Ban on lobster fishing to save whales is back, court rules
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A U.S. appeals court has reinstated a ban on lobster harvesting in hundreds of miles of productive fishing waters off the Maine coast to try to protect rare whales. The Maine Lobstering Union had won emergency relief to stop the closure of lobstering grounds. Federal regulators had ruled the closure was needed to help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from extinction. But the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the closure is back on because removing it prevents the government from performing its task of protecting the whales from death by entanglement in gear.
TROOPER PROFILING ALLEGATIONS
Evidence tossed in case that started racial profiling debate
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that evidence seized by police officers during a traffic stop cannot be used in a case that has touched off a debate about racial profiling in Maine. The case concerns Trooper John Darcy, who was recorded talking to another trooper on a cruiser microphone just before stopping a Black motorist driving through York in August 2019. Darcy said the man looked like a “thug” and pointed out his dreadlocks and shirt, but also stated he was not racially profiling the driver. The judge ruled Monday that the initial stop was unconstitutional, and that the evidence collected cannot be used. The driver pleaded not guilty to charges.
WAYWARD ROADRUNNER
Roadrunner, going faster, ends up in Maine after hitchhike
FREEDOM, Maine (AP) — A wayward roadrunner is on the mend in Maine after traveling across the country in a moving van. The greater roadrunner is a species native to Southwestern states. It hitched a ride in the storage area of a moving van from Las Vegas to Westbrook, Maine. Volunteers took the bird to a bird rehabilitation facility in Maine. Avian Haven representatives said that they took the call about the bird Nov. 13 and that it continued to rest Tuesday. The center has created a special habitat for the bird that is warmer than its typical outdoor areas while also being sufficiently roomy.
VERSANT RATE HIKE
Bills going up $30 per month for most Versant home customers
HALLOWELL, Maine (AP) — Typical Versant Power residential customers opting for the “standard offer” rate will be paying an extra $30 per month on their electricity bills starting Jan. 1. The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday approved an 88% rate increase that Chairman Philip Barlett blamed on natural gas prices. Regulators say that contributed to a 126% increase in wholesale electricity rates over the past year. The increase doesn’t bode well for Central Maine Power customers. Regulators haven’t yet announced the CMP standard offer.
COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY
Maine commission on college debt to start meeting this week
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine commission that’s tasked with studying college affordability will begin meeting this week. The Commission to Study College Affordability and College Completion meets for the first time on Wednesday. The Maine Legislature created the commission to study the impact that education debt has on Maine residents. The Maine Senate majority office said in a statement that the average student loan borrower in Maine has more than $33,000 in school debt, which is sixth highest in the nation.
AFGHAN REFUGEES-MAINE
Faith-based group likely to resettle 100 Afghans in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A humanitarian group has resettled at least 68 Afghans in Maine. The Portland Press Herald reports Catholic Charities Maine has been working to resettle Afghans who have family ties in the southern part of the state. The effort is a small piece of the work to resettle tens of thousands of evacuees who were airlifted out of Kabul and taken to military bases in the U.S. Hannah DeAngelis, director of refugee and immigration services at Catholic Charities, said the agency has an allocation of 100 evacuees and is almost certain to reach it by the end of the year.