Portland struggles as asylum seekers continue to arrive
Civil rights complaint filed over racial threat in Maine
FREEPORT, Maine (AP) — A man who is due in court in Maine on a charge of threatening with a dangerous weapon now also faces a civil rights complaint. A complaint from Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey states that the 61-year-old man threatened a black man with a gun after he observed the man dining with a white companion in Freeport. The defendant is scheduled to make an initial court appearance for charges that also include criminal mischief on Feb. 22. Frey filed his complaint in Cumberland County Superior Court under the Maine Civil Rights Act.
MOOSE HUNT-MAINE
Maine moose hunters hope for more success in 2022
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine wildlife managers will soon start accepting applications for the 2022 moose hunt, which will follow a year in which hunters had limited success. Tens of thousands of hunters typically apply for a spot in the state moose permit lottery, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says it will start accepting applications in February. The lottery typically happens in June and the hunt is in the fall. The wildlife department says 68% of hunters killed a moose in 2021. That was the third-lowest success rate in the four-decade history of the modern hunt.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE
Newspaper: Maine monoclonal doses drop with testing backlog
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s backlog of 46,000 positive COVID-19 tests have artificially lowered its numbers of confirmed cases, coinciding with a reduction in the amount of lifesaving monoclonal antibody treatments shipped to the state. The Portland Press Herald reports that shipments of sotrovimab, one of few medications that are effective against the omicron variant, are rationed by based on hospitalizations and new cases over the previous seven days. Last week Maine received 72 doses, less than half of the 180 doses given to New Hampshire and fewer than the 96 doses given to Vermont.
RIGHT WHALES-LOBSTER GEAR
Worries grow as deadline for whale-friendly gear draws near
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Lobstermen will have to start using special rope or inserts to weaken existing rope beginning in May in some waters to help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. But the rope and links aren’t yet readily available. That’s causing consternation among lobstermen seeking to comply with the rules. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has received numerous complaints that there isn’t a sufficient supply of approved ropes or the plastic links. Several lobstermen and the governor want NOAA Fisheries to delay the new rules.
ELECTRONIC CAR TITLES
Maine might switch to electronic vehicle lien, title system
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine might update its vehicle lien and title system by moving more of it online. Republican Rep. Mike Perkins of Oakland introduced a bill that’s working its way through the Maine Legislature. Perkins said the bill allows the state to create an electronic process for maintaining and exchanging title and lien information. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says officials have worked to reduce a titles backlog that numbered more than 70,000 a few years ago. Bellows says an electronic title system would help prevent the backlog from recurring.
MAINE GUARD
Maine National Guard troops return from deployment to Africa
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — More than 100 soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard’s B Company have returned home from a 10-month deployment to Africa. WABI-TV reports that senior leaders greeted the soldiers on the flight line Saturday in Bangor before they marched in to music from the 195th Maine Army National Guard Band, and the waiting arms of family. The 130 soldiers worked to provide security and enhance partnerships in the Horn of Africa region. They were part of 1,000 soldiers from Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Colorado.
EARLY RETIREMENT
More Maine public employees might be able to retire earlier
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature will consider proposals to extend special retirement benefits to more public employees. The proposals, from Democratic Sens. Craig Hickman and Bill Diamond, would provide the benefits to employees in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and the Maine Department of Public Safety’s Computer Crimes Unit. The employees would be able to participate in the 1998 Special Retirement Plan. The lawmakers say that plan allows some public employees to retire at age 55 when they have 10 years of service.