Maine
Map: A look at helicopter traffic patterns over D.C.
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Before an American Airlines plane collided with an Army helicopter near the Reagan National Airport, lawmakers had raised concerns about the increasingly congested airspace above the Washington, D.C., area.
Several helicopter routes pass by and even over DCA, including the one followed by the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the inbound American Airlines flight on Wednesday. The recommended maximum altitude for helicopters on this route is 200 feet. AA Flight 5342’s last transmitted altitude was approximately 300 feet.
Reagan National, the smallest of three major airports in the region, is home to the country’s busiest runway, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Its runways were originally built to accommodate about 15 million passengers annually, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, told NPR on Thursday. The runways now see well over 20 million a year.
“Those of us who represent the region have often tried to make the case that, listen, we’ve got a couple of other airports here,” Sen. Kaine told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition. “Let’s spread the traffic out among the airports because this congestion issue has been a concern.”
Commercial planes also share the skies with helicopters. Over a three-year period ending in 2019, there were about 88,000 helicopter flights within 30 miles of Reagan National Airport, including about 33,000 military and 18,000 law enforcement flights, according to a Government Accountability Office report published in 2021.
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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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