Maine
A Maine resident is leading a complaint against Trump administration over DEI firings


Mahri Stáinnak at Fisherman’s Point in South Portland on Wednesday. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
Mahri Stáinnak fell in love with being a federal worker after more than a decade spent overseeing sewage systems and keeping public waterways clean with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Stáinnak, who lives in the Portland area, was honored in 2021 to join the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal workforce, and then was shocked earlier this year when they learned they were being placed on paid administrative leave following a pair of executive orders targeting programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Especially because Stáinnak’s current job had nothing to do with DEI.
“I just felt fear,” Stáinnak said in a phone interview Wednesday, recalling when they received the news in the middle of dinner. “My wife was there, my toddler was picking up on the stress and crying. I started panicking because I’m the sole breadwinner right now.”
Stáinnak, who uses they/them pronouns, had just taken the job in talent recruitment less than a month before and is now appealing their removal in a complaint filed Wednesday before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Stáinnak argues that their firing was an attempt to unlawfully punish them for their perceived political affiliations and their previous work on DEI, “without regard to the worker’s skills or current job assignment.”
President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Jan. 20: one for “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit Based Opportunities” and the other for “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferences.” Trump has accused these programs of being discriminatory against non-minority groups, such as white men, and unnecessary.
Stáinnak’s lawyers say this violates Stáinnak’s First Amendment rights, and that the firings had an impact on marginalized workers in particular.
“The First Amendment prohibits retaliating against people for their political beliefs or their perceived political beliefs,” said Scott Michelman from the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, D.C. “He went after folks like Mahri, not for what they were doing when they were put on leave and then fired, but for what they used to do.”
At least three other people plan to join Stáinnak’s appeal, including two fired employees from the Department of Labor and one from the Federal Aviation Administration. None of whom were working in DEI-related jobs when they were fired.
Their attorneys suspect the actual number of plaintiffs will be much higher if they are granted class-action status.
In addition to an appeal hearing, Stáinnak’s lawyers have also requested that the government turn over its lists of employees who were fired under Trump’s DEI orders, as well as “communications and guidance from OPM to agencies related to the identification of positions” that were targeted.
When asked about Stáinnak’s appeal, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice wrote in an email that they have “vigorously defended President Trump’s actions, including the order to end radical wasteful government DEI programs, and will continue to do so.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said that Trump has the authority to manage personnel across the executive branch.
It’s unclear how soon Stáinnak’s appeal will be considered. It will first be heard by the Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial agency whose primary function is to protect federal workers “against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices.”
“Unfortunately, the Merit Systems Protection Board is not the fastest moving agency, and they are likely to be flooded with claims, particularly right now, with all the disruptions to the federal work force brought about by Trump and Musk,” Michelman said.
If Stáinnak and the rest of the class are unsuccessful in their appeal, Michelman said they have a right to file their case in federal court.
In the meantime, Stáinnak said Wednesday was their last day of paid administrative leave. Over the last couple of months, they have worried about how they’ll afford their mortgage and support their family.
But Stáinnak also believes there’s a greater toll for thousands of nonpolitical career civil servants who have benefited from OPM’s work on expanding their health insurance benefits and working conditions.
“This is patently unfair, unjust,” Stáinnak said. “I want to get back to work on a job that I feel so passionate about, and excited for. I am a proud federal employee, and I know so many other proud federal employees. Let us get back to work.”

Maine
This Maine island home for sale comes with access to a rustic bowling alley

One of three summer cottages on a Maine island is for sale, and for the price of the home, you get shared access to a beach, tennis court, two docks and an old-fashioned bowling alley, too.
The property for sale is on Mouse Island, a mile south from Boothbay Harbor. It was listed Monday at $1.6 million, and has already attracted plenty of interest from out-of-state buyers, said listing agent Karen Roberts.
For decades, the 16-acre island was known as the home of The Samoset Hotel, which was built by a group of Skowhegan men in 1877 and could sleep 125 people, according to the Boothbay Register.
“People used to go by steamboat up from Boston to stay,” said Roberts, an agent with Tindal & Callahan Real Estate of Boothbay Harbor. “There’s some real history to the island itself.”
The hotel burned down in 1913. After that, the whole island was put up for sale and bought by private citizens including famous liberal Protestant minister Harry Emerson Fosdick, who used to write his sermons there, Roberts said.
“It is far enough from the mainland so that we can live an entirely unsophisticated life,” Fosdick once wrote of the island, according to the Wiscasset Newspaper. “That is to say; a man can put on a flannel shirt in the morning and go to bed in it at night if he feels like it.”
In 1924, three cottages were built on the island, according to the Register. A couple of the people who own those properties today are descended from those who built the cottages, but the owners of the one for sale were not, Roberts said.
The home for sale, which has not been winterized, presents a rare opportunity to own an island along with two other homeowners. All islanders share amenities including a rustic bowling alley built around the same time as the Samoset Hotel, Roberts said. A full-time caretaker lives on the island to maintain those amenities and ferry homeowners to Boothbay Harbor, she said.
Inside the home, there are five bedrooms, four bathrooms and features like a stone fireplace, warm wood interiors and a remodeled kitchen, according to its online listing. The island also includes walking trails, golf cart paths, and two solitary cabins which any of the owners can make use of.
Roberts’ phone has been ringing. She has been fielding questions from brokers representing out-of-state buyers charmed by the cottage’s history, location and amenities.
“It’s like going back in time. It’s just beautiful. But you’re a 15- to 20-minute boat ride from downtown Boothbay Harbor, so it’s very convenient and in a great location,” Roberts said. “You’re in your own little world out there.”
Maine
What to know about the dangers of climbing Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest point – The Boston Globe

They were last seen at approximately 10:15 a.m. Sunday, setting off from Abol Campground towards the summit, Baxter State Park officials said.
Trail guides and experts have some pointers on how to prepare to climb Katahdin.
1. Don’t be fooled by numbers.
“People underestimate how challenging it is,” said Jesika Lucarelli, a Registered Maine Guide who’s been leading hikes up Katahdin since 2012. “People often look at a route and see it’s only 4.5 miles to the summit, but they don’t understand how rugged the terrain is.”
2. The terrain rises, trails scramble.
Mount Katahdin rises sharply from the northern wilderness. The trails scramble over steep, often slippery rock with limited visibility. “That’s why we say climb Katahdin and not hike it,” said Lucarelli.
Round-trip hikes average 8–12 hours, and all Katahdin trails are rated “moderate” to “extremely strenuous,” according to the Baxter State Park website.
3. The weather is tricky to predict.
The weather can change fast, especially in the “shoulder seasons” of late spring and early fall.
“The mountain is so high, it creates its own weather patterns,” said Tori Gray, a Registered Maine Guide and former Baxter State Park ranger. “Thunderstorms can roll in that weren’t even on the weather forecast. It happens very quickly, in a matter of minutes.”
Because conditions can change quickly, Noah Kleiner, a certified guide who leads hikes in summer and winter said he’s “always collecting data,” paying attention to both the environment and how his body is responding “in order to make the right decision.”
4. Think wilderness first, recreation second.
“It’s really rugged, it’s true wilderness, and sometimes that’s lost on people,” Gray said.
“Wilderness first, recreation second” is a guiding principle at Baxter State Park, Gray said. “The park promotes and stands by a primitive experience,” she said.
5. Avoid ‘summit fever’
The most important thing is knowing when to turn around. Gray said. “A lot of hikers are super experienced, but they have summit fever, they don’t care about anything but reaching the summit,” she said.
“But in a situation where you’re not feeling safe or comfortable on the mountain, say you see dark clouds or your ankle is starting to bother you, turn around.”
“The hike doesn’t end at the summit,” she said. “It ends in your car.”
“The mountain will always be there, it’s not going anywhere, whether I get to the summit today or tomorrow,” Kleiner said. ” And I think people forget that when they’re there. But you have to ask, what is the risk? And is it worth more than [reaching] the summit?”
Rita Chandler can be reached at rita.chandler@globe.com.
Maine
Missing woman found dead on Maine's Katahdin a day after father, park rangers say

The body of a missing woman was found on Maine’s Katahdin mountain Wednesday, a day after her father’s was found, officials said.
Esther Keiderling’s body was found about 1 p.m. off the wooded area known as Tablelands, a Maine Warden Service representative told NBC affiliate News Center Maine.
The discovery ended a dayslong search — the father and daughter from New York’s Hudson Valley were last seen Sunday.
The body of her father, Tim Keiderling, was found about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. on the Tableland, near the summit of Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain, officials said.
Tim, 58, and Esther, 28, were last seen at a campground Sunday morning on their way to the summit of Katahdin, Maine’s tallest mountain, according to a post on the Baxter State Park Facebook page.
Park rangers began searching for the Keiderlings on Monday morning, when their vehicle was spotted in day-use parking, searching trails near the Abol Campground, where they’d been, without finding any sign of them, according to the post.
Several helicopters and more than 30 game wardens joined the search on Tuesday, finding no trace of the pair as of about noon on Tuesday, park rangers said.
The Keiderlings are from Ulster Park, a town on the Hudson River near Kingston.
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