BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – If you’ve ever wondered what goes into pitching a good business idea, you might want to stop by a Big Gig event.

The Big Gig Entrepreneurship Pitch Off brings professionals from across the state together to network and pitch their early-stage business ideas for a chance to win $500.

Tuesday’s competition was held at the Salty Brick Market in Bangor, and it drew a lot of spectators.

“The winners of each semifinal event get $500 and the opportunity to compete for $5,000, so that can make a huge impact on a business that’s just getting off the ground,” said Renee Kelly, a Big Gig organizer.

The winner of the competition, Colin McGuire, was also grateful for the opportunity to showcase his idea “Art on Tap,” which would connect local artists with local venues trying to put on events.

“The support tonight is huge, and it’s just giving me more enthusiasm for running with the idea,” he said.

The season finale of the competition will be held May 19th.

The location is yet to be determined.

If you’d like to apply to compete in the contest, you can go to biggig.org.

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Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.

The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.

Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.

“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”

The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.

“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”

Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.

At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.

“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.

Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.

“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.

The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.

“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.

Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.

“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”

With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote. 

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.