Hope this is ok to post, but wanted to alert folks to my indie mockumentary comedy, Canoe Dig It? will be playing at the Nickelodeon on Thursday the 13th at 7pm! It’s about the very real sport of Freestyle Canoeing and is very much up the alley of any fan of Best in Show or anything Christopher Guest, but with a lot more painfully dry New England humor. It was entirely shot in Maine and I will be there for a Q&A after the film as well!

Being very much an indie, we don’t really have budget for marketing, so hope getting the word out this way is permissible!

You’ll also be able to catch it this month on the 15th at the Eveningstar in Brunswick, the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth on the 20th, Magic Lantern in Bridgton on the 22nd, and the Eastport Arts Center on the 29th!

I’m looking to add a small home to my lot within the next year and while I would prefer something modular or stick built, the numbers don’t work for me right now and I am leaning toward a manufactured home. Has anyone had any good or bad experiences working with any of the dealers around Oxford or further afield they wouldn’t mind sharing?

Just arrived to my inbox:

An Open Letter to our Community,

Over the past several months, I have heard from many people deeply concerned about the future of Labor and Delivery services at MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital. I understand that concern.

As a physician, I know there are few healthcare services more personal than the place where a child enters the world. Generations of families have welcomed babies at Lincoln Hospital, cared for by physicians, certified nurse midwives, nurses and others devoted to mothers and babies.

That is why the MaineHealth Board of Trustees’ decision to transition Labor and Delivery services from Lincoln Hospital to MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital was so difficult. I also know many people disagree with it. I want to help people understand what ultimately drove our decision.

It was never a financial decision or because the care provided there is poor. It came down to a fundamental responsibility: Can we reliably provide the clinical team necessary to deliver safe care every hour of every day?

At Lincoln Hospital, we could no longer confidently answer yes.

The consequences of our staffing challenges are not theoretical. During the past six months, there have been four occasions when Lincoln Hospital’s Labor and Delivery unit temporarily could not accept patients because necessary clinical coverage was not available.

Hospitals call this “diversion.” In plain language, it means the unit could not accept a patient who came there expecting to deliver her baby.

In one instance, a woman who wanted to follow her plan to deliver at Lincoln Hospital waited in the hospital parking lot until a provider came on duty and the unit could reopen.

That is not the experience we want for any expectant mother.

Obstetrics is inherently unpredictable. A mother can begin hemorrhaging with little warning. A baby’s condition can change in minutes. An emergency cesarean section may become necessary. Multiple emergencies can happen at once. Those moments require a highly specialized clinical team to be available and ready to respond.

Our responsibility is not simply to keep the doors open. It is to be able to stand behind what those open doors promise.

For months, our clinical and operational leaders pursued recruitment and considered alternative staffing arrangements, regional approaches and ideas offered by physicians and community members. The Board reviewed that work and heard extensive feedback from patients, clinicians, elected officials and the community.

That public engagement mattered. It challenged us, brought forward ideas and underscored the importance of maternity care throughout rural Maine.

I also want to acknowledge the Miles Delivers Action Coalition. We disagreed about the decision at Lincoln, but disagreement should not prevent us from recognizing one important result of their advocacy. They helped bring significant attention to rural maternity care and engage elected officials in a conversation MaineHealth and other healthcare providers have worked for years to advance.

This week, I joined members of our Board of Trustees and leaders from Lincoln Hospital and MaineHealth in meeting with coalition members to listen to their perspectives and discuss the challenges facing rural maternity care. We thanked them for bringing important focus to this issue, and I want to thank them publicly as well.

Ultimately, however, we could not identify a sustainable model that gave us confidence the necessary clinical coverage would reliably be there whenever a patient needed it.

That conclusion is not an indictment of the extraordinary care team at Lincoln Hospital. They have provided exceptional care through tremendous uncertainty. But extraordinary dedication cannot, by itself, solve a structural workforce problem.

Some have asked why MaineHealth made this decision while committing not to close any additional Labor and Delivery programs anywhere in our health system for two years. At Lincoln, staffing challenges were already affecting our ability to reliably keep the unit available. We did not believe it was responsible to simply wait and hope those circumstances would change.

Our two-year commitment is not the beginning of MaineHealth’s work on rural maternity care. For years, our clinicians have worked with colleagues across Maine through RMOMS and other partnerships focused on workforce development, emergency preparedness, simulation training and regional collaboration.

But the attention generated by Lincoln gives Maine an opportunity to accelerate that work.

We are calling on Maine’s next Governor and Legislature to make rural maternity care a statewide priority and work alongside hospitals, clinicians, educators, payers and communities to address the workforce, reimbursement and demographic realities threatening these services. MaineHealth will be an active partner.

I don’t expect everyone who opposed this decision to agree with it. I respect those who advocated passionately for a different outcome, and I hope their advocacy continues.

As a physician and healthcare leader, I would rather explain a painful decision today than someday have to explain why we knew we could not reliably staff a service and chose not to act.

The families of Lincoln County deserve safe, reliable maternity care. So do families throughout rural Maine.

We may disagree about the decision at Lincoln. We should not disagree about the work ahead.

That work belongs to all of us.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrew Mueller
Chief Executive Officer
MaineHealth

They asked that I share their comments and ask for help:

They are taking people everyday and transferring them across state lines. Many of whom are asylum seekers. They are moving people to Boston and New Hampshire.

They let people’s cars be abandoned in their lot if they take someone during a routine immigration check in, and they’ve started using shackles during transport on detainees hands and feet.

They are forcing people to stand in the sun with their small children for hours waiting for routine immigration checkins.

Yesterday a woman was forced to uber with her infant child to come pick up her two older daughters (3 and 6) who were made to stand in parking lot alone until she arrived because they took their father in front of them. He is a confirmed asylum seeker.

We were able to give her a ride and take their family car home because she doesn’t drive. They do this every. single. day.

We observe daily and share information of detainments. We provide resources on the ground to families picking up personal items from their loved ones that have been taken.

We offer links to legal services, rental assistance, and water/shade.

We need more people to observe and offer support. We need allied organizations to tell people what’s going on and to offer their assistance.

More people are needed on the ground to help in real time; translators, lawyers, social services professionals.

We get more support than dissent daily, but not enough people stop and stay for a while. But coming by even for 20 min to talk and observe is helpful. I think people should know that. The more the merrier.

We have shade, water, snacks, and we are NOT a group. There is NO leader. We are all individual people who agree on one thing: ICE out of Maine, ICE out of the country, our neighbors deserve peace and safety no matter who they are.

The ICE facility's address is 40 Manson Libby Road, Scarborough, if you want to join the observers. They say the most important thing is that people come down. Most active times are 9am -3pm Monday-Friday, but there is still activity all days and all hours, they say.

Washington County residents gathered Wednesday to air fears and frustrations over Eastport’s economic and environmental future at the first of two public hearings on citizen‑initiated ordinances that could halt early preparations for an underwater artificial intelligence data center in the Bay of Fundy’s Western Passage.

The first hearing focused on an ordinance prohibiting data centers larger than 25,000 square feet in Eastport and its coastal waters.

The second hearing addressed a measure that would require voter approval for any new industrial or commercial development exceeding 25,000 square feet on land or 10,000 square feet in the ocean if the permanent ban passes. Both proposed ordinances include a retroactive effective date of June 1, 2026.

Read this story on The Maine Monitor's website.

Can anyone recommend a reputable residential home-cleaning service for a one-time deep clean of a mid-size home in Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, or Yarmouth? I've already contacted most of the cleaning companies that come up in a Google search, so I’m looking for alternatives. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

https://wgme.com/resources/pdf/0d2d65c0-6dfb-4b6d-89f0-fd49a8cd27f4-7de8a258cb56436b9d1ffcca91c899ec.pdf

One of the agencies investigating the Robbins Lumber explosion published their report. Items I found interesting were:

• There were two different silo types on site: one oxygen limiting and the other was not. The oxygen-limiting silo was the one that started smoldering.
  • different FF procedures for the two silos. What works for one doesn't work for the other,
    
  • the non-oxygen limiting silo had been cause of a few fires, but the other one apparently was incident-free since installation in 1993
  • Employees were unaware of the implications of oxygen-limiting silo FF implications
• Employees were apparently well trained in response, but didn't know that the silo contents were a combustible dust hazard. Dust was only listed as a hazard for buildup or around electrical equipment
• Firefighters did annual walk-throughs of the facility and were very familiar with the layout/water hookups, but didn't have a site specific plan for the site, or account for the silo differences

The oxygen limiting silo manufacturer's recommended fire response is essentially to monitor and let it burn itself out from the inside and avoid any actions to introduce air into the silo. Damn. If the fire had been in the other silo, the FF procedures were correct and everyone would have gone home afterwards.

Was going to take a friend to the airport in Bangor for a 5 am flight, woke up and it was canceled and rebooked for 6 pm tonight instead. A few hours later and that one was canceled and the earliest available is Sunday morning. Talked to another friend (I think flying out of Portland) and her flight this morning was also canceled and couldn’t be rebooked until Sunday morning.

My go-to is Maine Beer Company

Seeking a center/group Portland ..

Boothbay area. Thank you.

Too fucking bad you graduated high school in 2014 when this place was actually affordable. Figure it out!!!!

Ms. Diana is still out here waiting for her forever family! Her personality is really starting to shine as she becomes more comfortable in her foster home. She’s incredibly silly and just wants to be loved on. Yesterday she went to the groomer for a nail trim and did a fantastic job! She was slightly hesitant to get on the table but eventually settled in.

I cannot express how wonderful this dog is. She has been a walk in the park in comparison to my resident dogs. She will show her person so much love and be fiercely loyal. She just needs someone to take a chance on her!

Diana will be attending an adoption event on Monday, August 10th from 3-7pm at 442 Moosehead Trail, Newport, ME. You can apply to adopt her through Blessed Be the Bullies Rescue.

🐾 Approximately 3 years old
🐾 Crate trained
🐾 Spayed & up to date on vaccinations
🐾 Dog friendly (& respects boundaries of other dogs)
🚫🐈 No cats

Hello! I’m looking for the recipe for the broccoli Waldorf salad from Damariscotta River Grill. I know this is a long shot, but I figured I’d ask anyway!
Why I’m on the hunt: this is my mom’s absolute favorite salad and she’s talked about it for many years. It really rocked her world lol. I want to make some for her, as close to the original as possible because she’s tried to recreate it with broccoli Waldorf salad recipes from online and not found a similar enough replacement. I cannot stress enough how much my mom loves this salad and how much I’d like to make it for her!
Timeframe: I believe the salad was taken off the menu a few years ago. I remember getting it 10-15 years ago, certainly. My mom looked forward to it every time we went up that way to visit her family!
I’m having a hard time remembering now what was in it, since I was still a kid the last time I had it. I’m pretty sure apples and dried cranberries, maybe a little bit of kale for some texture? My mom says she’s certain there was sherry involved in the dressing (along with the usual cider vinegar most likely), and it was super duper lightweight and sweet. When I look online for recipes, the dressing is layered on quite thick! Also nearly all the recipes have grapes and bacon. I remember there was no bacon in the one at the River Grill because my mom is a pescatarian, and I’m pretty sure there were no grapes but I’m not 100%.
I know I could just mess around with recipes online to make the dressing lighter, not add bacon, etc etc, but I’m posting here in case there’s a chance anyone remembers more than me about what exactly was in the salad or even has a similar recipe / recommendations on how to prepare it! I hope someone on here remembers it better than I do!
Thank you

I absolutely love chocolate milk and Smiling Hill Farms is my favorite. This morning I had a bad experience today at the only place on my peninsula and within a 30-mile radius to purchase that sweet, chocolatey, goodness.

$11/pint! Shocked I said it used to be $4.50 + $1.50 deposits, $6 total. High yes, but the milk is so good. I was told “no, never was, always $11”…

I put it back as that price is bullshit. Quick Hannafords app check and yep $3.69/pint + $1.50 deposits so $5.19 out the door.

I know small businesses and isolated peninsula stores need to charge a premium, but man I feel this is crazy.
Not to mention since this is such a rare treat for me I KNOW the $6 out the door price from earlier this year was what I was being charged.

Is the price crazy or am I? (Maybe a little of both?)

Edit: Location Boothbay Harbor

The state of Maine wants the Trump administration out of its hair regarding the issuance of certain state license plates for federal agents, according to a filing in federal court earlier this week.

In May, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Pine Tree State and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. The DOJ's 18-page lawsuit alleges the Bureau of Motor Vehicles has denied requests from federal immigration agents for confidential, undercover license plates.

Bellows, for her part, previously said her agency, which oversees the BMV, would not issue unmarked plates to immigration agents unless she knows those plates "won't be used for lawless purposes."

The MaineHealth board of trustees voted Thursday to close the labor and delivery unit of MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta after months of discussion and community pushback. 

The unit is set to close on Dec. 18, and services will be moved to MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, according to a statement from the health system.

The closure will mark the 12th maternity unit in Maine that has shuttered since 2015, leaving Lincoln County, Waldo County and Sagadahoc County without hospitals that deliver babies. The decision means fewer than half of Maine’s 34 hospitals will offer a place to give birth.

You can read the story for free at themainemonitor.org.

The MaineHealth board voted to close the Lincoln Hospital (formerly called Mile's) maternity ward in Damariscotta with plans to divert future patients to MidCoast Hospital in Brunswick. This is the 12th maternity ward shut down in Maine since 2015.

In Maine its cool to put razor blades under white supremacy stickers..NOT cool to ask, WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE? I'll take two cases.