Maine

As Maine reaches a record 824 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in one day, the state is making adjustments to its vaccine rollout plan. On Wednesday, Gov. Janet Mills announced the state would join others that are vaccinating people ages 65 and older in a more expedited way than originally outlined. Instead of having people in those age groups wait for...

Security is being stepped up at the New Hampshire and Maine state houses following last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol and in response to a warning of the possibility of armed protests ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles has reinstated regular deadlines that were extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has rescinded a March executive order that eased requirements for renewals. The reinstated deadlines and requirements apply to driver’s licenses, driver permits, state identification cards, comm...

Two new concerning data points are illustrating the damage Maine’s economy is feeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

A proposal to prevent surprise medical bills that was promoted by Maine’s Republican senator has been signed into law. Sen. Susan Collins said the proposal was crafted because “the last thing patients should have to worry about while they are sick or recovering is receiving an unexpected bill because they were unaware they were receivin...

The owner of a Maine boat carrying four fishermen that sank off Cape Cod last fall has asked a court to declare it is not at fault. The owner of the 82-foot Emmy Rose wants a Maine federal court judge to declare that it is not liable for damages in the sinking. The owner, Boat Aaron and Melissa Inc., said…

The number of new COVID-19 infections and deaths soared to new heights during a surge of the coronavirus across the state, officials said Friday. The Maine Center for Disease Control reported 41 deaths and 782 infections, both daily records in the state. The rolling 14-day daily average was 476 infections on Friday compared to 187 infections on Dec...

Maine’s rollout of legal marijuana sales has been muted compared with other states because of the coronavirus pandemic, but shops are reporting brisk business nonetheless. Maine wasn’t able to replicate the grand opening scenes that have followed the first sales in other states. But regulators reported more than $1 million in sales in October, more...

The Maine Red Claws, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association, have canceled their 2021 season. The Red Claws are part of the NBA G League and play in Portland. Representatives for the club said Friday they “share in our fans’ disappointment we will not be having a season in Maine this year&#...

Mere days after a mob of Trump supporters engaged in a violent and deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, a protest against COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates is planned at Maine’s State House. Max Linn, a failed senate candidate who says he is now national director of a pro-Trump website, is organizing an event promoting refusal to adhere to....

Maine plans an online registry for COVID-19 vaccinations as the state prepares for the next phase of the rollout.

A short argument between members of a construction crew ended when one man fatally punched the other in Portland, Maine, in November. Robert Clarke of Braintree, Massachusetts, is now facing a charge of manslaughter in the death of 44-year-old Elliott Fama, of Wilmington, Massachusetts. Police say Clarke and Fama traveled to Portland together with ...

A Maine state representative wants colleagues to consider allowing online voting during future elections across the state.

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has caused frustrations across the country, but things have gone comparatively smoothly so far in Maine. According to a vaccine tracker from Bloomberg News, Maine is showing some positive signs. As of Monday evening, 2.49% of the state’s population had already gotten its first vaccine dose, ranking it sixth hi...

A group of Republican lawmakers plans to travel to the Maine Statehouse on Tuesday to call on their colleagues to get back to work, accusing Democratic leaders of dragging their feet. Legislative leaders countered that the work already is underway and the appropriations committee is meeting Tuesday. Republicans protested in the summer and fall when...

A two-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot in the head at his home in Waterville, Maine, state police said. Waterville police received a 911 call about the shooting just before noon Saturday. Investigators determined that one of three siblings living in the Western Avenue home found the gun in the closet, loaded it and a round was...

A Maine man has been charged with trying to burn a Massachusetts church with a predominantly Black congregation. Dushko Vulchev, of Houlton, Maine, was arrested Friday by Pittsfield police, authorities said Saturday. The Houlton man is currently being held on bail. He is due to be arraigned Monday in Pittsfield District Court on several counts of m...

There was a dramatic, adrenaline-filled water rescue on a cold, windy Maine day this week — and it involved a goat.  On Tuesday, a local woman became a hero when she jumped in a kayak to help a shivering, soggy, swimming goat that had escaped from the veterinarian in Belfast.  The water portion of the rescue started when Jerri Holmes…...

Much like other states in New England, the usual crowds of people who gather at bars and restaurants to revel and celebrate the new year in Maine will not do so this year. For weeks, Gov. Janet Mills had mandated a 9 p.m. closure time to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state. On Wednesday, Mills extended that required…

Officials in Bangor, Maine on Wednesday vowed to make changes following an investigation into complaints of racism filed by five Bangor High School students, according to News Center Maine. The months-long investigation was launched after the students shared their experiences with racism at the school with the Bangor Daily News in June. The Bangor ...

Amid a rise of coronavirus cases in Maine, Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday she is extending the requirement that some businesses be required to close by 9 p.m.

Investigators have arrested a Unity, Maine, man in connection with a mobile home fire on Dec. 22, authorities announced Wednesday. Authorities arrested 38-year-old Derek Creasy after executing a search warrant at an apartment building located at 369 School Street. They also searched a 2009 Toyota Camry, which was transported to August for further i...

The director of the Maine Center for Disease Control warned Monday of another spike in COVID-19 cases in coming days because of people traveling and gathering around the Christmas holiday — and a corresponding increase in testing. “All of those factors point in the same direction. The bottom line (is) that there’s a high likelihood of a...

Portland, Maine, is the only place in New England on a new list of top cities for beer drinkers in the United States. Every year, financial planning website SmartAsset ranks the best cities for beer drinkers using a numerical index based on factors like the number of breweries in a city per 100,000 residents and the average price of a…...

A virus that started in China and swept around the world to Maine, infecting more than 19,000, killing more than 300 and crippling the economy, was voted the unanimous top story of 2020 by The Associated Press. The Maine Legislature adjourned, the governor imposed emergency orders and nonessential businesses closed before the economy gradually bega...

An inmate at that Maine State Prison died in custody on Christmas Day, the Maine Department of Corrections said. The department said George Riddle, 48, formerly of Sanford, died around 11 a.m. on the holiday. The department said Riddle was attended by medical personal at the time of his death, which was not related to COVID-19. Riddle was serving a...

Emergency medical technicians in southern Maine are beginning to receive the coronavirus vaccine. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said thousands of people have been vaccinated in the state, which is focusing its early efforts on front-line health care providers and residents of long-term care facilities. The York County Inci...

Here’s a look at coronavirus developments in New England: Prisoner advocates in Massachusetts are redoubling their legal efforts to release inmates from state prisons because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts argued in a Suffolk Superior Court filing Thursday that the state Department of Correction ...

Cindy Soule’s fourth-graders in Maine’s largest city have studied pollination in a community garden. They solved an erosion problem that was damaging trees. They learned about bear scat.

Maine is delaying by several months a statewide ban on single-use plastic carry-out bags that was scheduled to take effect in January. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection said it’s delaying enforcement of the laws that ban the bags until July 1, 2021 — the measure was due to kick in on Jan. 15, 2021. The department said in a&#823...

A number of people are bracing for possible power outages this Christmas as a storm system with heavy winds makes its way to coastal Maine. As the storm moves into the area Thursday night into Friday, high wind watches have been issued for parts of the state as the storm could bring winds of up to 60 mph along the…

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills authorized the payment, which differs from financial relief Americans are set to receive in the new federal coronavirus relief package. The Maine Department of Labor distributed the state payments to about 40,000 people on Monday. The state used $25.2 million in federal coronavirus aid to make the payments. Mills has sai...

Many Maine innkeepers have a more optimistic outlook on the first part of 2021 now that Congress has passed a new round of stimulus funding. In years preceding the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of Maine’s small inns and bed and breakfasts were already trying to stave off competition from short-term rental properties and AirBnb. Then in the s...

For business owners and employees in Portland, Maine, especially in the city’s renowned restaurant industry, news from Washington has given hope of a bit more financial certainty. With congressional leaders reaching a bipartisan agreement on a new $900 billion round of coronavirus relief funding, people in Portland’s business community expect...

Maine is one of the states saying it will get fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccine next week than the federal government promised. Its allocation of Pfizer vaccine will be 40% smaller, 8,775 shots instead of 13,650, according to Gov. Janet Mills and state public health officials. “A few days ago, we learned that estimate had been lowered significantly,”...

In southern Maine, there have been traffic messes, schools closed and a lot of broken windshield wipers in the wake of a snowstorm that left two feet or more in some towns. By Thursday morning, Portland had closed its schools, Biddeford had shut down its city hall, courts in Lewiston were closed and the Maine Emergency Management Agency had advised...

Maine residents will be issued cards to simplify the process of getting vaccinated for coronavirus after they receive the first shot. The state began a rollout of the vaccine this week and it is expected to take months. Hundreds of health care workers have been vaccinated so far. The coronavirus vaccine that is becoming available is a two-shot seri...

Maine topped 500 new daily COVID-19 infections for the first time during the pandemic on Wednesday, a day after hospitals began providing the first Pfizer vaccines to health care workers. Major hospital groups began receiving and administering the vaccines to at least 475 people in the state earlier this week. The first Mainer to receive the vaccin...

Maine’s Saddleback Mountain is reopening to skiing in the middle of a pandemic, but General Manager Andy Shepard sees a silver lining because many people who have been cooped up for months have a hankering to get outdoors. The mountain reopened Tuesday after a five-year hiatus with an overhauled lodge, a new chairlift and changes aimed at kee...

People in Portland, Maine’s West End neighborhood are being urged by local police to watch out for a man who’s allegedly attacked one woman and approached several others in what’s become a pattern. There have been seven reports of a man in a dark car with a Texas license plate pulling over near women on the streets and trying......

A public university in Maine is working on a project to help grow the tourism industry in Greenland. University of Southern Maine in Portland said it’s working with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Greenland and the U.S. State Department on the project. USM said in a statement that the partnership...

For days, Sears Island in Maine has been a destination for professionals and volunteer cleanup crews trying to help after a mishap at a nearby ship terminal. Spilled recycled plastic and other byproduct packed for delivery to the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company has been washing up on the island in Searsport. Recently, the material bound for the e...

Maine Gov. Janet Mills issued a new executive order Friday strengthening the enforcment of the state’s existing face covering requirement in all indoor public spaces. The governor also warned that more severe restrictions might be necessary, including reduced gathering limits or business closures. “Short of closing businesses and school...

As many as 42,000 people in Maine may soon see $600 deposited into their bank accounts at the end of December. Gov. Janet Mills and the Maine Department of Labor announced Wednesday that they would distribute $600 payments to people who fully or partially lost employment because of COVID-19. The funds will be extracted from $25.2 million in federal...

A Paycheck Protection Program loan for nearly $1.2 million issued to an organic farm operator allegedly located in western Maine has raised suspicion after a massive disclosure of federal records about the small business relief program. According to records released by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Common Ground Organic Farm LLC, based in...

Some Maine residents who are unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic will receive a one-time payment of $600, Gov. Janet Mills’ administration said Wednesday. Mills, a Democrat, said the payments are part of the state’s new Pandemic Relief Program and they are intended to assist unemployed people in Maine who might lose federal unemployment bene...

The parents of a Maine teenager say “COVID-19 isolation” led to their son’s recent suicide. Spencer Smith, 16, of Brunswick, died by suicide on Friday, according to NBC affiliate News Center Maine. Smith’s parents said he left a note saying he felt “locked in the house” and was growing apart from his friends. &#8...

A pair of small earthquakes surprised residents near the border of Maine and Canada on Wednesday morning. The earthquakes reached a magnitude of 2.4 and 3.0 and both happened before 8 a.m. The epicenter of the quakes was about three miles from the small town of Robbinston, near the border with New Brunswick, Canada, the U.S. Geological Survey said....

If you’re at home marathoning your way through holiday movies, there’s a good chance “Elf,” starring Will Ferrell, might find its way into the mix. In the film, Ferrell’s character Buddy goes to New York City shortly before the holidays to find and meet his biological father after a lifetime at the North Pole. He’d thought he was just.....

Maine has added another county to its list of those that are urged to take extra precautions to avoid spread of the coronavirus. The state uses a color-coded system to classify the level of risk at schools in its 16 counties. The Maine Department of Education has said it’s adding Oxford County’s school districts to the list of counties....

Potatoes and wild blueberries are two of the agricultural products Maine is most known for. Now, there might be a big green addition to that list. Medical marijuana sales from January to October 2020 alone were roughly $222 million, according to new data from Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services. And The Portland Press Herald...

Maine continues breaking daily coronavirus case records, with 427 new positive tests reported by the state’s Center for Control and Prevention on Monday, when the agency’s director announced a change to how it will investigate new cases. The Maine CDC will no longer conduct contact tracing investigations for every person who tests posit...

Maine’s top public health official says the state is considering scaling back investigations into cases of COVID-19 to focus on the most vulnerable populations, as some other states have already done.

With two of Maine’s major ski resorts, Sunday River and Sugarloaf, back open for season pass holders, there’s plenty of anticipation in the state about the expected weekend snowstorm. “We’re super excited for some natural snow, we’ve been skiing on manmade for about a week now,” said Karolyn Castaldo, the communi...

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said Friday she is extending through Jan. 3 a requirement that some businesses close by 9 p.m. amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mills initiated the policy prior to Thanksgiving and originally said it would apply to some businesses until Dec. 6. The rules apply to all outdoor and indoor entertainment venues, performing arts venu...

The Coast Guard said Thursday it’s calling off a search for three fishermen off the Maine coast because the mayday call appears to have been a hoax. Crews from Maine and Massachusetts responded to a mayday call placed at 6:30 a.m. about the vessel, a Coast Guard spokesperson said. The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol were searching for......

With Gov. Janet Mills in quarantine, the state’s acting chief justice instead swore lawmakers into office Wednesday in a historic offsite session that featured the state’s first openly gay House speaker and the first Black woman in a party leadership position. House members formally elected Democratic Rep. Ryan Fecteau to succeed House Speaker Sara...

Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday said she was showing no COVID-19 symptoms while in quarantine, despite a member of her security detail testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Participating in a virtual press briefing, Mills said from the state’s official governor’s residence, The Blaine House, that she was feeling well and monitoring her he...

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has announced she is self-quarantining after a member of her security detail “is a probable case” for the novel coronavirus. “This virus is everywhere and no one is immune from exposure with the virus or from the infection itself or from the impacts on our work and daily lives. And I’m no exception,&#8...

Before it roared its way out of Maine, a powerful storm Monday night into Tuesday left more than 100,000 people without power, downed trees and even started an electrical fire outside of a nonprofit organization. Roughly 15,000 of the power outages during the storm’s visit were in Greater Portland with wind gusts of 53 mph recorded at the Por...

A Maine group formed this year is helping keep a lot of different people from going hungry this Thanksgiving. Cooking for Community, which connects donations with restaurant kitchens to help feed people in need did not take a day off. Instead, Ian Malin, one of the people who spearheaded the project, was able to calculate a way to give 150…...

After months of work, a 27-year-old Massachusetts woman turned Maine resident has revived the home of Maine’s best burger. In 2009, Food Network ranked the Seven Napkin Burger at the Owls Head General Store as top in the state. Eleven years later, you can get that burger again, thanks to Maya Newsam. In a twist of fate, Newsam purchased the&#...

Hot days at the New Hampshire Statehouse traditionally feature a formal motion to allow men to remove their jackets. This week, a motion to permit extra layers of wool and fleece would be more fitting. Newly elected members of the Legislature will meet Wednesday for Organization Day on an outdoor field hockey pitch at the University of New Hampshir...

More endangered salmon appeared to return to a key Maine river this year. Atlantic salmon only return to a handful of rivers in the U.S., and they’re all located in Maine. An unofficial count of salmon at the Milford Dam on the Penobscot River found 1,603 of the fish, the Bangor Daily News reported. Maine fishery officials still need to......

An inmate serving a 17-year sentence for gross sexual assault in Maine died in custody on Thursday, authorities announced. Matthew Fleury, 51, died early at 12:55 a.m. at the Maine State Prison in Warren. The cause of his death has not been announced, but officials said it was not related to COVID-19. The state police and medical examiner’s o...

The final day has arrived for most of Maine’s big fall hunting seasons. The firearms seasons for bears, moose and deer all end on Saturday. The season for wild turkeys, the other species in Maine’s “big four,” ended earlier in the month. The muzzleloader season for deer begins on Nov. 30 and runs through Dec. 12. It’s also legal...

An investigation into what caused a fishing boat carrying four Maine fishermen to sink off Cape Cod will likely take weeks or months, the Coast Guard said Friday. The boat sank off Provincetown on Monday when it was en route to Gloucester, Massachusetts. Members of the Maine fishing community have been raising money for the families of the men lost...

The weekend after Thanksgiving is often a time when there’s a bump in foot traffic on Exchange Street in Portland, Maine. Between Black Friday and shoppers seeking out small businesses for gifts, there is usually a festive atmosphere in the Old Port.  This year, the decorations, Black Friday markdowns and smiles were all still out though perhaps un...

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Maine food pantry is trying something new this year to help people beyond its clients. With so many restaurants having a tougher time in 2020, Footprints in Kittery, decided it would try to help a number of restaurants who donate to the organization. The result was roughly $2,000 in purchases of items like dinner ro...

The missing men who were on a commercial fishing boat that sank off Massachusetts this week were all Maine fishermen, authorities said. The Coast Guard said Tuesday it has called off the search for the crew of the Portland-based Emmy Rose that sank early Monday morning when it was en route to Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Sustainable Harvest Secto...

Authorities in Maine say they’re investigating the death of a woman who was found following a house fire in New Sharon, Maine. Police said Tuesday they found 59-year-old Shaina Shaylin-Begin, who lived alone in the residence. They say her remains have been taken to the medical examiner’s office in Augusta. Police say but there is no ind...

The surge of coronavirus cases in Maine has necessitated changes to the state’s contact tracing protocols, the state’s top public health officials said Monday. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer be able to keep in touch with individuals who test positive for the coronavirus over the course of their illness, said Dr. ...

The University of Maine is launching a program to offer training in food production to military veterans and farmers with disabilities. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension says the program is called “Boot-2-Bushels: Boot Camp for Market Gardeners and Farmers. It is slated to begin in January and will focus on training in small-scale...

A new COVID-19 mandate put in place Friday in Maine is now impacting a number of businesses. Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday announced in a statement that beginning Friday until Dec. 6, all outdoor and indoor amusement venues, movie theaters, performing arts venues, casinos, and businesses that provide seated food and drink service will have to close ...

The coronavirus pandemic almost stopped a 20-plus year holiday tradition at Arlington National Cemetery and beyond but a Maine-based charity is not letting that happen. On Monday, Arlington National Cemetery announced that Wreaths Across America, which puts thousands of wreaths on veteran’s graves there and at other cemeteries, could not hold...

Amid a rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Maine, Gov. Janet Mills has announced that some businesses will temporarily close by 9 p.m. The curfew to help control the spread of the virus will begin on Friday and last until Dec. 6, Mills said in a statement Thursday. During that timeframe, all outdoor and indoor amusement venues, movie ...

Maine’s ski areas are getting ready for a winter managing both guests and a pandemic. On Tuesday, Gov. Janet Mills’ office released a COVID-19 safety checklist for the state’s ski areas planning to reopen for the winter. The list includes suggestions like telling resorts to consider moving services such as rental pick-up areas outdoors and re...

A Maine woman has been charged with making interstate threats against newly re-elected Sen. Susan Collins, after leaving voicemails saying she would kill or even decapitate her. Paperwork filed by a special agent with the FBI in federal court says the Bangor and Washington, D.C., offices for the Republican senator received the graphic voice message...

Tens of thousands of customers in New England remained without power Monday after storms delivered battering winds to the region the previous night. In Maine, Gusts whipped to 61 mph in Eastport in the Down East region, 57 mph in York on the southern coast and 56 mph in Augusta Sunday night and early Monday, the National Weather Service said…...

A wave of coronavirus cases that hit Maine after a wedding is a case study in why it’s important to avoid gathering amid the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report about the deadly outbreak. The outbreak, based around an August wedding and reception in the Millinocket area, killed at least seven people....

As Maine breaks its own daily coronavirus case records and a spike in deaths and hospitalizations, state officials are adding Massachusetts back onto its list of states with test and quarantine requirements for travel beginning Monday. Anyone coming to Maine from Massachusetts will either have to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 ...

If Republicans are able to hold onto their majority in the U.S. Senate, the remarkable staying power of Susan Collins will be a big reason why. Collins defied prognostications of doom from Washington’s consultant class to score perhaps the most unexpected victory of the 2020 cycle, hanging a lopsided loss on a Democratic challenger despite a ...

Maine House Democrats have selected a lawmaker to succeed House Speaker Sara Gideon who would be the youngest House speaker in the country serving currently and the first openly gay man to serve in the leadership position in Maine. Rep. Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford was nominated by fellow Democrats to serve as speaker. Since Democrats control the Hous...

While Vermont reports the most coronavirus cases it’s seen in a single day of the pandemic, Maine’s two-week rise in cases is leading the nation. No other state in the United States has seen a bigger increase in the number of cases as a percentage of all its cases than Maine, according to NBC News data. Maine’s number of...

Two teenage girls who went missing in Saco, Maine, last week both disappeared within a day of one another, police said. The older of the two teenagers, 15-year-old Michelle Sargent, was located Wednesday, according to police. Sargent had been missing from her home since Nov. 6. The other teen, 13-year-old Mariah Bailey, has been missing since Nov. ...

A new analysis of Google searches from Thanksgiving last year is stuffed full of controversy for some Mainers.  A map of the United States showing the most-searched Thanksgiving side dish in each state reveals more people in Maine looked up salads than anything else.  Tweets about the map, produced by the career information website Zippia, cal...

More than 60% of voters in Maine’s most populous city last week approved an increase to its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. The ballot question on Election Day also included a provision on providing hazard pay, which would provide time-and-a-half wages to hourly workers who are on the clock during a state of civil emergency like during&#...

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine offered her congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden on his “apparent victory,” saying Monday that he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris “should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th.” Collins, who won her own close race last week, is one of a h...

The University of Maine said 10 employees who work in facilities management at the university have tested positive for the coronavirus. The university said it’s working to contain the virus by temporarily closing the facilities management office building and utilizing contact tracing and testing. All but one of the 10 employees work in an adm...

A man in Maine is accused of attacking two women, threatening to burn down a house and fleeing the scene, police said. Rock Varnum, 50, of Dayton, is accused of assaulting his partner, threatening to kill her and attacking another woman with a knife, police said. He then fled the area on an all-terrain vehicle and was later taken into…...

A man who fled to Maine where he lived under an alias for years has been convicted of raping a woman in Massachusetts in 1996. Ivan Keith, 62, formerly of Bridgewater and Seal Cove, Maine, pleaded guilty Thursday in Brockton Superior Court to charges including rape and kidnapping, The Enterprise of Brockton reported.

Maine is now in its second day under a new executive order requiring masks to be worn in all public settings regardless of social distancing. Previously, people in the state were only required to wear masks in public if they could not separate themselves six feet for more from other people, but Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, changed that&#8230...

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has announced a new executive order that steps up face mask requirements as the state sees a spike in coronavirus cases. The order, filed Wednesday and effective immediately, requires people — with some exceptions — to wear masks in public, regardless of whether they are able to maintain a safe social distance fro...