Author: Edward Tomic

In a letter to his constituents published Sunday to his “Dear Mainer” Substack, Democratic Congressman from Maine’s 2nd District Jared Golden explained his reasoning behind why he now supports banning “AR-15s or similar rifles” in the wake of last week’s mass murder in Lewiston. At a press conference the evening after the shooting, Rep. Golden announced that he has reversed his previous position of opposing bans on assault rifles, saying that “the time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure.” Golden stated that he will “work with any colleague” to get a ban of assault rifles…

The day after a mass shooting in Lewiston claimed the lives of 18 people, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District announced Thursday that he has reversed his position and now supports a ban on assault rifles. [RELATED: After 40 Hours, Maine’s Largest Manhunt Continues to Search for Lewiston Shooter Robert Card…] Rep. Golden’s announcement, which came at a press conference alongside Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins at Lewiston City Hall Thursday evening, received backlash from two of his Republican 2024 challengers, who both slammed the statement as using the tragedy to advance a political agenda. https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1717674569761194048?s=20 Golden…

The Maine Wire reached out to Maine’s top Republican lawmakers Thursday morning to get their thoughts on Wednesday evening’s shooting in Lewiston, which claimed the lives of 18 people and wounded 13. [RELATED: Suspect Remains at Large: State Police Name Army Vet Robert Card as Person of Interest in Lewiston Terror Spree, Worst Mass Shooting in Maine History…] The suspected shooter, 40-year-old Robert Card of Bowdoin, is still at-large and to be considered armed and dangerous, according to a statement by Maine State Police Thursday. Local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are currently engaged in widespread manhunt to…

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey joined 42 attorneys general across the U.S. Tuesday in suing Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, for features on the platforms that they allege are knowingly designed to be harmful to children. [RELATED: Maine Will Receive $412,000 from Settlement with Blackbaud for Data Breach Impacting Millions of Consumers: AG Frey…] The attorneys general accuse Meta of designing their platforms to purposefully addict children and teens, harming their physical and mental health and violating the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). “Children are incredibly vulnerable to the manipulation of…

Democratic U.S. Rep. for Maine’s First Congressional District Chellie Pingree announced Wednesday that she mended a staffers jeans in order to fight climate change. Rep. Pingree, whom the Federal Election Commission fined in 2010 for failing to disclose trips to the Virgin Islands on S. Donald Sussman’s private jet, also said Maine will soon receive more than $3.5 million in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fund “environmental justice” projects in the state. https://twitter.com/chelliepingree/status/1717227540991901776?s=20 The funding comes from President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — which authorized $783 billion in spending on energy and climate change initiatives.…

The Maine Ethics Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to take no further action in an investigation into whether Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) submitted a false address to the Commission when running for reelection in 2020. The Commission also clarified that other allegations against Jackson related to potential mortgage and insurance fraud, as well as his travel reimbursements, are not under their investigative jurisdiction. [RELATED: Maine Senate President Troy Jackson Locked in Bitter Legal Fight Over Augusta Home He Bought – and Moved Into – in 2019…] State Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris) requested in September that the Commission investigate the Senate…

Republican U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins, alongside a bipartisan delegation of Senators, gave remarks at a press conference Sunday in Tel Aviv, Israel, in which she voiced her support for the Biden Administration’s request to Congress for $14 billion in aid to assist Israel in defeating the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. [RELATED: Maine’s Delegation Weighs In On Attacks By Hamas Against Israel…] The bipartisan delegation, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), traveled to the Middle East Friday to meet with officials from Saudi Arabia and Israel to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and diplomatic relations in the region. Sen.…

A Missouri man accused of illegally crossing the U.S.-Canada border in Hodgdon, Maine, in an attempt to smuggle his wife across the border pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court in Bangor. Clayton Dehaven, 39, was observed by U.S. Border Patrol in April 2023 walking down a road on the Canadian side of the border in the Union Corners area of Hodgdon, according to court records. A minivan was observed on the U.S. side of the border. A woman, later identified as Dehaven’s wife, Sarah Kathleen Paterson — who according to court records is not a U.S. citizen — was…

A Norway man accused of having filed multiple fraudulent loan applications to gain over $240,000 from a pandemic-era loan program pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges Monday in the U.S. District Court in Portland. [RELATED: Maine Man “motivated by sheer greed” Sentenced to 1.5 Years for Fraudulently Obtaining Over $1 Million in PPP Loans…] Merton Weed Jr., 51, of Norway, Maine, was arrested in February on an indictment alleging he filed eight fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications between May 2020 and Jan. 2021, receiving over $240,000 in Small Business Administration-backed loans. The PPP applications allegedly listed false monthly payroll…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics Saturday for fiscal year 2023 showing just over two million total apprehensions of illegal aliens within the last 12 months. [RELATED: Biden’s Open Border Welcomes the Next Terrorist Attack…] From Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, CBP reports a total of 2,063,692 enforcement actions against migrants entering the country illegally — just shy of the 2.2 million apprehensions during FY 2022. Apprehensions refer to the temporary detainment and processing of migrants who are not lawfully in the U.S. which may or may not result in an arrest. Those two million…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a draft Wind Energy Area (WEA) on Thursday identifying over 3.5 million acres in the Gulf of Maine it says are suitable for floating offshore wind leasing and development, but leaving out an area critical to the state’s fishing industry. [RELATED: Fishermen’s Alliance Highlights Offshore Wind Threat to Haddock, Lobster Fisheries in Gulf of Maine…] The draft WEA ranges from approximately 23-120 miles of the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, covering a total area of about 3,519,067 acres. Development of offshore wind in the drafted area has a combined capacity…

The Mills Administration released a report Wednesday detailing how the governor has spent the nearly $1 billion in COVID-era relief funds over the past two years. [RELATED: Mills Directs $6.5 Million of COVID-Era Funds to Maine Electrical Grid Upgrades, Favoring ‘Minority and Ethnically Diverse’ Business Owners…] The report comes on the two-year anniversary of Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Recovery and Jobs Plan, which is the governor’s plan to use the over $984 million allocated to the State of Maine by the $1.9 trillion federal American Rescue Plan omnibus package of 2021. The Mills Administration is required by federal law to…

A Brunswick pastor preaching outside Portland’s Planned Parenthood abortion clinic Tuesday was told by police that he was violating the Maine Civil Rights Act and may be subject to arrest or other civil enforcement measures. [RELATED: Pro-Abortion Satanist Berates Christians Protesting Outside Portland Planned Parenthood…] The pastor, John Andrade of Pro-Life Missionaries of Maine, frequently preaches outside of the Congress St. abortion clinic using a small microphone and amplifier. Andrade told the Maine Wire that he has had countless interactions with the Portland Police, and that last week he was approached by officers alongside Maine Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin…

Portland Police announced Wednesday that a juvenile has been arrested in connection to a drive-by shooting that occurred in Kennedy Park Monday. [RELATED: Lewiston Teens Released on House Arrest After Being Charged for Stolen Firearm, Drug Trafficking…] On Monday afternoon, shortly after 4 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting at Kennedy Park. Witnesses told police that a silver SUV occupied by two black males drove into the area and fired a gun at another male, who was in another vehicle. The suspects then fled the area towards Cumberland Avenue. Witnesses were able to provide a description of…

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comments from Harold Pachios. The City of Portland’s Committee on Sustainability and Transportation will hear an informational presentation Thursday evening regarding a proposal to rename Marginal Way in honor of former Democratic U.S. Senator from Maine George Mitchell. Thursday’s presentation will be given by Portland-based attorney Harold Pachios, who served as White House Press Secretary under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and was former chairman of the Maine Democratic Party as well as the Democratic nominee in Maine’s First Congressional District in 1980. Pachios told the Maine Wire that he will be giving…

Gov. Janet Mills declared at a Tuesday afternoon ceremony held at the Blaine House that October is now Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the State of Maine. The governor’s announcement, which included telling her own story as a survivor of domestic violence, was made alongside members of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. “Some years ago, there was a young woman who dated a man who was handsome and charming and smart, and she was in love with him,” Gov. Mills said in her Tuesday remarks. “The man was also an alcoholic, as it turned out. And one night…

Maine State Rep. Ann Fredericks (R-Sanford) has submitted a request for a resolution in the second legislative session that would direct the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (MECDC) to reestablish a one-to-one requirement for its syringe exchange programs. MECDC partners with several nonprofit organizations throughout the state to provide individuals with sterile hypodermic needles in exchange for dirty ones in an effort to reduce the spread of bloodborne illnesses and encourage the safe disposal of sharps. An executive order signed by Gov. Janet Mills in March 2020 removed the one-to-one needle exchange requirement, meaning that MECDC’s partners could…

The Portland City Council is set to reconsider declaring a state of limited emergency to expand capacity at the city’s Homeless Services Center. [RELATED: Portland City Council Rejects Proposal to Add Bunk Beds to Shelter Amidst Homelessness Crisis…] A motion to approve the expansion, which would have added 50 beds to the shelter, narrowly failed by a 4-5 vote at the Council’s Oct. 2 meeting. The Council then voted 5-4 to indefinitely postpone the shelter expansion. At the request of Councilor Regina Phillips, the order has been placed on the agenda for the Council’s Monday, Oct. 16 meeting. For the…

Two Lewiston teens were arrested late Saturday night after a traffic stop led to the discovery of a stolen firearm and illegal drugs packaged for distribution. The two juveniles, one age 16 and the other age 17, were stopped by Lewiston Police at approximately 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Lewiston Police seized 15.9 grams of suspected fentanyl and 23.3 grams of suspected crack cocaine as result of the traffic stop. The illegal drugs were all individually wrapped in packages intended for distribution, Lewiston Police wrote in a Monday press release. The 16-year-old was charged with Receiving Stolen Property — a Class B…

A man was arrested Thursday near Portland’s largest homeless encampment at the Marginal Way Park and Ride after reportedly entering a local business and threatening employees and customers with a knife. [RELATED: ‘Enough is Enough’: Portland Business Owners Speak Out About Crime and Violence in City’s Homeless Encampments…] In an email to city and state officials, local business owner Sanford Fogg described the incident, and demanded that city officials do more to protect businesses and innocent bystanders near the encampment. “It is only a matter of time, and it almost happened a half hour ago, when one of these pitiful…

As the death toll in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict continues to rise, the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (Maine DSA) and the Communist Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held a rally in support of Hamas in Portland’s Monument Square Wednesday evening. The militant Islamist organization Hamas launched a multifaceted terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, crossing over the Israel-Gaza border, including an attack on a music festival that killed at least 260 people. “The corporate media and politicians want the public to believe that Israel is simply defending itself from ‘terrorism’ — that’s a lie,” Zach Campbell…

Maine State Rep. Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) has requested to introduce a bill in the second legislative session restricting the sale or transfer of fetal remains, a move that comes following a tense battle in the first legislative session over Gov. Janet Mill’s late-term abortion bill. [RELATED: Maine Senate Blocks Ban on Trafficking in Aborted Baby Remains…] Human fetal tissue can be donated to medical research organizations by abortion providers within certain federal laws and regulations, including requiring the informed consent of the woman, and that providers cannot financially gain from their participation in fetal tissue donation. Although abortion providers cannot…

Aidan Kearney, the blogger behind “Turtleboy Daily News,” was arrested Wednesday morning on several counts of witness intimidation and one count of conspiracy related to his coverage of the murder case against Karen Read. In recent months Kearney has covered the Read case extensively on his online blog, and has often attended Read’s pretrial hearings. Read is accused of hitting Boston police officer John O’Keefe with her car outside of a home in Canton, Massachusetts, while under the influence of alcohol in January 2022, and is scheduled to go to trial on March 12, 2024. The Read case has received…

The City of Auburn saw a 330 percent increase in residents seeking aid from the city’s General Assistance program in 2022, according to a report released Thursday by the Auburn Community Development Office. [RELATED: Maine Resettlement Agencies Set to Double Number of Refugees Taken in for FY24: Maine Public…] The report, the Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER), covers the city’s use of federal funds granted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs. From July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, Auburn received 426 applications for General…

Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has issued subpoenas to the liberal dark money giant Arabella Advisors and its multibillion-dollar network of nonprofits that bankroll several of Maine’s progressive organizations and causes, according to a report from the Washington Free Beacon. [RELATED: Documents Offer Insight Into Left-Wing Dark Money Juggernaut Active in Maine Politics: Free Beacon…] Issued on Sept. 22, the subpoenas target records from Arabella’s New Venture Fund, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the North Fund, and seek to uncover whether the nonprofit network has run afoul of charity tax laws and whether Arabella is obtaining illegal profits from…

A Moscow court on Tuesday rejected an appeal of the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter and Bowdoin graduate Evan Gershkovich, meaning he will remain imprisoned until at least until the end of November. [RELATED: Bowdoin Grad, Wall Street Journal Reporter Arrested in Russia for “Espionage”…] The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Gershkovich on espionage charges in March of this year in Yekaterinburg, alleging that the Journal reporter was attempting to obtain classified information. The 31-year-old reporter, his family, the WSJ, and the U.S. government have denied the spying allegations, declaring Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained. “It has now…

A South Thomaston man was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison earlier this week for fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in COVID-era relief funds as part of a bank fraud scheme. At a federal court in Portland Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Mark X. Haley II, 43, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, after a guilty plea by Haley in February of this year. He was also ordered to pay $1,010,581 in restitution — the amount of money he succeeded in fraudulently obtaining under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) meant to help…

Maine’s three refugee resettlement agencies have been approved to resettle double the amount of refugees in fiscal year 2024 (FY24) than they did in FY23, according to a Friday report from Maine Public. Refugees are a separate population from the state’s asylum seekers, who are in the U.S. awaiting adjudication on their asylum application — whereas refugees are brought to the U.S. via the federal Refugee Admissions Program and must undergo screening before entering the country. Unlike asylum seekers, refugees are allowed to work immediately upon arrival in the U.S., and can usually apply for citizenship within five years of…

The State of Maine, alongside 49 other states, has reached a settlement with the software company Blackbaud after a 2020 cyber attack led to the exposure of millions of Americans’ personal data, according to a Thursday press release from Attorney General Aaron Frey. Blackbaud, a company that provides data management software to various organizations throughout the U.S., has agreed to pay a total of $49.5 million to the states that are part of the settlement. Maine will receive $412,000 from the settlement. The software company fell victim to a cyber attack in May 2020 that led to highly sensitive data…

A Maine cross country runner who competed last year in the Western Maine Conference (WMC) Boys Cross Country meets is now regularly beating female competitors after transitioning into a girl. The transgender athlete also just so happens to have a father who is the Director of Clinical Ethics at Maine Medical Center, which prescribes sex change hormones and puberty blockers to minors through the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital’s “Gender Clinic”, and a mother who is a feminist ethics professor at Bates College. Soren Stark-Chessa, a sophomore at the Maine Coast Waldorf school in Freeport, last weekend took fifth place in…

A Maine sex offender out on probation was arrested in Lewiston Wednesday after he allegedly aggressively exposed himself and attempted to force his way into a stopped vehicle. On Wednesday afternoon, Lewiston Police responded to the area of Main St. and Middle St. after several reports of a male “aggressively exposing himself,” the police said in a Wednesday press release. The exposed suspect at one point allegedly attempted to enter a vehicle that was stopped at a red light, threatening the driver with harm, according to police. After arriving on the scene, Lewiston Police identified 57-year-old Christopher Good of the…

Residents of Portland’s largest homeless encampment at the Marginal Way Park and Ride lot now have less than a month to leave, after the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) set a Nov. 1 date to sweep the encampment on Wednesday. [RELATED: “We’re in the midst of an unprecedented crisis”: Portland Mayor Focuses on Housing, Homelessness in State of the City Address…] In August, the MaineDOT separated half of the Park and Ride with a concrete barrier to temporarily designate half of the lot exclusively for the rapidly growing homeless encampment. The Park and Ride encampment has almost doubled in size…

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to three felony firearm possession charges during his arraignment in a Delaware federal court on Tuesday, according to NBC news. [RELATED: Susan Collins Rips Hunter Biden Plea Deal, Questions President Biden’s Involvement in Suspect Foreign Business Deals…] The counts accuse the president’s son of lying on a federal form about his use of illegal drugs when he purchased a Colt Cobra revolver in Delaware in October of 2018, and of possessing a firearm while using narcotics. Biden’s not guilty plea comes after a pretrial diversion deal related to the gun charges that could have kept…

Portland Mayor Kate Snyder delivered her final State of the City Address as mayor Monday afternoon, focusing primarily on the city’s housing and homelessness crises. [RELATED: ‘Enough is Enough’: Portland Business Owners Speak Out About Crime and Violence in City’s Homeless Encampments…] Mayor Snyder began her address by describing the perilous state of the economy since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — which began shortly after she assumed her office. “As we all know so well, there is no status quo,” Snyder said. “A new normal is consistently redefined, and our favorable economy from several years ago has been…

The Maine State Law Enforcement Association (MSLEA) ratified a two-year contract with the State of Maine over the weekend, granting several pay increases, increases to paid parental leave, and other bonuses. The MSLEA is the state’s third largest union, representing approximately 375 positions. [RELATED: Mills Admin Seeks Mediation to Move Forward Contract Negotiations with Maine State Employee Union… The contract, formally ratified by a vote of the union’s members on Sept. 29, provides a six percent pay increase for the pay period closest to Oct. 1, 2024, with an additional three percent increase effective July 1, 2024. It also establishes…

Cumberland County District Attorney Jackie Sartoris joined Matt Gagnon on Newsradio WGAN Monday morning to discuss Portland’s encampment crisis and the issues her office faces due to a backlog of cases and lack of staffing at the Cumberland County Jail. Sartoris told Gagnon that the homeless encampments in Portland are “definitely getting worse.” [RELATED: Maine ACLU Demands Portland Stop ‘Criminalizing Homelessness’, Calls Encampment Sweeps ‘Inherently Racist’…] “The encampments issue for me has been rising in terms of my concerns for a while,” Sartoris said, describing a system of “lawless power structure within the encampments” that put the people that live…

Parents across Maine have been left confused in recent days by their children receiving Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards in the mail from the state. Maine schoolchildren are receiving the cards as part of the final round of a Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) food assistance program meant to help support families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. EBT cards are traditionally distributed not to minors but to adults who apply for welfare benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). [RELATED: EBT Cards for Kids? It’s Happening in Maine…] Earlier…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday the latest round of grants awarded through the state’s Community Resilience Partnership, which since its inception in December 2021 has awarded nearly $6.1 million in grants to companies , local governments and nonprofits under the banner of climate change. This round of grants awards $2.4 million to 53 communities across Maine, including the Penobscot Nation, Long Island, Camden, and Fryeburg. “Maine’s work to address climate change is reducing costs for Maine people, creating new jobs and career opportunities, strengthening our communities, and protecting our precious environment,” Gov. Mills said in a Friday press release. Mills’…

The impending federal government shutdown was averted late Saturday after President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill that passed with bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate. [RELATED: Low Approval Ratings for Congress and Biden Persist as Government Shutdown Looms: Gallup Poll…] The bill, H.R. 5860, is a continuing resolution that will fund the government until Nov. 17. Notably, the spending bill excludes additional aid to Ukraine — a measure which President Biden decried in a statement Saturday after the bill passed, despite calling the bill “good news for the American people.” “While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority…

The Sanford Police Department announced Friday that two men were arrested in connection to the non-fatal stabbing of homeless man that occurred early Thursday morning. [RELATED: Sanford Man Stabbed Multiple Times After Having His Bike Stolen Near City’s Homeless Hot Spot…] Derrick Roberts-Poulin, 21, of Sanford, and Jordan Roberge, also 21 and of Sanford were arrested late Thursday afternoon. Both men face charges of Robbery and Elevated Aggravated Assault in the stabbing of 38-year-old William Southworth. The stabbing occurred near one of the city’s homeless hot spots, at the intersection of Emery Street and Heritage Crossing. The two men allegedly…

Maine Sen. Angus King and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) earlier this week introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate September as “National Recovery Month” amid a nationwide uptick in overdose fatalities. [RELATED: Mills Touts Opioid Policies as Overdoses in Maine Total Almost 6,000 This Year…] Maine saw a record 716 lives lost in 2022 due to overdoses, and a total of 10,110 documented overdoses that year alone, according to a report from the Attorney General’s Office. More than 80 percent of the fatal overdoses were caused by fentanyl — often in combination with other illegal drugs, such as cocaine,…

Portland business owners and retail workers joined the organization “Enough is Enough” to release a video Thursday drawing attention to the growing crime and violence in the city’s homeless encampments. [RELATED: Maine ACLU Demands Portland Stop ‘Criminalizing Homelessness’, Calls Encampment Sweeps ‘Inherently Racist’…] “Enough is Enough” is a Portland-based Ballot Question Committee that launched in 2022 in opposition to several citizen initiatives led by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (MDSA). “Untold stories of assaults, harassment, hard drug use, human waste, and discarded needles plague the area while the city council ignores pleas for assistance,” Enough is Enough wrote in…

Job approval ratings for Congress and President Joe Biden remain low ahead of an impending government shutdown, according to polling data released Tuesday by Gallup. As infighting among House Republican over an appropriations bill continues, Congress has less than three days to find the funds to keep the government running before the 12:01 a.m. deadline Sunday. Just 17 percent of Americans, according the Gallup poll, approve of the way Congress is handling its job — a level consistent with the 16 to 23 percent ratings the lawmakers have received since October 2021. Although there is a split among Republicans and…

A Sanford man is in stable condition after being stabbed multiple times early Thursday morning by two men who stole his bike near one of the city’s homeless hot spots, according to the Sanford Police. [RELATED: Sanford Suspends Syringe Exchange Program, Cleans Homeless Encampment…] At about 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Sanford Police were called to the intersection of Emery Street and Heritage Crossing due to a report of a stabbing and gunshots. Police said witnesses told them two males approached William Southworth, 38, and stole his bicycle, leading to a physical confrontation in which one of the men fired three to…

The ACLU of Maine joined the Communist Party for Socialism and Liberation and other advocacy groups Tuesday to urge the Portland City Council to end its policy of encampment sweeps and to testify against their proposed expansion of the city’s Homeless Services Center (HSC). The Maine ACLU joined protesters outside Portland City Hall before a scheduled workshop on the City Council’s proposal to use an emergency declaration to relax city building ordinances in order to add 150 bunk beds to the HSC, at a cost of over $130,000. Tuesday’s protest came within two weeks of another “Stop the Sweeps” protest…

A South Portland Police K-9 team successfully located a burglary suspect Wednesday who had fled the scene and hidden himself in a dumpster. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, at around 6 a.m., the South Portland Police received an urgent call regarding an ongoing burglary at a business in the west end of the city. After patrol officers arrived on the scene, they confirmed the burglary and found that the suspect had fled the scene. South Portland Police K-9 Sauer and his handler, Officer Ezekiel Collins, were dispatched to the scene, where they began tracking the suspect from his last known location.…

A flyer advertising a sex therapist’s “Raising Sexually Healthy Children” workshop hosted by the Greely Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) was given out to some 1st and 3rd grade students in Maine School Administrative District #51 (MSAD #51). The issue of the flyer, which came as part of MSAD #51 Superintendent Jeff Porter’s Sept. 22 District Newsletter, was raised at Tuesday night’s Cumberland Town Council Meeting by Cumberland parent Scott Jordan, who asked the Councilors if they felt the flyer was appropriate to be seen by 1st and 3rd grade students. [RELATED: “Put that right down! That is inappropriate material!”: Maine…

The Maine State Police announced Wednesday that they have made three arrests in relation to an arson, robbery, and homicide case that dates back to October 2017. On the morning of Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017, authorities responded to a structure fire in Whitneyville, Maine. After the fire was under control, authorities discovered the body of the homeowner, 48-year-old fisherman Wayne Foss. The autopsy report confirmed that the manner of Foss’ death was homicide, according to a press release from the Maine Department of Public Safety. Foss’ daughter told the Bangor Daily News in May that her father was involved in…

Information released this month by Portland officials revealed that the city’s effort to place roughly 100 homeless individuals in shelters or affordable housing cost taxpayers $65,000 and resulted in just 18 people accepting the offer. Nonprofit groups, in partnership with the city, staged a table outside of the Fore River Parkway encampment for several weeks before it was swept and cleared on Sept. 6. City officials never revealed exactly how much the efforts to provide taxpayer-funded services to those homeless individuals cost. But buried in a draft of an emergency declaration related to Portland’s encampment crisis considered by the City Council…

A Cumberland, Maine, Town Council meeting became heated Tuesday evening when a parent confronted the Councilors with sexually explicit images from the book “Gender Queer” which is in the town’s school libraries. The parent, Scott Jordan of Cumberland, previously brought the blown-up images of the book’s minor characters performing oral sex with a strap-on dildo to a Maine School Administrative District #51 (MSAD #51) Board meeting last week. Several other parents attended and spoke at the Sept. 18 School Board meeting, most of whom spoke out against the book — while two other parents supported the book being in the…

The Democratic Mayor of San Francisco announced a plan Tuesday morning to address the city’s drug and homelessness crises that would require residents to undergo substance abuse screening and treatment to be eligible to receive welfare funds. “We need to make a significant change,” Mayor London Breed said at a Tuesday morning news conference. “No more ‘anything goes’ without accountability, no more handouts without accountability.” “San Francisco is a city of compassion, but also a city that demands accountability,” Breed said. “We fund a wide range of services, and we want to help people get the care they need but…

A Portland Police response to report of an attempted burglary ended in a man’s suicide early Tuesday morning, according to a Portland PD press release. After responding to a report of a man trying to break into a Hampshire St. home at 4:21 a.m. on Tuesday, a Portland Police officer approached a man sitting on the sidewalk who matched the description of the report. The man then stood up and started to walk away from the officer before beginning to stab himself, the police stated. Officers tried to administer first aid after the man collapsed onto the ground, but the…

House Republicans announced Tuesday that they have launched an investigation into President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm over her taxpayer-funded electric vehicle (EV) summer 2023 road trip. Granholm’s 770-mile multi-state road trip through the southeast U.S., which was “intended to draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars,” was documented in a September NPR article entitled “Electric cars have a road trip problem, even for the secretary of energy.” NPR’s Camila Domonoske, who travelled alongside Granholm, told the story of the numerous challenges of attempting a road trip…

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Monday that Maine taxpayers affected by Hurricane Lee will now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file various individual and business tax returns and to make tax payments. The extension follows the Sept. 15 disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and approved by President Joe Biden in response to the hurricane. [RELATED: Mills Declares State of Emergency in Anticipation of Hurricane Lee, Requests Disaster Declaration from Biden…] Under the declaration, residents or business owners in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, Washington,…

The Portland City Council will host a second public workshop Tuesday on possible policy solutions to the city’s homeless encampment crisis. Tuesday afternoon’s workshop will be a follow-up to a previous Sept. 14 workshop, in which Mayor Kate Snyder and the Council discussed a proposal to temporarily increase the emergency shelter capacity at Portland’s Homeless Services Center (HSC). [RELATED: Portland Mayoral Candidates Explain How They Would Tackle the City’s Homelessness Crisis…] The HSC currently has 208 beds, each of which has been occupied every night since its opening on March 27, 2023. City leadership hopes that a new $4.59 million…

The new Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC) Dr. Puthiery Va joined the taxpayer-funded Maine Calling radio program Monday, urging listeners to take the latest COVID-19 vaccine and to wear masks. [RELATED: CDC, FDA Say Everyone Should Get the Latest Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 Shots…] Dr. Va, a University of New England graduate, became the head of the Maine CDC in August, after previously serving as the Director of Public Health for a population center of the Navajo Nation in Arizona. Va was born in a Thai refugee camp after her parents fled the Communist Khmer Rouge…

Canadian Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota issued an apology Sunday for recognizing a 98-year-old Nazi Waffen-SS veteran for a standing ovation during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the Canadian Parliament last week. https://twitter.com/UnityNewsNet/status/1705841969845403788?s=20 Following President Zelensky’s remarks Friday, Rota recognized elderly 3rd Reich veteran Yaroslav Hunka as a “Ukrainian hero” — a decision which he said Sunday was entirely his own. Hunka served as a member of the 13th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS, a division which — as noted by the community note below the X post above — is accused of having…

The field for the Republican primary race in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District grew Monday when former NASCAR driver and State Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) announced his candidacy, hoping to be the one to take on Democrat Rep. Jared Golden in 2024. Theriault, 29, is currently serving in his first term in Augusta representing Maine House District 1, after defeating Democrat Dana Marie Appleby by a landslide in 2022. He is the third Republican to officially enter the race, after State Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) and former Maine Senate candidate Rob Cross. [RELATED: State Rep Mike Soboleski Officially Announces Campaign…

The Portland Police Department issued a warning Monday regarding an extortion scheme scammers are using to take people’s money using Bitcoin ATM machines. The scam, according to Portland Police, begins with the fraudsters sending their victims “urgent, fear-evoking messages with pop-up windows on PCs, emails and texts” that falsely inform the victim their personal information has been compromised. The scammers then tell their victims that there is a billing or payment issue with a common third party the victim may have dealing with, such as PayPal or Amazon, the police explained. “Something to do with child pornography on their computer,”…

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, and his wife were indicted Friday on federal bribery charges for allegedly using the senator’s influence to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, gold bars, and a luxury convertible. https://twitter.com/SDNYnews/status/1705258251669905864?s=20 The grand jury indictment, made public Friday morning, alleges that Menendez and his wife Nadine participated in a years-long bribery scheme beginning in 2018 with New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes, according to a Friday press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern…

Auburn Police received a call Wednesday reporting that a man in the area of 21 Center Street was displaying a firearm in his waist band. [RELATED: “Zombie Slasher” Machete and Loaded Shotgun Horrify Store Owners Across from Portland Homeless Encampment…] The caller provided police with a detailed description of the male suspect and the firearm. Upon arrival, Auburn Police officers searched the area and found a homeless encampment, where they located a man who matched the caller’s description. Police identified the suspect as Gabriel Sanchez, 40, with a last known address in Lewiston. Gabriel Sanchez | Source: Auburn Police Department…

In a Tuesday evening debate hosted by CBS 13, Fox 23 and the Bangor Daily News, Portland’s 2023 mayoral candidates each weighed in on how they would tackle the city’s homelessness crisis if elected. [RELATED: Portland Public Schools Enrolled More Than 300 Homeless Students for 2022-2023 School Year…] Tuesday’s debate marked the first time that Portland voters got to hear from all five candidates who will appear on November’s ballot in a moderated debate format. The candidates are Portland City Councilors Mark Dion, Pious Ali, and Andrew Zarro, former City Councilor Justin Costa, and political newcomer and software developer Dylan…

Boston University announced Wednesday that it is launching an inquiry into Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research (CAR) following accusations from former staff members that allege mismanagement of grant funds, a high turnover rate, and general disorganization. The inquiry, which BU said will be “focused on the center’s culture and its grant management practices,” comes just a week after Kendi laid off more than half of the center’s staff members. “We are expanding our inquiry to include the Center’s management culture and the faculty and staff’s experience with it,” BU spokesperson Colin Riley said. “Boston University and Dr. Kendi…

Unanswered questions linger regarding a July 911 call to the South Portland Police Department asking police to respond to the home of the Chair of the South Portland Human Rights Commission Pedro Vazquez. Based on an anonymous tip, the Maine Wire filed a public records request with the South Portland Police Department seeking records concerning a child welfare 911 call regarding Vazquez. In response, the South Portland PD provided a heavily redacted 911 call transcript which shows a clearly distressed and panicking woman — who is not identified in the transcript — calling on behalf of a friend who had…

Maine school libraries are stocking a children’s graphic novel meant to teach “news literacy” that contains thinly veiled allusions to COVID-19, Donald Trump, and passages meant to persuade children not to trust their families over the corporate news media. The graphic novel, “Killer Underwear Invasion: How to spot fake news, disinformation & conspiracy theories,” is by Canadian author and illustrator Elise Gravel. The book is one of many recommended by the National Literacy Project, a nonprofit that has partnered with the Maine Department of Education to help teach Maine students which sources of information are trustworthy. In partnership with several…

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Thursday that approximately 472,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the United States will be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which will prevent them from being removed from the country and give them employment authorization. The decision, according to a Thursday DHS press release, comes due to “extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevent individuals from safely returning.” The safety concerns cited by the DHS include the South American country’s “humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions.” Under the TPS designation, Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. on or before July 31, 2023,…

Joseph Bankman, the father of the infamous former crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, allegedly held a role on the advisory board of a top liberal dark money consulting firm, Arabella Advisors, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. The Washington, D.C. Arabella Advisors serves as a passthrough organization for wealthy progressives to donate, often anonymously, to left-wing political activists and candidates. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Delaware against Bankman-Fried’s parents by his former crypto exchange company FTX, accuses the couple of exploiting their “access and influence within the FTX enterprise to enrich themselves, directly and indirectly, by millions of dollars.” According to…

There were approximately 320 students from homeless families enrolled in the Portland Public School (PPS) system during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the district’s fast facts report. The PPS report states that five percent of the 6,424 total students — around 320 students — enrolled in the district during the 2022-2023 school year were “McKinney-Vento” students. McKinney-Vento students are children and youth experiencing homelessness that qualify for federal assistance under the 1987 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The federal legislation’s definition of homelessness includes children who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, who are sharing housing with others…

Maine State Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) announced Thursday that he is officially entering the Republican primary election for a chance to challenge Democratic Rep. Jared Golden in the 2024 race for the state’s 2nd Congressional District. [RELATED: State Rep Mike Soboleski Considers 2024 Challenge to Golden in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District: Interview] “The radical policies of Joe Biden and his enabler-in-chief Jared Golden have left Maine families behind,” Rep. Soboleski said in his campaign announcement. “Today, our southern border remains a free-for-all and a humanitarian crisis. Our parents continue to see their rights eroded, and Mainers struggle to make ends…

As part of the nearly $1 billion in federal funds Maine received from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday a $6.5 million electrical grid upgrade program for rural Maine businesses. The electrical grid upgrade program is the latest addition to Gov. Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, which launched in October 2021 after approval by the State Legislature. [RELATED: Janet Mills Awards $3.7 Million in Grants to Sea-Run Fish Habitat Restoration Projects…] “This important investment from my Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan will help growing Maine businesses access safe and reliable electricity to power their…

Maine State Rep. Josh Morris (R-Turner), ranking Republican member of the Legislature’s Insurance Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to Acting Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance Tim Schott calling for an investigation into alleged fraudulent insurance practices by Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash). [RELATED: Maine Senate President Troy Jackson Locked in Bitter Legal Fight Over Augusta Home He Bought – and Moved Into – in 2019] “I am writing on behalf of the thousands of Mainers that buy insurance, play by the rules, and are concerned about rising costs,” Rep. Morris wrote. “Any potential malfeasance should be taken seriously…

Three former intelligence officials who falsely tried to discredit the infamous Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation have been appointed to a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ‘Experts Group.’ [RELATED: Biden Campaign Prompted Ex-Spies, Intel Officials to Call Hunter’s Laptop Misinformation: Ex-CIA Director Morell] DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the formation of the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group, which will meet four times annually, Tuesday. The group, comprised of ex-intelligence officials, journalists, and human and civil rights advocates, will consult the DHS on threats foreign and domestic including domestic violent extremists, cyber criminals, drug-trafficking cartels, and other transnational criminal…

Parents in the Maine School Administrative District #51 (MSAD #51) pushed back against pornographic books in the district’s school libraries at a chaotic Monday evening School Board meeting. The brouhaha follows the district’s July Board meeting, which abruptly adjourned following one Cumberland parent, Scott Jordan, raising his concerns to the Board about the sexually explicit book Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe being in the Greely High School Library. [RELATED: Maine School Board Shuts Down Discussion of Pornographic Books, Police Called on Parents] Although the speaker prior to Jordan in the public comment section of the July meeting was given over…

A Texas-based U.S. judge ruled Wednesday against an Obama-era immigration policy meant to prevent the deportation of and provide work permits to immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children. U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Texas Andrew Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), was unlawful — despite an effort by the Biden administration to increase the program’s regulation in order to preserve it. DACA was created in 2012 after Congress failed to pass legislation granting lawful status for individuals brought illegally to the…

A Portland high school was evacuated Monday morning after police received an unfounded text message claiming there was in active shooter in the school, according to a Portland Police Department press release. The Portland Regional Communication center received a 911 text at 9:21 a.m. Monday stating there was an active shooter in Casco Bay High School. Officers who arrived on the scene were told by school staff that they were unaware of the text. School officials made the decision to evacuate all students to a nearby location, and fifteen Portland Police officers secured the perimeter of the school and began…

The Communist Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (MDSA), the Maine People’s Alliance (MPA), and other left-wing activists rallied outside Portland City Hall Friday to protest the city’s policy of clearing out its homeless encampments. Event organizers are calling for the city to pass an ordinance stopping the sweeps of the encampments until more long-term housing solutions are available, and some speakers wanted the city to sanction a permanent homeless encampment. [RELATED: Natural Disaster Threatens Man-Made Disaster as Hurricane Lee Bears Down on Portland’s Growing Homeless Camp] Friday’s “Stop the Sweeps” protest came a…

Portland’s now-largest homeless encampment at the Marginal Way Park and Ride has approximately doubled in size since August, with a total of 77 tents according to the city’s Unhoused Community Dashboard. [RELATED: ‘Millsvilles’: The Maine Wire Visits Portland’s Drug-Infested Tent Cities] There have also been 91 new tents observed in Portland in September, for a total of 239 tents citywide, according to the dashboard. This weekend the rapidly growing Park and Ride encampment will have to face the high-speed winds and flooding which will come with the arrival of Hurricane Lee Friday night. One side of the Park and Ride…

In advance of Hurricane Lee’s projected landfall Friday evening, Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a State of Emergency Thursday and requested that President Joe Biden issue a preemptive Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration for the state. The governor’s proclamation states that Hurricane Lee will likely cause “sustained high winds, pounding surf, and heavy rains” that could pose “an imminent threat to public safety as well as damage to public and private property.” The proclamation also authorizes the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to activate and deploy all resources necessary to respond to the hurricane. “The preemptive actions I took today position…

CNN inadvertently confirmed several key claims regarding the corruption allegations against President Joe Biden when the network’s “fact checkers” tried Wednesday to debunk claims House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made Tuesday when announcing a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. “House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct,” McCarthy announced Tuesday. “Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.” “These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by House of Representatives,” he said. The CNN article comes just two days after White House spokesperson Iam…

In a new guidance issued Wednesday, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo warned young healthy adults under the age of 65 against taking the latest mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. [RELATED: Press Herald and Janet Mills’ Sister Hype “Eris” COVID-19 Variant to Push More mRNA Injections] This comes just days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced their approval of an updated mRNA vaccine for a new COVID variant dubbed “XBB.1.5.” The agency said unvaccinated children aged 6 months and up are eligible to receive the Moderna mRNA injection. “What I have directed our department to do is to…

An excerpt of a new biography of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) published in The Atlantic Wednesday tells the story of how Maine Sen. Angus King reportedly texted Romney four days before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol Building warning of threats of violence, gun smuggling, and plans to “storm the Capitol.” Romney relayed Sen. King’s warnings to then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who did not respond. [RELATED: Mitt Romney Calls on GOP Donors to Force “Lost-Cause” Candidates Out of 2024 Primary to Take Down Trump] King texted Romney on Jan. 2, 2021, citing a conversation that he…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday that her administration has awarded $3.7 million in grant funding to projects that will help the state’s sea-run fish species access their habitats. [RELATED: Gov Mills Pushes for 2023 Farm Bill to Include Increased Food Stamp Funding, ‘Climate-Smart’ Agriculture] Sea-run fish refer to species of fish that spend portions of their lives in both the ocean and freshwater, usually having to undergo a significant migration once or twice in their lifetime. Natural and manmade obstacles, such as dams or pollution, can be an impediment to the completion of their migration cycles. The projects receiving…

Florida Governor and current second-place 2024 Republican presidential primary candidate Ron DeSantis announced the formation of his campaign’s Maine leadership team Wednesday. The team of three includes former House Republican Leader and attorney Josh Tardy, Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), and State Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport). “Ron DeSantis’ leadership stands out to me like no Republican candidate has before, and that’s why I am proud to endorse DeSantis for President. He is truly the only candidate who can defeat Joe Biden and get the job done for Americans with no drama and no excuses,” former top Republican lawmaker Josh Tardy said…

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) announced Tuesday the arrest of a South Portland man on drug trafficking charges that resulted in the seizure of over two pounds of illegal drugs. [RELATED: Texas Fugitive Arrested for Trafficking $40,000 Worth of Illegal Drugs at Westbrook Motel] The MDEA said the arrest stemmed from a several month investigation conducted by the Cumberland District Task Force into illegal drug trafficking by 52-year-old Michael McNamara. During their investigation, undercover agents were able to purchase high quality methamphetamine from McNamara, while he was working as a general manager at Spring Point Tavern in South Portland.…

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Tuesday that he is directing House Republicans to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption. [RELATED: Majority of Americans Think Biden Was Involved in Hunter’s Business Dealings: CNN Poll] “House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct,” McCarthy told reporters outside his office Tuesday. “Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.” https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1701616470793547969?s=20 McCarthy referenced revelations made by GOP-led House Committees regarding Biden’s involvement in his family’s overseas business dealings, bank records showing nearly…

Washington University announced Monday that their physicians at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors for the purposes of gender transition. [RELATED: Freeport School District Set to Consider ‘Transgender and Gender Expansive’ Student Policy] “We are disheartened to have to take this step,” the university stated Monday. “However, Missouri’s newly enacted law regarding transgender care has created a new legal claim for patients who received these medications as minors.” “This legal claim creates unsustainable liability for health-care professionals and makes it untenable for us to continue…

Testimony from a CIA whistleblower to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence alleges that the agency bribed six experts in order to change their position on COVID-19’s origin, according to a Tuesday House Oversight Committee press release. [RELATED: House Oversight Report: Top Scientists Suppressed COVID Lab Leak Hypothesis to Protect China] The whistleblower, who presented themselves to the committees as a “highly credible senior-level CIA officer,” testified that six of the seven CIA officers assigned to a team tasked with analyzing the origins of COVID-19 concluded that the virus likely originated from…

Videos circulating widely on social media this week appear to show a migrant caravan of more 4,000 people is heading north towards the United States through Panama’s Darién Gap. [RELATED: US-Mexico Border Is World’s Deadliest Land Route For Migrants, Report Shows] Real America’s Voice host Ben Bergquam shared videos showing the migrant caravan on the scene in Lajas Blancas, Panama, to X. “I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s a sea of people, look at this,” Bergquam said. “All the way down to the river, guys, thousands, four thousand in one day.” Lajas Blancas has been “completely overrun,” Bergquam explained,…

Biden’s Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm had the police called on her over a dispute at a charging station at a Georgia rest stop during her four-day electric vehicle road trip this summer. The trip was intended to promote the ease and convenience of using EVs, but it backfired spectacularly. A Department of Energy staffer in Granholm’s entourage reportedly parked a gas-powered car in front of one of the station’s working chargers in order order to reserve it for Granholm’s luxury Cadillac Lyriq, according a Sunday NPR story entitled “Electric cars have a road trip problem, even for the secretary…

South Portland Police officers were dispatched to the Pine Haven Motel on Main St. in the early hours of Tuesday morning to respond to a report of a man holding a female occupant hostage at gunpoint, according to a Tuesday city press release. [RELATED: Maine AG: No Officer Wrongdoing in the 2021 Death of Man who Broke into Ex-Girlfriend’s House, Took Hostages, & Planted Pipe Bombs] After nearly four hours from the initial 1:00 a.m. dispatch, the Southern Maine SWAT team and Crisis Negotiators were able to convince the man to allow the female hostage to exit the motel room.…

The Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) announced Monday that it has filed a request for mediation to help advance contract negotiations with the labor union that represents Maine’s state employees. The Maine Service Employee Association Service Employees International Union 1989 (MSEA-SEIU), Maine’s second largest union, has struggled all year to get an agreeable pay proposal from the Mills Administration. The mediation request, through the Maine Labor Relations Board, comes after three months of tense contract negotiation between the State and MSEA-SEIU. Gov. Janet Mills and the State Legislature have allocated up to $99 million to negotiate during collective…

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Sunday that he has granted a pardon to a father who was prosecuted and convicted for protesting a Loudon County high school’s handling of his 15-year-old daughter’s sexual assault. [RELATED: Freeport School District Set to Consider ‘Transgender and Gender Expansive’ Student Policy] The father, plumber Scott Smith, was arrested and charged with Obstruction of Justice and Disorderly Conduct at a rowdy June 2021 Loudon County School Board meeting after a verbal altercation with a woman who said she didn’t believe his daughter was raped. At the school board meeting, Superintendent Scott Ziegler — who…

Minnesota will soon allow an estimated 81,000 illegal immigrants living in the state to receive a driver’s license, when the state’s “Driver’s Licenses for All” law goes into effect at the beginning of October. [RELATED: DeSantis Outlaws Out-Of-State Driver’s Licenses Issued To Illegal Immigrants] Driver’s Licenses for All was signed into Minnesota law by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in March. “Ensuring drivers in our state are licensed and carry insurance makes the roads safer for all Minnesotans,” Gov. Walz said in a March press release. “As a longtime supporter of this bill, I am proud to finally sign it into law, making…

A majority of Americans say they think President Joe Biden was involved in his son Hunter’s business dealings while he served as vice president to Barack Obama, according to a recent CNN poll conducted by Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS) The CNN poll comes as the special counsel appointed to oversee the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, David Weiss, intends to seek a grand jury indictment against the president’s son by the end of September. Hunter Biden has been the subject of a 5-year investigation and is facing a felony gun possession charge and misdemeanor tax charges after a plea…

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) announced Thursday that the Committee is investigating one of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s top prosecutors for alleged “abusive tactics” employed in the Trump Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe. [RELATED: House Judiciary Launches Probe into Fulton County DA’s ‘Politically Motivated’ Trump Indictment] In a Thursday letter to Special Counsel Jack Smith, Rep. Jordan alleges that Jay Bratt, a senior prosecutor in Smith’s office, improperly pressured an attorney for one of the defendants in the documents probe, longtime Trump aide Walt Nauta. Bratt allegedly told Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, “that the Administration would look more…

The Biden administration is considering forcing some migrant families who enter the United States illegally to remain near the border in Texas while awaiting adjudication on their asylum claims, three U.S. officials told the Los Angeles Times. [RELATED: Federal Judge Orders Texas to Remove 1,000 Floating Border Barrier, Gov Abbot Promises to Appeal] The remain-in-Texas policy, which has yet to be finalized, would effectively limit the migrant families’ abilities to travel within the U.S., while helping the administration quickly deport families who fail their initial asylum screenings and acting as a deterrent to other migrants from crossing the border. Under…

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey released a report on his office’s investigation into the 2021 death of a man who broke into the Livermore Falls home of his ex-girlfriend’s father, took the father and her boyfriend hostage, and planted 11 pipe bombs throughout the house before a standoff with police. Donald White, 44, of Jay, broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend’s father, 64-year-old Kenneth Smith, in the early hours of Monday, March 8, 2021 — armed with two firearms, zip-tie wrist restraints, and handcuffs. Smith, his granddaughter, daughter, and the daughter’s then-boyfriend were asleep inside the house. White entered…

Maine Regional School District 5’s (RSU5) Board of Directors is set to hear a first reading of a new policy next Wednesday regarding “transgender and gender expansive students” that would codify allowing school staff to keep issues related to students’ gender identity secret from their parents. RSU5 represents the towns of Freeport, Durham and Pownal, and a total of seven schools, from pre-k to high school. The stated goals of the policy are to “foster a learning environment that is safe and free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying,” and to “assist in the educational and social integration of transgender and…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared in a town hall event Wednesday evening that the city’s migrant crisis “will destroy” the city, while ripping the Biden Administration for not doing more to help the city cope with an influx in so-called asylum seekers. “We turned this city around in 20 months, and then what happened?” Adams said. “It started with a madman down in Texas, decided he wanted to bus people up to New York City,” he said, referring to Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s program of busing migrants to blue states in an effort to make them share the…

During her segment on the Maine Public’s “Maine Calling” radio show Wednesday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills was asked to address a Bangor Daily News article about a Patten man who died in police custody while high on a combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl and resisting arrest. The Maine State Police issued a statement Wednesday calling the BDN article “irresponsible journalism” after the outlet published the story without including comments from the Maine attorney general’s office, Maine State Police and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office. [RELATED: Maine State Police Slam Bangor Daily News for “Irresponsible Journalism” On Man’s Death in Police…