Maine
Cornel West remains on Maine ballot after review of signatures
![Cornel West remains on Maine ballot after review of signatures Cornel West remains on Maine ballot after review of signatures](https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/08/Election_2024_DNC_31955_60815f-1724255990.jpg?w=1000)
Cornel West’s name will remain on Maine’s presidential ballot despite concerns raised during a public hearing last week that voters were tricked into signing nomination papers for the former Harvard University professor.
![Election 2024 DNC](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Election_2024_DNC_31955_60815f.jpg?w=250&h=250&crop=1)
Cornel West. Alex Brandon/Associated Press
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a decision released Tuesday night that some signatures were gathered fraudulently and were discarded, but it was not enough to disqualify West from the ballot as an independent candidate.
“The bad actions of one should not impugn the valid First Amendment rights of the many,” Bellows said in a written statement.
West’s candidacy was challenged by three voters: Nathan Berger of Portland, Anne Gass of Gray and Sandra Marquis of Lewiston. They argued that West should not appear on Maine’s ballot for a variety of reasons, including submitting too many signatures in violation of state law and other issues that they said should invalidate thousands of other signatures, which would put him below the 4,000 needed to qualify.
Gass and Marquis also accused those circulating West’s petitions of deceiving people by claiming the petition was to prohibit federal officials from trading stocks and not mentioning West. Three voters testified in support of that accusation at a hearing last week and eight other signed written statements.
“While other states across the country may direct election officials to exclude voters from duly participating in our elections processes on the basis of scrivener’s quibbles, Maine does not,” Bellows said. “Our election laws are grounded in encouraging full and fair voter participation, and the registrars acted appropriately in certifying signatures for voters that they could verify regardless of whether a voter signed with a nickname or dated the petition with the day and month only.”
The challengers also argued that Maine law sets a 5,000 limit on the maximum number of signatures that can be submitted to the state for verification, and circulators exceeded that limit by submitting 5,983 signatures. But Bellows interpreted the state law as limiting the number that election officials must review, not how many can be turned in.
“As a result, the Elections Division properly declined to count the additional petitions … once it determined that the West Campaign had reached approximately 5,000 valid signatures,” Bellows said. “No further consequences to the Campaign are required or permitted.”
The challengers can appeal Bellows’ decision to Superior Court. Attorneys representing the challengers did not immediately respond to questions about whether they would appeal.
Nobody accused the West campaign of directing the petition effort. Campaign officials said they didn’t have enough money to hire signature-gathers and instead have been using a grassroots, decentralized campaign, making petitions available for downloading on their website, allowing anyone to collect signatures on behalf of the campaign. That made it difficult for the campaign to control what was happening on the ground.
At least one petition circulator said they were paid by an outside group not affiliated with the campaign to collect signatures. State Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, said he supports West and worked to put him on the ballot because Maine’s system of ranked choice voting would prohibit West from being a spoiler to Harris.
Nevertheless, Lookner stopped collecting signatures when he learned that similar efforts to get West on the ballots in other states were linked to Republicans trying to erode support for the Democratic presidential nominee.
The challenges aimed at disqualifying West appear to be part of a nationwide effort by Clear Choice Action, a group led by allies of President Biden, to prevent a third-party spoiler in what is expected to be a very tight presidential race. The Washington Post reported that the group planned to “develop research and push storylines in the media” to discourage people from voting for third-party candidates.
A similar challenge was filed against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but it was withdrawn shortly before last week’s hearing.
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Maine
An App, a Phrase, and A Little Luck Will Score You Post Malone Tickets
![An App, a Phrase, and A Little Luck Will Score You Post Malone Tickets An App, a Phrase, and A Little Luck Will Score You Post Malone Tickets](https://townsquare.media/site/494/files/2024/08/attachment-Untitled-design-16.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural)
First and foremost, congratulations to Emily who was our first winner of Post Malone tickets from David and Cindy in the morning on Q106.5. In case you have been living under a lighthouse, Post Malone is coming to Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor on Monday, September 16th.
David and Cindy Q106.5
How To Win Tickets Like Emily to See Post Malone in Maine
Similar to Emily, all you have to do is show up to our pre-party at Urban Pizza for the Luke Combs concert Thursday, August 22nd, between 5pm and 7pm, and show us that you have the Q106.5 app downloaded to your phone. You will also need to tell us the ‘special phrase’ that is located somewhere within this article.
Post Malone Ticket Giveaway
Let’s recap. Show up this Thursday to Urban Pizza in Bangor which is across the street from Maine Savings Amphitheater for the Luke Combs concert pre-party. Show David or Cindy that the Q106.5 app is downloaded to your smart phone AND say the ‘special phrase’ that is randomly located within this article.
Follow Those Steps and You Can Enter into the Special Drawing for Post Malone Tickets
It’s that simple! We will do the drawing the following morning (Friday) and hopefully call your name on-air!
Post Malone Ticket Giveaway
You might be asking, “But when will you ever reveal the ‘special phrase,’ and why are you making us share a ‘special phrase’ in order for us to enter the contest?” That is an excellent question. I am weak and insecure and seek power wherever I can find it. I also want to make sure every single one of my delicately typed words are read and appreciated. I may even submit you to scroll through a few irrelevant photos of flowers from my trip to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (which was fabulous) before I FINALLY share the ‘special phrase.’
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Photos from Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Gallery Credit: David Bugenske/TSM Maine
The special phrase is “I love David & Cindy.” See you Thursday and GOOD LUCK!
Chick Hill Hiking Trail in Maine
Chick Hill Hiking Trail in Maine
Gallery Credit: David
Maine
Maine mass shooting report says Army, law enforcement missed chances to avert attacks
![Maine mass shooting report says Army, law enforcement missed chances to avert attacks Maine mass shooting report says Army, law enforcement missed chances to avert attacks](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/21/USAT/74882358007-usatsi-21770678.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2399,1351,x0,y124&format=pjpg&width=1200)
The independent commission added in its final report that police officers should have undergone steps to seize Robert Card’s firearms through Maine’s yellow flag law.
Maine governor: Lewiston ‘did not deserve this terrible assault’
Two deadly shootings in Lewiston, Maine, killed at least 18 people and left the community shocked.
PORSMOUTH, N.H. — Army Reserve and law enforcement officials failed to take several opportunities that could have prevented the Lewiston, Maine, mass shootings last year, an independent commission tasked with investigating the tragedy said in its final report Tuesday.
The commission, formed last year by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, was comprised of several attorneys, a forensic psychologist, and a psychiatrist who released its final report Tuesday about the October 2023 mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead. In the report, the commission said that while the actions of the shooter, Robert Card, were his own, his Army reserve unit and local law enforcement missed opportunities to intervene after several concerns about Card’s behavior were raised.
Daniel Wathen, a retired Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and the commission’s chair, spoke on behalf of the group during the news conference Tuesday. He said the commission was only tasked with investigating the facts of the shootings, not making recommendations, adding that it is impossible to know whether the shootings would have been prevented if officials had properly intervened.
The report said authorities “failed to undertake necessary steps to reduce the threat he posed to the public.” The independent commission added in its final report that police officers should have undergone steps to seize Card’s firearms through Maine’s yellow flag law.
Maine’s yellow flag law allows anyone who suspects a gun owner is a threat to report them to the police, who then must determine whether that person should be taken into protective custody, evaluated by a mental health professional, or apply for a court order to seize their firearms. Several people who knew Card, including his son and former wife, notified law enforcement about concerns about his behaviors in the months leading up to the shooting, the report said.
As a result, local police officers had reason to utilize their power under the state’s yellow flag laws before the shooting, the report said, reiterating a previous finding in the commission’s interim report from this year. The report said that police officers who testified in front of the commission said the yellow flag law is “cumbersome, inefficient and unduly restrictive.”
Report: Army Reserve officers did not tell police about all of Robert Card’s threatening behavior
The report also said officers in the Army Reserve, which Card was active in, failed to take steps to reduce the threat he posed to the public. The report found that Army Reserve officers were aware of Card’s concerning behavior, including hallucinations, aggressiveness, and ominous comments but did not notify local police officers about the full extent of the behavior.
According to the report, several of Card’s family members, friends, and fellow reservists alerted Army Reserve officials about concerning behavior. “Despite their knowledge, they ignored the strong recommendations of Card’s Army mental health providers to stay engaged with his care and ‘mak[e] sure that steps are taken to remove weapons’ from his home,’” the report added.
The commission said that if Army Reserve officers had notified police officers of the extent of Card’s behavior, they may have acted “more assertively.”
What happened in Lewiston
On Oct. 25, the 40-year-old Army reservist opened fire at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, killing 18 people and wounding 13. Days later, after an intense search that kept residents across the city locked in their homes, authorities found Card dead of a gunshot wound.
A post-mortem analysis of Robert Card’s brain by Boston University’s CTE Center, completed at the request of the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, revealed “significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries at the time of the shootings.” Card’s family made the findings public and declined to comment.
Among the injuries recorded by researchers were damage to the fibers that allow communication between areas of the brain, inflammation and a small blood vessel injury, according to the report signed by Dr. Ann McKee, director of the lab at Boston University, and released Wednesday. She said there was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease often found in athletes and military veterans who have suffered repetitive head trauma.
“While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card’s behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms,” said Dr. Ann McKee, director of the lab at Boston University, earlier this year.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Minnah Arshad, and Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY
Maine
1,600 gallons of forever chemicals released in Maine
![1,600 gallons of forever chemicals released in Maine 1,600 gallons of forever chemicals released in Maine](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2454112/brunswick-executive-airport.jpg)
Following a malfunctioning fire suppression system at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine on Monday, approximately 1,600 gallons of “forever chemicals” were released.
According to officials from the Maine Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) and the Brunswick Executive Airport, the incident occurred in Hangar 4, where the automated system unexpectedly activated and set off a series of wall-mounted cannons of foam to be released. About 1,600 gallons of the firefighting foam, laced with hazardous per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), was released along with 60,000 gallons of water, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
PFAS are a class of chemicals that can be found in a range of everyday products, from toilet paper to food packaging, cosmetics and dental floss. Nicknamed “forever chemicals,” these compounds break down very slowly over time and stick around in the surrounding environment.
More From Newsweek Vault: What Is a Health Savings Account?
The widespread nature of forever chemicals have been concerning as numerous studies have found associations between PFAS exposure and increased blood cholesterol and blood pressure, reduced immunity, reproductive issues and an increased risk of certain cancers, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reports.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
The Brunswick Naval Air Station, which officially closed in 2011, had mandated automated fire suppression systems in its large hangars.
According to WMTW, an ABC-affiliated station in Maine, the former Naval Air Station Brunswick is now called Brunswick Landing and is the site of the Brunswick Executive Airport.
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Brunswick Landing also :includes four flight schools, four educational institutions, more than 750 housing units, a technology business incubator and nearly 160 businesses that employ more than 2,500 people,” WMTW reported.
While the cause of the system’s failure is still under investigation, cleanup efforts are already underway as the Maine Department of Environmental Protection is overseeing the effort with Clean Harbors of South Portland deploying vacuum trucks, containment booms and tanks to mitigate the spill, the AP reported.
More From Newsweek Vault: Learn More About the Different Types of Savings Accounts
“We take this situation very seriously and are committed to addressing the cleanup with the utmost urgency and transparency,” Kristine Logan, MRRA’s executive director told the AP.
Newsweek reached out to the Maine Regional Redevelopment Authority via email on Tuesday for comment.
The incident comes amid a broader concern regarding forever chemicals and possible groundwater contamination leading to health risks.
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new limits on these chemicals in drinking water. In addition, some fire departments began a shift away from PFAS-containing firefighting foams. This includes several fire departments in New Hampshire, where the state last week initiated a program to collect and safely dispose of such foams.
Meanwhile, a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that about half of all U.S. tap water was found to contain some PFAS chemicals with New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania having the highest level of contamination.
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