Maine
Court ruling restores funding for AmeriCorps projects in Maine
A federal judge has ordered that the Trump administration, for now, restore AmeriCorps funding to Maine and about two dozen other states.
Volunteer Maine, the state’s service commission, said the ruling reinstates about $2.5 million that supported eight AmeriCorps projects around Maine and about 120 service members. They were initially terminated in April.
But executive director Britt Gleixner-Haya said it won’t be easy to restart the programs that were paused.
“This is not like a light switch you can turn on and off,” she said. “The April termination already had an impact on our partners and on communities across Maine.”
Volunteer agencies and non-profits around Maine are still figuring out how they will restart projects and rehire workers. Gleixner-Haya said Volunteer Maine is still waiting for required documentation from AmeriCorps headquarters confirming the funds have been restored.
“This is extremely chaotic for the AmeriCorps members, and it robs them of the opportunity to serve,” she said. “They signed up and they want to serve communities, and right now this situation is making it very difficult for them to make the kind of decisions about their lives and to serve our communities here in Maine.”
Maine programs are also bracing for the possibility of more changes, Gleixner-Haya said, as legal proceedings are expected to continue and the Trump administration may appeal. She also notes that a federal judge is allowing the Trump administration to proceed with planned layoffs of AmeriCorps headquarters staff.
The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition says over the past two weeks its immigrant defense hotline has seen an uptick in reported ICE detentions.
They say this corresponds with a national shift in ICE activity, including bids for local businesses to cooperate with ICE.
In Maine, the arrests follow a broader trend of targeting Black and brown immigrants, including people navigating immigration proceedings.
The coalition, which represents more than 100 organizations, says it’s ready to protect civil and human rights and is urging immigrants to prepare themselves and their families.
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They suggest having the defense hotline ready in case you witness ICE activity, making sure you have important personal documents in case of detention, and reviewing rights around judicial warrants in private spaces, like your home or workplace.
It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day without a stop at the florist.
According to Fox Business, about 154 million flowers are sold during the week of Mother’s Day. So it’s safe to say it was a busy day for stores like Estabrook’s Maine Garden Center and Nursery.
Plenty of families stopped by to pick out flowers on Sunday, looking to choose the perfect bouquet for their moms.
“I think Mother’s Day is tradition, you know, and so it’s great to see families here. We have a lot of new families that have come today for the first time with their young children and their mother. Watching the young kids and seeing how excited they are—their eyes light up at all the beautiful flowers,” Tom Estabrook, president of Estabrook’s, said.
Estabrook says Mother’s Day tends to be a great kickoff to the spring season.
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