1+ day, 4+ hour ago (286+ words) Maine households and businesses will see their monthly electricity bills increase in January under new supply rates approved by the state's utilities regulator." The Maine Public Utilities Commission last week accepted bids for the standard offer, which makes up about 40% of a CMP residential customer's bill and roughly half of a residential customer in Versant Power's Maine Public District. " As of"January, the average CMP residential customer using 550 kilowatt-hours per month will have to pay $11 more per month for the"supply portion of the bill,"bringing the total"to $12.72 per kWh. The same rate will apply to small businesses." For the average residential and small-business customer of Versant, the monthly supply charge will increase by about $16 a month to $14.87 per kWh." Rates were adjusted"following"a competitive bid process conducted by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, as required by state…...

6+ day, 3+ hour ago (279+ words) Northern Light Health'and Harvard Pilgrim will partner on an expansion of health care coverage'in rural areas of Maine. Northern Light Health providers will be available at the lowest tier and cost to'members. "Preserving cost-effective, easily accessible health care coverage options is critically important and what Maine patients deserve today and for generations to come," said'James Rohrbaugh, executive vice president and CFO at Northern Light Health. "This new agreement is a win for our neighbors and rural communities across the state and furthers our promise to make healthcare work for those we serve," he continued.'"We are pleased to have Harvard Pilgrim among those insurance companies that share our values and commitment to maintaining and growing access to health services here in Maine." "We are excited to expand our long-standing partnership with Northern Light Health, as both our organizations are committed…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (462+ words) Amid a hiring spree that looks set'to continue next year,'Verrill has emerged as Maine's largest law firm in new rankings just released by Mainebiz. The Portland-based firm, led by Managing Partner Scott Anderson since 2022, moved up three places from last year to this year's top spot, with 90 Maine-based attorneys on staff.' That puts Verrill just ahead of Drummond Woodsum (last year's No. 1), which reported 87 attorneys in Maine in 2025. Maine's top five firms are rounded out by Bernstein Shur,'Pierce Atwood and Preti Flaherty. Besides updating attorney and staff numbers, this year's list features new leaders at the helm of some firms in a market that's very much in flux.'They include'Kaveri Subbarao Nauhaus, who succeeded Joan Fortin as CEO of Bernstein Shur, and David Kallin, who took the helm at Drummond Woodsum last month, succeeding E. William Stockmeyer. While attorney…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (962+ words) To meet growing demand for adaptive recreation, Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation has leased Hurricane Island Outward Bound School's 375-acre campus at 125 Outward Bound Road in the Oxford County town of Newry. The goal is to transform the campus'into a universally accessible, year-round base and launchpad for adaptive recreation programs. Terms of the lease were not disclosed. The campus is four miles from'Maine Adaptive's winter programming hub at Sunday River Resort, also in Newry. The site includes administrative offices, lodging accommodations, trail access and ample room for Maine Adaptive's growing fleet of adaptive sports equipment, such as handcycles, mountain bikes, kayaks and golf carts. The lease came about as Hurricane Island consolidates its Maine-based operations to its facility on Wheeler Bay off the Knox County village of Port Clyde. The campus served for more than 40 years as a base camp'for Outward…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (882+ words) Artificial intelligence in the food sector is experiencing rapid growth. The market, valued at $6.38 billion in 2024, is projected to rise to $8.58 billion by 2025 and reach $27.73 billion by 2029, according to one estimate. The global IT firm WhaTech, which compiled the estimates, attributes the surge in adoption to several factors: rising demand for automation, improvements in supply chain efficiency, stronger emphasis on food safety and regulatory compliance, growing consumer expectations and pressure to reduce costs while boosting operational performance. Rather than replacing human labor, AI is helping food producers refine climate controls for crops and aquaculture systems and opening doors to more inclusive job opportunities for workers with disabilities. Here in Maine, AI-driven food technology is increasingly shaping how our food is produced every day, redefining the meaning of "locally produced." Founded in 1985 with a single farm and 5,000 Atlantic salmon, Cooke USA…...

4+ week, 2+ hour ago (211+ words) The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy has issued a health and safety recall for several types of adult-use products, vape cartridges sold in the state by NorCO Outdoor Cannabis, headquartered in Warren. The recalled products are'Yani adult-use vape cartridges of the strain Watermelon Chimera,'the regulator said in a news release Monday.' Following an investigation into a consumer complaint of an adverse health reaction, the Office of Cannabis Policy conducted testing on the batch of vape cartridges alleged to have caused the reaction. The products are being recalled due to the testing results showing unsafe levels of the pesticide Chlorfenapyr. The affected products were sold between July 10 and Oct. 16. Consumers are advised to return the products to the retailer who made the sale or dispose of them. Additionally, the regulator warns that'any consumer who has ingested these products and is…...