LOBSTER DEFENSE FUND
Maine considers legal defense fund for lobster industry
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers are considering creating a legal defense fund to help its lobster industry deal with new rules, laws and regulations. The lobster fishing business is navigating a host of new federal fishing restrictions designed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. A proposal from Republican Rep. William Faulkingham, a lobsterman himself, would establish the fund and create a commission to administer it. Faulkingham’s proposal states that it would be funded with money from license surcharges and the sale of lobster trap tags. The proposal was the subject of a public hearing on Tuesday and will be subject to legislative committee votes in the future.
AP-ME-ODD-LONG-LOST KITTY
Maine cat that ended up in Florida is headed home
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine family that long ago gave up on a lost family cat is being reunited — more than six years and 1,500 miles later. Denise Cilley, of Chesterville, said she was shocked to get a voicemail last week announcing her cat, Ashes, had been found in Florida. Ashes went missing in 2015 during her daughter’s 10th birthday celebration. How she got to Florida remains a mystery. Ashes was being returned to Maine on Wednesday. Cilley said she planned to be on hand to collect her pet at the Portland International Jetport.
FATAL CRASH-PLEA
Driver pleads guilty to reduced charge for fatal crash
ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) — A Maine woman charged with drunken driving and manslaughter has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, and will serve no time in jail. Darlene Haslam, of Eastport, received a suspended sentence Monday after she pleaded no contest to a charge of aggravated driving to endanger. She was driving slowly through a parking lot in November 2017 when she hit a guide wire, then she accelerated and hit a tree. Police obtained a blood sample that showed Haslam’s blood alcohol level exceeded the 0.08% minimum allowed by law, but the test results were thrown out by a judge.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE
Portland City Council votes to lift indoor mask mandate
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s largest city is lifting its indoor mask requirement. Portland Mayor Kate Snyder sponsored an item to extend the pandemic-related mask mandate for indoor public spaces through March 7, but the City Council instead voted 7-2 Monday evening to scrap the mandate, effective in 10 days. Snyder said she supported the council’s decision to end the mandate, which went into effect Jan. 3. Some councilors said they are interested in revisiting the mandate if COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations start to increase again.
SUPER BOWL-SUPER FANS
Friends who have attended every Super Bowl plan final trip
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Three friends who’ve attended every Super Bowl are hoping for a memorable contest this year, because it will probably be their final trip to the big game as a group. The three men are all in their 80s and have attended every game since the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game was held 55 years ago about 7 miles from this year’s venue, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. They’re meeting at the game once again this year, but future meetings are in question. Don Crisman, a Maine resident and the eldest of the group at 85, said this is his last game.
INVASIVE MOTH
Plan for browntail moth fund passes committee vote in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A legislative committee has signed off on a plan to create a new fund to help Maine communities deal with an invasive moth. The fund would start by making $150,000 in grants available in the 2022-23 fiscal year to try to slow the spread of the browntail moth. The moth has been the subject of an outbreak in the state for several years and its caterpillars have poisonous hairs that can cause an itchy rash in humans. The Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry voted in favor of the creation of the fund on Tuesday.
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
AP-US-CONGRESS-GAS-TAX
Senators call for gas tax suspension to blunt rising prices
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Democratic senators are calling for suspending the federal gas tax for the remainder of the year to help consumers struggling with rising fuel prices. Other lawmakers are unlikely to go along with the idea. The legislation from Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire could prove popular during an election year in which the average price of gas nationally exceeds about $3.45 a gallon. The price could go even higher during peak driving season. The federal gas tax has remained at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. Over the years, lawmakers have visited the idea of suspending the gas tax but did not generate enough support.
XGR-EDUCATION-RACE
Democrats seek to repeal regulations on classroom race talks
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democrats are pushing back against New Hampshire’s new law regulating classroom discussion of race and other topics with multiple bills to amend or repeal the statute. Under the state budget passed in June, New Hampshire now bans teachers from instructing children that any individual or group is inferior, racist, sexist or oppressive by virtue of their race, gender or other characteristics. The bill is being challenged in court by critics who say it has had a chilling effect on teachers. The House Education Committee held public hearings Tuesday on bills that would alter the complaint process under the new law or repeal the law entirely.
AP-US-FISHING-MONITORS
Fishermen sue to end industry-funded monitoring program
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A group of fishing companies in New England is bringing its bid to try to end industry-funded monitoring programs to federal appeals court. The companies are part of the industry that harvests Atlantic herring, which are heavily fished off the East Coast. The federal government requires herring fishing boats to participate in, and pay for, at-sea monitoring programs. The government and some environmental groups have said the industry-funded monitoring programs are vitally important to collect data that help craft fishing rules. But members of the industry have argued the monitors cost hundreds of dollars a day.