Governor Mills Proclaims August 1-2 as Maine’s Sixth Annual Wild Blueberry Weekend

MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • July 28, 2026

Governor Janet Mills today declared August 1-2, 2026, as Maine’s Sixth Annual Wild Blueberry Weekend, and encouraged residents and visitors to celebrate Maine’s state berry at participating farms, restaurants, ice cream shops, breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the state. The Governor read her proclamation at Fields Fields Blueberries in Dresden, a second-generation organic blueberry farm operated by the Field family, alongside Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal, Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine Executive Director Eric Venturini and Director of Programs Jennifer McGinley Maskala, and Rep. Allison Hepler.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bobby Charles accuses Hannah Pingree of failing Maine's climate

MAINE PUBLIC • July 28, 2026

Bobby Charles, the Republican running to become Maine's next governor, is accusing his Democratic opponent of failing to reduce harmful carbon dioxide pollution in Maine. And Charles, who opposes subsidies for renewable power and advocates an expansion of natural gas pipelines, claims the Maine's current climate policy is bankrupting the state and increasing climate-warming pollution. Charles and his energy proposals could more closely tie the state to fossil fuels. "It shows that Bobby Charles does not understand how our markets work. He is putting a lot of garbage data out there to try to mislead people," Pingree said.

Royal River dam removal begins in Yarmouth

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2026

The work to “free the Royal River” — a common refrain for those working to remove a pair of dams in Yarmouth — has officially begun. Contractors have started removing the town-owned Bridge Street Dam, which will bring the river one step closer to its natural flow. By the end of September, they will take down the concrete fishway, penstock and dam. Next summer, if all goes according to plan, the Elm Street Dam will also be removed, allowing for a natural river flow through Yarmouth. The $3.8 million project, led by the town and the national conservation nonprofit American Rivers, has been decades in the making.

Lewiston program to send ‘ambassadors’ to city parks and neighborhoods

SUN JOURNAL • July 28, 2026

City residents will soon have the opportunity to get hands-on in their neighborhoods with the rollout of a new Community Ambassadors Program, focusing on giving Lewiston a glow-up. Community ambassadors will work with city staff and its partners on a variety of projects, including cleaning and beautifying parks, supporting community events, reporting maintenance and safety issues, and drawing attention to areas that need care. “We are piloting in our biggest parks, which we believe will be extremely helpful in getting families back out and enjoying those spaces,” Ward 5 Councilor Chrissy Noble said.

Maine farm nonprofit raising funds and food to feed the hungry

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2026

It’s August in Maine – peak season in Vacationland. But at the 1.3-acre nonprofit farm Veggies to Table in Newcastle, vacation will have to wait. On a typical morning, you won’t find the farm crew swinging in hammocks, sipping lemonade. Instead, they might be busily hauling crates of just-picked greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes, then washing, sorting, and packing produce that will be distributed that same day to local schools, food pantries, and hospitals. Founded by husband and wife Erica Berman and Alain Ollier, Veggies to Table describes its simple but ambitious mission: “to grow top-quality organic produce and flowers to donate to local people experiencing hunger and needing joy.”

What can Mainers expect during the Aug. 12 partial solar eclipse? A UMaine expert explains

DAILY BULLDOG • July 28, 2026

Mainers will have a rare opportunity to watch the moon partially cover the sun on Aug. 12, creating what looks like a dark bite taken out of the solar disk. The partial solar eclipse will be visible throughout Maine around midday, weather permitting. The event is especially notable because another solar eclipse will not appear in Maine’s sky until 2045.

Letter: PFAS exposure should be top of Mainers’ minds

SUN JOURNAL • July 28, 2026

Most a Mainers gree that we don’t want to eat food contaminated with “forever chemicals.” That’s why we owe a debt to Defend Our Health, which has worked to reduce PFAS contamination since this hazard became recognized over a decade ago. Its advocacy led Maine both to update water quality standards and restrict the sale of PFAS-containing consumer products. We need stronger federal laws that hold the chemical industry accountable and will prevent the next PFAS-like disaster. As the election approaches, ask candidates where they stand on this issue before you vote. ~ Sydney R. Sewall, MD, MPH, Physicians for Social Responsibility (Maine), Hallowell

Household hazardous waste event

DAILY BULLDOG • July 28, 2026

Jay residents needing to dispose of Household Hazardous Waste can drop off the materials at the Wilton Transfer Station on August 22nd between 9:00 and noon.

Maine’s dominant Canadian imports are not among those targeted by new Trump tariffs

MAINE PUBLIC • July 28, 2026

President Donald Trump will in 30 days impose a 50% tariff on a large list of goods imported from Canada in retaliation for what he calls Canada’s unequal treatment of U.S. cars, dairy and alcohol. Maine State Chamber of Commerce President Patrick Woodcock said he has seen the list of items that will be affected and two of the state’s three dominant imports — energy, fisheries and forest products — are not on the list. Trump is also imposing 10-12.5% tariffs on about 60 trading partners around the world, affecting more than 99% of U.S. imports.

Balcony solar is sweeping the US, but who’s actually selling it?

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 28, 2026

A hands-on form of solar power has electrified the U.S. in the past year. Plug-in solar lets anyone hang a few panels in the sunlight and send the power straight into their wall sockets to partially offset their utility bill. It extends the benefits of clean energy, a little bit at a time, to renters and anyone else who hasn’t been able to access traditional rooftop solar. This do-it-yourself energy production has operated in a regulatory gray area, though some intrepid customers have experimented with it anyway. In just the last few months, 10 more states, including Maine, passed plug-in solar laws, and several more are still considering bills. Given the swirling uncertainties, established rooftop solar providers are hanging back, for now at least, but a handful of new players are already selling to an eager public.

Maine conservation group wins national award for hunter education

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July x, 2026

Nothing inspires excellence like excellence. The Penobscot County Conservation Association has done it once again. The association recently received the International Hunter Education Association’s Award for Excellence in Hunter and Outdoor Education, recognizing its longtime commitment to hunter safety education. There are an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 fish and game clubs in the United States and a couple hundred in Maine. Yet the PCCA has been singled out for the quality and effectiveness of its hunter safety education program. This is no small honor or token commendation.

Mainer inducted into National Trappers Association Hall of Fame

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2026

A longtime Maine outdoorsman has received one of the highest honors in his profession after spending nearly seven decades preserving the heritage of trapping. Neil Olson, 78, of Bethel was inducted into the National Trappers Association Hall of Fame during the organization’s 67th annual convention, held this past weekend in Richmond, Indiana.

Land Use Planning Commission Seeks Public Input on Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update

MORNING AG CLIPS • July 27, 2026

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) is inviting residents, property owners, and others to help shape the next Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) by participating in a pre-process survey. The LUPC is gathering feedback through a pre-process CLUP Survey. LUPC provides planning and zoning services for unorganized townships, plantations, and towns in 13 counties, covering roughly half of Maine, about 10.4 million acres. The LUPC statute requires the Commission to prepare a CLUP, to guide its rules, zoning, and development review. Since the first CLUP was adopted in 1974, there have been five updates, the most recent in 2010. The next update will address changes since 2010 and will guide the Commission into the future.

New England Leopold Conservation Award Finalists Selected

MORNING AG CLIPS • July 27, 2026

Named in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, this award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to environmental improvement. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold advocated for “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage. The finalists include: Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Woods Initiative. 

Staying focused on the climate crisis

ISLAND INSTITUTE • July 27, 2026

Our planet is heating up. We’re to blame, and we must do a lot to avoid the worst outcomes, from reducing our fossil fuel use, to finding creative ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere, to lessening the many harms. It’s a tall, tall order. But our attention has drifted. It’s not for lack of awful weather. The White House has recently gutted climate and science programs, and many Americans have checked out, perhaps distracted. Just as troubling, many news outlets seem to have matched this apathy. If you’ve been directly affected by climate change, or are actively working towards a solution, please get in touch. ~ Charles Eichacker, editor of The Working Waterfront and Island Journal, ceichacker@islandinstitute.org

Amazon facility in Sidney won’t be stopped by moratorium proposal, officials say

CENTRAL MAINE • July 27, 2026

A 159,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center planned near Junction and Trafton roads cannot be stopped by a citizen effort to pause development on large-scale industrial facilities. That’s according to Sidney officials who clashed with residents Monday night during a public hearing on the effort for a moratorium on such projects. At Monday’s hearing on the petition, select board member John Whitcomb said elements of the proposed moratorium ordinance are illegal, including that it would apply retroactively, meaning it would not block a proposed Amazon facility.

Topsham eyes Main Street access for ATVs

TIMES RECORD • July 27, 2026

All-terrain vehicles could join the traffic flow on just under a mile of Main Street, which is also U.S. Route 201, to cross over Interstate 295. The proposal, from local ATV and snowmobile club Topsham Trailriders, would designate 0.8 mile from Eagle’s Way by Mt. Ararat High School, down Main Street to just over Interstate 295 as an official ATV access route, connecting existing trail systems now separated by the interstate. However, the proposal also brings safety concerns, as ATVs would share the road with regular traffic.

Western Maine conservation project offers 'ecologically important' reprieve for wildlife

MAINE PUBLIC • July 27, 2026

In the Rangeley Lakes region of western Maine, several conservation groups have permanently protected 78,000 acres around the Magalloway River watershed from development. Heavily forested, with a cold water fishery, this is an ecologically important landscape that still feels remote and wild. It has one of the last sustaining brook trout populations in the country, so it's a fly fishing haven. But it's also a popular birding destination. Even more significant for wildlife facing climate change is that the Magalloway parcel connects with half a million acres that have previously been conserved.

Man critically injured in Aroostook boat crash

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2026.

A crash between a boat and a SeaDoo on Long Lake on Saturday left a man in critical condition, according to North Lakes Fire & Rescue. The injured man is 25-year-old Evan Pelkey, North Lakes Chief Darren Woods confirmed Monday. Few other details about the crash are available because the Maine Warden Service is investigating,

Opinion: Environmental justice requires a higher standard for Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2026

A case now before the Penobscot County court — Penobscot Nation v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection — concerns environmental justice. The dispute centers on the proposed expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. The landfill is state‑owned and operated by Casella subsidiary NEWSME, which has intervened alongside the DEP. The Penobscot Nation agrues that the agency’s analysis fails to meet the environmental justice standards required by law. The DEP ignores documented cancer disparities, leaves out key contaminants, misstates sustenance‑fishing exposure, substitutes landfill‑to‑landfill comparisons for cumulative burden analysis, and treats PFAS treatment as a cure‑all. Most importantly, it fails to meaningfully address the sovereign rights and cultural continuity of the Penobscot Nation. Maine must choose a future in which the Penobscot River — and the people who have cared for it for thousands of years — are protected without condition and without expansion. ~ John Krueger, former division director of licensing and enforcement at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection