BRUNSWICK, Maine (WABI) – One Maine student is off to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Esme Filippo, a 7th grade student from The Bay School in Blue Hill won the 2025 Maine State Spelling Bee.

Filippo took the top spot in the contest after correctly spelling the word “domesticity”.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee will run from May 26th through May 30th.

Congratulations and best of luck at the national competition Esme!

Copyright 2025 WABI. All rights reserved.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, left, speaks to President Donald Trump as at a meeting of governors in the State Dining Room at the White House in February. Pool photos via AP

President Donald Trump demanded a “full throated” apology from Gov. Janet Mills on social media Saturday as the White House continues to target Maine for its policy allowing transgender students to compete in women’s and girls sports.

“While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor’s strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women’s sports while at the White House House Governor’s Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters in such cases,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Saturday morning.

“Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled. I’m sure she will be able to do that quite easily. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!! DJT”

Mills’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s remarks Saturday.

It was not immediately clear to whom the president was referring when he said that “the State of Maine has apologized.”

Since a heated exchange between Mills and Trump at the meeting of governors last month, Maine has been subject to a slew of federal investigations into its compliance with federal Title IX law.

The U.S. Department of Education informed Maine officials this week that the state is in violation of Title IX for allowing transgender girls to compete in high school athletics. Those findings are the same as those from a separate probe by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services into the Maine Department of Education, the organization that governs Maine high school athletics and a high school where a transgender student-athlete competes.

A third investigation, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture into the University of Maine System’s Title IX compliance, was resolved to the Trump administration’s satisfaction.

Both the Department of Education and DHHS have proposed corrective action for the Title IX violations, with DHHS saying Monday that the state has 10 days to comply or federal funds will be withheld.

Maine receives more than $280 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education for various programs, including school lunches and special education.

During the governors meeting in February, Trump had told Mills that he would withhold federal funds from Maine if the state did not comply with an executive order banning competition in women’s and girls sports to anyone not assigned female at birth. Mills, however, maintained that his order conflicted with the Maine Human Rights Act, a state law, and told the president: “See you in court.”

The Trump administration’s challenge of Maine’s policy hinges on a new interpretation of Title IX that argues that allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports is a form of discrimination because it deprives women and girls of fair athletic opportunities; such an interpretation is yet to be tested in court. The Maine Human Rights Act, on the other hand, is a state law that, in part, recognizes the rights of students to participate in extracurricular activities without discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, among other things.

Mills has stood by Maine’s policy since the spat. After the administration announced investigations last month, Mills suggested that the conflict was about more than the rights of transgender student-athletes.

“In America, the President is neither a King nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it — and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so,” Mills said in a written statement.

“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined,” Mills continued. “My Administration will begin work with the Attorney General to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law. But do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”

The Maine Principals’ Association, which was named in the notice of violation from DHHS, is already challenging the Trump administration’s finding that is in violation. In a letter Tuesday, an attorney for the association said the organization receives no federal funding of any kind and thus cannot be in violation of Title IX.

In its report, DHHS cited a transgender Greely student’s win at an indoor track championship, as well as a report of a different transgender student from another school competing in a girls Nordic skiing race.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched a separate Title IX investigation against the University of Maine System. After briefly halting millions in federal funding for UMaine programs, the USDA said this week that it was satisfied that the system was in compliance and that its schools would be able to access federal funds going forward. UMaine officials have said that the system was already in compliance and noted that no transgender athletes were competing on any of the system’s campuses.

“The University of Maine System has always maintained its compliance with State and Federal laws and with NCAA rules,” system Chancellor Dannel Malloy said in a statement this week. “We are relieved to put the Department’s Title IX compliance review behind us.”

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This story was originally published in February 2024.

In an age where $15 cocktails have become the norm, beer lists read like novels and words like “elevated” and “gastronomy” appear on menus, a dive bar can really hit the spot.

It’s hard to define what exactly a dive bar is, but it’s probably unglamorous, lived-in and decidedly unpretentious.

The decor isn’t fancy, though it can certainly be fanciful. There’s probably a pool table or a jukebox. It’s likely cash only. The food — if there is any — is simple.

Dive bars in some places in Maine can be a dying breed, as profit margins shrink in the face of rising costs of doing business. But make no mistake: there are many that continue to thrive, offering a place where the beer is cheap, the company is colorful and nobody is worried about how cool they look.

Here are some of the greatest dive bars in Maine, from the farthest points east all the way to the south. Do you think we missed one? Let us know in the comments.

The New Waverly

36 Merchants Plaza, Bangor

This cash only staple in Bangor has been run by four generations of the Puiia family since it first opened on Exchange Street in 1918, and barely lost a step when it moved to its current home in Merchants Plaza in 1974. You’ll find an eclectic mix of old timers nursing a beer at the bar and younger folks playing pool and dominating the jukebox upstairs. Buddy the chocolate lab is not just the Wave’s mascot: he’s also the mayor of downtown Bangor. It says so on the T-shirts.

The Main Tavern

152 Main St., Bangor

Another local institution, the Main Tavern is also a multi-generational family business, with the Brountas family holding down the fort on Main Street since 1939, under a few different names like the Jaguar or Peter’s Candlelighter. It’s famous for a lot of stuff, including as the go-to place for karaoke in downtown Bangor, and for its infamous Bong Water shots — a proprietary blend of various sweet liquors that might get you in trouble if you have more than one.

Caps Tavern

494 South Main St., Brewer

This South Brewer bar was rebuilt and reopened in 2018 after a fire in 2017 burned the original to the ground, and aside from the building itself, not much else changed. Cheap beer. Fun mixed drinks. Lots of motorcycles in the parking lot. Classic rock and country, either on the jukebox or played by a live band.

Peppers Pub

20 Water St., Ellsworth

Peppers Pub keeps it real by focusing on friendly bartenders and simple — and good — food. Its Sunday breakfasts are a popular stop after church or before another long work week. The bar does a lot of fundraisers for people in the community struggling with medical bills or other issues. There’s a reason it’s been beloved by locals for years now.

Ole Hookers

106 Water St., Eastport

Nothing makes you feel like more of a salty sea dog than sidling up to a bar in a town like Eastport — and Ole Hookers East, across the street from the Coast Guard station, certainly fosters those vibes. You kind of feel like you’re in somebody’s house. The decor is funky, the food is home cooked and it gets extra spicy during the Eastport Pirate Festival in September.

Myrtle Street Tavern

12 Myrtle St., Rockland

Does a bar automatically get to be a dive if they have pickled sausages and eggs? Because Myrtle Street Tavern in Rockland does. There’s lots of other reasons why it’s a classic dive, however — not least because it’s been around for a whopping 127 years. You can truly let loose at Myrtle. Generations of people have.

Amigos

9 Dana St., Portland

Amigos is supposed to be a Mexican restaurant, and it is — but it’s at night when the longest-running bar in the Old Port really shines. There’s live music on the patio during the warmer months. It has one of the best happy hours in town. They may have spruced up the menu and there’s craft beer available, sure, but Amigo’s is still a divey classic amid a sea of trendy newcomers in the Old Port.

Ruski’s

212 Danforth St., Portland

The oldest continually operating bar on this list, Ruski’s opened under a different name in 1892 as an Irish-run beer hall — before cars, before phones and before widespread electricity. It’s hard not to love this place. It’s one of the few remaining bars of its kind in Portland, as mom and pop businesses get priced out.

Skip’s Lounge

288 Narragansett Trail, Buxton

This longtime rural joint has been around since the 1970s, as its elegant wood paneling suggests. It’s got six pool tables and a function room large enough to hold professional wrestling in, and a fully carpeted, floor to ceiling stage — but its dive bar credentials came first. It started out as a house trailer and has grown and grown. It’s the only roadhouse for miles around.