Youth activists, physicians, school administrators and public health experts urge passage of bill to prevent the tobacco industry from using menthol candy flavors to target and hook kids, communities of color, and LGBTQ young adults May 7, 2021 By Ramona du Houx At a public hearing at Maine’s state capitol in Augusta, in the Health and Human Services Committee, policymakers heard testimony on LD 1550, An Act To End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products. Dozens of youth activists, physicians, school administrators, and public health advocates shared information and stories about how the tobacco industry is targeting youth, young adults, Black and brown, indigenous, LGBTQ, low income, and other marginalized communities with menthol, mint, and candy flavored products. “Tobacco use among Maine youth […]

AUGUSTA – Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, introduced a bill to strengthen law enforcement education and training standards before the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on May 7, 2021. “Our law enforcement officers are responding to and encountering difficult and varied situations every day. This bill is about making sure they are prepared and have the best tools in their toolboxes so they can be safe and effective,” said Gramlich. “The world is vastly different from the days when my grandfather and uncle served the community as police officers. Our education and training standards need to keep up with the times for the sake of our women and men in uniform as well as the communities they serve.” […]

05/07/2021   On May 7, 2021, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Promerica Health, and the City of Lewiston launched a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Lewiston. During the clinic’s first day it operated from noon to 5 p.m. and was expected to provide at least 50 doses of Moderna vaccine. “This new clinic provides Androscoggin County with a convenient new option for getting a COVID-19 vaccination,” said Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav D. Shah. “COVID-19 vaccination is safe, effective, and free. It’s more important than ever that Maine people roll up their sleeves to help our state keep moving in the right direction. I urge anyone who wants a vaccine in Lewiston to book […]

Oped by Jared Golden represents Maine’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the last half century, tribal nations across the country have made significant gains in reclaiming their sovereignty and exercising their right to self-government on their own lands. Unlike hundreds of other tribes, however, Maine tribes have not been afforded the respect and dignity that comes with the full recognition of tribal sovereignty. The reason for this lies in a 40-year-old law called the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA) and the state law that accompanied it, the Maine Implementing Act. This 1980 deal marked the culmination of years of litigation and at times acrimony between Maine tribes and state leaders over whether a significant amount of land […]

By Ramona du Houx May 5, 2021 Maine burns substantial gas, biomass and wood to heat our buildings. According to a new study, these fuel sources are causing premature deaths in Maine, and across America. New York is the hardest hit. Burning gas, biomass and wood in buildings has more negative health effects than burning coal in many states, says a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The peer-reviewed study, published in Environmental Research Letters, is the first to examine the effects of burning different fuels and quantify those impacts in terms of both early deaths and monetary cost in the United States. This study fills an important gap in research by providing an inventory of outdoor health impacts from stationary […]

By Ramona du Houx May 4, 2021 A bill introduced on May 4, 2021, by Rep. Scott Landry, D-Farmington, before the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee on Tuesday would give towns more say in projects like the controversial CMP corridor. Maine people living throughout the state have been in shock by the bulldozing methods of CMP and the lack of the ability of local oversight. They have complained about the methods CMP has deployed to promote their corridor as well as how the measure has been steamrolled through important legal processes. This includes Congressman Jerald Golden who officially wants the Corps of Engineers to review their process in the matter. Under current law, transmission line construction by public utilities can by […]

May 4, 2021 Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, introduced two measures on May 3, 2021 that aim to protect the public from adverse health effects caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals.” “As a social worker, my entire professional career has been spent advocating for the health and well-being of Mainers, particularly children,” said Rep. Gramlich. “We know these toxic chemicals have serious, lasting health and environmental impacts. It is imperative that we act, both by eliminating sources of exposure and contamination and by cleaning up the chemicals that have already accumulated in our drinking water and soil.” LD 1503 would phase out the use of PFAS in consumer and industrial products, requiring manufacturers to cease including PFAS in […]

May 4, 2021 The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee unanimously voted to advance a bill from House Speaker Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford Tuesday. The bill shifts Maine’s reliance on emergency-only dental coverage to a preventative dental care model to improve health outcomes and save the state money over time.  LD 996, An Act To Improve Dental Health Access for Maine Children and Adults with Low Incomes received support from public health experts and economists as a smart investment. Because Maine is one of only ten states that provides emergency-only dental treatment through Medicaid, the state pays up to $17 million in avoidable emergency room care annually. Low-income Mainers can only access dental care through Medicaid in emergency situations and likely when […]

This is the Solon Center for Research and Publishing‘s first issue of Insights Literary/Art Journal. Stories from authors published and unpublished will debut here. Original art will accompany the stories. The journal will be published online bimonthly. “Most literary journals don’t have much art. We believe combining the two is the best way to make each medium come to life, which enhances the viewer’s/reader’s experience,” read the press release. The Solon Center will host contests, working with Gallery Fukurou, of Rockland, Maine and the Maine publisher Polar Bear & Company. ISSUE 1 includes six short stories with art from COASTAL MAINE IN WORDS AND ART and other books, sutras of philosophical dimensions, a memoir from a boat builder’s WINTER APPRENTICE, two children’s poems, and […]

April 30, 2021 By Ramona du Houx U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) to introduce the FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act, which would ensure experts are heard when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers new, dangerous opioid medications. In 2020, over 90,000 Americans died from drug overdoses – including more than 500 in Maine – and it is likely that 51 percent of those deaths on the national scale involved opioids or synthetic opioids. “2020 was Maine’s deadliest year on record for drug overdoses – and so far, 2021’s numbers look even worse. The epidemic of substance use disorders continues to devastate communities throughout Maine and across the country,” said Senator King.  “I’m for any solution […]

PROTECT Act would increase industry cybersecurity investments, support advanced technology April 30, 2021 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, announced that he has cosponsored the Protecting Resources On The Electric grid with Cybersecurity Technology (PROTECT) Act. The legislation enhances electric grid security by incentivizing electric utilities to make cybersecurity investments, as well as establishing a Department of Energy (DOE) grant and technical assistance program to deploy advanced cybersecurity technology for utilities that are not regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In addition to Senator King, the legislation is supported by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), James Risch (R-Idaho), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). “The energy grid is the fundamental foundation of 21st […]

April 30, 2021 By Ramona du Houx The City of Belfast is currently working to secure a grant from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Housing Assistance Program on behalf of Developers Collaborative, a developer that is planning to construct new housing at the site of City of Belfast’s former public works facility at 115 Congress Street. “Developers Collaborative’s proposed housing development for 115 Congress Street is the current top priority for the City of Belfast, and securing this grant is one important way in which the City can support this vitally needed project,” said Belfast Mayor Eric Sanders. This federal program can award grants of up to $500,000 that can be used for the rehabilitation of occupied or vacant […]