Search Maine Business, News, and Places

6+ hour, 17+ min ago (837+ words) Dozens across central Maine who benefit from permanent housing support could be at risk of losing their shelter next year if federal grant funding changes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development continue as planned. The federal agency announced on Nov. 13 that it would be redirecting homelessness prevention funding that had long been committed to long-term housing support toward transitional housing and other services. Under the new plan for the Continuum of Care grant program, Maine could lose $13.5 million for housing support. In Kennebec and Somerset counties, about 70 people who benefit from the Permanent Supportive Housing Program "Maine's largest initiative funded by the HUD grant "could stand to lose that support, putting them at risk of becoming homeless. Permanent Supportive Housing vouchers fund housing assistance and extensive support services for people with disabilities, including mental health support and life…...

14+ hour, 48+ min ago (662+ words) Former Biden Official Daniel Koh "07 Launches Second Bid for House Cambridge Developer Sues City Over Inclusionary Zoning Policy ICE Arrests HLS Visiting Professor After October Shooting Incident The "Eyes and Ears" Behind Harvard"s State Lobbying Humanities Departments Are in Trouble, but "Applied Humanities" Are in Demand, Harvard Panelists Say Scholars have spent years studying Harvard"s colonial-era land holdings in New England. Now, undergraduate research on the University"s ownership of Indigenous land in Maine is helping push the research forward. Laura C. Cleves "28 and Christian D. Topinio "27 traced Harvard"s financial entanglements to a piece of land in southern Maine using archival documents and interviews with members of the Penobscot Nation. The two found that an alumnus gifted the land to Harvard in 1678, though the University did not touch the land until a century later. Harvard sold the land in…...

23+ hour, 16+ min ago (167+ words) YORK, Maine " An 81-year-old Massachusetts woman was killed Monday afternoon when her car struck a stopped tractor-trailer on the Maine Turnpike in York. Maine State Police troopers responded to the crash around 3:14 p.m. at southbound mile 5, the Maine Department of Public Safety said Tuesday in a press release." A preliminary investigation found that a 2022 Western Star tractor-trailer had pulled into the breakdown lane because of a mechanical malfunction, according to police. The driver had placed reflective warning triangles as required, the release stated. While the truck was stopped, a 2014 Toyota sedan driven by Janice Goldsmith of Needham, Massachusetts, hit the rear of the tractor-trailer, police said. Goldsmith died at the scene, according to officials. Traffic on the southbound side of the turnpike was reduced to one lane for roughly three hours Monday evening while troopers and first responders worked the scene,…...

1+ day, 21+ min ago (206+ words) A new referendum campaign aims to once again make it illegal to sell recreational marijuana in Maine. It's been nine years since Maine residents narrowly voted to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, a robust cannabis industry has sprung up across the state. But a proposed ballot initiative would repeal the parts of the law that allow for the commercial cultivation, sale and purchase of recreational cannabis products starting in 2028. Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for personal use would still be legal, however, and licensed recreational cannabis operations would be able to register to participate in the medical cannabis program. The proposal would also impose new testing and tracking requirements on medical marijuana " something that Maine's medical marijuana industry has stiffly resisted in recent years in the Legislature. On Monday, the Maine Secretary of State's Office authorized the group…...

1+ day, 22+ min ago (157+ words) A Massachusetts woman died in a car crash with a stopped tractor-trailer on I-95 in Maine Monday afternoon, according to Maine State Police. Needham, resident Janice Goldsmith was driving a 2014 Toyota sedan south on the Maine Turnpike in York when her car struck the back of a tractor-trailer that had stopped in the breakdown lane, Maine State Police said in a Tuesday press release. State troopers responded to the crash shortly before 3:15 p.m., State Police said. First responders declared Goldsmith dead at the scene. The preliminary investigation into the crash indicates that the tractor-trailer had stopped as a result of a mechanical malfunction, State Police said. The tractor-trailer driver placed reflective warning triangles around the truck as required by law prior to the crash. Troopers are still investigating what caused Goldsmith's car to crash into the tractor-trailer, State Police said. No further…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (258+ words) Since 1983, Mainers have fanned out across lakes and ponds across the state on the third Saturday in July to help count the Common Loon. The "results"from this summer's 42nd annual loon tally are in, and Tracy Hart, a wildlife ecologist with Maine Audubon, says the signs are all positive. Compared to last year, "we have more adult loons counted," said Hart. "We had more chicks counted, more volunteers and more lakes counted. So everything this year was up." Based on the "2025 data collected"by volunteers and staff, Maine Audubon estimates the population of adult loons in the southern half of the state is approximately 3,174, and the number of chicks to be 568. Population estimates are currently available for the bottom half of the state, south of the 45th parallel, where Maine Audubon has enough counters to produce reliable data. Hart says while…...

1+ day, 4+ hour ago (380+ words) BANGOR " With less than two weeks until Bangor's deadline to clear the railroad encampment, urgency and uncertainty are growing around what comes next for those living there. Late last month, the city posted notices ordering people to leave the encampment by Dec. 19. But as that date approaches, some city officials say more planning is needed to safely transition people out of the area. "We really needed more time to talk to folks here. We really needed more time to engage with the 19 strategies. We really needed more time to engage with what is the correct way to do things in order to not only mitigate harm, but to also mitigate costs as well," Bangor City Council member Joseph Leonard said. The biggest question now: where will people go? City officials said two main options were discussed at Monday's City Council…...

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (233+ words) BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Monday night's Bangor City Council meeting focused almost entirely on the planned closure of the large homeless encampment along the railroad tracks. The city has set a deadline of December 19th to clear the site, but some councilors, advocates, and residents of the encampment itself pushed back, calling the timeline unrealistic and warning of widespread displacement into the broader Bangor area. On the other hand, there were also questions as to whether delaying the timeline would solve the underlying issues of displacement. Councilors heard that approximately 40 people currently live at the railroad encampment and will be forced to leave in less than two weeks unless the date is extended. "Well first of all I think having that date is causing a lot of anxiety, not just with the folks who are living at the encampment but in the…...

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (80+ words) Maine State Police investigators say the car struck the back of a tractor-trailer that was in the breakdown lane on I-95 south in York. The driver of the car, a Needham resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. Maine State Police investigators say the car struck the back of a tractor-trailer that was in the breakdown lane on I-95 south in York. The driver of the car, a Needham resident, was pronounced dead at the scene....

1+ day, 9+ hour ago (214+ words) Starting in May, Breeze Airways plans to offer seasonal nonstop flights from Bangor International Airport to Raleigh-Durham, N.C. in the Tar Heel State's Research Triangle. " The new route will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays to one of the fastest-growing regions in the southeastern United States." "We are excited to add Raleigh-Durham to our growing list of nonstop destinations," said Jose Saavedra, Bangor International's airport director and a Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree in 2025. "Breeze has been a strong partner for Bangor, and this new service continues to expand the travel options available to our local community while strengthening ties between our regions," he added. " While Breeze will halt nonstop service to Orlando, Fla., during the summer schedule, travelers will still be able to book trips to that city via a one-stop connection through Raleigh-Durham." The airline has also confirmed that nonstop service to…...