Governor pledges continued support for organic dairy farmers at NODPA’s 21st Annual Field Day in Freeport October 1, 2021 Freeport, MAINE – Governor Janet Mills today attended the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance’s (NODPA) 21st Annual Field Day in Freeport where she pledged to continue to fight for Maine’s organic dairy farmers in the wake of a recent notice from Danone of North America that it will discontinue its Horizon contracts with organic dairy farmers in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and elsewhere. In her remarks, the Governor paid tribute to Maine’s farmers and said she would continue to fight for their industry. “As the granddaughter of Aroostook County potato farmers, I know firsthand that our farmers are pragmatic, tough, resilient, and driven people. Rising […]

October 4, 2021 The Mills Administration announced guidelines for a competitive grant program to create more coworking and collaborative workspaces to support entrepreneurship in Maine.   The grants will be awarded through the Maine Coworking Development Fund and Program, which was established by the Maine Legislature in 2015 but was not funded until 2019 when Governor Mills, with support from then-Assistant Majority Leader Ryan Fecteau, recognized that coworking is a promising element of entrepreneurship support and recapitalized the Fund with $200,000 in her first and most recent biennial budgets.   “We knew before the pandemic that Maine, with all its strengths, was well-positioned to welcome more remote workers. That’s why in my first budget we funded this grant program to expand coworking spaces,” said Governor Janet Mills. “With the onset of the pandemic, and with our success in keeping our state one of the safest places in the country, our ability to attract remote workers has only grown. Now, through investments like […]

LD 994 eliminates the crime of illegal possession of hypodermic syringes. Additionally, possessing a hypodermic syringe with residue of drugs will no longer be considered criminal possession of those drugs. Providing hypodermic syringes to others who may not be able to obtain them on their own will no longer be considered an act of illegal trafficking. Finally, the bill declassifies other items used for safer drug use, as well as testing strips and other items used to determine the contents of a drug from “drug paraphernalia.”   “This is an important victory for Maine’s harm reduction and recovery communities and for public health. The opioid epidemic requires a sharper focus on support, treatment and prevention,” said McDonald. “With this law in place, […]

07/19/2021 AUGUSTA – Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is warning Mainers to be suspicious of text messages they may have received from an entity claiming to be the “Secretary of State Drivers License Facility” which asks the recipient to click a link to complete this verification. The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles does not contact Mainers via text regarding their drivers licenses, said Secretary Bellows. Unfortunately there are bad actors out there attempting to trick well-intentioned people into exposing their personally identifiable information, or exposing their phones or computers to malware. I urge Mainers to be cautious when receiving any texts or emails like this, and if you have any suspicions about messages claiming to be from our office to always […]

July 1, 2021 EOPA, a national coalition of elected officials, says John Lewis Voting Rights Act would uphold the promise of our democracy for all. The following is the statement from the Elected Officials to Protect America about the Supreme Court July 1 decision on Arizona’s voting restrictions: “Today, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted most of what remains of the landmark Voting Rights Act. Once hailed as the most effective civil rights legislation in the nation’s history, with their decision the Supreme Court has turned on the promise of democracy, the promise of equality and equity for all. For without voting rights, communities of color and low income become disenfranchised, and equality and equity unfulfilled dreams. ‘“We the People of […]

Officials warn the trend is expected to continue this summer unless Maine gets prolonged rain. Despite a little rain this week, a section of central Maine is now considered to be suffering a “severe drought” and most of the state is experiencing a moderate one. The state’s Drought Task Force said  “drought conditions have rapidly intensified” in Maine this month “and this trend is expected to continue into summer.” Half the monitoring stations measuring stream flows in the state are at record low levels for this time of year and nearly all of them are well below the normal standards. The U.S. Drought Monitor said the severe drought area in Maine, mostly in Somerset County but also impacting sections of surrounding counties, including […]

Maine DEP expects ozone concentrations to reach unhealthy levels on Monday, June 7, 2021 AUGUSTA, June 6, 2021 — Ground-level ozone concentrations will be climbing in Maine on Monday June 7, 2021 and are expected to reach unhealthy levels according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  Ozone levels have been high upwind since June 2nd.  High levels began around Lake Michigan and have been slowly migrating eastward.  By Saturday June 5th southern New England had very high levels of ozone even reaching into the Unhealthy (red) category.  Transport winds are expected to direct the higher values to Maine on Monday.  The unhealthy levels of ozone are possible along the entire coastline. At elevated ozone levels, children, healthy adults who exert themselves, and individuals suffering from a respiratory […]

May 2021 By Ramona du Houx The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) began soliciting proposals for the Maine Clean Energy Innovation Challenge that was announced by Governor Janet Mills on Earth Day. In collaboration with the Governor’s Energy Office, MTI developed the challenge to catalyze the deployment of innovative clean energy technology solutions in Maine. During the Baldacci administration grants for innovative technologies came from MTI, funded by bonds the people of Maine voted on. The program successfully helped many businesses advance the clean energy economy. The University of Maine’s VolturnUS offshore wind scale model prototype was helped by a MTI bond backed grant, then federal grants followed. Today the project is America’s leading offshore floating wind technology. Now, MTI has […]

May 28, 2021 Secretary of State Shenna Bellows hosted student artists from King Middle School in Portland and Sweetland School in Hope, Assistant House Majority Leader Rachel Talbot Ross viewed the students’ artwork and poetry on display in the Secretary of State’s main office. The students made the artwork in partnership with Americans Who Tell the Truth, a non-profit arts and education organization founded to foster and inspire a profound sense of citizenship in students. “Challenging young people to think deeply about the world and their place in it through art and poetry is a wonderful project and we’re honored to display it,” said Secretary Bellows. “I was delighted to get the chance to meet the students and hear what they […]

June 1,2021 By Ramona du Houx The Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee voted to advance a historic bill June 1, 2021 to replace Central Maine Power (CMP) and Versant with the Pine Tree Power Company, a consumer-owned electric utility dedicated to providing Mainers with lower cost, locally controlled, more reliable, cleaner electricity. Over the years, many people have testified that CMP has not been responsible to customer needs. From responding too slowly to restore power after storms to billing customers inflated rates, the electricity giant has misused its power. The majority of the committee members voted in favor of LD 1708, sponsored by the committee’s House chair, Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, as amended. The vote was 9-2, earning support from Republican and […]

Governor Janet Mills announced today that Maine has reached another vaccination milestone, delivering at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine to more than 70 percent of Maine people eligible to receive a vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) tracker. Maine has now given at least one shot of a vaccine to 70.5 percent of Maine people 12 and older. President Biden set a July 4 goal of delivering at least one shot to 70 percent of adult (18+) Americans. Maine met that goal on May 12, 53 days ahead of July 4. With today’s achievement, Maine has again met that goal ahead of schedule, but now for a larger eligible population: people 12 years and older. […]

The Maine Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously on May 24, 2021 to advance a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, that would establish the Family Caregiver Grant Pilot Program. If passed into law, the proposed legislation will give certified family caregivers the opportunity to receive $2,000. As outlined in the bill, this program would provide caregivers the choice to receive a direct payment for care provided or the use of the existing Respite Care program to access support in the community. The measure would also examine the needs of families served by the Respite Care Fund by requiring the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to establish a stakeholder group to make recommendations for […]