Maine

Coffee Hound and UMaine release new co-branded coffee

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2024

ORONO — Coffee Hound Coffee Co. and the University of Maine have officially licensed a new co-branded coffee: the Maine Black Bears Nitro-Infused Caramel and Cream Coffee. This is the first and only officially licensed “ready to drink” nitro-infused coffee of the Maine Black Bears and is now available for purchase from Freshies at 12 Main Road in Milford.

Roasted locally in the heart of Maine by Coffee Hound, a veteran-founded and woman-owned company in Brewer, this “ready to drink” coffee will soon be distributed statewide by Central Distributors, a Lewiston-based, family-owned distributor founded in 1934.

“We are thrilled to be partners with the University of Maine to license and showcase this brand with our other ‘ready to drink’ nitro-infused coffee beverages that will be distributed throughout the state of Maine by Central Distributors,” said Jen Litteral, president of Coffee Hound.

Coffee Hound has been mass producing their cold brew coffee line since 2019 in partnership with Geaghan’s Brewery, which distributes it in kegs and barrels. Coffee Hound now offers three flavor lines of nitro-infused coffee in cans: a traditional nitro with cream and sugar, a latte with maple syrup and cream and now the officially licensed Maine Black Bear coffee with a touch of caramel and cream.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to add ‘Maine Black Bear’ nitro-infused ready-to-drink to our line-up of cold coffees at the Milford Freshies location. We are committed to delivering new and innovative food and drink options to our valued customers at our Freshies locations. We are privileged to support the University of Maine Black Bears and another local Maine business, Coffee Hound,” said Katie Foster, executive manager of operations for R.H. Foster Energy, LLC, which owns and operates Freshies where the coffee is now available.

As Maine’s only public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution, the University of Maine advances learning and discovery through excellence and innovation. Founded in 1865 in Orono, UMaine is the state’s land, sea and space grant university with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Our students come from all over the world and work with faculty conducting fieldwork around the globe — from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic. Located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation with UMaine Machias located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation, UMaine’s statewide mission is to foster an environment that creates tomorrow’s leaders. As the state’s flagship institution, UMaine offers nearly 200 degree programs through which students can earn bachelor’s, master’s, professional master’s and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates. For more information about UMaine and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu/about/quick-facts and machias.edu/about-umm/umm-facts.

Established in 2013 we are veteran-founded and women-owned. Dedicated to Maine’s craftsmanship, we focus on sourcing from small farms around the world and roasting in small batches to create a craft coffee experience. Our roastery is located in Brewer and we produce coffee to over 300 locations in Maine including 17 Hannaford locations. We have three licensed cafe locations, two at Sunday River Ski Resort and one in Bar Harbor. We have been mass producing our cold brew coffee in partnership with Geaghan’s Brewery since 2019 which Geaghan’s distributes in kegs and barrels. And now with our co-packer Snapchill we have a line of 3 ‘ready to drink’ nitro-infused coffee drinks including the officially licensed Maine Black Bears caramel and cream. For more go www.coffeehoundcoffeeco.com.

Freshies is owned and operated by a locally owned, Maine-based business, R. H. Foster Energy, LLC. R. H. Foster is privileged to celebrate the third generation of Foster family members working in the business and to employ over 500 Mainers across the state. R. H. Foster owns and operates 23 Freshies® convenience stores and delis throughout northern, northeast, and central Maine, as well as Freshies Wood Fired Pizza truck, Tri-City Pizza, and Bangor Bakery Oven Bakery in Bangor. Additionally, the company has seven energy companies located in Hampden, Ellsworth, Machias, Lincoln, Penobscot, Dennysville, and Beals, that deliver heating fuels and provide services to residential customers and commercial companies. For more go www.freshiesdeli.com.

Maine

Elementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine

Published

6 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Elementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine

A student was killed in a crash involving a school bus in southern Maine on Tuesday morning, officials say.

The crash occurred around 7:30 a.m. near Edna Libby Elementary School in Standish, authorities said, and MSAD 6 School Superintendent Clay Gleason told News Center Maine it involved a student and a school bus.

Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce confirmed that an elementary school student was struck by an MSAD 6 school bus and died at the scene. He said Route 35 was shut down between Route 114 and Moody Road for the crash investigation.

MSAD 6 serves the towns of Buxton, Hollis, Limington, Standish, and Frye Island. Standish is a town with about 11,000 residents about 15 miles west of Portland.

The child who died was a student at Edna Libby Elementary School, the school district said. Joyce said only one student was on the bus at the time of the crash — the half-brother of the student who was killed.

“The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, along with other law enforcement agencies, will be reconstructing the accident, providing more information as we get it,” Joyce said. “What we do know now is we have a child that’s deceased. It’s tough anytime of the year, but not a good time of the year for a lot of families.”

Gleason said Edna Libby Elementary School planned to dismiss students at 11:30 a.m. to allow parents or caregivers to be with their children and for staff to receive support. All after school activities in the district were canceled, though the school day went on as scheduled in all other district schools.

“I have been in communication with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and a full investigation will be forthcoming to determine how this tragic accident took place,” Gleason said in a message to the school community. “In this difficult time please keep those directly impacted in your thoughts – first and foremost the family of the student, as well as the students and staff of Edna Libby. Speculation or blame on social media is not productive or helpful and is disrespectful to the memory of the student and their family.”

Support services are being provided for the bus driver and the family, Joyce said.

No additional information has been released, but officials said they expect to have more to say later in the day.

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Maine

Maine Jewish community mourning, on edge after attack in Australia

Published

19 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Maine Jewish community mourning, on edge after attack in Australia

PORTLAND (WGME) — The Maine Jewish community says the attack in Australia has left them mourning and on edge.

It comes amid an increase in antisemitic rhetoric, online and in our communities.

Members of Maine’s Jewish community say they have no choice but to take these increased threats seriously, especially in wake of the tragedy in Australia.

They are now increasing security, like during the menorah lighting for the first night of Hanukkah outside Portland City Hall Sunday.

The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine says they’ve been coordinating with local law enforcement across the state since Sunday about heightened threat levels.

They say the attack in Australia is just the culmination of an increase in antisemitic actions that have been seen across the world in recent years, which Maine has not been isolated from.

“There were about, almost 16 antisemitic incidents, documented antisemitic incidents in 2024,” Jewish Community Relations Council Director Zach Schwartz said. “That represents the same increase that Sydney saw, which is a three-fold increase, so yeah, we could say by the numbers, that there is multiple orders of increased antisemitism in the state.”

The alliance says the story of Hanukkah is also more relevant than ever amid these attacks.

They say amid dark days, the Jewish community still finds ways to come together in hopes of lighting the way for a brighter future.

Governor Janet Mills issued a statement on both the shooting in Australia and at Brown University.

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“My prayers are with the victims of the tragedies in Providence and Australia, and I hope for the full recovery of all those injured. Innocent people, like those gathering for school or to celebrate their faith, should be free from fear of hateful acts such as these.”

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Maine

Eight Maine Subway locations reopen

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

An image from Michael T. Fay’s Facebook page shows him in front of the location on Allen Avenue in Portland, one of the franchises ordered closed. (Facebook screenshot)

Eight Subway locations closed last week by state regulators have reopened.

MTF Subway franchise owner Michael T. Fay has confirmed that all of his franchise locations in Maine are open for business, following the closure of eight of them last Wednesday.

Maine Revenue Services ordered what it characterized as “several” Subway locations closed for “for noncompliance with Part 3, 36 M.R.S.A.,” which primarily governs Maine’s sales and use tax.

The agency did not elaborate and would only reiterate Monday that, “Due to confidentiality requirements, MRS cannot comment on individual tax situations.”

In an email to the Sun Journal on Monday, Fay confirmed that eight of his locations were affected by the ordered closures, after the state revoked the registration certificates for each location.

Fay stated that none of his employees were laid off by the company.

MTF Subway locations affected:

Blue Hill

Brunswick

Hampden

Lisbon Falls

Portland

Topsham

Westbrook

Wiscasset

A long-time journalist, Christopher got his start with Armed Forces Radio & Television after college. Seventeen years at CNN International brought exposure to major national and international stories…
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