Some Maine school districts, such as largest, restart masks
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Some Maine school districts are returning to mandatory mask usage as COVID-19 infections in the state rise. Bangor school officials returned the district to a universal mask requirement on Monday. And officials in Portland, the largest school district in the state, said Tuesday that mandatory masks will return this week. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Maine has risen over the past two weeks from 278 cases per day on April 24 to 752 cases per day on May 8.
INVASIVE MOTH
Maine creates fund to deal with rash-causing moth
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine will use a new fund to help cities and towns try to control the spread of invasive moth that causes an itchy rash. The browntail moth is a pest in Maine, where the hairs of its caterpillars cause rashes and respiratory problems for unlucky residents and visitors. The moth has also defoliated tens of thousands of acres of forest. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has signed a bill to create a fund for municipalities and nonprofit groups to use to reduce moth populations. The fund is slated to start with $150,000 in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
MAINE BLUEBERRIES
USDA says Maine blueberry growers had a big 2021
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Federal data released this week confirmed that Maine’s wild blueberry growers had a strong season in 2021. Maine is the only state with commercial-scale wild blueberry growers in the U.S. Growers said last year that they felt the crop bounced back from a disappointing 2020, when they harvested less than 48 million pounds. The Portland Press Herald reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture released data on Monday showing that the crop was 105 million pounds. Good weather conditions helped growers, who struggled with drought in 2020.
AP-NH-BRUSH FIRE-WHITE MOUNTAINS
Crews fighting brush fire in White Mountain National Forest
SHELBURNE, N.H. (AP) — Crews are battling an estimated 25-acre brush fire in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service says the fire is west of the Leadmine State Forest in steep, mountainous terrain and has burned across part of the Appalachian Trail. The fire was reported on Monday morning. The Forest Service says there are no major threats to life or property at this time. The cause of the fire is being investigated. Crews from New Hampshire and Maine and local fire departments are helping in the response.
HYDROPOWER TRANSMISSION CORRIDOR
$1B hydropower project’s fate rests with Maine supreme court
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A stalled $1 billion energy corridor in Maine aimed at bringing Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid is going before the state’s Supreme Judicial Court. It’s set to hear arguments Tuesday on a pair of cases whose outcomes could give the project new life — or spike it altogether. The New England Clean Energy Connect is billed as either a bold step in battling climate change or unnecessary destruction of woodlands. The utilities behind the effort sued to overturn a November statewide referendum on constitutional grounds. Another lawsuit focuses on a lease for a 1-mile stretch that crosses state land.
COD COLLAPSE
Haul of Atlantic cod, once abundant, reaches new low
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — One of the oldest fishing industries in the U.S. sank to a new low in catch last year, signaling that efforts to rebuild the fishery still have a long way to go. New England fishermen have caught Atlantic cod for centuries, but catch has dwindled over the last decade due to overfishing, restrictive fishing quotas and environmental changes. State regulators said earlier this month that Maine fishermen brought fewer cod to the docks last year than any other in recorded history. The state’s catch was more than 20 million pounds per year in the early 1990s and fell to less than 50,000 pounds in 2021.