Maine State News

November 30, 2022 lupesoto Classic Hits Newswire
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New England senators seek help to avoid energy disruptions

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Senators from Connecticut, Vermont and Maine called on the Biden administration Tuesday to bring together federal, state and regional officials to find ways to prevent possible energy disruptions this winter across New England. The region is heavily dependent on natural gas and subsequently impacted by the war in Ukraine and tight global energy supplies. In a letter sent Tuesday, the senators also urged Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to leverage resources within her department to help bring non-fossil fuel energy as quickly as possible to the region and to review any available emergency powers. The DOE says it’s closely monitoring winter fuel availability.

Maine Supreme Court upholds lease for $1B power line project

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s highest court has delivered a victory to developers of a $1 billion electric transmission corridor, upholding a lease for a small portion that crosses state land. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands acted within its authority in leasing a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) stretch of the 145-mile (233-kilometer) power transmission line. The New England Clean Energy Connect remains in limbo pending the outcome of another legal case focusing on the constitutionality of a referendum in which Maine voters rebuked the project. The power line would serve as a conduit for up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to reach the New England power grid.

 

Pertussis rates plummet in Maine amid precautions, new law

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The rate of pertussis has fallen sharply in Maine, which not long ago had one of the highest rates of the infectious disease in the country. Pertussis is also called whooping cough and it’s an infection that causes a severe, hacking cough and can be especially dangerous to babies. Maine had the second-highest rate of the disease in the U.S. in 2019 at more than 28 cases per 100,000 residents. The Portland Press Herald reports the state is on track to record about seven cases per 100,000 this year. That figure is much closer to the national average.

Whole Foods decision to pull lobster divides enviros, pols

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Environmental groups are once again at odds with politicians and fishermen in New England in the wake of a decision by high-end retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster. Whole Foods recently said that it will stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine at hundreds of its stores around the country. The company cited decisions by a pair of sustainability organizations to take away their endorsements of the U.S. lobster fishing industry. The organizations, Marine Stewardship Council and Seafood Watch, both cited concerns about risks to rare North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear. Entanglement in gear is one of the biggest threats to the whales.