Hancock County is at odds with the developer of a local wind farm over about $38,000 that the county says the developer owes in community benefit payments. Hancock County commissioners are meeting Thursday in Bangor with representatives of Hancock Wind, owned and operated by Novatus Energy, to see if they might work out a deal. Hancock Wind is a 17-turbine installation in the Unorganized Territory northeast of Ellsworth that was erected in 2016.
Source: BDN Maine
In a highly unusual move, the Maine Public Utilities Commission wrote an op-ed column, published Sunday, that criticized how Central Maine Power handled the rollout of its new billing system, and promised to hold the utility accountable, even though the regulator has not yet completed its investigation of the billing problems.
Nearly 100,000 customers received bills at least 50 percent higher than for the same period the previous year during the launch of the new system.
Source: Portland Press Herald
Along the way, Mainers have led the nation both in consuming alcohol and in banning it, created a border war with Canada, transformed lobster into a beloved delicacy and convinced tens of millions who flock to it each summer that the Pine Tree State is “Vacationland.”
Source: Lewiston Sun Journal
NAPLES — One of the marinas in town that provides launching services to noncustomers has closed its boat ramp to the public after Fourth-of-July revelers caused too much ruckus.
“The amount of intoxicated boaters that came off the lake this week has been scary. We are no longer willing to take the risk as a business to have these irresponsible boaters with us,” the owner of Moose Landing Marina Jason Allen said in a letter to the Naples Board of Selectmen.
“The crowd has changed and not for the better,” Allen wrote.
“Even with the added efforts to enforce laws it still isn’t nearly enough to keep everyone safe,” he said.
“I wanted to inform you folks that…our boat ramp will no longer be open to the public,” he said.
Two Friendship men have been charged with sinking a fellow lobsterman’s boat late last year. Jason T. Weeks, 41, was arrested Monday afternoon July 1 and charged with Class C aggravated criminal mischief and Class B theft. He was taken to the Knox County Jail in Rockland where bail was set at $5,000 cash. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon, July 3 in the Knox County court.
Source: Portland Press Herald
Officials in Old Orchard Beach say the town has come up with a plan to hold several days of fireworks displays while also protecting several groups of piping plovers nesting on the beach.
Old Orchard Beach Town Manager Larry Mead says the town met Tuesday afternoon with Maine Audubon and state wildlife officials, and will identify where the birds are before the fireworks shows begin.
Source: Maine Public
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine legalized medically assisted suicide on Wednesday, becoming the eighth state to allow terminally ill people to end their lives with prescribed medication. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who had previously said she was unsure about the bill, signed it in her office. “It is my hope that this law, while respecting the right to personal liberty, will be used sparingly,” said Mills.
Source: AP
Maine’s tentative rules about legalized recreational marijuana are up for a key hearing that could represent one of the proposal’s final hurdles before approval.
The proposal is scheduled for a public hearing before the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs on Monday at 1:30 p.m. The proposal covers important subjects such as retail and licensure rules.
Source: AP
The owner of the 66-foot vessel under Wiscasset Harbor admitted to a civil charge of littering at the Lincoln County Courthouse on Monday.
A hearing at 1 p.m. July 23 will determine the penalty for Christopher G. Morrison, 51.
The vessel sunk during a blizzard in January 2018. When Morrison did not remove it, the Maine Marine Patrol summonsed him for littering July 31, 2018. The vessel remains in the harbor.
Source: BDN Maine
The three-member panel must decide whether the 145-mile project, including 53 miles of new-cut corridor through the state’s western forests, should receive a “Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.” CMP is also seeking state environmental permits for the controversial project, which would bring hydroelectricity from Canada into the regional grid, to serve Massachusetts customers.
Source: Maine Public