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Independence Day from the state capital

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Independence Day from the state capital


AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) – Maine’s capital city hosted its annual July 4th celebration starting with a parade through the city. Thousands of people lined the route.

Beginning at the State House, the parade made its way through the streets, ending at Old Fort Western. The parade featured superheroes, go-karts, and dance routines.

For some, the yearly celebration has been a tradition for as long as they can remember.

“I’ve been coming since, gosh, I think I was two years old with my grandparents and my nana and papa, and every year, it’s just a little more exciting, and I get to see a lot of my friends who get to participate, and it’s nice to be able to celebrate all together and be able to see them,” said paradegoer Lisa Bittus.

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After crossing the Calumet Bridge, those in the parade and all of the viewers got to take in some American and Maine history before Augusta Mayor Mark O’Brien, decked out in colonial clothing, read the Declaration of Independence.

“I really enjoy just going back into history and just refreshing what the importance of Independence Day, especially in Augusta, is all about, and then a lot of the local organizations that come out to Augusta for the Mill Park events are close and near and dear to my heart,” said Bittus.

There was plenty of fun to be had for the folks in the parade as well.

Chase Rucker played in the parade band with his Grandfather Dan Cote. Rucker also volunteers at the fort, which he finds to be a special spot.

“People here are wonderful, and they always get a really good job done,” stated Rucker.

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“There’s no doubt about that. We started at about eight o’clock. We were here about that time, and we just kind of hung out, waited for the ride to get to the State House, and watched everybody do their thing. It was a great time,” added Cote.

Thousands of people and dozens of organizations represented throughout the parade all came together to celebrate the 4th of July.

“The city together is a big community, and they all come together to support each other and just remember our freedom and why we’re here. Without Independence Day, we wouldn’t be standing here,” concluded Bittus.

After the parade, Mill Park in Augusta hosted food trucks, live music, and activities. A fireworks display is set for 9 this evening.

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Maine

The Maine Millennial: The true test for couples who are getting serious

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The Maine Millennial: The true test for couples who are getting serious


As if I wasn’t enough of a millennial stereotype already, I started my dog on a low dose of Prozac a few weeks ago.

My dog Janey has always been an anxious girl; even on her best days she’s on high alert in case seagulls have been military-grade drones disguised as birds this whole time (among many other concerns).

We’ve been together for five years now, and while she’s certainly made progress since I first adopted her – she hardly ever hides underneath the furniture anymore! – the aging process has thrown more curve balls at us.

She’s now eight and her senses are starting to dull a bit. Where she used to start barking as soon as a set of wheels touched the driveway, now a careful person can get all the way to the front door before she sounds the alarm. In some ways this is good (I don’t enjoy her barking; nobody does, probably not even Janey herself) but in other ways, it’s made her more easily startled. A startled dog is a fearful dog and a fearful dog can become aggressive.

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So, with a bunch of changes on the horizon for my anxious girlypup – namely, my girlfriend Bo and her cat Persephone having moved into the house – I told my vet I thought it was time to seek medical assistance. Janey’s never going to be a chill, even-tempered golden retriever, but I figured it might help take the edge off a bit.

Prozac is the penicillin of psychiatric medications; it’s the OG, the original in its field; it works pretty well pretty widely; it revolutionized medicine; it’s the first line of treatment prescribed; and you can use it in pets as well as people.

When I first sought out treatment for my anxiety disorder (I’ve always said Janey and I are one soul in two bodies) I was put on Prozac. It didn’t really work for me; I’m hoping that since Janey is a smaller and less complex lifeform than a human, it will do the trick. My indefatigable veterinarian said that it takes about two months on Prozac to see the full effect in any given animal.

So far, Janey’s definitely lost her appetite a little – a side effect I remember from my stint – but since she needs to lose a few pounds anyway, it’s kind of a benefit. Now we take our medications together every morning, although mine don’t go into a bacon-flavored pill pocket. (Yet.)

While we haven’t seen the full effect, she certainly seems a lot calmer. She still barks whenever anyone enters the house but she settles down a lot quicker. My girlfriend Bo and her lovely cat Persephone moved in last week, with a few bouts of stress-related tears (mostly mine) but no major catastrophes. Janey was certainly on edge with all the moving, new sounds and smells, furniture rearrangement and spooky moving boxes everywhere (anything could be hiding in there!) but she got through it and was fairly polite towards the cat. They aren’t best friends yet. I wonder if maybe no other cat will ever come close to measuring up to the late, great Juno in Janey’s eyes.

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As we were standing around the kitchen with our seltzers, celebrating a job half done – there are still boxes everywhere, and we have to engage in the ritual of discovering we own duplicate items and deciding who’s we are going to keep – we noticed something odd.

My rambunctious, barely-year-old puppy, who has a brain like a ping-pong ball, was hyper-focused. Karma never sits still unless it’s past 9:30 p.m. and she is literally in REM-stage sleep. There she was, sitting bolt upright, in a straight posture no Milk-Bone treat has ever convinced her to do. She looked like a robot dog about to shoot lasers out of her eyeballs, which were locked directly on Persephone. A six-inch blob of drool hung from her flappy jowls.

Turns out I was worrying about the wrong dog. Sweet baby Karma, who has loved every human and dog who has crossed her path or even entered her field of vision, has a prey drive.

My mom always says that couples who are getting serious about each other should take a trip together so they can see how the other reacts in a high-stress situation where everything can (and will) go wrong. That was obviously only because my mom hadn’t thought of the concept of putting three adults and four animals, one of whom clearly wants to eat the other like a little feline fajita, into one 900-square-foot house.

Fortunately, Bo and Persephone are as patient and perfect as the Maine Millennial and her contumacious canine companions are not. Persephone, a sweet orange girl, has clearly learned the legal concept of “stand your ground” – she won’t move when the dogs approach (which would absolutely trigger their instinct to chase). Whenever either dog comes within four feet of her, she bops them on the nose. The claws haven’t come out yet. I suspect when they do, that sharp lesson will manage to cut through even Karma’s thick skull.

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While prey drive can’t be trained out of a dog, she can be taught that her roommates are strictly off-limits. Bo already taught her how to walk on a leash without pulling. Anything is possible.

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Two people seriously injured Saturday in head-on collision in Concord

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Two people seriously injured Saturday in head-on collision in Concord


Two people were taken via LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to a Bangor hospital Saturday with injuries that were considered life-threatening following a head-on collision on Kennebec River Road in Concord. Photo courtesy of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office

CONCORD — Three people were injured, two seriously, following a head-on collision at about 1 p.m., Saturday on Kennebec River Road.

Police say that Adrean Yates, 27, of Bingham, was driving north in a gray 2007 Nissan Altima, and collided with a southbound white 2011 Chevrolet pickup driven by Kade Tibbetts, 25, of Embden.

According to a Somerset County Sheriff’s Office news release, Yates and his passenger, Kennedy Humphrey, 18, of Bingham, were seriously injured in the crash. Both were taken via LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center with injuries that reportedly are considered life-threatening. Their condition was  not immediately known Saturday evening. Also in the Nissan’s back seat was a baby in a car safety seat. The child appeared to be uninjured but was taken by ambulance to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan as a precaution.

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Tibbetts, who was alone in his vehicle, was also taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

Michael Mitchell, chief deputy in the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, said all three adults were wearing seat belts.

Kennebec River Road, which is also state Route 16, runs parallel to the western bank of the Kennebec River south of Bingham.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. The lead investigator is Deputy Allen-Michael Jones, and the Maine State Police are reconstructing the crash. The Bingham and Solon fire departments and the Upper Kennebec Ambulance Service and the Anson-Madison-Starks Ambulance Service also responded.

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Maine Senator Angus King ‘concerned’ about Biden, but stops short of calling for president to drop out – The Boston Globe

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Maine Senator Angus King ‘concerned’ about Biden, but stops short of calling for president to drop out – The Boston Globe


In a new statement, Independent Maine Senator Angus King’s office said he’s “concerned” by President Biden’s much-criticized debate performance, but stopped short of calling for him to end his re-election bid.

A spokesman for King said the president “should take every opportunity in the coming days to establish his capacity to continue the campaign and the job of the presidency through unscripted interviews and direct interactions with voters.”

“It is only through such a public process that he can demonstrate that Thursday was simply an off night and that his past ability to define the issues and seek common sense solutions remains undiminished,” spokesman Matthew Felling said in the statement Saturday.

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King is an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Biden continues to face pressure to bow out of the race after what many, including some within his own party, saw as a listless and lifeless performance. The 81-year-old Democrat’s showing at the debate left supporters, prognosticators, and some Democratic members of Congress wondering whether he’s able to forcefully campaign against his Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, and, if elected, carry out the duties of the office for another four years.

Representative Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, last week drew criticism for saying that he believed Trump will win the election. “Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m okay with that,” Golden wrote in an op-ed published in the Bangor Daily News.

Golden, a marine veteran, said he will not vote for Trump. He also stopped short of saying Biden should drop out of the race.

US Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Salem who briefly ran for president in 2020, said explicitly that Biden should “step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump.”

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Others, similar to King’s statement, walked a fine line: Governor Maura Healey, who’s been a leading surrogate for Biden, said Biden should “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” She added that Biden “saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years.”

Jackie Kucinich of the Globe staff contributed.


Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter.





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