Beginning Wednesday, December 3, the Maine State Housing Authority will be opening its Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP) for the upcoming winter season. This comes after the federal government released $40 million in heating assistance funds to Maine that were initially delayed due to the prolonged government shutdown earlier this year. Typically, ECIP opens on November 1 each year, meaning that the program’s launch was pushed back by just over a month. Through this program,…

The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has announced the new standard offer price for Central Maine Power (CMP) customers in 2026, who will see a nearly 20 percent rate increase. Next year, the per kilowatt-hour rate will increase from 10.61 cents to 12.72 cents, resulting in an average $11 monthly increase for households using 550 kilowatt-hours each month. Impacting the supply portion of the bill, the standard offer rate affects the amount of money going…

Despite dozens of approved projects and strong demand for new housing, several major developments in Portland are stalled as rising construction and financing costs collide with the city’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, developers and city officials said during a November 6 panel hosted by the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. The ordinance, approved by voter referendum in 2020, requires housing projects with 10 units or more to set aside 25 percent of units for lower- to…

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…

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) signed a controversial agreement earlier this month to purchase four hydroelectric dams on the Kennebec River, with plans to decommission them, claiming the plan will restore ecological health and preserve economic vitality. Many Mainers have raised serious concerns about the plans, doubting the environmental nonprofit’s claims about preserving the economy and fearing that decommissioning the dams could shut down the Sappi Somerset paper mill. [RELATED: Maine’s 67% Renewable Energy Claim is…

A Mechanic Falls man who disappeared four decades ago while on a solo worldwide sailing dare will be honored by a new bridge in his hometown. Bill Dunlop, 41, arrived in England in 1982 after sailing in a virtual bathtub from Portland. Dunlop had successfully sailed in the smallest boat ever – at nine feet not much larger than a bathtub – to have crossed the Atlantic. He had set sail from Portland in a…

A man who gruesomely dismembered his father in Gardiner more than a decade ago is now enjoying the fruits of “limited” freedom. Since he’s dutifully taking his anti-psychotic medications, Leroy Smith III is gaining more judge-approved privileges. Smith, 35, was found to be not criminally responsible by reason of insanity for the bizarre 2014 killing. He became the first Maine detainee to be forcibly medicated under a state law that aims to restore the mental…

On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wolf permanently enjoined the State of Maine from enforcing the new limits on Super PAC contributions approved by voters last November. According to Judge Wolf, the Supreme Court’s fifteen-year-old ruling in Citizens United “forecloses limits on contribution to independent expenditure groups.” She also found that the law’s disclosure requirements were in violation of the First Amendment because they would encompass all Super PAC donors, regardless of how much any…

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office last week raided the American Lodge in Fairfield, resulting in one arrest and the seizure of over a dozen grams of fentanyl and other illegal drugs. According to the Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant for the American Lodge on Main Street in Fairfield was obtained after a month-long investigation into reports of illegal drugs being sold by the occupants of the lodge. [RELATED: Somerset County Sheriff Seizes $40,000 in Drugs,…

Former Maine Senate president Troy Jackson announced Monday morning that he is officially running for governor and plans to launch his campaign in Kittery at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at 11:30 a.m., according to a statement. Mainers, he says, are “under attack from billionaires, special interests, and their friends who control Washington.” Jackson pledged he would “fight for working people from day one.” “Too many Democrats have lost touch with working people or shown they’re…

If Maine’s anti-gun crowd resents the fake award the Portland Press Herald is boasting about possibly receiving for doing nothing, it’s for good reason. The Press Herald in cahoots with Maine Public and PBS is trumpeting the “award” nomination they received from National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences for their lame coverage of the 2023 mass killing in Lewiston. What the pre-party celebrants – no awards yet, just nominations – fail to point out…

Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) unveiled new rules on Friday that will impose additional red tape on Maine property owners trying to improve their property with accessories such as a deck, shed, or outdoor lighting. [RELATED: Maine’s LUPC Confirmation Hearing Once Again Becomes an Unusually Contentious Issue…] Starting on January 29, Mainers living in the state’s remote, unorganized territories will be required to let the LUPC know whenever they want to add any kind…

Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney is currently facing allegations before the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar concerning her conduct with respect to an Oakland woman who has alleged she was drugged and sexually assaulted in a Waterville bar. The complaint against Maloney was first reported by Keith Edwards of the Kennebec Journal, a “Maine Trust for Local News” newspaper. Last year, Pamela Boivin of Oakland filed a complaint with Maine’s…

More than half a million illegal immigrants with pending immigration cases with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have a criminal history, with tens of thousands convicted of sexual assault or murder. “There were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s docket, which includes those detained by ICE and on the agency’s non-detained docket. Of those, 435,719 are convicted criminals, and 226,847 have pending criminal charges,” said the ICE report to congress. https://twitter.com/shellenberger/status/1839741316068192551 The shocking…

The suspected gunman, arrested Sunday in Florida after his assassination attempt on former Republican President Donald Trump was foiled by the U.S. Secret Service, has been identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. [RELATED: Trump Targeted in Second Assassination Attempt at Florida Golf Club…] Routh, who was apprehended on I-95 after fleeing his sniper post alongside a chain link fence surrounding the Palm Beach golf course, was described by law enforcement as living in Hawaii. Online…