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“The law will still require that one presidential elector be chosen from each congressional district and two electors to be chosen at large, but ranked-choice voting could well make a difference if there are more than two candidates and if no candidate achieves more than fifty percent in the first round of tabulation in one of the two Congressional districts or in the at large count,” she said. “The two at-large electors would both represent the one winner in the statewide tabulation for President.”

Maine became the first state to use ranked-choice voting in statewide elections in 2018 after voters ratified the system via a ballot initiative in 2016. The state is now the first to use the system in presidential elections.

Source: Maine Public

Portland is changing the way it bills and collects property taxes. And the transition means that, for this year only, the first payment will be due in October, rather than September, according to a news release.

Beginning this year, Portland will be sending out one annual property tax bill, rather than two bills. The new tax bill will include two payment coupons.

The change is expected to save the city at least $15,000 a year in staff, supply and postage costs, the city said.

Because of the transition, this year’s bills will be sent out in early September, rather than August. The deadline for the first payment is Oct. 18, rather than mid-September, the city said. The second half of the tax bill will be due on March 20, 2020.

Source: Portland Press Herald

This summer, monarch caterpillars and butterflies have enveloped Slater Farm in Washington, Maine. Halsey, who purchased the property in 2015, is overjoyed at the phenomenon. “There must be thousands,” she said on Aug. 21, her head thrown back as she surveyed the side of the farmhouse. Monarch chrysalises covered the building. The pale green sachets, flecked with gold, dangled from window frames and wood siding. Caterpillars transforming into butterflies.

Source:  BDN Maine

While there are benefits to removing it, not everyone in town is quite sure if they outweigh the dam’s historical and aesthetic value. Montgomery Dam creates an impoundment of water right above the falls that acts as a sort of reflecting pool. Numerous Main Street businesses, including two restaurants, have decks located above the dam so customers can take in the view.

Source:  BDN Maine

He said councilors will go over what responses have been received, note how many violations are still outstanding and discuss what legal action can be taken against who are not in compliance. Violations could cost property owners $1,000 a day for a first offense and a fine of $1,500 per day for each additional offense. Scully said some properties in violation may have applied to register, but were denied and have continued to rent despite the ordinance. Other violators, she said, have failed to meet build

Source:  Portland Press Herald

The University of Maine and The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will use a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to learn more about Maine’s aquatic ecosystems. The Maine eDNA project — where “e” stands for “environmental” — will analyze samples from around Maine’s waterways.

Lead researcher and UMaine professor, Michael Kinnison, says eDNA uses tools similar to those that crime scene investigators use, to find out which organisms are present. Kinnison spoke with Maine Public’s Nora

Source: Maine Public

For regular travelers of Machias’ Kennebec road, it seemed like the plants popped up overnight. One day there were empty fields surrounding Schoppee Farm, and the next, neatly-mulched rows of tall, green plants spreading as far as the eye can see.

 

“Now that they’re big enough to be identifiable, we get a lot of people stopping and asking us questions about them, which is great,” said farmer Ben Edwards. “But the assumption is that it’s marijuana.”

Source: Machias Valley News Observer

The company proposing to build what would be one of New England’s first land-based salmon farms has applied for its town building permit and has plans to start development in November. The building permit application, submitted Friday, is the latest step the firm Whole Oceans has taken toward building a salmon farm on the site of the former Verso Paper mill, which closed in 2014. The application for the town building permit offers one of the first looks at how exactly the company plans to develop the more

Source:  BDN Maine

State Agriculture officials say they are disappointed with a U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to exclude Maine wild blueberries from a federal program designed to help growers negatively affected by retaliatory tariffs.

Nancy McBrady, director of the Maine Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, says she received a copy of the decision over the weekend.

“We believed that this program, in particular, would be very beneficial to Maine wild blueberry growers because, unlike other USDA assistance programs, this was one that would have directly provided a financial benefit to growers,” McBrady says.

Source: Maine Public

Takeout Restaurant & Equipment
Former Joshy’s Place
Selling in the Entirety
8 High St. & Rt. 1 (Main St.), Milbridge, Maine
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 10:30AM

Source: Auction 19-148, Takeout Restaurant & Equipment – office & commercial – office commercial rent