Cruise Ship Sapphire Princess Anchors In Rockland

Rockland, Maine - Cruise ship Sapphire Princess with 2,670 passengers and 1,100 crew members anchored on Sunday, September 29th, 2019 in beautiful Rockland, Maine.

Passengers greeted by members of Penobscot Bay Chamber of Commerce had the chance to walk harbor trail, main street, visit main street shops, museums, restaurants.

You also had the chance to take tour buses to Camden to check out the shops, museums, restaurants.

Sapphire Princess is a cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises that entered service in 2004 as the twin sister ship of Diamond Princess. At the time she was one of the world's largest cruise ships, with a capacity of 2,670 passengers and is the sixth Gem-class ship built by Princess Cruises. Sapphire Princess was christened on June 10, 2004 in Seattle, the first cruise ship ever to be christened in that port.

Damariscotta Bank & Trust Named as a Best Place to Work in Maine

Damariscotta, Maine - Damariscotta Bank & Trust was recently named as one of the 2019 Best Places to Work in Maine. This statewide survey and awards program was created in 2006 to identify, recognize, and award the best places of employment in Maine who are benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and business. Damariscotta Bank & Trust was honored in the medium-sized category (50-249 U.S. employees).

“We are very excited to have been chosen as one the Best Places to Work in Maine for the fourth year in a row. Our employees are the center of our organization and a big part of what makes our bank great. They make a difference in our customer’s lives and in their communities. As an organization we take pride that every employee is treated as an individual not as a number just as we treat our customers,” said Marcia Benner, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Places to Work in Maine. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final rankings. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Maine and also analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final rankings.

“DB&T started in the early 1970s to meet the needs of families and small businesses in the Damariscotta area, followed by an expansion to Lincoln, Knox and Waldo County. We are very proud of the Bank we have built together and appreciative of our knowledgeable, helpful and approachable employees because this is what makes our institution reflect these attributes for our customers. We thank our exceptional employees for making us a Best Place to Work in Maine for another year,” said Scott Conant, CEO & President.

Damariscotta Bank & Trust will be recognized at the Best Places to Work in Maine awards ceremony on October 2 and will be listed in a special publication by Mainebiz. The final rankings will be announced at the event. For more information on the Best Places to Work in Maine program, go to www.BestPlacestoWorkME.com or contact Jackie Miller at 717-323-5237. For more information about Damariscotta Bank & Trust, go to www.DamariscottaBank.com or call 800-639-8381.

Portland City Council Asks Rock Row Developers to Address Concert Noise

PORTLAND, Maine -- The Portland City Council has sent a letter to the Rock Row developers asking them to address concert noise and related issues at the Maine Savings Pavillion. Councilors Batson and Thibodeau co-authored the letter, which all members of the Council signed (see attached).


The Councilors are specifically asking for the following information: decibel readings for each
show which shows were amplified on the venue system or that of the artist exact locations of
the monitors at which shows was sound lowered during the performance due to excessive noise.


The Councilors are also requesting details of how Waterfront Concerts has been cataloging and

More than 44,000 Mainers Projected to Lose Food Assistance Under Trump SNAP Proposal

Nearly half at risk are children, older Mainers, and people with disabilities

AUGUSTA – A Trump administration proposal to kick millions of Americans off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would threaten essential food benefits for more than 44,000 Maine people, nearly half of whom are children, older Mainers, and people with disabilities.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) estimates that 44,068 SNAP participants in Maine would lose food benefits under the proposed rule change. Of those, 11,031 are children and 9,598 are over age 60 or have a disability.

In total, nearly 27 percent of all SNAP participants in Maine are at risk of losing benefits under the proposal, DHHS estimates.

The proposal also would jeopardize meals for schoolchildren, by eliminating automatic enrollment of children in SNAP families in free and reduced-cost school meal programs.

"This proposal would take healthy food off the plates of children, older Mainers, and people with disabilities while punishing hard-working families," said Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. "We urge the Administration to rescind this misguided proposal, which will hurt Maine people who are just trying to make ends meet."

Last week, Governor Janet Mills joined a coalition of Governors from 16 other states in sending a [//content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MIEOG/2019/08/28/file_attachments/1274517/Letter%20to%20Secretary%20Perdue%20-%20SNAP.pdf]letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to oppose the proposal, which would essentially eliminate Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility from SNAP. Under Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility, states enroll eligible applicants in SNAP if they already qualify for other benefits for low-income people, primarily Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This allows states to tailor the program to their specific populations and to better coordinate SNAP with other public assistance programs. This now-threatened policy has resulted in more low-income families gaining access to critical food assistance, while also making SNAP less costly for states to administer.

The proposal penalizes families with incomes near the eligibility line by taking away their benefits if they experience even a small increase in wages, and similarly harms older people on fixed incomes who accumulate modest savings.

Maine DHHS is submitting comments to the federal government opposing the rule change. The federal government will accept [//www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/07/24/2019-15670/revision-of-categorical-eligibility-in-the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap#open-comment]comments on the proposed rule through September 23.

Westbrook Youth Football - Family Movie Night TONIGHT

Friday, September 6, 2019
Pizza, popcorn, drinks and other food available for purchase. Jungle Bootcamp for Kids and other activities at 6PM.

Date:

September 6, 2019

Time:

6:00 PM

Time Details:

Gates open at 6PM, The Lion King (original version) begins at 8PM

Location:

View Facility

Warren & Fraser Baseball Fields

Address:

Stevens Avenue
Westbrook, ME 04092

Cost:

$2 per person/$10 maximum per family

City Council to Host Workshop on Parking Garage Proposal on September 10

Biddeford, Maine - The City Council is considering a proposal from Biddeford Innovation, Inc. to build a 640-space parking garage and expand the RiverWalk and pedestrian connections. The purpose of the project is to reduce the property tax burden for residents and provide parking for current and planned development in the downtown and Mill District. No property tax dollars will be used to pay for this project, and the tax rate will not increase due to this project. A City Council Workshop on the proposal will be held on Tuesday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Community members who attend will have the opportunity to share their comments on the proposal with the Council. The Council is expected to vote on the proposal at their September 17 meeting.

If the proposal is approved, Biddeford Innovation, Inc. will design, build, and manage the parking garage. The City will contribute to the project through two sources. The first is through annual payments from the City’s TIF. Money in the TIF fund comes from sheltered property tax payments from businesses and developments in the Mill District – NOT from residential property taxpayers. The second source is revenues from the parking garage and parking lots. If parking revenues are less than expected, the City can make up the difference by collecting payments from surrounding properties in the Mill District, adjusting parking rates, or a combination of the two. If revenues are more than expected, the City will receive the benefit.

All on-street parking will remain FREE. During construction of the garage, rates for parking in surface lots will not increase. Once the garage is completed, rates for parking in the structure will be the same as surface lots. Under the proposal, Biddeford Innovation, Inc. would also assume management of surface lots in the downtown area.

A parking garage is important to our community to promote continued downtown and Mill District development. This matters to taxpayers because new development makes buildings and properties more valuable. More valuable buildings pay more property taxes to the City, which helps stabilize the property tax rate. The construction of the garage is expected to provide the City of Biddeford an additional $16,407,604 in property taxes in the first 10 years of operation and a benefit of $39,772,744 over the 25 year lifetime of the agreement.

 For more information, please visit www.biddefordmaine.org/parkinggarage.

Eastern Equine Encephalitis confirmed in York County horse

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) was alerted late this afternoon of a positive test for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in a horse in York County. The horse, which was not vaccinated against the disease, was euthanized. This is the first case of a horse contracting EEE in Maine since 2013.

EEE is a virus that is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. "EEE, which is carried by mosquitoes, is a fatal, viral disease in horses. The virus can affect human beings if they are bitten by mosquitoes that carry the virus," said Dr. Michele Walsh, Maine State Veterinarian. "People cannot acquire EEE infection from sick animals, only from the bite of an infected mosquito."

"This positive result confirms that mosquitoes carrying the virus are present in Maine, which is the reason why Maine CDC urges the state's residents and visitors to take precautions to protect themselves and their animals from mosquito bites," said Nirav D. Shah, Director of Maine CDC. "We want everyone to take precautions while enjoying themselves this holiday weekend."

Public health officials in other northeastern states have seen evidence of a very active season for EEE and some evidence of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus (WNV), another mosquito-borne illness. There have been no confirmed cases of EEE or WNV in humans in Maine this year. The last case of EEE involving a human in Maine was in 2015.

Maine CDC advises residents and visitors to protect themselves, their children, and animals by minimizing outdoor activity from dusk to dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. If outdoor activity is unavoidable, take personal precautions to prevent mosquito bites, including:

Use an EPA-approved repellent
Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants
Treat clothing and gear with Permethrin
Take steps to control mosquitoes around your property by emptying artificial sources of standing water, fixing holes in screens, and working with a pesticide control applicator.
Animal owners should be aware that:

An EEE/WNV vaccine for horses is available.
Horses that have not been EEE/WNV vaccinated in the past six months should get either an initial vaccine or a booster as soon as possible.
The virus cannot be transmitted from horses to humans.
The virus can also affect specialty livestock, such as llamas, alpacas, emus, ostriches, and other farm-raised birds, such as pheasants, quail and ducks. Owners should contact their herd or flock veterinarians to discuss available vaccines and should also take precautions to help reduce exposure to mosquitoes for both themselves and their animals.
Signs of EEE in horses include stumbling or poor balance, unusual behavior, and lethargy. Other symptoms include head pressing, circling, tremors, seizures and eventual coma. In some animal species, the first signs of the disease can be bloody diarrhea or sudden death. The fatality rate for infected animals is greater than 90%, and those that recover can have permanent brain damage. When approved for protection of a particular species, vaccination is the best way to prevent the disease.

The risk of mosquito-transmitted diseases such as EEE and WNV usually increases through the late summer and early fall. Mosquitoes are active until the second heavy frost.

Human infection with EEE virus can cause serious illness affecting the brain. Some persons infected with EEE have no obvious symptoms. In those persons who do develop illness, symptoms – which typically appear between three and 10 days after a bite – range from mild flu-like illness to high fever, headache, stiff neck, and decreased consciousness. Approximately one in every three individuals who are infected with EEE die and many of those who recover experience lasting health problems. Individuals with symptoms suggestive of EEE infection should contact their physician immediately. No human vaccine against EEE and WNV infection is available. There is no specific antiviral treatment for EEE or WNV infections.

Maine has many resources regarding mosquito-borne diseases:

Maine CDC's vectorborne disease website [//www.maine.gov/dhhs/vectorborne]www.maine.gov/dhhs/vectorborne includes fact sheets on EEE and WNV.
Short videos on mosquito-borne diseases, mosquito habitat, and repellent use are available at [//www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/videos.shtml]www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/videos.shtml or through Maine CDC's YouTube channel [//www.youtube.com/user/MainePublicHealth]www.youtube.com/user/MainePublicHealth.
Information about Maine CDC monitoring of mosquito-borne illnesses is available at [//www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/arboviral-surveillance.shtml]www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/arboviral-surveillance.shtml.
For more information about EEE and WNV prevention, visit this CDC website: [//www.cdc.gov/EEE/]www.cdc.gov/EEE/ or [//www.cdc.gov/westnile]www.cdc.gov/westnile

Maine Cheese Festival in Pittsfield on September 8

Pittsfield ME-The Maine Cheese Guild is holding its fourth annual cheese festival on September 8 in Pittsfield at Manson Park. Attendees can sample or purchase nationally recognized cheeses from 20 small, artisanal, Maine cheese makers. This is a perfect venue to see what Maine cheese has to offer.

Maine beer, wine, spirits, and cider will be sampled at a tent along the Sebasticook River. Five local food trucks will be cooking throughout the day. Entertainment will be provided by locals such as Rough Sawn, Married with Chitlins, and Sibley and Company.

According to Event Coordinator Arlene Brokaw, “Maine cheese is a combination of great quality cow, goat, sheep, and yes, buffalo milk, plus the innovation, creativity and dedication of Maine’s artisanal cheese makers. The personality of each Cheesemaker really shines through their cheeses, and this festival provides a wonderful opportunity to sample all of them.”

Guild President Jessie Dowling reports that Maine cheeses captured an astounding 18 awards at this year’s Big E, the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard.

Principal sponsors include Allagash Brewing Company, Bangor Savings Bank, Bangor Wine and Cheese, and Are You Ready to Party. The Town of Pittsfield is celebrating its bicentennial and has been a huge supporter.

The festival runs from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, rain or shine. The Early Bird event begins at 10:00 AM. Kids under 12 are free.

Tickets can be purchased online: mainecheeseguild.org and click on Eventbrite.