Things You Need to Know: ‘Friends of Quarry Road’ Want Your Input
Here are the things you need to know today......
A crash in Boothbay caused the power to go out last night for the Botanical Gardens and the Gardens Aglow. According to WGME they had to cancel last night and issue refunds.
Because of the Exit 109 overpass bridge repairs, there will be night closures on I-95 near Western Avenue this week. I-95 Southbound lane will be closed Monday at 8:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m Tuesday. The I-95 Northbound lane will be closed Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. Thursday morning. MeDOT said there will be signs. (Details and Map are here from Me DOT)
MeDHHS is moving to renew a program of nutrition education program for low-income residents after an effort to dismantle it. BDN reports the agency recently put a 'request for proposals' for partners to run the program.
If you have some ideas for the future of the Quarry Road Recreation Area in Waterville, there is a chance to ask questions and make recommendations for its 'master plan'. Centralmaine.com reports there is a workshop happens tonight at 5 p.m. at the Waterville Opera House.
From the Associated Press:
Santa Claus is known for scooting down chimneys, but for one day a year, dozens of Santas try to avoid tumbling down a mountain in Newry. The 18th annual Santa event took place Sunday at Sunday River Resort. The event was highlighted by dozens Santas skiing and snowboarding down the slopes to raise money for the Sunday River Community Fund, which benefits communities in the area. The Santas must all donate money, and 160 Santas raised $2,500 this year.
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is defending her vote on a tax bill by claiming she has an "ironclad" commitment that Medicare will not see resulting cuts. House and Senate negotiators are tasked with working out differences on a tax overhaul bill after the Senate approved its version on a narrow 51-49 vote early Saturday. Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King told CBS's "Face the Nation" that few lawmakers know what's in a lengthy tax bill that will have far-reaching impact.
Earmuffs are all the rage on at least one day of the year in Maine. Farmington celebrated the inventor of earmuffs with a parade Saturday on Chester Greenwood Day. Greenwood was just 15 when he fashioned muffs out of farm wire and his grandmother sewed fur on to them 144 years ago. His factory closed a few years after his death in 1937.
A Thorndike woman charged with manslaughter after a woman died during a home invasion in Burnham is set to plead guilty. WABI-TV reports that 37-year-old Tara Shibles plans to change her plea as part of a deal where she will be sent to jail for 10 months. Police say that Shibles broke into 72-year-old Joyce Wood's house early in the morning in April and got into bed with her. The medical examiner said the shock of it all triggered Wood's heart attack.
An organization in Maine's largest city will receive nearly $600,000 from the federal government to help train new farmers in the state. Democratic Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree says the money is coming from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to provide help such as land access, training and access to markets. The money is going to Cultivating Community in Portland. Pingree, a longtime organic farmer, says the grant will help the organization recruit, train and help new farmers learn the business. She says the program will be beneficial to new American citizens, veterans and small-scale food producers. Cultivating Community is working with groups including Maine Farmland Trust and the Somali Bantu Community Mutual Assistance Association of Lewiston-Auburn on the project.
Maine might be cold and snowy in the winter, but that's part of what makes it the perfect place for skiing and snowmobiling. That's the new pitch from the Maine Office of Tourism, which says it is launching a market campaign for the coming winter to get people more excited about coming to Maine in cold months. The office says the campaign will run through March. The office says Maine has seen increases in winter visitation over the past five years, including an increase of more than 10 percent during the winter of 2016-17 compared to the previous year.
The operator of Amtrak's Downeaster is planning a pilot run from Brunswick to Rockland as soon as this month to see if the program is viable. The New England Passenger Rail Authority has announced it's exploring expanding rail service to Rockland on weekends between May and September. Seasonal stops on the new route would include Bath, Wiscasset and Newcastle, in addition to Rockland.
Maine workforce boards are agreeing to spend a larger share of federal funds on job training following criticism from Republican Gov. Paul LePage. The Portland Press Herald reports the state workforce board agreed Friday to set a goal of 45 percent of federal funds devoted to job training next year. That jumps to 60 percent in 2019. Coastal Counties Workforce claims LePage's administration is illegally withholding federal workforce funds.
Maine police say they arrested a man armed with a crossbow and high-powered pellet gun after a 10-hour standoff at a mobile home. Maine State Police say that 41-year-old Vance Billings was charged with aggravated criminal trespass and mischief and violating bail conditions. Police allege Billings assaulted a man earlier Saturday and then holed up in that man's mobile home. Police have not identified the man that Billings allegedly assaulted.
Billy Bush says it was indeed Donald Trump's voice captured on a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape talking about fame enabling him to grope and try to have sex with women. In an op-ed published Sunday in The New York Times the former "Access Hollywood" and "Today" show personality says, "Of course he said it." Bush writes everyone nearby at the time thought they were listening to "a crass standup act."
President Donald Trump fired off a series of weekend tweets taking aim at targets old and new. He criticized the FBI and raised questions about the special prosecutor's investigation into Russian election meddling and possible ties to his campaign. The Twitter storm containing more than a dozen tweets Saturday and Sunday came after Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Hundreds of aircraft including two dozen stealth jets began training as the United States and South Korea launched their biggest-ever combined air force exercise. The war games come a week after North Korea test-fired its most powerful missile ever, an ICBM that may be able to target the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Drugstore giant CVS Health is buying the health insurer Aetna in order to push much deeper into customer care. The evolution won't happen overnight, but in time, shoppers may find more clinics in CVS stores and more health services they can receive through the network of nearly 10,000 locations that the company has built. The $69 billion deal was announced Sunday evening.
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