17+ hour, 29+ min ago (480+ words) Community solar companies across Maine sued the Public Utilities Commission Monday, attempting to block the implementation of a new law designed to reduce the impact of subsidies for solar development on the state's electricity customers. A group of 11 companies are claiming the law, which modifies Maine's long-fought-over net energy billing program, violates their constitutional rights. The law, passed earlier this year, restructured the program, including by creating a monthly charge for some community solar projects based on their size. Those charges could range from $2,800 to $30,000, depending on how much electricity a given system is capable of producing, and are designed to offset the distribution costs that could otherwise fall to ratepayers. But the community solar companies claim it would cause "immediate and irreparable harm" to their business and are asking for a preliminary injunction before Jan. 1, when the new law…...

1+ day, 6+ hour ago (1376+ words) Local governments across Maine have received just over $22 million in opioid settlement funds from pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the overdose epidemic, with nearly $54 million more expected over the next decade and a half. The money is meant to go to prevention and harm reduction efforts, as well as treatment and recovery programs. But oversight is limited, and until recently there were no reporting requirements, meaning it was up to local officials how much they wanted to disclose about their plans. Many municipalities and counties have struggled to determine how those choices should be made, getting caught up in the logistics of how to disburse the funds fairly, ultimately delaying much-needed help for vulnerable communities. That's where a $2.5 million'resource center'comes in: one designed to help the local governments start spending the money appropriately and maintain data on where it's going....

1+ day, 18+ hour ago (194+ words) The Maine Library Commission doesn't seem to understand what it takes to keep many of our more endangered libraries going. A wise man once observed that "no good deed goes unpunished." A recent report in thisnewspaper ("Rural Maine libraries fear loss of services if new standards are approved," Nov. 16)suggests that a bureaucratic echelon of the Maine State Library is determined toprove him right. There's an old story about a university librarian, scurrying across the quad, greeted by acolleague " "How's things at the library?" Response: "Excellent. Everything is on the shelvesexcept Minimus' commentary on Minor, and I'm off to get that now." This seems to be the MSL bosses' attitude. But librarians are mostly not like that. In fact,they work very hard for little or, as in the case of Maine's dedicated volunteer librarians, no pay, to get books…...

3+ day, 12+ hour ago (71+ words) Who: Maine (6-5, 5-2 CAA) at No. 25 New Hampshire (7-4, 5-2) Where: Wildcat Stadium, Durham, N.H. When: 1 p.m. Saturday All-time series: UNH leads, 59-46-8. Key stat: UNH leads the Coastal Athletic Association in fourth-down conversions, succeeding on 16 of 24 attempts. The Wildcats also are No. 1 in fourth-down defense, allowing conversions on just 5 of 18 tries....

4+ day, 8+ hour ago (511+ words) Jesse Hargrove, a public school educator for more than 20 years, now serves as president of the Maine Education Association, a professional association and union representing more than 23,000 educators. This week, Maine joined the nation in celebrating American Education Week, a time to honor the school employees who make our students and schools stronger. Public education is built on teamwork, and it takes many hands to help students succeed. Each day, thousands of school employees keep our classrooms and communities running " from welcoming students onto buses and into classrooms to preparing nutritious meals. Their work is woven into every part of the school day and supports the learning of more than 170,000 students across the state. The work of public school educators and staff strengthens the heart of every community, and in my role as a classroom teacher and now as Maine…...

4+ day, 10+ hour ago (1808+ words) He fumbled with his driver's license, standing inside an Augusta convenience store, trying to keep hold of the sack of cash tucked under his arm. His wife waited in the car. His failing eyesight made it difficult to follow the instructions on the bitcoin ATM, but he had Ryan's calm voice coaching him on the cellphone pressed to his ear. "Just relax," Ryan told him. "I'll talk you through it." After several attempts, he successfully set up a digital wallet and began feeding $10,000 into the machine " one $100 bill at a time. It took so long, this being his first purchase of cryptocurrency, that his wife came in after 45 minutes to check on him and helped to insert the remaining bills. "We were terrified because we didn't know what we were doing," Larry Cook recalled. "But we thought we were doing…...

4+ day, 18+ hour ago (949+ words) In the Fall of 2023, Newry Fire Chief Alan Fleet was frustrated. He and several other first responders had spent seven hours on a cold, rainy night searching for a hiker who fell on Wight Trail and didn't know his location. It was the department's fourth rescue that year. One involved a teen who wandered from his group and required 51 searchers and 14 hours to find him. "Our little Fire Department just cannot handle this," Fleet said, crediting as many as seven game wardens and up to 14 people from Mahoosuc Mountain Rescue for their support. "They are a lifesaver for all of our towns with these hiking trails. If it wasn't for them all the areas would be in trouble." About six months ago, several of Newry's 11 volunteer firefighters downloaded the What3Words app. The free geocoding program divides the world into 10-by-10-foot…...

5+ day, 5+ hour ago (963+ words) Decades after surviving the Holocaust, Charles Rotmil often shared a simple but powerful message: "I don't live in the past. The past lives in me." Rotmil, one of Maine's most significant voices in Holocaust remembrance and human rights education, died Tuesday morning, his partner, Cathryn Wilson, confirmed. He was 93. After emigrating to the United States and settling in Maine, Rotmil shared his story with thousands of students and pushed for schools to teach about the genocide committed against Jews by the Nazis in German-occupied Europe during World War II. "We need to know what happened during this period so that it will never happen again," Rotmil said during testimony before the Legislature in 2021. Rotmil, of Portland, was remembered Wednesday as a storyteller, survivor, artist and teacher whose openness about his horrific experiences as a child impacted the lives of many Mainers....

5+ day, 6+ hour ago (345+ words) WHO: Winthrop (10-0) vs. Winslow (9-1) WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Don Roux Field, Lewiston SERIES RECORD: Winslow has a 2-1 record over Winthrop dating back to 1932 LAST MEETING: Winthrop won 35-7 in Winthrop on Sep. 30, 2022 WINSLOW DIFFERENCE MAKERS: Freshman HB/OLB Michael Loubier (1,481 rushing yards, 18 TDs); Senior HB/DE Hassan Hobbi (1,075 rushing yards, 20 TDs); Senior QB/LB Liem Fortin; Senior TE/OLB Ibrahim Al-Subaihawi; Senior FB/LB Broddik Bimpson; Sophomore HB/CB Giovanni Garcia; Senior C/DT Brody Davidson WINTHROP DIFFERENCE MAKERS: Junior RB/LB Ross Fichthorn (910 rushing yards, 14 TDs); Junior RB Carter Rand (833 rushing yards, 6 TDs); Senior WR/CB Ben Porter (22 receptions, 532 receiving yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs); Senior WR Brody Adams (17 receptions, 281 yards, 6 TDs); Senior QB Jacob Feith (41 of 81 passing, 799 yards, 12 TDs); Senior OL/LB Brock Dewar (70 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks) OUTLOOK: If you love old school Maine high school football, this is the…...

5+ day, 7+ hour ago (455+ words) Looking for an excuse not to spend the night at your in-laws, or a way to encourage your guests to hit the road promptly post-pumpkin pie? The best way to avoid holiday traffic in Maine next week is to travel on Thanksgiving Day. You can tell them I told you. At its busiest around the holiday last year " between 3 and 4 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving " the Maine Turnpike still had fewer cars on it than at the peak of the evening rush on a mundane Monday in May. Total traffic that day, just over 396,000 cars, was about 6% above average and 21% lower than on a Friday in August, when it's as bad as it gets, according to the Maine Turnpike Authority. But even if Thanksgiving traffic isn't any worse than an average weekday commute, you can still strategize to minimize your…...