America’s scallop harvest projected to decline again in 2022
Fire damages cottage next to Prospect Harbor Lighthouse
GOULDSBORO, Maine (AP) — A house on the property of the Prospect Harbor Lighthouse has been damaged by fire. Multiple fire departments responded as smoke poured from the century-old lightkeeper’s cottage Monday morning. The blaze was extinguished in about an hour. There was no immediate word on the extent of damage. The current lighthouse went into service around 1891. The keeper’s cottage, built around the same time, is in a separate structure.
ACADIA PARK DEATH
Arrest warrant for boyfriend in death of Maine activist
WINTER HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Police in Maine say there is an arrest warrant for a man suspected of killing his girlfriend in a hit-and-run in Acadia National Park. Nicole Mokeme was fatally injured in a parking lot at the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor earlier this month. Mokeme was an activist in Maine and served as creative director of Rise and Shine Youth Retreat, which offers retreats and programs for Black children and adults. Police said Monday they’re searching for 35-year-old Raymond Lester, of Portland, in connection with Mokeme’s death.
BLACK FLY SEASON
Black fly season lengthens with climate change, clean water
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s season for black flies appears to be taking up more of the year due to factors including cleaner water and climate change. Black flies are small insects, some of which feed on human blood and bedevil outdoor adventure seekers in the state. Jim Dill, a pest management specialist at University of Maine Cooperative Extension, told the Bangor Daily News that a few decades ago the Maine season for black flies was from the end of May into the first weeks of June and then they would die off. Experts say that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore, and the season now lasts for the entirety of the summer.
LORING REDEVELOPMENT
Levesque hopes to bring redevelopment magic to Limestone
LIMESTONE, Maine (AP) — The man who led the redevelopment of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station hopes to work some magic in northern Maine. Steve Levesque retired from his post in as executive director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority late last year. But retirement didn’t suit him. His consulting firm SHL Enterprise Solutions will lead the renovation of the former Loring Air Force Base, which has not been as successful in reinventing itself after closure. Brunswick Landing now has 150 businesses and 2,600 workers.
TOXIC EXPOSURE
Expanded care in works for vets exposed to toxic substances
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. Senate has passed a proposal backed by Maine’s senators to provide more care for military veterans who were exposed to toxic substances. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King were among the supporters of the proposal, which is commonly called the “PACT Act.” The proposal easily passed the Senate in mid-June. The proposal is designed to expand U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care eligibility to post-Sept. 11, 2001, combat veterans. Collins said that includes more than 3.5 million veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances.
AP-US-SUPREME-COURT-RELIGIOUS-SCHOOLS-MAINE
Religious schools may face another hurdle to state tuition
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey says religious schools seeking to take advantage of a state tuition program must abide by state law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. He says that could deter some of them from participation despite a Supreme Court decision this week. The high court ruled that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education in towns that don’t have public schools. One of the attorneys who successfully sued says the state can balance the interests of all parties if elected officials “are genuinely committed to that task.”