MAINE (WABI) – Maine’s U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached an agreement with Lowe’s to improve customer accessibility nationwide following a complaint filed in Brewer.

A Lowe’s customer in Brewer filed an ADA complaint that the store did not provide accessible parking located on the shortest accessible route from the parking lot to an accessible entrance

The Justice Department says after investigation it was found several locations in Maine failed to provide accessible parking spaces on the shortest route including in Brewer, Brunswick, Portland and Windham.

They say a part of the settlement agreement Lowe’s has agreed to make modifications to their parking lots to insure the area is ADA compliant.

Lowe’s will also be designating at least one employee to serve as an ADA Compliance Manager to train current and future employees.

They say Lowe’s have also agreed that within six months they will provide the Department a plan to survey the remainder of locations nationwide.

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Federal authorities are now offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to safe return of a 14-year-old girl from Maine whose family reported her missing this fall.

Stefanie Damron, of New Sweden, was reported missing on Sept. 24, according to the Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI has been working with Maine State Police in an effort to locate the girl, last seen walking out of her house and into the nearby woods, officials said.

The reward was announced Monday in a news release by the FBI.

“Despite extensive investigative efforts, including a neighborhood canvas and video search, along with an expansive grid search utilizing canines by the Maine Warden Service and Maine State Police, Stefanie remains missing,” officials wrote in the release.

Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, said the FBI hopes the reward “will incentivize anyone with information relating to Stefanie’s whereabouts to come forward.”

Stefanie’s family desperately wants to know where she is, and we are fully committed to helping our law enforcement partners exhaust every investigative resource to find her and bring her home,” Cohen said.

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What does Stefanie Damron look like?

Authorities described Stefanie as a white female with green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. She stands about 5’0” tall, and weighs about 130 lbs.

At the time of her disappearance, she was reportedly wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved blue shirt, and black Harley Davidson hiking boots.

Officials said she is homeschooled and has limited access to social media.

Investigators have conducted dozens of interviews and followed up on potential leads across Maine, around the U.S. and into Canada, officials said.

“Every lead, no matter how small is being thoroughly pursued to find her,” said Maine State Police Colonel William Ross. “Your tip could be the key to resolving this case and providing answers for Stefanie’s family.”

Law enforcement is asking the public to share her updated missing person poster on social media: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/stefanie-damron.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the Maine State Police at 1-800-824-2261 or 207-532-5400 or contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

An inspector checks Fireball whiskey bottles on the line at Boston Brands of Maine in Lewiston in 2020. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Following months of negotiations, Maine’s Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations reached an agreement to continue contracting with its current liquor distributor for another decade.

The state’s new contract with Pine State Trading Co., which was signed last week and took effect Sunday, replaces two previous contracts that were extended to allow more time for negotiation, said Sharon Huntley, director of communications at the Department Administrative and Financial Services, which oversees the bureau.

Pine State has overseen trade marketing and administration for the department since it was awarded the previous contract in 2014.

Following an open request for proposal issued late last year, Pine State was the only company to place a bid.

The contract gives the company, based in Gardiner, sole authority to market, sell and distribute distilled spirits products to the more than 600 agency liquor stores within Maine. State law dictates that only agency stores can sell spirits, wine and malt liquor for off-site consumption.

Under the new contract, Pine State is entitled to 7.55% of total net sales and additional revenue within the state’s tightly regulated liquor market. That will likely add up to tens of millions of dollars, based on previous sales figures.

For the last 10 years, the company was entitled to 6.95% of total net sales and revenue in Maine: 4.7% for administration, warehousing and distribution, plus 2.25% for trade marketing.

That amounted to more than $16 million in fiscal year 2023, and more than $120 million over the life of the contracts, according to a review of the bureau’s annual reports. Huntley later confirmed those figures.

Pine State placed its bids for the 2024-34 administration and marketing contracts nearly a year ago, during a request for proposal period that ended in late January. Weeks later, it was offered the contract, pending final negotiations.

Maine is one of 17 states that controls the sale of spirits at the government level, according to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. New Hampshire and Vermont also employ versions of the “control” model.

In Maine, the bureau sets the prices of distilled spirits and organizes sales, meaning operating expenses – including contractor payments – can contribute to the final cost of bottles.

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