Author: Ted Cohen

A Bentley University professor who was last seen on an island off the Maine coast has been missing for nearly a week, according to the Maine Warden Service. Wiley Davi, 57, English and media studies professor at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, was last seen November 15 on Peak’s Island, the warden service said in a statement. The search continues for Davi, the university said in a statement, describing the prof as a “longtime and respected professor and a friend to students.” “Our hearts and minds are with Wiley and their loved ones and we are hoping and praying for…

The nation’s pre-eminent veterans cemetery has created a new memorial for the first Navy ship named after the state of Maine. The USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, contributing to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War two months later. The phrase, “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” became a rallying cry for action. The 324-foot battleship was christened and launched by Alice Tracey Wilmerding, granddaughter of Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy, at the New York Naval Shipyard on November 18, 1890. In 1895, after delays of its being outfitted for service,…

A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal from the lobster industry challenging the mandated use of electronic-tracking devices on fishing boats to collect data. The ruling denied industry claims that the monitoring amounts to unreasonable search and seizure, according to The Associated Press. Fishing regulators two years ago began requiring lobstermen to install tracking devices transmitting location data. The information allegedly helps track the lobster population, ostensibly to allow even stricter future fishing restrictions. The devices, which transmit fishermen’s locations using a global positioning system, must be turned on whenever a boat is in the water, even when it’s…

A so-called “van conversion” expert who defrauded Maine customers has been convicted of federal wire fraud. Matthew Strong, 44, who owned and operated East Coast Van Builds in Bradford, Vermont was ordered to pay restitution of $500,000 for his thievery. Strong signed a plea agreement in U.S. District Court admitting he was involved in wire fraud by transferring ill-gotten money across state lines. He’s facing a year in federal prison. Strong used excessive payments from customers in Maine and five other northeast states to help finance a music festival he promoted, prosecutors said. The money was supposed to have been…

A widely-followed Bangor cab driver who has been publicly obsessing about buying a particular abandoned log cabin has lost his dream getaway. Fredrick Laverdiere, who moderates the Forgotten Maine site on Facebook and Abandoned Maine on YouTube, has been posting for two weeks about a certain log cabin he ran across in the woods and is pining for- in a town he won’t identify. Laverdiere has intrigued so many people that nearly 1,000 Facebookers are now glued to – and commenting on – the continually unfolding saga. He first told the followers of the Forgotten Maine page on November 7…

A Democrat congresswoman from Maine is among a host of Washington lawmakers trading stocks and bonds amid an effort by her fellow members to put a stop to it once and for all. “Let’s see if we have the guts to ban members of Congress from trading stocks,” a seething U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-TN, told reporters. Burchett is a member of a bipartisan group trying yet again to get a bill passed that would prevent members of Congress from buying and selling stocks. He said the reality is the bill will likely go nowhere. “I will be ticked off…

Lorna Brackett and Vincent White were last seen drinking together 34 years ago at the USA Lounge in Fairfield. Eight hours later – on November 18, 1991 – police found their bodies in a Waterville house that had exploded in the middle of the night. A neighbor had called Waterville Police around 3 a.m. that morning complaining of loud voices and fireworks at 7 Reservoir Street. Cops who reported to the scene didn’t see any evidence of the neighbor’s claims and left. Police later responded again at dawn after neighbors reported an explosion and fire at the house in question.…

Art historians had predicted that a portrait previously owned by a Maine billionaire would sell for $150 million. They were only $80 million off the mark. The piece owned by the estate of Leonard Lauder fetched $236.4 million at auction amid “gasps and applause,” CNN reported. Gustav Klimt painted the portrait of Austrian Elizabeth Lederer over a three-year period, 1914-1916. Lauder, who died earlier this year, was married to Judy Glickman, his second wife. Glickman had previously been married to Al Glickman of Cape Elizabeth, where Lauder also later lived part-time. Widow Glickman and widower Lauder, who along with their…

A former two-time Maine gubernatorial candidate, previously convicted of possessing child porn, is now being charged with violating probation by looking for an escort online. A probation officer overseeing former gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler has filed a motion to revoke Cutler’s probation, according to the Ellsworth American. Cutler, 79, formerly of Cape Elizabeth and now living in Brooklin, allegedly violated the terms of his probation this fall by accessing sexually explicit content online and by possessing unmonitored devices, the paper reports, quoting documents filed in Hancock County Superior Court. Cutler two years ago pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing…

A woman ordered by a lower-court judge not to expose her daughter to religion has appealed to the Maine Supreme Court. The case is being watched closely by the Christian Broadcasting Network, which reported on it November 18. “The state’s high court heard oral arguments last week in the case – a battle between judicial authority and parental rights,” CBN reports. “Liberty Counsel, a faith-based non-profit legal group, is representing Emily Bickford.” Bickford is challenging a lower-court custody order issued a year ago prohibiting her from bringing her daughter to Calvary Chapel in Portland. Bickford, who never married the father…

If the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) truly rules, then Maine GOP gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles can already start his general-election campaign for the Blaine House. On the Democrat side, Shenna Bellows can start plating her general campaign, according to X. First, the Republicans: On the basis of followers showing on X’s platform, Charles is way ahead of the pack, with 4,101 followers. Robert Wessels comes in second, with 3,524 fans. David Jones claims 433 followers while Owen McCarthy is showing 398. Jonathan Bush is way back with 133, while Jim Libby is second-to-last with 76. Ben…

Trees may be nice at a cemetery, but Southwest Harbor burial bosses are putting their foot down. Their view is, enough is enough. Seems that descendants of “property owners” in Mount Height Cemetery have neglected upkeep at their plots. As a result, trees and bushes they’ve planted over the years in the non-profit cemetery have grown out of control. In fact, the 123-year-old cemetery, one of five burial grounds in the small Hancock County town, has a deed restriction that forbids big trees. So trustees of the popular burying ground have notified “land owners:” trim your bushes or we’re going…

A penny for your thought? How about a gift-card for a penny? Grocery chains across the northeast, including in Maine, have put out a desperate plea for something that’s been around since 1792 – pennies. “No pennies at cash self-checkout kiosks” one major retailer, Hannaford, posted in one of its outlets. Shoppers at Price Chopper and Market 32 stores, which can be found in several New England states, are actually being asked to bring in pennies, which will be exchanged for a gift card worth double the value of their change. The penny shortage stems from the U.S. Mint ending…

Acadia hikers who feel they can’t get high enough without cannabis – despite Cadillac Mountain being the highest point on the Atlantic coast – better curb their habit. U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi says tokers caught in Acadia and other federal lands will once again face “rigorous” prosecution as DOJ rescinds its policy of ignoring low-level offenses. The new get-tough-on-weed policy represents an about-face from a years-long government policy of not prosecuting for simple possession. “Marijuana possession remains a federal crime in the United States, irrespective of varying state laws,” a DOJ spokesman said. “The detrimental effects of drugs on our…

A man fell from the roof of a bus onto the Maine Turnpike on Friday after hoisting himself aloft to ‘get some air.’ Derrick McDuffy 35, of New York, a passenger on the bus, at one point decided he was feeling “overheated,” Maine State Police reported. McDuffy “opened the bus’s emergency roof access hatch before climbing onto the roof while the bus was in motion,” police said. Upon realizing what was happening, the driver began slowing the bus and attempting to pull over when McDuffy fell from the roof to the road, landing on the shoulder of the turnpike’s southbound…

Old Thom, a North Atlantic orca known for being the only killer whale regularly sighted in the Gulf of Maine, wants a lawyer. Thom is refusing to answer questions relating to what he can spill about a growing incidence of orcas in the Northeast Atlantic ramming fishermen’s boats. Some fishermen have a theory as to what may be behind the recent spate of orcas attacking their vessels. As outlandish as it may sound, the thinking is that orcas are being taught by animal-rights activists to ram fishermen’s boats. In the absence of any real plausible scientific or biological explanation, why…

Three years after getting fried in a devastating fire, Penobscot McCrum, which has harvested and processed Maine potatoes since 1886, is selling to McCain Foods. McCrum, which has been producing potatoes since the late Nineteenth Century when it was founded in Mars Hill, will now be McCain Foods. McCain certainly doesn’t have the ring to it that McCrum does, but all things must come to an end. McCrum at least will remain a Maine force, as its farming operation will remain independently owned. McCrum will enter a long-term potato supply agreement with McCain. The sale includes McCrum’s potato processing facility…

Mexico tops the list when it comes to burglary – Mexico, Maine that is, according to a new crime survey of the state’s 450 communities. Breaking and entering may be a nonviolent crime, but it’s still pretty unnerving for those victimized by it. Having your house broken into can make you feel violated. Moreover, to have it happen in a small, rural town is disproportionately unsettling for the victims of it. “When you think ‘most burglarized’, your brain immediately goes to bigger cities with larger populations,” reports 94.3, WCYY, which reviewed the statistics. “However, in a state as big as…

The dynastic trials seem to be rearing their ugly heads as a Maine prince-in-waiting delicately shadows The King. When Democrat gubernatorial hopeful Angus King III was forced to pin his father’s donkey to the wall by a D.C.-based news outlet, it was a case of “now WTF do I do?” Angus III, in a dog-eat-dog primary for the 2026 election, went the route of equivocation. Yeah, he said, he’s kinda sorta glad his Daddy helped end the Democrat-created shutdown of the federal government. “I understand why people are profoundly frustrated with politicians in Washington,” he wrote on Instagram. “I know…

Let’s see … Maine needs an economic boost, it’s on the Atlantic coast, it already has a major Coast Guard presence. What a great place for a military training center! Are you listening Limestone (former Air Force Base)? Are you listening Brunswick (former naval air station)? Are you listening Janet (governor who allegedly cares about creating real jobs)? The Coast Guard just published its request for proposals for a new training center and is waiting for serious responses. Agency officials announced they’re looking for a recruiting base with room to accommodate lodging for 1,200 recruits, a dining hall big enough…

The state that supplies 90 percent of the U.S. lobster supply is trying to navigate the waters of an international food fight. China, the world’s largest consumer and importer of the succulent crustacean, is shunning Maine for alternate sources. Lobstermen and women from The Pine Tree State “are now missing out on Chinese sales amid a trade war, and they may struggle to claw back their former position as China increasingly turns to suppliers in the Asia-Pacific region,” according to the South China Morning Post. U.S. lobster shipments to China temporarily ground to a halt earlier this year, after Beijing…

A dizzingly-expensive art collection that belonged to a cosmetics heir and his Maine widow is expected to fetch a half-billion dollars. The artwork, to be auctioned November 18th, belongs to the estate of cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder and widow Judy Glickman Lauder of Cape Elizabeth. Glickman, widow of Al Glickman of Cape Elizabeth, married Lauder in 2015 after her husband died. Lauder, her second husband, died five months ago at age 92, leaving the art collection now being sold off. He was estimated to be worth some $10 billion at the time of his death, and had one of America’s…

The self-avowed Bowdoin College Palestinian-rights cheerleader grad – now the mayor-elect of America’s biggest city – is getting an attaboy from a former ranking faculty member from the storied Brunswick school. Peter Coviello claims The New York Times already had its formula down – criticize Bowdoin and 2014 grad Zohran Mamdani at all costs – long before it published an alleged pre-election hit piece blaming Bowdoin for producing Mamdani and his socialist creed – and vice versa. Coviello says in a LitHub.com column, just published, that, as Africana Studies chair while Mamdani was at Bowdoin majoring in that discipline, he…

A months-long legal campaign by a Canadian ostrich farm to “save” 300 of its birds from government culling has gone up in feathers. Food inspectors from British Columbia killed the birds with gunshots last week over protests from the farm’s owners and so-called bird protectionists. But despite the farm as having been constantly portrayed in the legacy media as being one where ostriches have been allowed to grow old and gray enjoying their grassy surroundings, it’s actually long been something else entirely. In fact, the farm where the poor, dearly embattled ostriches lived originally raised the birds for slaughter, only…

A Portland mother is aghast that officials in Maine’s largest immigrant city are now accusing concerned parents of overreacting to an attack last week on a young child. “Strange” was Avery Yale Kamila’s reaction to a “press release” the city issued downplaying a King Middle School student’s getting grabbed by a stranger while walking to school on Thursday. The so-called press release was issued after The Maine Wire published a story citing Avery’s concern about the incident. “City Hall does not want a community conversation about the safety of children, which is what I’m trying to get going,” Kamila said.…

(U.S. Department of Defense)

A King Middle School student on the way to school in Portland was attacked Thursday by a stranger, the second time this year threats to students at the school have required police involvement. Principal Amy Marx told parents in a statement that a student was grabbed by the wrist by an unknown individual walking to school along Park Avenue. “Once at school the student was supported by social workers/counselors,” Marx added “and police took a full report.” Avery Yale Kamila, whose son and friends walked this same route, told The Maine Wire they have been “repeatedly harassed, threatened, solicited for…

The headlines back then were: Mississippi became the 20th state, the Erie Canal’s construction began, and James Monroe was sworn in as the fifth U.S. president. That all happened way back in 1817 – when Maine was still part of Massachusetts – the year before The Pine Tree State woke up to its first Farmer’s Almanac’s wisdom on everything from weather to crop rotation. But “shifting reader habits and economic realities” have now spelled the end to Maine’s favorite eclectic Bible. “A Fond Farewell,” the almanac staff wrote on its website. “The season we hoped would never come is here.”…

Woodland Pulp of Baileyville has announced it is going dark temporarily due to lack of business and in the face of continuing challenges facing the industry. The company “will pause manufacturing at its Baileyville pulp mill and wood chip plant from late November to mid-December,” a spokesman said. Woodland is Washington County’s largest employer, and the layoffs will apply to about a third of the mill workforce. Spokesman Scott Beal attributed the “extended downtime” to declining prices in the global pulp market. Woodland is one of six mills in the northeast U.S. and Quebec recently pausing or decreasing wood deliveries.…

Fur better or fur worse, the Democrat state rep and congressional hopeful looking to skin incumbent Chellie Pingree alive was featured out of the gate in a photo wearing a pelt. A fur pelt. Or at the very least a parka with authentic – or even faux – fur trimming around the hood. State Rep. Tiffany Roberts’ mugshot in The Maine Wire announcing her 2026 bid to challenge the progressive First District eight-term congresswoman showed her flashing what is clearly designed to look like a fur accessory. Fur shur. It could be her third rail for liberal PETA Democrats. They…

Bangor voters have elected Angela Walker, who was convicted of manslaughter nearly a quarter century ago, as a new city councilor. Walker joins Susan Faloon and Daniel Carson, among the three councilors-elect to emerge from the nine-way race in Tuesday’s election. Walker received the fewest votes – 2,231 – of the three. Faloon, a life coach, led the pack with 3,951 votes, and Carson, a labor and community organizer, earned 2,512. Walker is the “peer services coordinator” for the Bangor Area Recovery Network. She’s reportedly in recovery herself from addiction. Walker was imprisoned after being convicted of manslaughter in 2003…

Maine’s only top liberal arts college can now claim to have spawned the first communist, Muslim, Jew-hating mayor of America’s largest city. Zohran Mamdani, 34, Bowdoin College class of 2014, kicked humiliated former NY Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 67, to the moon and back in Tuesday’s election. Voters had a choice between a young Democratic socialist who hates Jews and cops, and an old washed-up liberal who allegedly groped so many women that he had to resign as governor. Mamdani’s chances improved drastically as soon as the polls opened and voters discovered that not only was the Muslim millennial listed…

Saddleback ski area, which underwent a period of tough sledding, has grabbed the No. 1 best place to ski in the region, SKI Magazine says. The mag’s poll also treated Maine to the No. 2 most-popular ski area selected by its readers – nearby Sugarloaf. Poor Vermont, which boasts the best moguls in these parts, didn’t show up in the top-20 survey until No. 6 with Killington. SKI magazine shows Whiteface Mountain in New York as No. 3. The first time New Hampshire shows up in the poll is No. 5, Bretton Woods. Maine’s Sunday River claimed No. 10. Saddleback’s…

A longtime, fourth-generation Friendship lobsterman is facing multiple charges following his arrest Sunday, police said. Sam Lash, 39, was taken into custody after Newburyport police discovered drugs and weapons during a vehicle search. Officer Schyler Reilly initiated the investigation at a gas station, leading to a motor-vehicle stop where drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in plain sight, according to Boston 25 News. The search revealed 931.5 grams of cocaine, 13.5 grams of crack cocaine, 7.1 grams of marijuana, and four units of Ecstasy, along with scales and cutting utensils. A .357 caliber revolver, ammunition, and metallic knuckles were also…

“Captain Steeeve,” a Maine-trained Navy pilot and social-media sensation for his plain-spoken explanations about flying, has hung up his wings. After four decades, first in the right seat and then in the left seat, the popular commercial pilot whose full name is Steve Scheibner has been forced into retirement by federal regulations with 65 as the pilot age limit. Scheibner began flying as a young aviator at Brunswick Naval Air Station. He flew his way up the ranks at the Maine air station, eventually piloting the base’s P-3 Orions, popularly known as submarine hunters. Following his naval career, Captain Steeeve…

Presidential cousin Billy Bush is supporting controversial media darling Karen Read in her campaign to get cleared in a recent cop killing. “Hi my love,” Bush, former Access Hollywood host, gushed with excitement Wednesday on his Maine-based podcast as he greeted the Massachusetts woman being sued by the family of dead Boston cop John O’Keefe. Then Bush, the Colby College grad brother of Jonathan Bush who’s running for Maine governor, poured it on even thicker, saying, “you look really well-rested.” Read replied in kind, “Oh, it’s just my makeup,” adding “You’ve got a nice tan.” Bush cooed back, “I’ve been…

The sudden shutdown of Catalina Yachts has hundreds of Cat owners across Maine dumbfounded – and worried. The sailboat manufacturer – once considered the largest such business in the world – announced last week it was closing “temporarily” amid a boardroom battle. Florida Catalina President Patrick Turner announced the main factory was going dark til further notice. The shutdown comes amid a company reorganization following its purchase by renowned yacht dealer Michael Reardon, who allegedly has reneged on the sale. Reardon had also promised to buy Catalina’s sister company, True North Powerboats, known for their Downeast-style vessels – favorites of…

The head of Maine’s leading news TV network apparently felt forced to distance himself from a controversial ex-employee who for Halloween dressed up as a bloodied Charlie Kirk. “We are aware of a social post created by Christopher Fritz,” NewsCenter Maine president and general manager Micah Malloy said in a statement issued by his company. “Fritz has not been employed by our station for more than three years.” A picture of Fritz, a self-described comedian and former NewsCenter Maine director, with fake blood spattered on his face and wearing a bloodied “Turning Point” t-shirt for his Halloween costume had been…

A senior U.S. senator is calling for an investigation into a wedding planning conglomerate used by many young Maine couples. The Knot is a go-to marriage planner offering nearly 100 wedding venues across Maine. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, says The Knot is deceiving people across the U.S. who use it to help plan their special day. The Iowa Republican claims the committee has received hundreds of whistleblower reports. Grassley says small businesses accuse the site of misleading advertising and failing to provide discounts promised to customers. In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, Grassley…

On Halloween night 1940, a quiet Rockland neighborhood became the scene of one of Maine’s most disturbing crimes. Eighty-five years later, the story still chills anyone who hears it. The Rockland Historical Society, always with a sense of humor, is retelling on its Facebook page the tale of midcoast Maine’s memorable “Headless Halloween.” The air was cold, the streets quiet. But inside a house at 28 Crescent Street, something far darker than the October wind was stirring. Sixteen-year-old Pauline Young had argued with her stepfather, John Phelps, on Halloween night, 1940. What followed would haunt Rockland for generations. “She cursed…

Brownfield-Denmark Elementary School was terrorized Thursday by a bomb threat, later determined to be a prank. The Facebook website Western Maine Breaking News was the first to report the incident, saying a student apparently called in the threat from a school bus. The local fire department was on the scene and police evacuated the Denmark school. Cops shut down the road in front of the building. A school secretary “believed that the call came from someone on a school bus,” the Facebook report said. The suspect allegedly said that he was going to “blow the place up.” Superintendent Jay Robinson…

The popular longtime TV face of a favorite Maine department store has moved on to her next act. Karmo Sanders, an actress and playwright known by many in Maine as “The Marden’s Lady,” has died at the age of 74. “You Should Have Bought It – When You Saw It – At Marden’s!” An obituary posted by Hobbs Funeral Home states Sanders passed away peacefully Saturday at her Scarborough home. The Marden’s Lady was on TV screens all over Maine for years until the salvage store chain ended the ad campaign in 2013. Back then, she told CBS13 she was…

Maine has the ninth-highest rate of fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. – and is the only New England state in the top-ten worst, a new analysis shows. The state showed an average of 42.56 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, the latest year on record – 35 percent higher than the national average of 31.51 per 100,000. Over the 12 months, the state saw 514 deaths from opioid abuse alone. Though Maine is seeing some decrease in fatal drug overdoses since the last full year on record, numbers remain historically high, according to the National Survey on Drug Use.…

The Democrat Socialist poised to become the next boss of America’s largest blue city came out of a Maine college primed to spread his anti-Israeli underpinnings. That’s the conclusion of a new profile of Bowdoin College grad Zohran Mamdani unveiled Tuesday in The New York Times – on the eve of the New York City mayoral election. “His studies complemented his commitment to political activism,” the Times says. “At Bowdoin, he formed a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, before the group became a polarizing national force, and unsuccessfully tried to persuade Bowdoin to join an academic boycott of…

The government of Nova Scotia has just cleared the way for North America’s first seaside whale sanctuary. Maine’s friendly neighbor – just 120 miles to the east of Bar Harbor – is giving new meaning to the expression ‘Free Willy.’ The good news is that not only will caged aquarium whales get to see the open ocean – some for the first time. But the bean counters at SeaWorld – a whale’s worst nightmare – will be having conniptions. After all, their stock and trade has always been based on one premise: a performing imprisoned whale is good for the…

At least it gets them off the streets, right? (The needles, that is.) Bangor, Maine is now establishing a needle drop-off and the Facebook reactions to the state of affairs reflect a dark humor veiling grim dissatisfaction. “They should take SNAP!” commented Deplorablegurl. “Awesome,” wrote Randy Stone. “Put one in every council member’s neighborhood that voted YES.” The council majority did, in fact, just vote “yes” (6-2) to approve Needlepoint Sanctuary Syringe Service to open up its doors for business. “Gross,” Jonathan Francis commented in his Facebook analysis of the Queen City’s growing drug problem. The organization plans to offer…

Two Maine towns are telling residents to exercise caution after confirmed cases of rabies were reported in raccoons. The Maine Centers for Disease Control notified the town of Howland last week that a confirmed case of rabies in a raccoon has been identified. Deer Isle officials also say they have confirmed a case of a rabid raccoon along with several unconfirmed cases of potentially rabid raccoons. Deer Isle says these reports are widespread, according to WABI-TV. Rabies is a deadly virus that attacks the brain and spinal cord, mostly in wildlife, rarely in humans. The virus spreads when a rabid…

It’s easy to see why President Trump wants to ban illegals from driving tractor-trailer trucks. If you can’t speak English you can’t read signs. And you can’t communicate with others on the road. It’s that simple. “Heck,” you say, “what’s the big deal not reading a sign or not speaking English?” If a guy driving a 3,000-pound, 10-foot-long car can’t read signs, he’s a potential danger. [RELATED: Illegal Alien Driving on Maine Permit Hits, Kills Pedestrian in Lewiston] If a guy driving a 50,000-pound, 70-foot-long truck can’t read signs, he’s a potential killer. Having personally driven the latter for 20…

A Dover-Foxcroft hospice group celebrating its 40th anniversary has awarded a special “Commitment to Mission” award to Stacy Shaffer. But the Sebec woman’s commitment to mission extends beyond just the human condition at Pine Tree Hospice. Helping the downtrodden comes naturally for her. For years, Shaffer, a retired home-health coordinator at Penquis Community Action Program, has been simultaneously advocating tirelessly for our oppressed canine friends – the rescues that are abused or at best neglected. They are also the creatures of God without a voice to express their love for those lobbying in their behalf – the thankless calling that…

The infamous attempted mutiny by a Soviet naval commander came to an abrupt end a half-century ago in the Penobscot River along Maine’s midcoast. Known to film buffs worldwide, “The Hunt For Red October” portrayed a real-life Soviet sailor who, on Nov. 8, 1975, tried to take over a Russian attack ship. The movie version of the mutiny, based on a Tom Clancy novel, climaxes in Maine when the commander of a U.S. nuclear attack sub escorts the crippled enemy Soviet ship to the Penobscot. The 109-mile river is among the longest in Maine so it’s fitting that it closed…

The brash Maine military veteran whose U.S. Senate dream has been rocked by myriad scandals is revamping his campaign staff despite two new polls giving him a huge lead. As part of his reset Graham Platner has named longtime friend Kevin Brown as his manager in the wake of his former director’s resignation. Brown’s past campaign work includes the presidential bids of Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama, according to Politico. The campaign has also brought on an in-house attorney, as well as compliance firm Spruce Street Consulting, which has ties to a number of “progressives” including Bowdoin College grad and…

A future destroyer to be built by Bath Iron Works will be named for a former Navy secretary and WWII veteran who died last week. The Navy recently held a ceremony celebrating the keel-plate unveiling for the warship J. William Middendorf. Middendorf, 101, who died Friday in Fall River, Massachusetts, was secretary of the Navy under presidents Nixon and Ford from 1974-77. In fact, when BIW launched the USS Oliver Hazard Perry in 1976, then-Secretary Middendorf came to Bath to speak at the ceremony. The USS J. William Middendorf, named in 2022 in the former secretary’s honor, is the planned…

A potentially deadly canine virus recently reported spreading in northern Maine has now prompted alerts to dog owners in the western part of the state. The town of Mexico is now reporting a case of parvovirus – the same disease reported last month in the Bangor area. Parvo is a serious illness that is highly contagious and can be fatal to dogs if left untreated, or if treated too late. The virus attacks white blood cells and the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and even coyotes, wolves, and foxes. In puppies, the virus can also damage the heart muscle, according to…

A new analysis by the North Atlantic right whale protectionists actually shows the species thriving, not declining. But as predictable as the tides, a leading environmental lobby says that’s now a good reason to increase – not relax – the government regulations that have been tying Maine fishermen up in knots. Seriously. The 2024 population estimate for the North Atlantic right whale, allegedly “critically endangered,” reached 384, a 2.1% increase from the previous year, according to the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. In fact, the consortium has reported “slow growth” of the whale population over the past four years. The…

Former Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, arguably the most notorious animal in NFL history, once described his “goal” when he went out on the field: “I’m not out to just hurt a man, I’m out to kill him.” That was the 1960s, when football was fun to watch, as opposing players tried to kill each other. Fast forward to today’s NFL, whose Prout’s Neck boss fines players for the slightest of infractions, lest they be seen as too rough. Evidence all-star Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who Mr. Prout’s Neck fined $46,371 in Week 2 of the season for head-butting a…

Chicken magnate Frank Perdue’s marketing genius killed Belfast, Maine as the Chicken Capital of the World – but his magic apparently didn’t rub off on his wife. So Mitzi Perdue, his widow, has dropped the asking price of the family’s New Hampshire mansion by $5 million. Just goes to show – marketing genius isn’t transferrable. Perdue was so good at selling chickens that the Maine site of the former annual Belfast Broiler Festival is no longer processing poultry. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mrs. Purdue first put the family homestead on the market for $15 million. But now she’s…

With Zohran Mamdani now solidifying his double-digit lead in NYC’s mayor race, his pro-terrorist rap singing is getting new attention. News reports in June first uncovered a rap by the 2014 Bowdoin grad singing his praises for the Holy Land Five, a group of operatives convicted for fundraising on behalf of Hamas. But a widely followed X poster is bringing it up again, aghast no one made an issue out of Mamdani’s dangerous racism. “My love to the Holy Land Five / You better look ’em up,” was the Mamdani rap. “The media was busy with breathless coverage of Mamdani’s…

The state official responsible for caring for Maine’s first official comfort dog who died in a hot car has resigned, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. Brodie Hinckley, the former director of the Maine Bureau of Emergency Communications, was accused of leaving a 3-year-old chocolate Labrador named Baxter inside a Department of Public Safety vehicle for hours on a hot day in May. Hinckley was charged with a civil violation of animal cruelty in September and was placed on paid administrative leave. The Maine Department of Public Safety said he resigned from the Department of Public Safety on…

Cabot Cove, Maine was actually in California but, as Hollywood producers might say, what’s a few thousand miles among friends? Broadway is marking what would have been Angela Lansbury’s 100th birthday with a special edition of Playbill magazine. Lansbury, the famous actress who’d appeared on Broadway, owed her real fame to “Murder, She Wrote,” a TV drama based in Cabot Cove. In reality, Cabot Cove was a fictional Maine town but plenty of tourists certainly came to Maine looking for directions to it. But as we sarcastically tell lost tourists in Maine, “you can’t get there from here.” That’s because…

The Maine Warden Service is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the individual who for no known reason shot a Canada lynx in Aroostook County. The lynx’s body was discovered Oct. 15 along Mouse Island Road, and evidence indicates the animal was shot within 24 hours of its discovery, police said. Killing a Canada lynx is a federal offense because it’s a protected species. Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department officials called the Perham killing “unnecessary” and said the animal was “left to waste.” The Canada lynx is a medium-sized wild cat with long, dense fur, triangular ears with…

Just as Gov. Janet Mills was putting her nascent senate campaign in drive this week she got broadsided from her liberal flank. The left-wing Maine Center for Economic Justice just released a recommendation that the state give back to Native Americans several chunks of priceless public land. The center’s suggestion is a tart, painful reminder to the would-be U.S. senator that she’s more than once gone out of her way to short-change one of her party’s potential key constituencies. In what could be a close race next year between incumbent five-term U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and the Democrat governor,…

The rock legend who helped found KISS and electrified audiences for decades with his lead-guitar magic made a big splash in Maine nearly 30 years ago. Ace Frehley, who died last week, spoke about his iconic rock group’s Portland concert in 1998 to mid-Maine music writer Lucky Clark. “For two hours we give the kids the best show they’ve ever seen,” Frehley said at the time. “It allows me to let go and just be the ‘Space-Ace’ again.” Frehley also soloed in Portland earlier this year in a concert promoted by AuraMaine.com. “The only thing more recognizable than Ace Frehley’s…

Maine’s first large-scale AI data center is being planned for the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. Developed by Loring LiquidCool Data Center and Green 4 Maine LLC, the facility is slated to open early next year. The center, which will use advanced liquid-cooling technology, will be powered partly by hydropower from New Brunswick. The facility will be housed in a warehouse at the former Air Force base. LiquidCool Solutions, has signed a “long-term” lease for 115,000 square feet of space within the 450 acres of the former base. Limestone is perhaps best known as the home of a…

The Marine veteran-turned-oyster-farmer — a rising Democratic Senate candidate in Maine — once called himself a “communist,” dismissed “all” police as “bastards,” and said rural white Americans “actually are” racist and stupid. Senate wannabee Graham Platner’s archived social-media history was unearthed by CNN, no conservative outlet that. Most of the posts were made five years ago under Platner’s then-Reddit handle P-Hustle. They were deleted ahead of his campaign launch in August. The posts in some ways underscore Platner’s reputation as an anti-establishment outsider with unapologetically left-wing views. But the labels and tone used in his writings could also prove costly…

Fifty years after being dubbed the “Muhammad Ali Of Sardine Packers,” Maine’s greatest has hooked another title. Rita Willey, 87, of Rockland was named the celebrity of choice for the state’s first Sardine Festival. The Penobscot Marine Museum Searsport featured Willey as the drawing card for “Sardine Fest 2025.” The museum held its opening Oct. 4, introducing Willey to younger generations born after the state’s sardine fishery heyday. In the 1970s and early ’80s, Willey’s deft fingers got her on “Johnny Carson Tonight” and “What’s My Line?” She had gained a reputation at the Rockland Seafood Festival’s marquee event, the…

Maine horror novelist Stephen King, who put his foot in it last month when he falsely criticized conservative Charlie Kirk, is calling it quits, at least temporarily. King told USA Today in an “exclusive” interview he’s afraid of “becoming a bore,” although one leading critic recently suggested that’s already occurred. “I’m trying to clear my desk as much as I can,” King said. “At my age, you’re off the warranty. You can’t take anything for granted.” King wants to take some time off “while I’m still healthy,” he told the paper. “You can’t guarantee anything once you get past the…

An experimental electric-plane manufacturer that chose a midcoast Maine airport to debut cutting-edge technology is falling on hard times both financially and mechanically. BETA Technologies, based at the Burlington, Vermont International Airport, two years ago selected the Knox County Airport as the first in the state with battery chargers in anticipation of ramping up use of electric planes to service the nearby islands. The airport envisioned electric planes as positioning the facility to become a “green energy” hub along Maine’s midcoast. “The installation of these chargers is going to change dramatically the relationship between the airport and our surrounding communities,”…

President Donald Trump’s widely-celebrated deal to end the Mideast war was built in part on the foundations of defensive work by a Bath-built destroyer, the Navy says. The USS Carney, launched by Bath Iron Works in 1994, left its home port of Mayport, Florida on Monday for its next mission, just its latest job keeping peace in international waters. The ship helped neutralize the Houthis in the aftermath of Hamas’ murderous rampage on Israel two years ago. “On Oct. 19, 2023 USS Carney (DDG 64) was involved in the most intense combat engagement by a U.S. Navy warship since World…

A UMaine fraternity is coming to the defense of the school’s hockey mascot’s panned debut performance. Bananas T. Bear, aka the mascot, skated to center ice for a recent game, but critics say that calling what he did skating is a stretch. Bananas not only had trouble skating but he fell down on the ice during his performance. “It’s time to wrestle control of Bananas away from fraternity Alpha Delta,” one Facebook critic wrote. “They are poor stewards of the brand and mascot.” The frat for has been supplying the personnel who don the mascot’s garb and work up the…

A fishing boat built in Boothbay that went missing without a trace nearly 100 years ago has finally been located. The ST Seiner set sail Jan. 29, 1929 from New London, Connecticut. But the steam-powered fishing trawler’s owner, The Portland Trawling Co., never heard from the boat again. Now, 97 years later, shipwreck hunters say they have discovered the long-lost vessel off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Atlantic Wreck Salvage, a New Jersey-based company that searches for lost vessels, says it has located the ship on the eastern edge of Georges Bank, roughly 125 miles off the coast. The…

If Maine’s embattled crustaceans are crawling to Canada, the prevailing reason was always thought to be greenhouse-gas oceanic acidification south of the international border. But a new study turns that theory on its head, blaming alleged lobster movement on warm water allegedly caused by “climate change.” “As the ocean warms, lobsters are packing their bags and heading north, a slow-motion migration that spells a profound and uncertain future for the industry and the communities that depend on it,” according to William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science. “The problem isn’t that lobsters will disappear or bizarrely evolve into the…

The ouster of the Dancing With The Stars hostess from Maine has been selected as one of the popular show’s anniversary top meltdown moments. People magazine just picked the ouster of Erin Andrews as one of the Top Ten Most Shocking Moments of the show’s 20-year history. And Andrews wasn’t just any hostess getting the boot – besides being born in the Pine Tree State, she’s the daughter of a former Maine radio and TV anchor. Steve Andrews began his broadcast career in 1973 in Lewiston radio, while also working as a part-time TV reporter. Andrews then moved on to…

The Rockland Democrat lawmaker whose “affordable housing” reputation quickly went south earlier this year is notably absent from Knox county candidates seeking a promotion to the state senate. Political bettors were pretty certain Rep. Valli Geiger (D-Rockland) would run for the District 12 seat being mysteriously, voluntarily vacated by Anne Beebe-Center. But then again no one expected her fellow Democrat, Beebe-Center, to drop out of a potential bid for a third term – until she did. Who gives up a gravy term in the upper chamber? Maybe someone who’d have to explain to American patriots why she had a problem…

A drone operator searching for lost dogs in northern Maine has been fired at twice – one of which struck his aircraft – in the last month. Robert Russell, who runs an aerial-search business, had first sent his drone up over Corinth a few weeks ago to look for two beagles. While the drone was flying, it was suddenly hit by something, which Russell quickly determined was a bullet. Russell’s drone was also shot at over Orrington earlier this week – and though that shot missed Russell got a picture of the alleged shooter from the drone. “The guy was…

A midcoast Maine police officer is being branded a hero – for reviving his unconscious boss. Wiscasset Police Chief Larry Hesseltine was working alongside the officer, Jonathan Barnes, during a traffic stop when the incident unfolded. Hesseltine was on patrol when he pulled over a car on Route 1 in Edgecomb that had been reported to dispatch for alleged erratic operation. Barnes joined the chief shortly after the stop. The driver was identified as Joshua A. Watters, 45, of Augusta, who had a passenger, George C. Bronn, 46, of Whitefield. While both cops were searching the occupants for drugs, they…

Ten years after the container ship El Faro sank in 40-foot seas, Rockland will be memorializing crew members who perished in the tragedy. A day of remembrance of El Faro will begin at noon Sept. 27 at 44 Atlantic Street, the site of The Lost at Sea Memorial, “El Faro Salute.” The steel memorial was designed by artist Jay Sawyer, a Maine Maritime Academy graduate. The statue, dedicated three years ago, features two maritime officer uniforms in salute position to signify honor to the maritime community. Included in the 33 lives lost were two Rockland crew members, second mate Danielle…

The NBC cable network’s canned political analyst who mocked Charlie Kirk’s murder says it’s more worried about ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel’s ouster than his. “Not one MSNBC person has said anything about me!” Matthew Dowd cried to podcaster Katie Couric. “They’ve all gone out of their way to say, ‘Isn’t this horrible what happened to Jimmy Kimmel?’” Dowd got fired for suggesting that Kirk had invited his own assassination, allegedly for preaching hateful conservative rhetoric. Kimmel’s late-night show was yanked off the air for similar reasons – when he intimated that Trump supporters were responsible for the murder. But Dowd grabbed…

Maine officials have approved an emergency rule aimed at removing predatory fish from a Washington County lake currently at risk of losing native habitat forever. The rule, which goes into effect Sept. 21, removes bag and size limits on bass throughout the county. Maine fisheries officials proposed the rule in a focused attempt to eliminate bass from West Musquash Lake. Largemouth bass is believed to have been illegally introduced to the 1,600-acre lake by person or persons still being sought. The state has offered a $6,000 reward for information leading to information about whoever dumped the invasive fish into the…

A New Hampshire man is in custody after police say he threatened to kill Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Tristan Anderson, 22, of Hooksett, is charged with criminal threatening and harm or threats to certain government officials. The criminal complaint against Anderson released Thursday alleges that he “did knowingly threaten to commit the crime of homicide and/or assault against Gov. Kelly Ayotte for the purpose of influencing such official’s action or in retaliation for action taken as part of such official’s government duties.” Anderson was allegedly messaging with a woman on Snapchat and said “I’m going to target the NH Mayor Kelly…

Former Vice President Kamala Harris must explain her decision to conceal then-President Joe Biden’s failing health and obvious infirmity in the run up to the 2024 presidential election. That’s the view of the Pennsylvania Democrat governor who is now blaming Harris for hiding former President Biden’s health problems. “She’s going to have to answer to how she was in the room and yet never said anything publicly,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a new interview. Shapiro also happens to be a guy who failed to win muster with Kamala as her running mate in favor of the inimitable Gov. Tim…

Twenty-three years ago Angela Walker beat a man to death in an Old Orchard Beach confrontation stemming from an insult the victim had hurled at her. Walker is now looking – and hoping – for forgiveness as she embarks on a municipal political career. She’s among nine candidates seeking a seat on the Bangor city council. Walker was convicted and later imprisoned in the brutal killing of Derek Rogers, a Canadian tourist who had allegedly called her a racist name. Cops found that Rogers had been severely beaten and then suffocated to death with sand forced down his throat. “That’s…

An octogenarian claiming to be the oldest woman to “thru-hike” the Appalachian Trail sorta kinda didn’t. Like, nothing against being old and fit as a fiddle. No arguments there. But the nationwide legacy-media hype over Betty Kellenberger’s 2,200 mile walk is a little over the “top.” For one thing, 80-year-old Betty took three years to “complete” the trail, a feat traditionally called a “thru-hike.” But the customary measure of a thru-hike is doing it in one year, not three. A thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail is someone who hikes the entire 2,200-mile length of the trail in a single, continuous…

The field of U.S. Senate wannabes is growing by leaps and pounds – evidence the latest candidate worried you’re putting on excessive weight. Air Force veteran Daira Smith Rodriguez, a Make America Healthy Again acolyte, has her eyes set on the seat held by five-term Republican Susan Collins. “Millions of Americans are surrounded by food they can’t eat,” Democrat Rodriguez says. Her campaign staff includes a digital fundraiser for socialist Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral bid and longtime Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who worked for former President Joe Biden’s campaign. But if Rodriguez is hoping to bring the Mamdani brand of…

The state’s shrimp industry, traditionally known almost as much for its sweet delicacy as Maine lobster, is praying for relief come the end of the year. Shrimp regulators will meet in December to determine whether to extend the current ban, Chelsea Tuohy, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission spokeswoman, told the Associated Press. 12 years ago the commission imposed a moratorium on shrimping due to the nearly decimated catch that was being blamed on warming water due to so-called climate change. The “continued poor condition of the northern shrimp stock has resulted in uncertainties in the future status” of the…

Houlton residents are up in arms over a new council policy limiting free speech by banning critical comments during town meetings. Under the new rule, taxpayers who make comments at council sessions cannot criticize town officials or staff. Besides restricting the content of the public comments, the new guidelines will also limit each speaker to two minutes. Previously there were no limits on how long someone could talk or who they could choose to criticize. The clampdown on public speech comes in the wake of residents complaining about town-owned spy cams that were installed throughout the community. What made them…

“Environmentalist” and gay-rights actor Robert Redford predictably found friendly audiences when he spoke at Colby and Bowdoin. Redford, who died Tuesday, was known more for his good looks than his leftist agenda. But he used both to equal advantage. Ten years ago Democrat Redford warned of – what else? – “division in America” in a commencement address at Colby College. The liberal Colby audience, of course, loved the juice, and the Waterville school gave him an honorary degree for singing its tune. Redford’s graduating grandson was in the audience when gramps spoke of “the face of challenges like climate change…

The arguably most entitled racist graduate ever to come out of Maine’s finest school is pledging to jail Israel’s prime minister if he is elected New York City mayor. Socialist Zohran Mamdani, a 2014 Bowdoin graduate who’s the Democrat mayoral nominee, said that if elected, he will order the New York Police Department to arrest Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in the city, per The New York Times. Mamdani, who polls show is now a virtual shoo-in for mayor, told the Times on Sept. 11 that Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide in Gaza. If the…

A Bangor woman who posed as an heiress to a fictional Irish royal family has been convicted in Northern Ireland of defrauding people out of more than $100,000. Known as the “Queen of the Con,” Marianne ‘Mair’ Smyth stole the six-figure sum from friends and customers while working as a mortgage adviser between 2008 and 2010, police said. Smyth also allegedly hired herself out for sex to a dozen men a month on a “sugar daddy” website before blackmailing her callers with threats to tell their wives. She has posed as a Satanist occultist and an alternative healer called Lucia…

A Washington-based Associated Press story is advancing the increasing likelihood that Maine’s term-limited governor is all in for a U.S. Senate candidacy. “Mills has made calls to prospective campaign managers, according to two sources with direct knowledge of her efforts,” the AP reported late Tuesday. “They spoke on condition of anonymity because Mills has not formally announced her candidacy.” The AP story’s credibility is notable for two reasons. First of all, it builds upon, and supports the premise of, a recent piece from Punchbowl quoting sources saying Mills has begun interviewing potential staff members for a Senate campaign. Second, the…

A leading political analyst is blasting – and trying to figure out – Stephen King for his ill-thought-out false claim about Charlie Kirk. In UK-based magazine The Spectator, Alexander Larman is suggesting that the 77-year-old King is – to coin a phrase – beyond his prime. Put more bluntly, may be losing his mind, not that there’s anything wrong with that. King can blame his second newspaper of choice, the Portland Press Herald, which Sept. 16 called Kirk “a racist who plugged an anti-gay, anti-women agenda” during a recent trip to Old Orchard Beach. “King feels too much and thinks…

Maine State Police are investigating a crash involving a horse-drawn wagon and a vehicle in the northern part of the state, the third recent similar incident. Troopers said the accident happened shortly before 8 a.m. Sept. 12 on Benedicta Road in Sherman. A 2003 Toyota pickup attempted to pass the wagon but did not have enough room and struck it. The wagon operator was ejected and landed on the road. He was taken to Houlton Regional Hospital with injuries police said were not life-threatening. But the wagon was destroyed, and the horse suffered a cut to its leg and foot.…

(Unidentified mushroom thief, courtesy of Old Orchard Beach Police Department)

As the UMaine Black Bears kick off their fall football season they’ve got a new form of mascot competition. A couple of Cornell students dragged a black bear they’d killed while hunting this week back to their dorm room to skin it. Though Cornell’s intercollegiate sports teams have no official mascot, fans have long embraced images of a bear, and a person wearing a bear suit decked out in Cornell gear is a regular sight prowling sidelines at Big Red football and basketball games. A growling bear plays a star role in Cornell’s athletic imagery, and bears are all over…

The Portland Press Herald has been outed in a sitcom – emphasis on ‘com’ – about a failing newspaper. “We’re not a bunch of novices like in the new ‘Office’ spinoff, but there are some undeniable similarities between our workplaces.” That, folks, is straight from the keyboard of Connecticut-born Leslie Bridgers, the Press Herald’s “we’re-not-novices” actress columnist in residence. “Despite the glaring differences between ‘The Paper’s’ Toledo Truth Teller, propped up by a handful of volunteer reporters and its paper-product parent company, and the nonprofit-owned Portland Press Herald with two dozen staff writers, a look inside both newsrooms reveals some…

(from Josh Dunlap’s LinkedIn page)

A pair of lovebirds may be the culprits suspected of vandalizing the sign at Katahdin ‘s uppermost reach. Baxter State Park officials reported the “act of vandalism” in a social media post Thursday. The letters “H.M.” and “J.M” were carved into the middle of the Baxter Peak sign on Katahdin, which marks the 5,268-foot summit of Baxter Peak. If that’s not a Mile High Club antic what is? The sign denotes the summit as officially the “Northern Terminus Of The Appalachian Trail.” And unofficially the Peak de Résistance (aka the highest point in Maine). “Did you witness the act?” park…

The handler of a Maine state “comfort dog” who died in a hot car earlier this year is facing charges connected to the lab’s death. Brodie Hinckley has now been charged with a civil violation of animal cruelty, according to the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office. Hinckley has been placed on paid administrative leave, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety said. The announcement comes more than three months after Baxter’s death. The 3-year-old chocolate lab, who served as Maine’s first comfort dog, was found dead inside a state vehicle at the Bangor Regional Communications Center in late…

A bitter internacine family food fight is fraying the nerves of drama-weary shoppers wondering whether their favorite supermarket is going to survive. The latest boardroom crisis at Market Basket triggers the question: “will I have to move my ‘basket’ over to, say, Hannaford, or Walmart, or Shaw’s?” But the Demoulas family, which owns Market Basket and offers the lowest grocery prices in Maine, is hoping that shoppers’ habits die hard. Judging from a statement put out this week by company officials, it’s apparent they’re afraid that the seemingly never-ending boardroom fight may finally be getting near the point where their…

Democrat Gov. Janet Mills is interviewing staff for a potential U.S. Senate bid, according to a new report. Politico is crediting Punchbowl with the Mills scoop. The report did not indicate whether Gov. Mills is interviewing actual Mainers or swampy DC types, but given the origin of the news, the latter is likely. The staffing interviews come as Mills is “seriously considering” a run against longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Mills has said she would decide by November. Maine is a top offensive target for Senate Democrats this cycle, the only one in a state that former Vice President Kamala…

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, fatally shot Wednesday at an event at Utah Valley University, came to Maine last month to urge residents to ‘take back’ their state. Kirk was the featured guest for a political group’s inaugural event Aug. 2 in Old Orchard Beach. Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, keynoted a Maine Civic Action event at Dunegrass Golf Club The nonprofit organization is dedicated to identifying and training citizens to become active leaders in their communities. Kirk during his visit expressed concern over the direction the Pine Tree State is headed in…