$500M available for New England schools for green buses
BOSTON (AP) — School districts across New England are now eligible to apply for a portion of $500 million toward the purchase of zero-emissions school buses, which benefit the environment and children’s health. Janet McCabe, deputy adminsitrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, said at a Boston news conference Friday that the funds will make a lasting difference for everyone, especially kids who live in disadvantaged communities who are often the most vulnerable to the impacts of poor air quality and the effects of climate change. The EPA is accepting applications from until August 19.
TRIPLE HOMICIDE TRIAL
Trial in Maine triple homicide to start, could last 2 weeks
MACHIAS, Maine (AP) — Jury selection for the trial of a man charged in the shooting deaths of three people in Maine is set to begin soon, and the trial could extend into next month. The attorney for Thomas Bonfanti of Northfield said his client’s trial could last two weeks. Bonfanti was charged with murder stemming from the shooting deaths in February 2020. Bonfanti was charged with shooting four people and killing three of them at three different houses in Machias and Jonesboro more than two years ago.
CMP WORKERS-FIRE
CMP crew to the rescue: Workers help save 2 from fire
RICHMOND, Maine (AP) — Three Central Maine Power workers who smelled smoke are being credited with helping to save a mother and son from a burning home in Richmond. Jeff Dyer Jr. and Adam Douin were wrapping up their shift when they smelled something burning and noticed a plume of smoke Wednesday. They soon discovered a house afire with windows exploding from the heat. They helped both occupants escape. The woman suffered burns on her legs and bare feet, and was being treated at Maine Medical Center.
FEDERAL BUILDING-MAN SHOT
Man pleads not guilty to holding knife to guard’s neck
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A man who held a knife to a security officer’s neck before being shot in the federal building in Maine’s capital has pleaded not guilty. Derik Broox Wight, of Augusta entered the plea Wednesday to a single charge of assaulting a federal officer. Investigators say Wight entered the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta on April 20, and used a knife to threaten a private security officer working for the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service. Wight, who was shot, is being held without bail pending trial in federal court.
AP-US-ELECTION-2022-MAINE-GOVERNOR
Maine removes LGBTQ teaching video assailed in Republican ad
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Department of Education has removed from its website a video containing an LGBTQ lesson plan for kindergarten students that was the subject of a Republican ad targeting Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. The ad accused the governor of spending $2.8 million to create “radical school lessons” for the youngest children in public schools. The Department of Education quickly removed the video lesson plan after reviewing it. A spokesperson for Mills said Thursday the governor was not aware of the video and agrees with the Department of Education’s decision to remove it.
MOOSE TICKS
Maine moose survey finds record high death rate from ticks
MONSON, Maine (AP) — Infestations of ticks contributed to a record high death rate for young moose tracked by wildlife managers in rural Maine. Maine Public reports on Wednesday that the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife collared 70 moose calves in remote parts of the state last winter and 60 of them had died by the beginning of May. The 86% mortality rate was the highest since the agency started the tracking survey. Lee Kantar, the moose biologist with the wildlife department, said the winter ticks are to blame. The ticks are a worsening problem in the areas of the northern U.S. and southern Canada that moose call home.
ALEWIFE RETURN
Native fish returns to Maine lake after two-century absence
CHINA, Maine (AP) — A species of fish has returned to a central Maine lake for the first time in generations. WMTW-TV reported on Wednesday that alewives, a kind of herring, reached China Lake this month. That hasn’t happened since the Revolutionary War era. Alewives return to Maine rivers from the ocean. However, dams have long prevented them from reaching some of their native areas, and conservation groups have spent years trying to change that. Environmentalists said that work appears to be paying off.