Note: This story was updated after publication to include comments from a law firm representing Metrc who asked to be described as a Metrc spokesperson. A former executive at Metrc, Inc., a major provider of cannabis tracking systems that is active in Maine, has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit accusing the company of enabling illegal marijuana diversion and retaliating against him after he raised concerns about the alleged practice internally. The lawsuit could have serious…

As Secretary of State Shenna Bellows launches her campaign to succeed Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) in 2026, she has not resigned from her current position. A failed 2023 bill could have forced her resignation to avoid a conflict of interest. [RELATED: The Audacity of Shenna Bellows…] “The sanctity of our elections is extremely important to me, as it should be to all of you on this committee. The Secretary of State oversees our elections here…

Mainers overwhelmed the Legislative Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology (EUT) on Thursday, many waiting in the corridor to the chance to have their voices heard during the public hearing on a potentially consequential group of bills that could repeal or curtail the contentious net energy billing (NEB) policies driving some Maine companies out of business and, as critics argued, unfairly passing down the costs of the program. [RELATED: Mainers Will Continue to Subsidize Solar…

One Bangor Democrat has now proposed exempting new cars from Maine’s annual vehicle safety inspections, making the legislative push to axe the requirement a bipartisan issue after a Sanford Republican introduced a similar measure earlier this year. Under the latest proposed bill, cars would not be required to undergo an annual safety inspection for the first three years after it is manufactured. That said, this exemption would be nullified if the vehicle were involved in…

A new petition on Change.org to recall Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) from office has already garnered over 13,000 signatures just two days after it was started in the wake of the governor’s spat with President Donald Trump over her insistence that men should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. [RELATED: Mills Faces All-Time Lowest Approval Rating Days After Spat with Trump: Pine Tree Poll…] “The feeling of disconnect between the populace and leadership is…

Judge Lance Walker issued a federal preliminary injunction on Thursday, halting Maine’s recently established 72-hour waiting period between purchasing and receiving a firearm, proposed in the legislature following the October 2023 Lewiston shooting. [RELATED: Maine Gun Dealers Left Without Guidelines on Controversial 72-Hour Waiting Period Law…] A group of firearm dealers brought a lawsuit against Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, alleging that the 72-hour waiting period violates the Constitution. The bill was ostensibly established to…

The South Portland Police announced late Thursday afternoon that they had arrested 20-year-old Ahmed Basheer Awad, who is suspected of injuring a man in a Wednesday shooting at the Maine Mall. South Portland Police, along with numerous other law enforcement agencies and emergency services, responded to the Maine Mall shortly before 4 p.m. on Wednesday for a reported shooting in the mall’s food court. A male victim in his late-20s was found at the scene…

More than 80 cannabis industry stakeholders gathered Friday in Augusta to address the myriad challenges facing Maine’s adult-use and medical marijuana markets as the State Legislature prepares for its 132nd session. From testing issues to regulatory complaints, the discussion painted a sobering picture of an industry grappling with high operating costs, illegal competition, and intense dissatisfaction with state oversight. State Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland), who organized the event and played emcee during the day-long discussions,…

The New York man charged in April with criminal threatening and aggravated sex trafficking for running his “massage parlor” as a prostitution house received more than $20,000 worth of federal grants before threatening an elderly woman with a handgun, according to records reviewed by the Maine Wire. Changsheng Xiao, 45, who is listed on police records as being from Flushing, N.Y., was arrested in late April at 977 Forest Avenue in Portland — the address…

Mobile tracking data linked to the home and work addresses of the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump show devices that also visited Washington, D.C., Plymouth, Mass., and a Pennsylvania gun shop where the shooter bought ammunition. The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project obtained mobile ad tracking data in order to analyze the location data of at least nine devices that regularly visited would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’ home and work in…

During a recent hearing on the national security risks of funding virus research like gain-of-function at labs such as Wuhan Institute of Virology, former CDC Director Robert Redfield accused the FDA of deliberately hiding the COVID vaccine side effects. [RELATED: U.S. Appeals Court Rules that mRNA COVID Shots Do Not Qualify as Vaccines…] “There was not appropriate transparency from the beginning about the potential side effects of these vaccines, and I do think there were inappropriate…

A Windham man who operated an account named “Femboy Cassidy” on a messaging application has pleaded guilty to the distribution and possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine announced Wednesday. Cote Noonan, 33, of Windham, pleaded guilty to the charges on Wednesday in a Portland federal court. Noonan faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years imprisonment, as well as a fine of up to $250,000…

A New York man was arrested last week at a Portland massage parlor on charges of criminal threatening and aggravated sex trafficking. According to the Portland Police Department’s arrest log, 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao of Flushing, N.Y., was arrested shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday, April 26, on Forest Avenue in Portland. Xiao was transported to the Cumberland County Jail and charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated sex trafficking. 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao…

Disclosure: The Maine Wire is a project of the Maine Policy Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to expand individual liberty and economic freedom in Maine. Once a national leader in education, Maine’s K-12 public schools system is facing a multitude of challenges, including declining reading and math scores, an increase in behavioral and mental health issues among students and a dire teacher shortage, according to a new report published Tuesday by the Maine Policy…

Portland Police announced Monday that over the past seven days they have seized a total of 37.7 grams of fentanyl from three separate arrests. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be considered a potentially lethal dose — meaning from March 5-11, Portland Police took nearly 20,000 potential fatal doses of fentanyl off the streets. [RELATED: Maine Reports Nearly 10,000 Drug Overdoses in 2023, 16 Percent Decrease in Fatal…