunded and understaffed, Maine’s dam agency does what it can to keep the aging infrastructure safe

MAINE MONITOR • November 17, 2024

Thirteen years after a Monitor investigation revealed that Maine was behind on inspecting the state’s most hazardous dams, Maine’s dam safety program, like dozens of others across the country, remains understaffed and underfunded, even in the face of a changing climate and more intense storms. Although the state agency tasked with ensuring the safety of more than 500 dams is now up-to-date with inspections, the program has yet to institute modern protocols. The office lacks digitized records of emergency procedures that residents should follow if a local dam fails, as well as digital inundation maps outlining flooding threats. 

Dairy task force recommends boosting subsidy to preserve Maine farms

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 17, 2024

A task force is calling for added taxes on gambling, cannabis or cigarettes to strengthen Maine’s milk price stabilization program and help prevent more dairy farms from going out of business. A draft report from the Maine Dairy Task Force also recommends asking voters to approve a multimillion-dollar bond issue that would support a variety of other proposals intended to bolster the state’s struggling dairy industry. And it recommends establishing a minimum annual budget appropriation of about $7.5 million to reduce wide fluctuations in state funding for the price stabilization program and uncertainty related to highly volatile federal milk pricing, market conditions and other factors.

Storms have erased more than 100 feet of Maine’s coastal dunes

CBS 13 • November 16, 2024

Major storms within the last year swept large swaths of beach and sand dunes away from some of Maine’s coastline. And newly compiled data show just how bad the erosion was. “We did see some substantial erosion from these storms, up to and over 100 feet of dunes were lost in some areas like Popham Beach. Fifty feet of dunes were lost in Wells, 50 feet of dune in Goose Rocks Beach, over 50 feet at Reid State Park,” Maine Geological Survey Marine Geologist Peter Slovinsky said.

Firefighters stop blaze at Searsmont sawmill

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 16, 2024

Firefighters on Saturday afternoon extinguished a blaze at the Robbins Lumber sawmill and lumber yard in Searsmont. The fire started in, and was contained to, a control room for the company’s dry kiln, which is used to dry lumber produced at the sawmill on the property.

Maine’s oldest seafood canning operation is closing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 6, 2024

The state’s longest-running seafood canning operation in Washington County is closing. Bar Harbor Foods facility in the town of Whiting cans salmon, mackerel, sardines and clams, and produces clam chowder, lobster bisque and clam juice, among other items. The products are sold at a number of grocery chains, including Hannaford, Walmart and Whole Foods. The business was founded in 1917 by Willard Look to can crab and lobster and previously operated under the name Look’s Gourmet.

Opinion: Harris should have talked climate the way Trump talked immigration

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 16, 2024

One of the reasons Vice President Kamala Harris lost the race for the presidency was her lack of support from young voters. The Democratic party took young people for granted this election cycle. A top issue for young people is climate change. However, instead of choosing to illuminate the wide gulf between herself and Donald Trump on climate change, Harris, likely at the behest of some political consultant, chose to downplay the issue, reversing her position on fracking and bragging about how the Biden administration boosted oil and gas production. Climate change should have been a central issue for the Harris campaign. Climate change is connected to every other issue in America. ~ Charlie Cobb, Fort Kent

Maine has shifted its strategy to expand electric heat pump use to the entire house. So far, it’s working.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 16, 2024

A shift toward installing electric heat pumps for the entire house instead of individual rooms is so far paying off with a sharp rise in consumer interest. Efficiency Maine Trust gave more rebates for whole-home heat pumps in three months this summer than it did during the previous nine months. The agency issued 1,814 rebates from July through September compared to 1,805 from October 2023 to June. The agency said 563 rebates for whole-home heat pumps were issued in September, the most in a month since the program shifted to whole-home heat pump rebates in September 2023.

‘Drill, drill, drill’: New energy council signals Trump to prioritize energy production

MAINE MORNING STAR • November 16, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement Friday afternoon that his pick for Interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, would also coordinate a new council on energy policy is a sign the incoming administration will make energy production a core part of its domestic policy. A written statement from Trump said, “This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.” During the campaign, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he would be a “dictator” on the first day of his administration. “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”

State gives Orrington trash incinerator $250K as facility rebounds from fire

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 16, 2024

Maine gave the company behind the Orrington trash incinerator a $250,000 grant this week, a day after a town official said he hopes the facility will be permitted to start accepting trash again later this month. The Eagle Point Energy Center, or EPEC, trash incinerator received the grant from the state through the Pandemic Recovery for an Innovative Maine Economy Fund on Wednesday. It was one of 48 companies to receive $7 million total in state funds. The plant, formerly known as Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., will use the grant for equipment that turns waste into fuel while removing some recyclable materials.

Company slated to break ground on $4B Loring aviation fuel facility next year

THE COUNTY • November 15, 2024

Plans are still underway to build a $4.13 billion sustainable aviation fuel facility at the former Loring Air Force Base, according to developers. In 2022, Washington D.C.-based DG Fuels announced its intentions to build within 1,240 acres of property at the Loring Commerce Center, creating 2,300 jobs during construction and 650 jobs once production begins. DG Fuels plans to revive an underground pipeline that once transported jet fuel from the Maine coastal town of Searsport to Loring Air Force Base. DG Fuels would use the pipeline to transport 33,500 barrels (557,500 gallons) of jet fuel from Loring to Searsport daily for shipment to airports along the northeastern U.S. DG Fuels expects to produce 190 million gallons of jet fuel at Loring every year using 1.7 million tons of wood biomass that would be transferred to Loring via local rail lines. Six biomass gasifiers would then use heat, steam and oxygen to convert biomass to hydrogen without needing combustion.

Ocean wind power supporters ponder future in Maine after Trump win

MAINE PUBLIC • November 15, 2024

On the campaign trail, president elect Donald Trump lashed out against ocean wind energy and declared he would stop the industry’s development. But offshore wind power supporters in Maine said while they expect roadblocks ahead, a single presidential administration is unlikely to derail the state's long-term plans. Chris Wissemann, the CEO of Diamond Offshore Wind is clear-eyed about what a second Trump administration means for his industry. "I think it's inevitable that commercial scale offshore wind slows down," Wissemann said. But he doesn’t expect Maine’s plans to build the first floating offshore wind array in the U.S. will come to a dead stop.

Maine Calling: Northern Lights

MAINE PUBLIC • November 15, 2024

This year has been declared one of the best periods to see the Northern Lights—and not just in places like Iceland and Norway. Many people in Maine have already been able to see the striking colors of the Aurora Borealis over the past year. Learn how this phenomenon occurs, why it has been so active recently, and where and how to view the dancing lights in the months to come. Panelists: Shawn Laatsch, Versant Power Astronomy Center (UMaine); Shawn Dahl, Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA). VIP Caller: Elizabeth Dickerson, Maine Aurora Borealis Watch Facebook group.