Maine-based music retailer Bull Moose sold to employees
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The longtime Maine-based music retailer Bull Moose is being sold to its 140 employees. The Portland Press Herald reports the store said in a news release Tuesday that founder Brett Wickard will stay on as interim CEO and chair of the board during the transition. The chain has 11 locations in Maine and New Hampshire. Wickard opened the first store in Brunswick in 1989 when he was a student at Bowdoin College. The newspaper reported that all locations of the store were closed Monday at 6 p.m. for a company meeting.
Maine city ends emergency order, hazard pay for workers
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s largest city has repealed an emergency order related to the COVID-19 pandemic that triggered increased hazard pay for workers. The Portland City Council voted on Monday to rescind the order, which had been in place since August. The ordered required the council to meet remotely during the pandemic. Portland has a city ordinance that the minimum wage is increased by 1.5 times when a state or city emergency order is in place. The removal of the emergency order means minimum wage will go from $19.50 to $13 on Jan. 13.
Panel to weigh in on lawsuit over inmates’ jobless benefits
BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals is weighing a lawsuit brought by Maine prison inmates who were denied unemployment benefits for work-release jobs they lost in the pandemic. The 53 prisoners who lost nearly $200,000 in unemployment benefits contend they were denied due process when the governor ruled without a hearing that they were not entitled to the benefit. The governor contended the payments were “bad public policy.” The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday as the prisoners appeal the dismissal of the lawsuit.
LOON RESCUE
Loon unable to take flight from frozen pond is rescued
MONMOUTH, Maine (AP) — A Maine fire department came to the rescue of a loon that was unable to take flight from a frozen pond. The Kennebec Journal reports that Monmouth firefighters worked about two hours Sunday to free the bird, which was stranded about a quarter-mile from shore from Sand Pond in Tacoma Lakes. The problem for the birds at this time of the year is that ice can leave them without enough open water to take off. The loon was in open water but because of the ice it was unable to take flight.
LIBERTARIAN PARTY-MAINE
Libertarians to be reenrolled, nominate candidates in Maine
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Maine election officials to allow Libertarian Party members to re-enroll in an expedited process and to nominate candidates for the 2022 elections. The order by Judge Lance Walker, signed last week, requires the secretary of state to send letters informing Libertarians that their unenrollment was unlawful and that they may rejoin. The judge ruled that the Libertarians can nominate candidates under the party banner for the 2022 election regardless whether their numbers reach the minimum threshold because of tight timetables.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE
Analysis: Death rates higher in less vaccinated counties
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Deaths rates in Maine from COVID-19 are three times higher in the state’s less-vaccinated counties compared to counties that are heavily vaccinated. The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram analysis compared highly vaccinated coastal counties — Cumberland, Lincoln and Sagadahoc — with three counties that are not — Somerset, Piscataquis and Franklin counties. Dr. Laura Blaisdell, a South Portland pediatrician and infectious disease expert, said there’s “no doubt in the scientific community that these vaccines have blunted the pandemic in really meaningful ways.”
MISSING MAN
State Police seek public help in finding missing Maine man
NAPLES, Maine (AP) — Maine State Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing 67-year-old man who was last seen on Christmas Eve. Officials say Mark Conley, of Naples, was last seen in the Lewiston area, and may be suffering from depression. His family was concerned for his well-being after he didn’t show up for a Christmas gathering, noting it’s unusual for him to disappear without notifying anyone. The investigation by Maine State Police and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department is ongoing.
GAS PRICES
Gas prices decrease a little in northern New England
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Gas prices have decreased a little in northern New England over the past week. GasBuddy, which surveys stations, says prices in New Hampshire fell 1.1 cents per gallon over the past week. The price in the state was down to $3.26 a gallon. Prices in Vermont went down a little under a penny, to $3.35 a gallon. In Maine, prices were down a half-cent to $3.40 a gallon. The national average was $3.27 per gallon. That was a decrease of 9.1 cents per gallon from a month ago, and stands $1.02 a gallon higher than a year ago.