Maine
In Maine, murdering trees for a killer view is apparently not a crime – The Boston Globe
It galled him and other town officials so much, in fact, that they decided the $1.7 million assessed against the Bonds in a legal settlement and fines and other penalties wasn’t punishment enough. They have now asked Knox District Attorney Natasha Irving and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey to pursue criminal charges.
It remains unclear if the attorney general will intervene, but this week Irving notified Hedstrom she would not seek charges and told the Globe she didn’t believe she could prove a violation of any Maine criminal statutes. So far, Frey’s office is not talking. But the drive for criminal penalties is yet another sign of the acrimony unleashed by a case that generated international headlines and has left lingering resentment about wealthy landowners who might feel they can buy their way out of trouble.
“I am afraid it will not be the last if those of us with the responsibility of protecting the public and the environment do not enforce all applicable laws to the greatest extent possible,” Camden’s town manager, Audra Caler, wrote in her request to Frey’s office.
Indeed, emotions run so hot that the town’s planning director and enforcement officer, Jeremy Martin, says he is routinely fielding angry calls from strangers near and far.
“I check my voice mail and there’s somebody from Florida saying, ‘You gotta nail those people.’ A nice elderly lady from Kennebunkport said, ‘Oh, I can’t believe it. Go after them!’ I get why people here care so much,” Martin said. “But I don’t understand why I’m getting calls from all over.”
Most agree the notoriety of the case is driven at least in part by the wealth of those involved; Gorman is the widow of L.L. Bean chairman Leon Gorman, who when he died in 2015 was described as Maine’s wealthiest resident. The Bonds are a wealthy, politically connected couple from Missouri. Amelia Bond was CEO of a St. Louis foundation that manages money for various charities. Arthur Bond is a prominent architect, and nephew of Christopher “Kit” Bond, who served as Missouri’s governor and a US senator.
Like other wealthy summer residents who have been building or buying big houses here for more than a century, the Gormans were attracted to Camden’s serene beauty and proximity to both the sea and mountains. They bought their waterfront home in 2002. The Bonds paid $1.8 million for theirs in 2018. It has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and more than 4,000 square feet of living space, located right next to the town’s small beach and park. If there was a drawback, it was that their views of the picturesque harbor were obstructed by Gorman’s house, which is directly in front of and below theirs on a sloping hill, and especially by tall oak trees on Gorman’s property.
Gorman noticed her trees looked sick in the spring of 2022, according to documents and correspondence filed with the town, as well as interviews with town officials. Around that time, Gorman’s landscapers caught tree cutters hired by the Bonds cutting the tops off trees on Gorman’s property and told them to stop.
Then, Amelia Bond approached Gorman in June 2022 and said Gorman’s oak trees looked sick and offered to split the cost of cutting them down, an offer Gorman did not accept.
Instead, Gorman asked her arborist to find out what was wrong with them. The arborist took samples of the trees, which came back positive for Tebuthiuron, a powerful herbicide commonly used on cattle ranches in the Midwest but not in Maine.
The town got involved and the state did its own testing, confirming that Tebuthiuron was present in the trees, the soil, and more worrying, that it had potentially leached down onto the beach, the park, and the harbor.
Exit the arborists, enter the lawyers.
Attorneys representing Gorman and the Bonds, and eventually the town and state, began a series of painstaking negotiations in which the Bonds accepted responsibility for poisoning Gorman’s trees and town land.
A lawyer for the Bonds wrote to the town, acknowledging that Amelia Bond had brought the herbicide from Missouri and used it on the trees, but said she was trying to treat a browntail moth infestation.
In a letter to the town, Daniel Nuzzi, a lawyer for Gorman, hotly disputed the suggestion that the use of the herbicide was anything less than malicious.
“It is my client’s position that the cutting the tops off numerous trees and applying a strong herbicide on her property was admitted to have been done by the Bonds to improve their view of Camden Harbor,” Nuzzi wrote. “There should be no misperception concerning a browntail moth problem with Mrs. Gorman’s property, as none existed.”
Nuzzi said neither he nor his client would comment on whether Gorman supported the town’s push for criminal charges, nor any other aspect of the case.
Through their attorney, Joseph Mendes, the Bonds declined to be interviewed, but Mendes said his clients have been open and cooperative, first with Gorman, and then with the town and state.
“The Bonds sincerely regret these circumstances and the unintended consequences that were created,” Mendes said. “They have expressed remorse and have consistently taken steps to address this situation, and they will continue to cooperate with the parties given the seriousness of the allegations.”
There have been no reported sightings of the Bonds in town this year. No one answered the door at their home here.
Some residents claim the Bonds had to quit the Camden Yacht Club. In an interview, the club’s commodore, Colleen Duggan, said the Bonds are not members, but declined to say whether they once were.
“The only thing I can confirm is that they are currently not members,” she said.
As for criminal penalties, Irving, the Knox County DA, said any admissions the Bonds made in civil settlement agreements with Gorman, the town, and state would not be admissible in a criminal case. She said she concluded the only charge she might feasibly pursue was criminal mischief, a misdemeanor that carries a $250 fine, “which pales in comparison to action already taken.”
Danna Hayes, special assistant to Attorney General Frey, declined to comment about the status of its review.
Kevin Cullen is a Globe reporter and columnist who roams New England. He can be reached at kevin.cullen@globe.com.
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This story will be updated.
The Maine Department of Transportation is moving to slash up to $400 million in projects from its agenda, a shocking and abrupt cutback that is rattling the state’s construction industry at the start of building season.
Roughly $50 million across six pavement projects have already been delayed, according to a memo exclusively obtained by the Bangor Daily News. The agency plans to cut or delay another $150 million in bridge, highway, intersection and multimodal projects later this month. A further $200 million or more in cuts are planned in the next three-year work plan.
Those figures were outlined by Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty in the May 18 memo to Gov. Janet Mills that has since circulated widely in the transportation sector, which has been getting drip-by-drip details on the wide scope of the cuts over the past three weeks.
It comes at the beginning of the state’s relatively narrow construction season. Companies have hired workers and ordered materials for projects they expected to begin this summer. The severity of the transportation budget problems was not raised to lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session.
Kelly Flagg, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, called the shortfall “deeply troubling” in a statement.
“We stand ready to work with policymakers, stakeholders, and industry partners to identify both immediate and long-term solutions,” Flagg said. “Maine cannot afford to fall further behind.”
Insiders saw this first.
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The cuts stem from a structural funding gap of at least $130 million in the state’s current work plan, according to Doughty’s memo. Losses are magnified because state money from the gas tax and other revenue sources is matched by federal funds. Lawmakers have long grappled with politically difficult long-term problems with the state’s transportation budget.
A Mills spokesperson said Wednesday morning that the administration was working on a response to questions from the BDN. The department says it needs roughly $240 million more in state capital funding annually to maintain the existing system, and that anything less than $200 million will erode it over time.
Doughty’s memo the only near-term solution is a series of bonds beginning as soon as possible. Lawmakers would have to return to Augusta to authorize that if one is going to appear on the November ballot.
The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Michael Capeci is the former chairman of the Bangor GOP.
Let’s be honest about Maine’s current state.
For many families, the cost of living has become unsustainable. Housing is out of reach for many young people. Energy bills keep rising. Many small businesses are struggling under taxes and regulations that make it harder to grow. Rural hospitals are under strain and despite years of increased state spending, the results are not showing up in people’s daily lives.
Concurrently, Maine continues to lose young workers to other states. That is not a statistic, it is a warning sign.
To me, the question in this Republican primary for governor is not about slogans. It is whether we continue with a political approach that has failed to reverse these trends, or whether we nominate someone with new ideas. I think that someone is Owen McCarthy.
Owen is not a political insider. He is an entrepreneur from Patten, a small town where opportunity is not assumed, it is built. He grew up in a working-class family, became the first in his family to graduate from college graduating from the University of Maine, and founded MedRhythms, a healthcare technology company focused on neurological treatment.
He didn’t just talk about opportunity. He built it. That distinction matters, because Maine’s problem is not a lack of debate it is a lack of results. We have seen the trajectory: higher costs, slower growth, and a steady outmigration of young workers. I believe Owen McCarthy represents a break from that pattern.
His Maine 2040 plan focuses on creating 50,000 new jobs in sectors where Maine has real advantages — maritime and defense, advanced forest products, and life sciences. These are export-driven industries tied directly to Maine’s workforce, geography, and institutions. What sets Owen apart is not only what he proposes, but how he approaches governing.
He prioritizes modernizing permitting so projects do not stall. He supports using technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency. He focuses on making it easier to build, hire, and expand in Maine.
That same practical mindset extends to healthcare. Expanding telehealth, strengthening EMS systems, improving provider flexibility, and shifting toward earlier intervention are not abstract reforms. They are system upgrades designed to improve access while controlling costs.
Maine voters consistently respond to competence. They reward candidates who understand problems and present plans to solve them. I believe they are tired of rhetoric that does not translate into results, and skeptical of politics that prioritizes messaging over execution.
Owen’s approach is grounded in solving the issues that shape daily life — affordability, healthcare access, job creation, and government efficiency. That is not just policy positioning. It is a governing model that speaks directly to voters.
Some will point to his lack of political experience. But I believe Maine’s core problems are not the result of insufficient political experience; they are the result of policies that have failed to deliver measurable improvement. Experience inside a broken system, by itself, is not a solution.
If Republicans want to win, this primary must be taken seriously. From my perspective, it is not about choosing a nominee for governor who can energize the base. It is about selecting someone who can compete in a broader electorate that is frustrated and looking for change.
That requires a candidate who can speak beyond the base, not by abandoning principles, but by demonstrating competence and a credible plan to address Maine’s challenges. I believe Owen McCarthy offers that combination. He represents a shift away from managed decline and toward economic execution.
This is not just another primary. It is a decision about whether Republicans position themselves to win Maine or whether they remain trapped in a cycle of repeating the same strategies and expecting different outcomes.
If Republicans want to compete for Maine’s future, they cannot afford to nominate a candidate who only motivates part of the electorate. They need someone who expands it.
I believe Owen McCarthy is that candidate.
And if the goal is to win Maine, then the choice should be unmistakable
The only notable change in the top-seven of the Varsity Maine baseball poll is that Gorham now has eight first-place votes, two more than last week. The order of the seven teams is identical. In fact, the only change in the top-seven over the past three polls is the swap at the top after Gorham’s win over South Portland on May 19.
Furthermore, Gorham, South Portland, Oxford Hills, Cheverus, Bangor, Mt. Ararat and Fryeburg have been ranked in the top seven for four straight weeks, and six of those squads have been among the top seven in every poll this spring.
Meanwhile, Scarborough is ranked for the first time since May 5, and Ellsworth and Thornton swapped spots.
The Varsity Maine baseball poll is based on games played before June 2, 2026. The top 10 teams are voted on by the Varsity Maine staff, with first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points.
1. Gorham (8) 89
2. South Portland 79
3. Oxford Hills (1) 75
4. Cheverus 55
5. Bangor 42
6. Mt. Ararat 41
7. Fryeburg Academy 30
8. Ellsworth 27
9. Thornton Academy 25
10. Scarborough 12
Also receiving votes: Washington Academy 8, Monmouth Academy 4, Cony 4, Leavitt 2, Falmouth 2.
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