Letter: ‘Rolling coal’ is disrespectful, unacceptable

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 8, 2025

I am writing to express my disgust for those people who think “rolling coal” — deliberately emitting large amounts of black exhaust containing soot and diesel — is acceptable. Several friends and I, most of whom are retired and in our 60s, 70s and 80s, gather for a peaceful protest every Tuesday because we love our country and are concerned about the future. Most drivers honk or wave or give us a thumbs up. Some refuse to look at us. Others give us the finger or yell obscenities. It’s their prerogative and we accept that. However, occasionally, drivers of pickup trucks, who are offended by ideas that don’t adhere to what they see on Fox News, will pass us while rolling coal and laughing. How is this legal? I would like to see a police presence at all of our future protests. ~ Cecile Thornton, Lewiston

American Airlines purchases Brunswick Landing’s toxic firefighting foam

TIMES RECORD • July 7, 2025

Brunswick Landing has taken another step to rid itself of toxic firefighting foam, as policymakers seek to understand — and eventually remove — Maine’s stock of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). American Airlines purchased 5,925 gallons of AFFF concentrate — a fire suppressing foam that contains a toxic PFAS compound known as PFOS — from the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, the organization that manages Brunswick Landing. The airline removed the AFFF from MRRA property on July 3. Now home to businesses, residences and the Brunswick Executive Airport, the former base was the site of an August 2024 spill that released 1,450 gallons of AFFF concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water from Hangar 4, polluting local ecosystems and wells.

Maine crews, Coast Guard search Kennebec River for missing Augusta man

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2025

Robert Stolt, 22, of Augusta, was fishing from a 23-foot boat Sunday afternoon when his dog jumped into the river north of Bath, the Maine Marine Patrol said in a statement on Monday. Another dog on the boat also wound up in the river. Stolt and the female passenger worked together to save the dogs, and then Stolt aided in rescuing the passenger, before he went underwater and didn’t resurface.

Southern Maine streets to see temporary pedestrian-friendly redesigns

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2025

Portland, Saco and South Portland will temporarily redesign select streets in an effort to make roads safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. All three temporary redesigns will be removed by Nov. 15, ahead of snowfall. These three projects are the first of nine such installments planned across the region for the next three years. “These projects are about more than paint and posts,” said Andrew Zarro, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. “They’re about protecting lives.” In Greater Portland, there were 92 people killed and more than 580 seriously injured by traffic crashes between 2017 and 2021. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists account for 40% of traffic fatalities despite only being involved in 4% of crashes.

Smithfield man critically injured when dirt bike and four-wheeler collide in Wilton

FRANKLIN JOURNAL • July 7, 2025

Logan Comfort, 21, was driving a dirt bike at a "high rate of speed" on Temple Road when an ATV did a U-turn and the two collided. The four-wheeler flipped trapping Comfort under it. He received life-threatening injuries.

18-year-old from Deer Isle drowns in Sedgwick pond

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2025

First responders were called to Walker Pond on Saturday for a report of two swimmers who were calling for help. One of the swimmers was able to reach shore safely. A sheriff’s deputy and a Sedgwick firefighter swam toward the other swimmer, who was floating on the surface about 150 feet from land, but he went under the water before they could reach him. The deputy and firefighter searched the area but were unable to immediately find him. First responders eventually recovered the swimmer’s body. He was identified as Shawn Clapper, 18, of Deer Isle, and pronounced dead at the scene.

Fact brief: Does tick season in Maine end during the summer?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2025

No. Tick season in Maine typically peaks between May and July, and again in October and November, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Human encounters with the two most common species of ticks in Maine — the deer tick and the American dog tick — tend to decline in August and September; the majority of human Lyme disease cases are reported in June and July. Ticks are active whenever temperatures are above freezing, particularly over 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

New turnpike director outlines goals for Maine’s ‘economic backbone’

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2025

When Andre Briere became executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority in April one month after the board of directors dumped the Gorham Connector proposal, he knew he was hired to fix it. He’s got a long to-do list, including reviving transparency and trust in the authority, increasing digital technology, security and automation, and improving service plazas with updated bathrooms, children’s play areas and new dining options. Getting rid of the turnpike authority — something that’s been tried unsuccessfully more than 25 times — isn’t on Briere’s list. He says the agency benefits the state and its residents. His plan calls for providing much smaller E-ZPass sticker tags instead of the current transponders; offering a Maine Turnpike app so E-ZPass users can manage accounts more easily online; letting drivers pay tolls with credit cards; and keeping tolls low or flat for Maine E-ZPass users.

Lawsuit seeks to stop logging project in New Hampshire’s White Mountains

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 6, 2025

A group of environmentalists have launched a legal battle to stop a logging project in the Sandwich Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. The project will allow 638 acres to be logged by private companies, reconstruct 16 miles of roads and authorize prescribed burns on 306 acres. The Forest Service has said that the project will help provide a sustainable supply of timber diversify vegetation and wildlife. In a lawsuit, Standing Trees, Inc. and attorneys with the Environmental Advocacy Clinic (EAC) allege the Forest Service didn’t sufficiently prove logging was necessary in the area or go through the proper steps for environmental review and public input. “At the presidential level and at the top of the agency, there’s a real imperative to get these logging projects going,” said Christophe Courchesne, an attorney with the EAC. “And there’s a real set of commands, through executive orders and other directives, to put more of these national forest lands on the chopping block.”

How being ‘Vacationland’ affects Maine’s population, traffic and income every summer

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 6, 2025

7.7 million people visited Maine in summer 2024, spending more than $9.2 billion, with over half coming from just the summer. But tourism traffic backups often annoy locals.

Oxford Hills bids farewell to historic preservation icon Andrea Burns

ADVERTISER DEMOCRAT • July 5, 2025

A thankful community is gathering Tuesday to remember one of western Maine’s most steadfast preservationists, Andrea Burns passed away June 23. She taught for 25 years in South Paris. Her retirement in 1996 came at an opportune time for McLaughlin Garden, a Paris landmark that could have been lost. Burns was critical to preserving the McLaughlin homestead. She then began a mission to save the Norway Opera House block, lobbying to have it be included on Maine Preservations list of most threatened buildings. When three properties of the Higgins-Crooker Trust were endangered, Burns once again organized a rescue. And when perhaps the most fabled landmark on Main Street, The Gingerbread House, was in danger of being demolished, Burns and others founded the Norway Landmarks Preservation Society, raising the money to purchase and move the three-story building to a new site in 2011.

York County launches mobile alert system at 5 beaches

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 5, 2025

A brand-new mobile alert system is available at five southern Maine beaches. Created by the York County Emergency Management Agency, the system will send mobile alerts to beachgoers in Kennebunk, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach, Wells and York. The emergency alerts include severe weather, missing children and surf advisories. Beachgoers can sign up for alerts at all five beaches by texting the corresponding keyword to 226787:
Kennebunk: KBK
Old Orchard Beach: OOB
Ogunquit: OGT
Wells: WELLS
York: YORKME

Canadian efforts intensify to shield North Atlantic right whales

NEWS CENTER MAINE • July 4, 2025

The Canadian government says it is taking steps this summer to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with ships in its waters. The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370. The whales give birth off the southeastern U.S. in the winter and spring and migrate north to New England and Canada to feed. Along the way, the whales face dangers including ship strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Environmental groups have long faulted the U.S. and Canadian governments for not doing enough to protect the critically endangered animals. Canada is enforcing mandatory protection measures for the whale this summer. All vessels of 42.7 feet in length or more must comply with speed restrictions in designated areas of the ocean to avoid whale strikes. It is also requesting voluntary slowdowns in other parts of the ocean.

EPA says Trump’s big bill should help in its fight to take back billions in green bank funds

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 4, 2025

The sprawling tax and policy bill that passed Congress repeals a multibillion-dollar green bank for financing climate-friendly projects, and the Trump administration should be allowed to freeze its funding and cancel related contracts with nonprofits, federal officials said in a court filing. The program was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But the bill that passed Congress on Thursday would repeal the part of the 2022 law that established the green bank and rescind money that hadn’t already been obligated to its recipients. “Our funds have already been obligated and disbursed. Any effort to claim otherwise is simply a lie to justify illegal attempts to claw back funds intended to benefit communities across the country,” said Climate United Fund CEO Beth Bafford.

Column: Here are some bird sounds to listen for in July

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 5, 2025

To me, birds arrived in the spring and left in the fall. During the time in between, they were just here, hanging around, waiting for my casual identification. Then I started guiding. Everything is different when you absolutely have to find a bird. I came to dread July, a month of doldrums. In spring, it’s easy. Birds are singing. They’re establishing territories and seeking mates. They’re argumentative. By July, they’re mostly quiet. If they have kids, they avoid attention. If they don’t have kids, they just don’t care. The woods are full of birds whose only purpose in life is to ignore you. Belatedly, I’ve been dragged into a better understanding of how the woods change weekly. We’re in that period now when birds are singing less, but talking more. ~ Bob Duchesne

Developers cut back their plans for Bucksport’s long-delayed fish farm

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 5, 2025

After years of delays and long periods of silence, the developers of a land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Bucksport that was once celebrated for its potential to help redevelop the former mill town now say they plan to move ahead with a project that’s a fraction of the original size. Local officials are still enthusiastic about the potential of the fish farm, which they say would grow the tax base and possibly even open up new opportunities at a smaller size. But Bucksport residents are more skeptical now about what the project could do for a community that’s been working to recover from the closure of its biggest employer, the Verso Paper mill, for a decade. In June, Whole Oceans made a proposal to investors for a 3,000-metric-ton project, which was just 15 percent of the original size.

Opinion: Media got it wrong when it comes to Maine’s pulp and paper mills

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 5, 2025

Biomass is part of the natural carbon cycle, which is why both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Maine Department of Environmental Protection consider it carbon neutral when it comes from sustainably managed forests. As new trees grow, they absorb the carbon released when wood is used as fuel, unlike fossil fuels, which add carbon that had been stored underground for millions of years. Some, like the Environmental Integrity Project, disagree. Their recent report criticizes mills for using forestry leftovers and other fuel [coal, tires and black liquor, a byproduct of the chemical papermaking process] that they claim “can be dirtier than coal.” This is an attack on our heritage. Companies are good stewards of our environment. ~ Krysta West, Maine Forest Products Council

The dream of owning a rustic Maine waterfront camp is dead

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 4, 2025

While the number of homes for sale in Maine is growing, real estate agents from across the state aren’t seeing that trend extend to rustic waterfront camps. Redfin reports housing inventory in Maine is on the upswing, with more than 7,300 listings in May, that’s 31 percent more than in May 2024. However, the costs of those properties remain high. The average price of a Maine home was roughly $403,000 in May 2025, according to Redfin, which is 2.5 percent higher than a year ago. “It used to be if you were heading up to Greenville or Jackman you could find something for around $250,000,” said Kara Bickford, a realtor. “You can’t find that anymore.” What many consider to be traditional Maine camps are no longer available or affordable to the average person.

Tekakapimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument opens to the public

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 4, 2025

The visitors center at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is now open to the public.

The Tekakapimək Contact Station was built by the Elliotsville Foundation, with coordination from the Wabanaki Nations. The station features exhibits with Wabanaki history and stories of the area. Neal Labrie, superintendent for the national monument, said the building represents the National Park Services' efforts to work with indigenous tribes. "When we look ahead to what the monument can be in the future, this is a tremendous jumping off point for showcasing how a National Park Service site can be part of the various communities of where it exists," he said. The contact station will be open Friday through Sunday for the summer season.

Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ is bad news for Maine clean energy

MAINE MONITOR • July 4, 2025

On Tuesday morning, hundreds of thousands of Mainers woke up to higher electricity bills. Central Maine Power’s rate hike, its second in as many years, was largely driven by the utility’s need to recover costs from severe storms in the last few years — the type of extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and severe due to global climate change. The average household’s monthly bill is expected to jump by about $5, or 3.3 percent, one year after a roughly $10 monthly increase. As Mainers prepared to reach deeper into their bank accounts to help bankroll the mounting impacts of fossil fuel-driven climate change on energy infrastructure, Republicans in Congress advanced a massive budget bill that is likely to further drive up energy costs and deliver a blow to renewable energy projects, energy efficiency programs and climate action in Maine and across the country.