Author: Steve Robinson

A declassified report by the Canadian National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) revealed earlier this year extensive foreign interference in Canada’s elections and legislative affairs. According to a new report from independent journalist Sam Cooper of The Bureau, the NSICOP report, taken together with non-public intelligence documents obtained exclusively by Cooper, show that Chinese nationals, backed by the Chinese Communist Party, have engaged and are engaging in sophisticated efforts to infiltrate and manipulate all levels of Canada’s economy and government. The Special Report was prepared by NSICOP — the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee –…

A Canadian-born illegal alien with outstanding warrants for grand theft and armed robbery was caught stealing more than $3,000 of food, booze, and lobster from Hannaford in Damariscotta. Cristian Ariza-Padilla, 49, the culinary hand behind Ann’s Book Bistro and Koko’s Sandwich Bar, was nabbed by Damariscotta police on July 17, according to a story broken Aug. 1 by the Lincoln County News, a locally owned weekly newspaper. [READ LCN HERE] According to LCN’s reporting, Ariza-Padilla is allegedly Canadian-born illegal alien, whose illegal presence in the U.S. was only uncovered after his arrest on theft charges. The Damariscotta lugging and subsequent…

Protesters sympathetic to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas descended on Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, at one point torching several American flags in apparent protest of Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Natanyahu’s address to Congress — and address Maine Sen. Angus King and Rep. Chellie Pingree both boycotted. Although Maine-based far left groups attempted to organize bus trips for activists to attend the anti-Israel activities in the nation’s capital, some remained behind to attend low-energy demonstrations in Augusta and Portland. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1816181954712412641 Outside of the fringe left Democratic circles, Netanyahu’s speech was generally regarded as pro-American and pro-democracy, a rousing call to defend…

The Maine Democrat’s candidate for State Senate District 19 was charged with Operating Under the Influence (OUI) in May, according to records obtained by the Maine Wire. Bruce S. Bryant, 62, of Rumford was summonsed and had his initial court appearance on July 8 in South Paris District Court following an incident involving an officer from the Rumford Police Department just after 11:30 pm on Friday, May 10, according to police records. Democrat Bruce S. Bryant The incident occurred on Route 2. Although Bryant’s campaign registration documents list an PO Box in Dixfield, Oxford County property records show Bryant owns…

President Joe Biden is out of the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination—whether he knows it or not—and already his lean and hungry wolf of a vice president, Kamala D. Harris, is projecting a sense of inevitability around her ascent to the top of the ticket. Notably, former President Barack Obama, commonly viewed as the real marionettist in contemporary Democratic Party politics, hasn’t endorsed Harris; neither has former nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Also on that list of Kamala non-endorsers: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker emeritus and stock trading guru Nancy Pelosi, as well as House Democratic…

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the incumbent Democratic presidential nominee for 2024, announced Sunday that he will be dropping out of the presidential race, according to a letter published by his campaign. In the letter—dated July 21, 2024, but bearing no presidential seal—Biden has faced mounting calls from wealthy progressive donors, as well as elected Democrats, to step aside following a debate performance in which his cognitive deficits and ailing health were glaringly obvious. Despite Biden’s very obvious health struggles, Maine’s top Democrats had continued to back him right up until Sunday. This week, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and House…

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a 501(c)4 nonprofit that litigates against governments and left-wing activists in defense of American civil rights, responded on Thursday to the news that the Mills Administration flagged one of their social media post to the Maine State Police as a potential security threat. In case you missed it, FPC retweeted a Maine Wire video in which Gov. Mills told one of her liberal allies in corporate television media that she wanted a ban on a popular type of semi-automatic rifle. FPC responded by reposting the video with a simple message directed at Maine’s governor: “Hey…

Documents obtained by the Maine Wire via a Freedom of Access Act show that Gov. Janet Mills’ personnel referred social media posts from the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Maine Wire to the State Police, flagging them for the governor’s Executive Protection Unit. The tweet in question contained a video from an interview in which Gov. Mills told a liberal reporter that she was considering a ban on a popular form of semi-automatic rifle in the wake of the Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston. The Firearms Policy Coalition, a 501(c)4 nonprofit that litigates in defense of American’s civil right…

State Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot) is among vehement critics of former President Donald Trump now sending his prayers to the 2024 Republican presidential nominee following his attempted assassination on Saturday. But a review of Baldacci’s social media posts shows the Bangor area pol has frequently highlighted extreme anti-Trump rhetoric, including a meme calling for “MAGA” to be “Dead and Buried”. Baldacci has also reposted several videos from anti-Trump former Republican Adam Kinzinger, who left Congress for a gig in cable news as a token GOP talking head. Kinzinger has emerged as one of the more extreme anti-Trump voices, regularly calling…

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly A. Cheatle remains at the head of the law enforcement agency tasked with protecting American presidents and presidential candidates despite the catastrophic failures that allowed a would-be assassin to fire several shots at former Republican President Donald Trump. Thomas W. Crooks, the alleged gunman in Saturday’s shooting, managed to outsmart the nation’s premier executive protection team with lethal effect. Despite a joint team of Secret Service agents, snipers, and local law enforcement in Butler County, Penn., Crooks was able to bring a ladder to the backside of one of the only buildings in the area…

As Maine gears up to spend billions of dollars in taxpayer money subsidizing offshore wind turbines, similar projects proposed or in operation off the New England coast are struggling to survive the harsh environment and growing costs. Last year, the parent company of Central Maine Power pulled the plug on an offshore wind power development off the cost of Massachusetts after cost increases render the project non-viable, a move that cost the company $48 million in termination fees. The company judged that the whopper of a fee was a more prudent course than plowing forward with a power purchase agreement…

In the hours following Thomas M. Crooks’ attempted assassination of former Republican President Donald Trump, questions immediately began to swirl over the U.S. Secret Service’s chaotic, slow, and inept security and evacuations protocols before and after the shooting. “I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee. Much of the criticism centered on the obvious question: How was a shooter allowed to take a firing position just 150 yards from Trump’s…

Former Republican President Donald J. Trump emerged bloody but in a fighting spirit after several shots were fired towards his podium at an event in Pennsylvania on Saturday, with one of the bullets appearing to wound his ear. “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Trump bellowed just seconds after surviving a hail of gun fire, resisting his security detail raise a fist of defiance. “During Former President Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 13 at approximately 6:15 p.m., a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the Secret…

State of Maine employees will no longer be in charge of landscaping at the State House after Bureau of General Services Director William J. Longfellow signed off on a contract for the groundskeeping work with Longfellow Holdings, LLC — his brother’s family business. Alden Longfellow’s Landscaping and Excavation, of which Longfellow’s brother, Jonathan Longfellow, is president, will provide lawn and plant maintenance at for the State House grounds, as well as several other properties in Augusta, Hallowell, and Vassalboro. In an email to the Maine Wire, a spokesperson for Longfellow, Sharon Huntley, said that Longfellow “removed himself from the substance…

An economist from the Arabella Advisers-backed Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) has admitted that illegal aliens entering the U.S. under the Biden Administration are more likely than legal immigrants to commit crimes. However, he believes that a “quicker” way to lower crime rates in America is to deport a random sample of U.S. citizens. “I believe unauthorized immigrants are younger and more likely to be men than other immigrants. Which might account for at least some of the difference in crime rates,” James Myall, MECEP’s Economic Policy analyst and “lead on the inclusive economy,” said on X last week.…

Hey Maine Wire Readers, Messages began pouring in last night about some unusual activity around our Facebook page. We can confirm that Facebook was begun censoring Maine Wire stories going back to even December. This includes removing links that elected officials posted to their own pages, blocking traffic to the Maine Wire, and limiting our visibility. Facebook (aka Meta) has always embraced censorship, and even began targeting some of our content on the solar subsidies last week, but their efforts really went into overdrive last night. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that it’s happening right after that splendid debate.…

State and federal officials are remaining tight-lipped over an April 26 multi-car crash that left an Albion woman dead and sent her husband into critical care on a Life Flight to Portland. According to witnesses, the accident was caused by Oguzhan Cildir, 23, an illegal alien who entered the U.S. without authorization in January. More than 62 days after the fatal accident, no charges have been filed against Cildir, and a police source tells the Maine Wire that state police are still waiting for a toxicology report. Gloria J. Cascio, 53, died unexpectedly on April 26, 2024 after a vehicle…

A state committee formed in 2005 to ensure compliance with Maine’s government transparency law — the Freedom of Access Act — has partnered with the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) to collect alleged examples of FOAA becoming too “burdensome” for town employees. The request, emailed this week to Maine town clerks by the MMA’s Rebecca Lambert, aims to bolster the position of government officials and some members of the so-called “Right to Know” advisory committee that Maine’s FOAA is skewed to heavily toward transparency and taxpayer rights. “The Right to Know Advisory Committee, established to oversee Maine’s Freedom of Access Act,…

A top union official appeared to mock conservatives for focusing on “God” and “guns” at a June 8th event headlined by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. “The radical right knows the social issues divide us and economic issues divide us – they are going to strictly focus on social issues: 3 G’s Gays, God and Guns,” IAM Political and Legislative Director Hasan Solomon, of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said at the June 8 Maine State Council of Machinists Conference in South Portland. Image courtesy of AFL-CIO Communications Director Andy O’Brien Brian Bryant, the international president of…

The school board members and superintendent of a public school in Damariscotta blamed a Newcastle mom and the Maine Wire for threats emailed to the district last year — even as the board member leading the smear campaign admitted in an email thread that he had “no details and no idea if these threats were related” to the mom or the Maine Wire. The Jan. 13, 2023 email, penned by then-board member Jesse Butler, came a few weeks after Amber Lavigne, the mother of two Great Salt Bay Community School students, expressed her frustration at a Dec. 2022 public school…

A dispute over a state contract for courier services has led to the disruption of a popular program used by Maine kids to obtain library books otherwise not available at their local library. The Inter Library Loan (ILL) program is a state-funded service that allows Mainers to request books from 203 public libraries across the state and have them delivered to their local library. It’s a popular resource for young readers, especially within Maine’s homeschooling community. However, following the conclusion of the contract evaluation process, one of the companies that was pursuing the contract has filed an appeal disputing the…

Mainers were evacuating flooded homes, long lines were forming at gas stations, and more than half the state was without power. Yet for several days during some of the worst power outages Maine has experienced since the Ice Storm of 1998, Gov. Janet Mills (D) was nowhere to be found. Now, Gov. Mills and her Department of Public Safety (DPS) are continuing to withhold public records sought in January that would shed light on precisely where she was during those crucial initial days, why her office failed to produce any public comment during that period, and what she might have…

The heavily taxpayer-funded floating offshore wind technology developed by the University of Maine at Orono and touted by the Mills Administration has failed to advance to the third round in a prize contest held by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The so-called “FLOWIN Prize” contest was conceived President Joe Biden’s DOE as a way to identify the most viable technologies to float industrial-scale wind power generating facilities in the deep coastal waters off the U.S. Unfortunately for UMaine and lead project researcher, Dr. Habib Dagher, the university’s VolturnUS design, which was piloted via the Aqua Ventus research project, was…

California’s job market isn’t as rosy as official state and federal employment figures suggested in 2023, according to a bombshell report from the non-partisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). According to the latest revised numbers, the Golden State may have actually lost jobs in the last quarter of 2023, despite earlier claims of massive job gains. The LAO, overseen by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California State Legislature, published its findings in a report titled “Newest Early Jobs Revision Shows No Net Job Growth During 2023.” The report contradicts previous optimistic reports, exposing the harsh reality of California’s…

A federal indictment unsealed on Monday charged Los Angeles-based associates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel with collaborating with Chinese underground banking networks to launder over $50 million in proceeds illicit drug trafficking. The superseding indictment, which includes 10 counts, follows a multi-year investigation known as “Operation Fortune Runner.” The indictment, returned on April 4, names 24 defendants who are accused of conspiring to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, laundering various currencies, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Key defendants, including Edgar Joel Martinez-Reyes, 45, of East Los Angeles, allegedly employed complex and sophisticated methods to disguise the origins of drug…

A Morton, Illinois man has been indicted on multiple fraud charges for allegedly defrauding health insurance companies and the State of Illinois out of hundreds of thousands of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Justice. Aaron Rossi, 40, faces six counts of healthcare fraud, one count of mail fraud, and four counts of wire fraud — all part of an elaborate conspiracy to enrich himself by taking advantage of the COVID-19 scare. Rossi, the CEO of Reditus Laboratories in Pekin, Illinois, is accused of establishing policies that financially benefited himself and defrauded healthcare providers from October…

New England’s power grid operator, ISO New England Inc., declared a level 1 emergency alert on Tuesday as a severe heat wave engulfed the northeastern United States. The alert was issued following unexpected outages in power generation, leaving the grid unable to meet demand while maintaining required reserves, according to Matt Kakley, spokesman for ISO New England. The grid operator, which serves 7.5 million homes and businesses across six states, saw electricity prices briefly spike to $1,993 per megawatt-hour, over ten times the day-ahead cost. Despite the warning and the brief spike in cost, ISO New England did not forecast…

Maine’s businesses are about to be hit with massive cost increases — in some cases of more than $50,000 for 2024 — thanks to a scheme devised by state lawmakers to subsidize solar power. According to letters sent to customers by Versant Power, Maine’s second largest electrical utility, the portion of small business’ electrical bills described as “stranded costs” is set to increase from 2023 to 2024 anywhere from 20 percent to as much as 1,644 percent. “A new, fixed monthly stranded cost dee is under review and would capture expenses and incentives to develop Maine’s renewable power generation and…

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division executed a drug search warrant at a residence in Anson Friday morning, Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a press release. No individuals were present during the execution of the warrant. According to Somerset real estate records, the 264 Horseback Road property was purchased most recently by Baker Li, of Brooklyn, in Sept. 2021. Photo prior to Yuling Mei’s purchase of the house Photo of the property as it appears now showing sophisticated upgrades, including heat pumps, window coverings, electrical upgrades, and propane tanks. Records show the seller as Yuling Mei, of Brooklyn, NY,…

The United States is in the middle of a genuine open-borders crisis that is leading us, at best, to the collapse of our already unsustainable welfare state. At worst, we’re sleepwalking into an unprecedented crime wave and terrorist attacks on American soil. But for U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, the far left Democrat who has represented Maine’s coastal “from away” population since 2008, the solution is not stronger border security but more migrants and more taxpayer-funded busses to bring them to Maine. In comments this week, Pingree urged her colleagues to prioritize open borders and freebies for non-citizens over national security…

Mexican transnational criminal organizations are increasingly targeting American timeshare owners in sophisticated fraud schemes, according to a new report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These scams have cost victims more than $300 million, primarily affecting older Americans, whom the agency describes as particularly vulnerable to such crimes. The FBI has observed a rise in these scams, where criminals deceive timeshare owners into parting with large sums of money under false pretenses related to their properties. This type of fraud, often considered a form of elder fraud, has devastating impacts on victims, said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul…

Everyone living in Maine understands that we’re in the middle of a housing affordability crisis. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) and the Maine Housing Authority reveal that the problem is much more severe than you may think. Put simply, the housing situation in Maine is worse than at anytime in nearly three decades — and the trend line suggests things aren’t going to get better anytime soon. According to MaineHousing’s “Affordability Index,” which measures the ratio between median home price and median income required to buy a home at that price, 79.1 percent of Maine…

A recent audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has revealed significant deficiencies in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) processes for screening and vetting asylum seekers and noncitizens applying for admission into the United States. The report, dated June 7, 2024, highlights technological, procedural, and coordination gaps that could pose serious risks to national security as the U.S. continues to experience record levels of illegal immigration. The audit identified that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have struggled to fully implement effective screening measures. The OIG found that although CBP…

The Bangor Daily News, a once-vital news source for northern Maine that has transmogrified into a left-wing taxpayer-subsidized propaganda rag, has outdone themselves with their latest bizarre editorial on the GOP primary for the Second Congressional District. Beginning with the obviously deceitful premise that the editorial board wanted to interview candidates Mike Soboleski and Austin Theriault with open minds and decide whom to endorse, the writers of the editorial proceed to insult the Republican candidates — and conservatives generally — for several paragraphs. The BDN concludes with an endorsement of Soboleski, but only because he gave them the proper respect…

Sixty-two percent of registered voters in the U.S. — including a third of registered Democrats — support the mass deportation of illegal aliens, according to a CBS / YouGov poll conducted last week. “A nearly six in 10 majority of voters say they would favor, in principle, a new government program to deport all undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. illegally,” CBS wrote. “That isn’t purely partisan, it includes a third of Democrats. It rises to nine in 10 Republicans,” the outlet said. Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-trump-biden-neck-and-neck-06-09-2024/ The support for mass deportations comes as the U.S. has experienced record levels of illegal immigration at…

The Maine State Police executed a search warrant at a property in Parsonfield Friday morning that was suspected of harboring an illegal marijuana cultivation operation. “On Friday, June 7, 2024, at approximately 8: 45 a.m., members of the Maine State Police alongside the Office of Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) executed a search warrant at 424 Maplecrest Road in Parsonsfield,” a state police spokesperson said in an email. [RELATED: Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ Brother Helped Transfer Nine-Acre Black Market Cannabis Grow to Chinese National “Mother” Living in Guangdong Province: Triad Weed…]…

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday it has concluded an investigation into an alleged assault by a teacher against a student at Gray New Gloucester Middle School. The teacher has been identified as Thomas Morawiec, a 48-year-old speech therapist. Morawiec has been charged with a Class “D” misdemeanor for assault. The investigation found that Morawiec assaulted a twelve-year-old student on March 25, the Sheriff’s Office said. The incident, however, was not reported to authorities until May 28, 2024, when the parents of the victim informed the Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer assigned to the Gray New Gloucester School District.…

A Congolese illegal alien was arrested last month at the Maine-Canada border and is being held without bail at the Somerset County Jail as the District Attorney’s office pursues an order to have him extradited to the Iowa over active warrants related to a sexual assault conviction. Eric R. Ngirimpa, 36, was delivered into the custody of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) dropped him at the U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s Jackman station on May 29, the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. The RCMP informed a sheriff’s deputy that Ngirimpa had…

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Department executed on Thursday morning its 19th search warrant of the year as part of an ongoing investigation into the sprawling network of drug trafficking sites run by Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations. According to Sheriff Dale Lancaster, the enforcement action, which occurred at a residence in Solon, resulted in the seizure of a large amount of illegally cultivated cannabis, but no arrests. The Maine Wire has previously visited the property, at 21 North Main St., and observed the tell-tale signs of a marijuana cultivation operation, including the obvious smell of marijuana, blacked-out windows, and recent electrical…

Several readers have forwarded the Bangor newspaper’s Monday story on illicit Chinese-controlled marijuana grow sites in Norridgewock, so I figured it was worth posting some comments. The taxpayer-subsidized newspaper has finally decided to do something on the triad weed beat other than re-write law enforcement press releases or review court filings. Their gumshoe reporters were apparently oblivious to the vast criminal conspiracy that cropped up in their backyards until conservative media shamed them into covering it. However, the story the paper ran Monday is an unsubtle argument that Maine law enforcement should stop cracking down on the Chinese mafia drug…

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R) grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray Tuesday over the ties between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese organized crime networks in Maine. “What is the FBI’s theory about why Chinese nationals or Chinese transnational criminal organizations are setting up these illegal marijuana growing operations in states like Maine?” Sen. Collins asked Director Wray. Wray answered that foreign organized crime networks are likely setting up illicit marijuana cultivation and trafficking operations because it’s lucrative and low-risk. “[O]ur assessment is that it’s a combination of the fact that it is activity that can be done relatively cheaply,…

Maine Democrats, a category that includes Sen. Angus King, regardless of what his alleged political pronouns are, have failed a fundamental test. By failing to condemn the radical injustice that played out in New York City this week, they have shown disdain for America’s traditional justice system and the U.S. Constitution. The mask is off, and they are revealed to be shamelessly lustful for partisan power. On Thursday, one of the most ludicrously corrupt show trials in the history of criminal justice reached it’s inevitable, preordained conclusion: a jury of New York City liberals found former President Donald Trump guilty…

In a case that has been widely panned by mainstream legal analysts, former Republican President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump has been found guilty by a New York City jury on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments made nearly a decade ago to a sex worker. The case is one of several instances of left-wing prosecutors waging lawfare against the former Republican president using questionable tactics and novel legal theories. As Democratic President Joe Biden seeks a second term, Democrats are hoping the guilty verdicts will tilt the scales in their favor and reverse the…

The Somerset County Sheriffs’ Office on Thursday executed a search warrant at a suspected illicit marijuana grow located at 71 Denbow Road in St. Albans, according to residents in St. Albans who observed the operation. In July 2020, the property was purchased by Yuting Lum of Middle Village, NY; however, Lum sold the house in April 2022 to Kai Hua Zhang of Staten Island, NY. Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster released the following press release Thursday afternoon: On Thursday, May 30, 2024 at approximately 0945 am, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division executed a drug search warrant at a…

A police department in southern Maine is seeing an “uptick” in the number of driver’s licenses issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to individuals using the social security number “999-99-9999”. “We’ve seen an uptick in [BMV] using 999-99-9999 for social security numbers,” wrote Darcie L. Valido, the Assistant Director of Operations for Sanford Regional Communications, in a May 23 email to various police departments in southern Maine. In the email, which was obtained via a Freedom of Access Act request, and a phone interview, Valido said she sent the email because the bogus social security number can cause…

A federal report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has revealed has revealed that Maine has the highest percentage of foreign-owned land of any U.S. state. “The state of Texas has the largest amount of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land with over 5.4 million acres,” the USDA report states. “Maine has the second largest amount of foreign-held agricultural acres, with just under 3.5 million.” By percentage, Maine has more of its privately held agricultural land under foreign control (21.1 percent) than any other state, according to the report. The vast majority of that land is timberland owned by Canadians or Canada-based…

Maine Sen. Angus King is concerned that the Chinese Communist Party, which rules the People’s Republic of China, is coordinating with the Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) that operate hundreds of illegal drug trafficking sites throughout Maine. In comments to WGME, King, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was worried about the intelligence collection that Chinese drug traffickers may be engaging in on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “In many ways, there’s no such thing as a private business in China,” King told WGME. “Every business has a link to the government, and that’s one of…

Some of the migrants illegally entering the U.S. over the unsecured southern border are trying to “game” the American asylum system, according to comments from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “The reality is that some people do indeed try to game the system,” Mayorkas told CBS in an interview. [RELATED: Chinese Citizen Charged With Felony Drug Trafficking in Maine Invokes “Asylum” Claim to Avoid Deportation…] “That does not speak to everyone whom we encounter, but there is an element of it, and we deal with it accordingly,” he said, without elaborating on how DHS deals with bogus asylum…

The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced a series of public meetings following its Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) for the first offshore wind energy auction in the Gulf of Maine. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is opening a 60-day public comment period that will close on July 1, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The public meetings follow the April 30 announcement from the Biden Administration that it would auction off the rights to build industrial-scale wind turbine arrays in the Gulf of Maine. “In another step by the Biden-Harris administration to support the growing momentum across…

A months-long investigation culminated in a drug raid at a residence on Mercer Road Friday morning, resulting in the arrest of a 55-year-old man, described in a press release as a “Norridgewock man.” [RELATED: Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ Brother Helped Transfer Nine-Acre Black Market Cannabis Grow to Chinese National “Mother” Living in Guangdong Province…] The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division executed a search warrant at approximately 9:49 a.m, according to the press release. [RELATED: The Triad’s Electrician: Meet the 87-Year-Old “Frontman” for Chinese Marijuana Grows in Maine…] The Sheriff’s Office said the operation, led by Detective Lieutenant Carl Gottardi…

If you’re looking to grow thousands of pounds of black market marijuana out of rural houses in Maine, you’re going to need a licensed Master Electrician to get your commercial-grade electricity approved. That’s exactly what Tong Q. Lu, the owner of China Wok on Broadway in Bangor, found in J. Martin Vachon. Vachon, an 87-year-old master electrician, previously told the Maine Wire that he’s been living at a property Lu owns, lending his expertise to unlicensed Chinese cannabis growers in exchange for room and board. [The Triad’s Electrician: Meet the 87-Year-Old “Frontman” for Chinese Marijuana Grows in Maine…] The Maine…

UPDATE: Shortly after publication of this story, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had apprehended Jian Ji Wu, 63, in connection with the search warrant it executed Tuesday in Canaan. Wu will be held on $25,000 cash bail. Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster executed a significant drug search warrant on Tuesday, uncovering an extensive illegal marijuana cultivation operation in Canaan, Maine. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division conducted the raid at a residence on Hinckley Road around 9 a.m., following a months-long investigation into suspected illicit activities. “This search warrant is part of a broader investigation, with…

In the town of Dexter, Maine, a seemingly abandoned property on Highland Avenue that once operated as an illicit marijuana cultivation site sits less than a mile from the U.S. Army Reserve Training Center on Prospect Street. In the driveway of that abandoned drug hub sits a BMW containing t-shirts affiliated with the Sijiu Association of NYC — a Chinese national group with ties to the Chinese consulate in New York and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Photographs obtained by the Maine Wire show the t-shirts strapped over the driver and passenger side seats in the BMW. In addition to…

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office on Friday raided yet another illegal cannabis growing operation — this time on South Road in the town of Harmony. “At the time of the search, no individuals were located at the residence,” the Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a press release. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…] “In all, 1,277 growing marijuana plants, 25 pounds of processed marijuana and drug related documentation and drug related paraphernalia was seized,” Lancaster said. The press release indicated that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal Drug Enforcement Agency were…

A large number of Maine law enforcement officers executed a search warrant Monday morning at a location in Freedom, the Maine Wire has learned. The property is thought to be connected to the network of Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (Asian TCOs) that are growing and trafficking black market cannabis in Maine. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…] The 555 Belfast Road property raided Monday was purchased in Dec. 2021 by Austin Zhen, 33, of Brooklyn, New York. Zhen used a mortgage from Quontic Bank, a New York-based Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI). In a statement,…

The U.S. Justice Department is taking steps to seize of four properties in Maine linked to extensive illegal marijuana operations, according to recent court filings. The crackdown, revealed in a series of legal filings obtained by the Maine Wire, is the first indication that U.S. Attorney for Maine Darcie McElwee intends to seize properties tied to the sprawling network of illicit drug trafficking sites, a network the Department of Homeland Security has said is being run at the behest of Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations with links to the Chinese Communist Party. [RELATED: The Triad’s Electrician: Meet the 87-Year-Old “Frontman” for…

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced today the awarding of $2,500 scholarships to 2,500 high school seniors nationwide, including seven from Maine, as part of the prestigious 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. These students were chosen from a competitive pool of over 15,000 finalists based on their academic achievements, standardized test scores, leadership experience, essays, and school recommendations. Selections were made by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, ensuring that the winners exemplify the strongest combination of accomplishments and potential for success in challenging college studies. The Maine recipients are Wesley N. Haynes from Brunswick,…

Campobello Holdings, Inc. arrived in Downeast Maine with promises to convert an antique sardine cannery in Eastport into a seafood exporter that would connect local fishermen with markets in New York City and Asia. But according to documents, photographs, videos, audio-recorded phone calls, and witness interviews obtained by the Maine Wire, the venture devolved into a rat-infested unlicensed cannabis grow, and a video-surveilled flophouse for an unknown number of workers. At the helm of the operation was New York seafood dealer Wai Tat “Jimmy” Wong, who in 2014 convinced the LePage Administration and the Washington County Council of Governments to…

Just five American governors are more unpopular than Maine. Gov. Janet Mills (D), according to the Morning Consult analysis released Tuesday. The report, which is only available to subscribers, has tracked the popularity of U.S. governors among registered voters since 2017 using a standardized survey methodology that allows for direct comparisons of job performance among state-level executives. “Our definitive rankings of America’s most and least popular governors provide the exceedingly rare apples-to-apples, cross-country comparison of governors’ relative popularity among their own voter base, including by political affiliation, age, race and educational attainment,” the report summary states. “Each quarter, the U.S.…

Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster’s office took down yet another illegal cannabis cultivation and processing hub on Tuesday located in Harmony, according to sources who watched the law enforcement action take place. The 10 Cooley Road residence was purchased by Dongyan Liang of 72 Melrose Ave., Staten Island, N.Y. in Jan. 2023. Shortly after the purchase, Liang entered into a standard easement agreement with Central Maine Power (CMP), a modification commonly encountered when commercial-grade power is installed at otherwise residential properties to supply electricity to illicit marijuana grows. [RELATED: The Triad’s Electrician: Meet the 87-Year-Old “Frontman” for Chinese Marijuana Grows…

The 87-year-old self-described “frontman” for an elaborate Chinese-run drug trafficking organization active in rural Maine told the Maine Wire that he’s been living with a family of black market marijuana growers for nearly three years and helping them with electrical upgrades at facilities throughout the state. In exchange for his services, the immigrant family feeds him, provides some level of medical care, and takes him almost everywhere they go. That was just one of the stunning details revealed by J. Martin Vachon, a master electrician from Ellsworth, over the course of an hour-long phone interview — details that are confirmed…

The Democrat-controlled Maine State Legislature elected on Patriot’s Day — the holiday that commemorates some of the first battles in America’s Revolutionary War against a tyrannical government — by voting for more restrictions of Mainers’ Second Amendment rights. [Editorial: History Shows Gun Control Inevitably Becomes a Political Weapon…] According to Maine’s State Constitution, Article I, Section 16 further solidifies and clarifies the Second Amendment originally enshrined in the federal bill of rights, stating the following: “Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.” That language is contravened by Democratic Gov. Janet…

A Republican bill passed the Maine House of Representatives late Thursday evening that will result in tax increases on high-earners who live in and work in the Pine Tree State after 2025. The bill – LD 1231 – moved through the House amid confusion between Republican lawmakers as to what exactly the motion on the floor was, but the end result was that eight Republicans and every Democrat voted in favor of an earlier House roll call vote before the new tax-hiking scheme was passed with unanimous consent. The bill now tabled in the Senate, but if passed and approved…

Given the Maine Wire’s role as the fastest growing media outlet in Maine and the preeminent investigative reporting team focused of transnational organized crime — specifically Chinese mafia growing ganja in rural Maine — more than a few readers have asked for my thoughts on yesterday’s vote on LD 2204. In particular, readers have asked that I weigh in on the objections raised by the Republicans who voted against this attempt at combatting foreign-controlled drug trafficking and racketeering enterprises in Maine. For a breakdown of the vote and an explanation of what the bill would have done, you can read…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the key measure of inflation in the U.S. economy, rose by 0.4 percent in March, matching February’s increase. Over the past 12 months, the all-items index has climbed 3.5 percent. Significant price increases in housing and gasoline were major contributors to the March rise, collectively accounting for more than half of the monthly all-items increase. The energy index, which includes these costs, saw a 1.1 percent increase. “Indexes for shelter, motor vehicle insurance, medical care, apparel, and personal care all rose in…

Transnational criminal organizations scored a major victory Tuesday in their ongoing effort to exploit rural Maine through the illicit cultivation and trafficking of vast amounts of illegal cannabis. The only bill that would have led to a more aggressive crackdown on the illegal operations failed to secure support in the Maine House of Representatives voted, with a bipartisan majority voting against a bill that would have made it harder for the criminal organizations to operate with impunity throughout rural Maine. Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris), the author of the bill, introduced the measure in response to a leaked Department of Homeland…

Amid the snow-covered debate on Friday over a bill that would allow the state to seize firearms from Maine residents under certain conditions, an exchange between Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) and the bill’s sponsor, House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland), flew under the radar. However, the substance of Sen. Brakey’s question deserves fulsome consideration in light of the drastic new powers Speaker Talbot Ross’s bill would grant to government agents when it comes to seizing firearms and abrogating constitutionally protected rights. The bill in question — a so-called “Red Flag” law — would allow anyone to complain about anyone and…

When Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman released their new book, “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy,” the publication was heralded by the usual suspects as MSNBC and CNN as the definitive and timely magnum opus confirming, once and for all, that redneck Trump voters living in the willywacks are a genuine threat to America, democracy, and pretty much everything. There’s only one problem: the entire book is fraudulent, based on sloppy research, and the authors demonstrated a pattern of ignoring or misconstruing the opinions of the experts they consulted. The shockingly bad attempt at popular sociology was first…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment in March rose by 303,000, with the unemployment rate remaining stable at 3.8 percent. The increase in jobs was led by gains in health care, government, and construction sectors. The unemployment rate has hovered between 3.7 percent and 3.9 percent since August 2023, according to household survey data. The rate for Black workers rose to 6.4 percent, while it decreased for Asians to 2.5 percent and Hispanics to 4.5 percent. Rates for adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.6 percent), teenagers (12.6 percent), and Whites (3.4 percent)…

Democratic lawmakers in Augusta are plowing forward Friday with an attempt to impose a so-called “Red Flag” gun control bill, even has hundreds of thousands of Mainers remain without power and unable to participate in the public hearing. The bill — LD 2283 — was sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross on March 24; however, the public was only made aware that the controversial gun control bill would have a public hearing late Thursday night. [RELATED: Maine Democrats Sneak in Last-Minute Gun Grab Measure…] The announcement came as hundreds of thousands of Mainers remained without electricity following a major…

The state of Maine ranks dead last among all U.S. states for progress made toward “unwinding” the massive pandemic emergency expansion of its Medicaid program, according to a study released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government initiated a policy of universal eligibility for Medicaid, a medical welfare program known in Maine as MaineCare. The move effectively incentivized states to enroll as many individuals into their Medicaid programs as possible, regardless of their income levels or eligibility under the previous guidelines. With the end of the public health emergency, however, states…

A Chinese citizen charged with felony drug trafficking after his arrest in China, ME, has invoked his status as an “asylum seeker” in a bid to avoid deportation. Changeng Chen, 36, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, was arrested in January in connection with a five-room illegal cannabis growing operation at 1144 Route 3 in China. Chen and his alleged co-conspirators — Bing Xu, 42, and Aiqin Chen, 44 — were arrested after Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department deputies searched the home pursuant to a complaint alleging that individuals had been kidnapped from China, brought to the home, and…

With less than 75 days to go before Maine Republicans in the Second Congressional District will pick a candidate to face incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, former President Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) over his opponent, Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Philips). Many Maine GOP insiders see the Trump endorsement as a fatal blow to Soboleski’s underdog bid, a stamp of MAGA authenticity that a well-funded Theriault can ride from now until the June 11 primary in a district that has overwhelmingly voted for the former president in recent elections. But if Theriault is pleased with Trump’s…

Maine law enforcement has executed three search warrants in March on suspected illegal marijuana cultivation sites throughout northern Maine, the Somerset Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday. [RELATED: Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ Brother Helped Transfer Nine-Acre Black Market Cannabis Grow to Chinese National “Mother” Living in Guangdong Province: Triad Weed…] The drug raids, which targeted one property two properties in Norridgewock and one in nearby Madison, resulted in the seizure of more than 900 mature marijuana plants and more than 30 pounds of processed cannabis. The sheriff’s office also seized cash $39,000 — the suspected proceeds of black market drug activity –…

A Chinese national living in the Guangdong Province, China, became the proud owner of a “fixer upper” in Penobscot County in February thanks, in part, to title transfer services provided by Paul H. Mills, the eldest brother of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D). Xiling Ou, 44, of Malden, Mass., was the original owner of the ramshackle house and its three-bay garage, along with nine-acres of land, located at 51 Cider Hill in Corinna. But 13 days after the Penobscot Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security agents raided an illegal marijuana grow just five miles away, she gifted the property to her…

The proliferation of Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) in America — especially illicit drug trafficking groups operated by Chinese nationals — has gotten so severe even the left-wing ProPublica has taken a notice. Light on original reporting and with only a glancing mention of Maine, the story is largely a rehash of local and national reports concerning a quadruple homicide at a Asian TCO-controlled marijuana grow in Oklahoma. That ProPublica is covering the topic, however, and daring to name the culprit — Chinese mafia — shows a shift in the national media’s willingness to properly assess a problem that is…

Washington, D.C. – Key U.S. intelligence officials have faced a series of probing questions from lawmakers this week, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R), concerning pressing national security threats related to foreign terrorism, the use of new and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Sen. Collins, a member of the Select Committee, has grilled top officials from the federal intelligence community, including Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines and FBI Director Christopher Wray, as part of the annual open hearings held by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. [RELATED: Collins Grills FBI Director Wray…

Big Picture: A major bill that would overhaul Maine’s marijuana regulations is moving through the State House, with $100s of millions — if not billions of dollars — on the line The fight pits large businesses against small businesses, adult-use recreational operators against medicinal providers, and multi-state operators against local businesses Changes to age-restrictions around who can work in the industry may cause banks to reconsider working with marijuana businesses, which would cause huge logistical headaches and security vulnerabilities The changes to regulations now in place for adult-use cultivators, processors, and dispensaries could allow illicit Chinese-owned operations to further proliferate…

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department did not make any arrests as they raided a property on the Industry Road in New Sharon, WGME reported Tuesday evening. According to WGME, the property was raided on Friday after the Sheriff’s Office was able to get a search warrant based on the electrical capacity installed at the residence. The property, which was previously known to the Maine Wire as an illicit Chinese-owned marijuana growing operation, had commercial-grade power installed in April 2022. Electrical records tie the property to several other properties in Maine which also show the tell-tale signs of marijuana grows, including…

As the debate over transgender school policies and sex-change procedures for minors has played out nationwide and in Maine, a common refrain from far left advocates of gender ideology has been that the alternative to “gender affirming care” is higher rates of suicide among those experiencing gender dysphoria. However, a new study from the American Urological Association’s Journal of Urology suggests not only that this argument lacks scientific support, but that surgical interventions may in fact increase suicidality among individuals who receive feminization surgeries, i.e. vaginoplasty. In other words, the surgical interventions that transgender activists have pushed as a cure…

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday about what his agency is doing to help local and regional Maine law enforcement do to combat the proliferation of Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) throughout rural Maine. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1767278192480420242?s=20 “What we’re also seeing in Maine is a new phenomenon that was reported by some enterprising journalists, and that is that Chinese nationals are establishing illegal marijuana growing operations all over the state,” Sen. Collins said. “One public report estimates there are more than 200 of them, primarily in rural Maine. They’re unregulated. They’re illicit. They’re destroying homes because…

An effort by Democratic state lawmakers to establish Maine as a “sanctuary state” for child sex-change procedures and late-term abortions drew strong condemnation Monday from the attorneys general of 15 other U.S. states. In a letter spearheaded by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the 15 AGs warned that Maine could face lawsuits from other states if it were to adopt the proposed statute, LD 227. “If Maine pursues LD 227’s constitutionally defective approach, we will vigorously avail ourselves of every recourse our Constitution provides,” the AGs wrote. [RELATED: Maine Transgender Activists Launch Offensive Against Conservative States with Unprecedented Legal Scheme…]…

Authorities in Piscataquis County have cracked down two more illegal marijuana operations, executing two search warrants on March 7 that resulted in significant seizures and an arrest. The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from several law enforcement agencies, targeted properties suspected of housing illicit marijuana grows. The first raid took place on Glass Hill Road in Guilford, while the second occurred on Bates Road in Abbot. In total, officers seized 2,580 marijuana plants, 52 pounds of processed marijuana, $11,280 in cash, and a 2015 Audi SUV. Jing Kang Zhu of New York was arrested in connection with the operations.…

Maine’s legacy and corporate media — including the Bangor Daily News, the major television stations, and the collection of news websites now owned by a George Soros-controlled non-profit — utterly failed to cover the massive reaction to LD 227 on Tuesday. The bill in question would create new legal protections for late-term abortions as well as sex-change treatments, including sex-change drugs and surgeries for minors. In addition, the bill would create protections for adults who traffick children across state lines into Maine in order to receive these treatments — even adults who are not related to those children. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1765088122960806146?s=20 Hundreds…

HEARING – Tuesday @ 1:00 pm – Cross Building Room 220 Maine lawmakers will consider Tuesday a proposal to drastically expand legal protections for medical professionals and other individuals who conspire to mutilate children in the name of so-called “gender affirming” medical care. The unprecedented proposal, which also encompasses providers of late-term abortions, will also break new legal ground in attempting to impose Maine-based policy preferences on jurisdictions where laws regarding sex-change services for minors and abortions are different. Although the scientific consensus around surgical and drug-based interventions for individuals suffering gender dysphoria has shifted in recent years in favor…

Three more New Yorkers have been arrested in Somerset County for illegally growing and trafficking vast amounts of marijuana at a Skowhegan property connected to Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release Friday that it executed a search warrant on a Waterville Road property in Skowhegan that resulted in the arrests of three individuals from Brooklyn, New York. Yao Bin Cheng, age 61, of Brooklyn, New York was arrested and charged with Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs (Class B) and Cultivation of Marijuana (Class B). Ying Xia Liao, age 59, of Brooklyn, New York…

The District Attorney of Maine’s most populous county will no longer charge individuals, including illegal aliens, who are caught driving without a license, driving with a suspended registration, or driving an unregistered motor vehicle. The new policy change, which will take effect on March 1, was announced in a memo distributed this week by Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline A. Sartoris. Although the new non-charging policy will apply to all drivers in Cumberland County, the traffic violations in question are commonly associated with individuals who are present in the U.S. illegally and therefore cannot obtain Driver’s Licenses or vehicle registrations.…

The U.K.’s Daily Mail, the largest newspaper in the western world, scorched the policies of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and Democratic lawmakers in a Thursday article exposing how far left policies have left Maine taxpayers, including military veterans, stranded in the cold, while recently arrived migrants receive lux digs at taxpayers’ expense. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1760271674253918286?s=20 From the DailyMail.com: Residents and GOP politicians are slamming Maine officials for lavishing millions of dollars on ‘Taj Mahal’ homes for asylum seekers while the state’s veterans and US-born homeless are struggling. Republicans say the Democrat-run state has spent $34 million on shelters, hotels, and ‘luxury apartments’ for migrants, even as Maine…

Three unidentified Chinese nationals were intercepted attempting to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada into Maine early Wednesday morning, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A fourth Chinese national operating a motor vehicle was also arrested on suspicion of attempting to assist with the three other Chinese nationals’ illegal entry into the U.S. CBP posted the following information to social media: “After noticing suspicious activity along the border, vigilant Fort Fairfield Border Patrol agents arrested three Chinese nationals attempting to use the cover of darkness to illegally enter the United States. A driver from New York, also a Chinese…

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has yet to drop out of the GOP presidential race, shared with Maine’s George Soros-funded media outlets Tuesday the impressive lineup of politicos backing her campaign. In a post to the websites controlled by the National Trust for Local News, Haley’s remaining campaign staff listed tens of endorsements from Maine residents. The list included former Republican State Sen. Mary Small, who last held office in 2002, former State Rep. Jayne Giles, who hasn’t won an election since 2008, and a former school board chairman. Also among Haley’s supporters was former House Republican Chief…

Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster put yet another illegal Chinese-run marijuana growing operation out of commission Monday morning on the Foss Road in Madison, his office said in a press release. “During the search, 449 live mature marijuana plants, 52 pounds of processed marijuana, harvested marijuana plants, and illicit drug related articles were located and seized,” Sheriff Lancaster said in a press release. “A dog at the residence was turned over to the Madison Animal Welfare Officials, as the dog was not properly cared for,” Lancaster said. A source in Madison confirmed that the property that was raided was at…

In a significant crackdown on international money laundering and drug trafficking, Qinliang Chen of Rosemead, Calif., admitted guilt to conspiracy charges Monday. The 34-year-old was implicated in a vast operation, allegedly spearheaded by Jin Hua Zhang, which spanned across the United States and several countries. Zhang pleaded guilty in Sept. to operating a $25 million money laundering ring that also distributed narcotics. Chen’s guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering was accepted by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, who has set the sentencing for July 9, 2024. This development follows the May 2023 charges against Chen and 11 others,…

The first presidential polling published out of the Pine Tree State delivered some surprising news, showing former Republican President Donald J. Trump leading incumbent Democratic President Joseph R. Biden by six points. Although former President Trump won Maine’s more conservative Second Congressional District in both 2016 and 2020, he lost statewide in both elections. In 2020, President Biden beat Trump 53 percent (435,072 votes) to 44 percent (360,737 votes). The poll results suggest nearly a massive swing in Maine voters’ preferences between the two candidates as the head into a rematch this fall. Although 38 percent of respondents said they…

Maine’s public institutions, especially the government-run schools, have been consumed in recent years with crafting policies on the basis of left-wing gender ideology. Specifically, this ideology clings with religious fervor to the idea that biological sex is meaningless, that gender is purely a social construct, and that a man should be free to invade spaces previously protected for girls and women if he decides, at any given moment, to identify as something other than a man. The gender ideologues have found no better partner in this perversion of science, law, and reality than the Portland-based law firm Drummond Woodsum. That…

Nearly 1,500 illegally grown cannabis plants were seized Thursday after the the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at a property on the East Madison Road in Madison. “The search warrant was obtained by the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division, as it was believed that illegal marijuana plant cultivation activities were taking place at the residence,” Somerset Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a press release. A source in Madison confirmed that the property in question is located at 1034 East Madison Road. (According to Google Maps, the property is about 4.7 miles down the road from the Somerset County…

Update: Several hours after the Maine Wire broke this story, the Penobscot Sheriff’s Department posted new information on their Facebook page. Three Chinese males were arrested at the site. Law enforcement also seized 40 pounds of marijuana, methamphetamine, and $4,700 cash. The full Facebook post is appended at the bottom of this article. The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department conducted yet another enforcement action against an illicit Chinese-controlled marijuana trafficking hub operating out of remote northern Maine on Thursday morning. According to multiple sources in Passadumkeag, a town of less than 400 people, Sheriff’s Deputies executed a search warrant on a…

Maine Wire Reporter Seamus Othot contributed to this report. A Maine Republican is looking to crackdown on the foreign organized crime networks that have spread throughout rural Maine since 2020, using the proceeds of illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking to build a lucrative blackmarket drug empire in the state. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…] According to a leaked Department of Homeland Security memo, Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) control more than 270 properties throughout Maine, properties that are used to grow and trafficking marijuana illegally. But Mainers don’t need federal law enforcement’s confirmation to…

A high school in Maine has opted to ditch a plan to using biometric fingerprint scanners to help staff keep attendance following a Maine Wire report on the school district’s plans. As the Maine Wire reported exclusively on Feb. 2: Caribou High School in Aroostook County (RSU 39) has contracted with IdentiMetrics to implement a system that scans students’ fingerprints, stores the data, and creates a tracking system so that administrators can have an easier time keeping track of the roughly 460 students. According to a letter from school Principal Jamie Selfridge, the new biometric surveillance technology will be deployed…

Maine’s Second Congressional District is big — 27,326 square miles, encompassing what passes in Maine for cities, Lewiston-Auburn and Bangor, as well as the vast North Maine Woods, the mountainous riverlands of western Maine, and the rambling downeast coast. But even all that space is not enough for the ambitions and sharp elbows of the two first-term Republican state lawmakers now locked in a bitter primary fight over who will get a chance to knock off the incumbent Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. Former Republican President Donald Trump carried the rural district by ten points against Hillary Clinton in 2016…

A New York man was arrested Wednesday morning in Norridgewock following a raid on a Betterment Road property that uncovered a large 1,310-plant marijuana growing operation, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster. Zunjie Wu (Source: Somerset County Sheriff) Zunjie Wu, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was arrested and charged with Cultivation of Marijuana (Class B, over 500 plants) and Trafficking Scheduled Drugs (Class B), Sheriff Lancaster said in a press release. Wu remains incarcerated in the Somerset County Jail. The search warrant for the raid was executed by Sheriff’s Office Detectives and Deputies, with the assistance of Waterville Police Department…