Maine
Federal government announces plan to sell some buildings in Maine
The U.S. Custom House on Free Street in Portland is among hundreds of properties deemed “non-core assets” that the federal government said Tuesday that it plans to sell off. John Ewing/Portland Press Herald, file
The federal government plans to sell off certain properties it deems nonessential to core functions, including four properties in Maine, the U.S. General Services Administration announced Tuesday.
Among hundreds of properties deemed “non-core assets” are the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta, which hosts more than a dozen tenants, including the Postal Service, IRS and offices for both of Maine’s U.S. senators.
The Social Security Administration building in Presque Isle was also listed, as was the historic U.S. Custom House and a parking facility in Portland, the administration said.
All those sites are included in a list of “properties designated for disposal.”
“GSA’s decisive action to dispose of non-core assets leverages the private sector, drives improvements for our agency customers, and best serves local communities,” the administration said in its announcement.
Core assets include those used for “critical government operations, such as: courthouses, land ports of entry, and facilities critical to our national defense and law enforcement,” the administration said.
The list includes properties in nearly every state, including a handful of high-profile government buildings.
Although it originally included more than 440 total properties when announced, the list was pared down to just 320 properties by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Among properties that appeared on the original list but were removed are the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which serves as FBI headquarters; the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building; the Old Post Office building, where President Donald Trump once ran a hotel; and the American Red Cross headquarters.
The headquarters of numerous agencies, including the Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, were originally listed as well.
It was not immediately clear when the properties would be formally offered for sale or what the terms may look like.
“GSA will be releasing more information on how interested prospective parties can submit information soon,” the department said.
The GSA did not immediately return emailed questions Tuesday night about why certain properties were removed from the list, whether others may also be removed, or when details of the sale policies would be revealed.
This report contains material from The Associated Press.
Many Maine municipalities will open cooling centers this week with the National Weather Service issuing a variety of heat advisories covering the next few days.
The Maine DEP also issued an air quality alert for Wednesday with ground-level ozone expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
All of York County, interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and the southern half of Oxford County will fall under an extreme heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
The warning calls for “dangerously hot conditions” that could feature heat index values of up to 110 degrees, with overnight lows only expected to fall into the 70s, according to the weather service’s office in Gray.
The rest of the state — save northern Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties — falls under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the weather service has also placed much of the state under an extreme heat watch for Thursday.
Heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, are expected to reach up to 104 degrees during the heat advisory period, the weather service warns. They could reach 110 degrees Thursday, when the extreme heat watch is in effect.
Northern Oxford and Franklin counties, and central Somerset County, can expect a heat index value of up to 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, avoid extended periods in the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. It also warns not to leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles, as “car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Cooling Centers
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has also issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday along the coast from Kittery to Acadia National Park. The agency warns that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ozone levels may reach “moderate levels” further inland, according to the Maine DEP, including in all of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, as well as parts of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
Elevated ozone levels can pose a risk to children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory or heart diseases, according to the Maine DEP. Anyone exerting themselves outdoors may also experience health effects, which could include coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and mild chest pain.
Ozone levels were already climbing in southern New England on Tuesday, according to the Maine DEP, and winds are expected to bring those conditions to Maine on Wednesday.
The Maine DEP recommends that vulnerable populations avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and circulate indoor air with fans or air conditioners. Those with asthma are also advised to keep quick-relief medication handy.
Particle pollution levels are also expected to be moderate across the state on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, the Maine DEP said in its announcement Tuesday. Wildfires in Colorado, which have claimed the lives of three firefighters, had burned nearly 90,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.
Maine could face up to $50 million in penalties next year due to errors in its payments for federal food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture find that Maine’s error rate last year was nearly 11%, the bulk of which were overpayments. That’s in line with the U.S. average. But starting in October of next year, states with error rates above 6% must cover a portion of the SNAP benefits.
Anna Korsen, executive director of Full Plates, Full Potential, said the overpayments aren’t fraud — they’re human error. She said this new cost-shifting policy enacted last year under the Trump administration further complicates the SNAP application process.
“Instead, we could make this program more accessible and more efficient,” Korsen said. “And that would reduce the number of errors and also ensure that Mainers who are eligible for SNAP have access to it.”
She’s urging Congress to delay or reverse the policy under the farm bill that’s currently under consideration.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said it’s taking steps to reduce the error rate, including modernizing its systems and hiring an additional 40 eligibility specialists.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
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