Farmington hears solar savings pitch, weighs other options

SUN JOURNAL • October 23, 2026

The Select Board took no action Oct. 13 on a proposal by a community solar company, renewing concerns about municipal involvement in promoting a private company’s services. Solar Simplified, of Chicago, Illinois, presented a potential partnership offering eligible Central Maine Power customers a 15% discount on applied solar credits without installing solar panels or changing electricity providers. The company would also contribute $100 to the town for each enrolled household or business. Selectman Randall Gauvin questioned whether participating in the company’s outreach campaign would amount to a municipal endorsement of a private business.

E-bikes now rival motorcycles for speed. State and city laws haven’t caught up.

MAINE MORNING STAR • October 23, 2026

A string of high-profile deaths and injuries involving electric scooters and bikes is spurring states and cities across the country to crack down on them. As technology improves, e-scooters and e-bikes capable of motorcycle-like speeds have become cheaper and more popular. Some models — and the ability to modify them with aftermarket upgrades — are blurring the lines between bicycles, scooters and motor vehicles. State and local regulations, many of which were originally written to manage the glut of low-speed rideshare scooters nearly a decade ago, haven’t kept pace, some experts say, and they’ve left city officials scrambling to do more.

At Acadia, a missing Wabanaki marker and the fight over what national parks should tell

ASSOCIATED PRESS • October 23, 2026

There is one sign the other 4 million-plus tourists who visit Acadia National Park annually can no longer see at the summit of Cadillac Mountain: a marker explaining the mountain’s sacred significance to the Wabanaki people in the region. “Today, visitors from everywhere find meaning on the mountain,” it said. It was among 30 markers removed from Acadia under a Trump administration campaign to strip national parks of materials deemed disparaging to American history. When park staff took down the summit sign at the orders of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, they also unraveled some of the trust that took decades to build between Acadia National Park and the Wabanaki people. Other signs removed from Cadillac’s summit addressed issues of climate change.

With Gorham farm for sale, owner, employees reflect on 5 years

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 23, 2026

Erica Gottshalk and her husband, Will, announced Sunday that they will sell the 38-acre farm about nine months after a fire destroyed their family’s 1858 house on the property, prompting an outpouring of community support. They have put it on the market for nearly $1.7 million after five years of ownership. Losing her home was not the primary reason she decided to move on, Gottshalk said. She said she has accomplished what she set out to do when she took over in 2021 — transforming the farm into a community space —but it has become too challenging to manage alone.

Saco seeking community input as city creates open space plan

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 23, 2026

The city of Saco is embarking on an effort to create an open space plan — and wants residents to weigh in.Working in tandem with the Saco Conservation Commission, the plan will guide how Saco cares for, connects and expands the outdoor places that contribute to the community’s environment and quality of life. A public interactive listening session next week will provide an opportunity for community members to learn more about the plan and share their ideas, priorities, concerns and experiences. The session will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Deering Room at Dyer Public Library.

Maine Forest Products special section

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 23, 2026

In Maine’s forest products industry, no two days are the same.

The renovated Maine State Museum opens Saturday. Here’s what’s new.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 22, 2026

Six years after shutting its doors for renovations, the Maine State Museum is ready to welcome the public back to its upgraded facility and showcase the state’s history through brand-new exhibits. The two skeletons are surrounded by interactive and educational displays that provide information about the lives of humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine. The exhibit also features the jaw and flipper bones of a right whale, an endangered species, that died from entanglement. “These are important ecological stories,” Museum Director Bernard Fishman said. Visitors can learn about Cornelia Thurza “Fly Rod” Crosby, the first registered Maine Guide, and stories from Maine’s history, like the first registered snowmobile in the state and a Lombard Log Hauler, a vehicle invented and manufactured in Maine for hauling logs.

Bethel approves 6-month data center moratorium

SUN JOURNAL • October 22, 2026

At a special town meeting Oct. 15, about two dozen Bethel voters approved a six-month moratorium on data centers. Among the reasons listed for the moratorium proposal were that centers consume disproportionate amounts of water and electrical energy and result in an increase in residential utility costs, and they can create noise pollution, heat islands and significant environmental impact.

Avid birders flock to Cape Elizabeth after rare grey heron sighted

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 22, 2026

A grey heron was seen for the first time in Maine on Sunday, Oct. 18. To the uninitiated, it looks like a great blue heron, its distant relative. But grey herons, which are native to Europe, Africa and Asia, have white on the bend of their wings and thighs. Their more common counterparts have rusty red accents. Grey herons are daintier and more compact, with shorter legs and smaller bills. They are incredibly rare, especially on this continent.

Officials brief public on pilot program to clean up mercury in Penobscot River

MAINE PUBLIC • October 23, 2026

Members of the public received an update Wednesday night on efforts to clean up mercury pollution on the Penobscot river in Orrington. Over the next year, the Penobscot Estuary Remediation Trust said it will monitor a 6-acre pilot effort to cap contaminated sediment and proceed with another test of removing some contaminated sediment to determine if it can be treated and reused. Maine People’s Alliance and Natural Resources Defense Council sued Mallinckrodt more than two decades ago for contaminating the river at its HoltraChem site in Orrington. The contaminated material is now found throughout areas in the southern part of the river. The settlement included nearly $270 million dollars to fund the cleanup. Remediation efforts are going to take a long time.

Column: Finding purpose by following a Maine stone wall forgotten by time

TIMES RECORD • October 22, 2026

Stone walls in Midcoast Maine are as ubiquitous to our forests as lobster boats are to our harbors. You don’t have to search far to find one. I cross the street that runs by my house on Youngs Point in Wiscasset, step into the woods, and there it is. This is but one of several stone walls located on the 200-acre Eaton Farm Preserve. The land was once used for growing hay and grazing sheep and cows. Given its proximity to the Back River and its mudflats, it was and still is used for clamming and worm digging. At the time when many of these stone walls were built, it was common for them to be part of a complete fence that included wood. When the property was later abandoned as a working farm, the wood would eventually rot away leaving just the stone walls. ~ Patrick Sandefur, Wiscasset

Fact brief: Are fake spiderweb decorations dangerous to birds and other animals?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 22, 2026

Yes. Fake spiderweb decorations can entangle birds and other wildlife, sometimes causing serious injuries or death. Animals caught in the synthetic fibers may be unable to free themselves, leaving them vulnerable to predators, exhaustion and starvation. Experts recommend only using artificial webs indoors. Outdoor displays should avoid flight paths, trees and shrubs.

Access nature with these 5 new accessible Maine trails

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 22, 2026

Many Mainers like to spend time outdoors on the state’s thousands of trails. Increasingly, more of these trails are being built so that people using wheelchairs, pushing strollers, and with other mobility devices or disabilities can use them, too. Here are five accessible trails that opened within the past year for you to explore.
• All Persons Trail, Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, Falmouth
• Alewive Access Trail, West Kennebunk
• Universal Access Trail, Windham Community Forest
• Andy’s Trail, Woodward Point, Brunswick
• All-persons trail, Castner Brook Community Forest, Damariscotta

Federal fuel relief offered to Maine farmers and fishermen

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is launching an $8 billion fuel relief program that offers a one-time cash payment to help food producers manage the strain of high diesel prices and rising operating expenses. The Harvest Relief program breaks ground as the first federal bailout to extend emergency fuel aid to fishermen as well as farmers, according to USDA. It comes at a time when the dock price of lobster remains static.

Maine’s Youth Deer Hunting Days to be held this week

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2026

Licensed junior hunters are allowed to harvest a deer on Friday or Saturday, an opportunity to try their luck before the firearms season opens for adults. For 20-plus years, the state offered a single Youth Deer Hunting Day. In 2023, Maine expanded that program to two days. Any child under 16 years old can get a junior license and must be accompanied on Youth Deer Hunting Days by an adult who meets certain licensing or safety criteria.

Court rules in state's favor on Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion

MAINE PUBLIC • October 23, 2026

The Natural Resources Director for the Penobscot Nation Chuck Loring expressed disappointment with a Penobscot County Superior Court decision to allow the expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill to move forward. “You know, we still feel like environmental justice wasn't really considered here," Loring explained. Loring said the decision is a setback for the tribe's effort to prevent contaminants from entering the Penobscot River.

Maine proposes change to moose hunting near Moosehead Lake

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2026

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will seek to expand moose hunting in September near Jackman, but not near Greenville. The proposal is an attempt to balance the interests of hunters with the growth of fall tourism near Moosehead Lake. Sporting camps and hunting guides said expanded hunting in that region would be good for their businesses, spread out their clients in the woods and reduce impacts for private landowners. Hospitality businesses and guides who lead moose watching tours said an added week of hunting in September would curtail their businesses during peak foliage. Jennifer Whitlow, owner of Blair Hill Inn in Greenville, has been a vocal opponent of a September hunt near Greenville because moose watching tours are the top activity for her guests.

Opinion: Before Maine looks for an economic ‘secret sauce,’ it should look inward

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2026

At a recent Maine Blue Week in Portland revolved around one idea: an “ocean cluster” informed by the experiences of others in Massachusetts, Alaska and elsewhere. Borrowing a model is harder than it looks. So what might Maine do instead? Treat its blue economy strategy the way a Bigelow scientist or a startup founder treats a promising hypothesis. Run small experiments. Measure the results. Take the data seriously (even when it’s unwelcome), and adjust. Hard-won local knowledge will likely serve the state better than imitating somewhere else’s pathway. ~ John Surdyk, Waterville

Where the Wild Things Are: Tactically Tinged Fashion Takes to the Water—and the Woods—in Maine

VOGUE • October 20, 2026

Take one recent late-summer day. Invited to attend a party on an uninhabited island a mile offshore, I looked out the window and saw morning sunshine and blue skies and thought HAHAHAHA, then opened the old sea chest where I keep the fashionable multipurpose gear required to survive a typical summer day on a Maine island. After battling through a half mile of waves in my dinghy, I arrived at the party. I immediately found myself helping fend a bigger boat off the rocky shore, which meant my boots swamped with ocean water, the insoles chilly sopping sponges now. I would have to go barefoot for the rest of the day, which was fine—by the end of summer my feet have toughened up. Still, once they thawed later that night, I’d find deep slices under my toes that already looked infected. I should have packed a pair of rubber clogs, not just extra socks. Every day in Maine is a learning opportunity.

Opinion: Soaring diesel costs have Northeast’s loggers running on fumes

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 20, 2026

The mood across the Northeast’s logging industry is grim. Soaring diesel prices could be the final blow for many companies already on the brink of closing. “Nothing was improving,” said a central Maine logging company owner who recently shut down after 10 years in business. Diesel costs finally forced the decision. “It doesn’t seem like it’s going to get any better anytime soon.” So far, little has been done at the federal or state level to ease the burden. Major mills in New York and New Brunswick have announced closures. Loggers need relief from soaring diesel costs soon, and lasting solutions must also address the underlying economic pressures threatening their businesses, because right now too many are simply running on fumes. ~ Dana Doran, Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast