Police say they have made an arrest in connection with a shooting last month that stemmed from a fight that broke out at a steakhouse in South Portland, Maine, last month.

South Portland police said 21-year-old Jonathan Hanson, of Buxton, was arrested Wednesday in Buxton. He was one of two suspects in a Dec. 18 incident in the Maine Mall area. The other one, 21-year-old Navinn Ean, of Westbrook, is still at large.

Police said they responded to the Kobe Steakhouse at 380 Gorham Road at 5:13 p.m. that day for a report of a possible shooting in the parking lot. Responding officers learned that a fight had broken out inside the restaurant between two sets of individuals. The altercation moved from inside the restaurant to the parking lot, where a suspect from one of the groups displayed and threatened people in the other group with a handgun.

The victims were able to flee in a vehicle, but they were followed by the suspect in another vehicle. When both vehicles reached the intersection of Gorham Road and Western Avenue, the suspect allegedly fired the gun in the direction of the victim’s vehicle. The vehicle was struck by gunfire, and the suspect then fled onto Western Avenue.

No one was injured in the incident, police said.

South Portland police said their investigation led them to believe the vehicle used in the crime, a blue Dodge Charger, was located at an address in Naples. A search warrant for the property was issued, and the vehicle was impounded as evidence. The suspects were not present, however.

On Tuesday night, Buxton police attempted to make a traffic stop on a pickup truck, but the driver sped off in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid contact with police.

Buxton police later located the vehicle in a driveway on Haines Meadow Road, an address with ties to the South Portland shooting suspects. As officers were getting ready to enter the home, they used a loudspeaker system in an attempt to make contact with Hanson, who they believed to be inside. He eventually came out and was arrested around 11:30 p.m.

Hanson was taken to Cumberland County Jail and faces charges of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, criminal mischief and terrorizing. He was arraigned Wednesday and bail was set at $10,000 cash.

Maine’s last red snapper maker is changing the recipe for its iconic hot dogs after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned a key dye the company uses to give the sausages their distinctive color.

The FDA is banning the use of red dye No. 3 in foods, drinks and medications. The synthetic dye is often used to give products a bright, cherry-red color and was linked more than 30 years ago to cancer in animals.

In November 2022, roughly two dozen advocacy organizations and individuals filed a petition to ban the dye, according to the FDA.

W.A. Bean & Sons, the lone remaining Maine-based company that makes the bright hot dogs often called “red snappers,” uses red dye No. 3 along with red dye No. 40 and yellow dye No. 6, according to the package.

The company expected the FDA to eventually ban the ingredient, said Sean Smith, W.A. Bean & Sons’ sales director. Because of this, the business has been exploring ways to make red snappers without the artificial additive while keeping the color and taste identical, Smith said.

“We’ve done test batches already and we expect to have something ready very soon,” Smith said. “We’ve survived multiple world wars and depressions and our red hot dogs aren’t going anywhere.”

Smith declined to share further details on how the secret recipe for red hot dogs will change.

The FDA’s ban comes at a time when W.A. Bean & Sons is seeing sales of the iconic red snappers soar. The company now makes an estimated 650,000 to 700,000 pounds of red dogs annually, compared with the 400,000 pounds they made a decade ago, Smith previously told the Bangor Daily News.

The hot dogs are often called “red snappers” due to the thick casing that gives the sausages their distinctive “snap” when you bite into them. The product has joined the ranks of blueberries, lobster and whoopie pies as an iconic Maine food, despite other states having hot dogs with a similar hue or snappy consistency.

Food manufacturers have until Jan. 15, 2027, to stop using red dye No. 3 in products while drug manufacturers have until Jan. 18, 2028, according to the FDA. Other countries that allow the ingredient will have to comply with FDA rules if products are imported to the U.S.

W.A. Bean & Sons’ foresight is good news for Simones’ Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston, where red snappers have been a top-selling item throughout its 117-year history, according to owner Jim Simones.

“We’ve been in business since 1908 and we’re synonymous with the red dogs,” Simones said. “We sell beef dogs too, but red dogs are the most popular.”

When tourists stumble upon red hot dogs at Simones’ stand, they often question what gives them their glaring reddish-pink color. But, once customers try them, they usually find they like the sausages, Simones said.

“I tell them they’re just like our lobsters — when we put them in boiling water, they turn red,” Simones said.

Simones was pleased to hear W.A. Bean & Sons is finalizing a red hot dog recipe that doesn’t use the outlawed dye but will keep the product’s color the same.  

“It’s unique to Maine,” he said of the snappers. “You can’t lose that red.”

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation welcomed news of a ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war Wednesday, saying it’s a good first step that will bring hostages home and end the conflict, at least temporarily.

President Joe Biden and other officials announced Wednesday that the two sides have reached a 42-day agreement that includes the release of hostages and Israeli forces withdrawing from more populated areas in Gaza.

The agreement, which is not finalized, is likely to offer respite from a conflict that began in October 2023 and has resulted in the deaths of an estimated 47,000 Palestinians and 2,000 Israelis.

“Today’s ceasefire and hostage agreement is a welcome announcement. … While there is much about the agreement and the future that we do not yet know, what we do know is that the tragedy of October 7 can never be allowed to occur again,” Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said, emphasizing her support for Israel in the statement emailed by her office.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, said in a statement Wednesday that the first stage of the agreement calls for an immediate ceasefire, a surge of aid to Gaza and the release of 33 women, children and elderly currently held hostage by Hamas.

Golden said those are all “good first steps.”

“I look forward to the implementation of a final agreement that ensures that all remaining hostages are returned home to their families and that Hamas lays down the weapons it took up when it started this conflict,” he said. “If Hamas abides by the terms of such an agreement, I believe there can be a path towards a more lasting peace in the region.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, also was relieved to hear of the agreement.

“This could not have been achieved without tireless diplomatic efforts to bring both parties to the table, and I am grateful the Biden Administration got this agreement across the finish line before leaving office,” Pingree said in a statement.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty; the Israeli Cabinet needs to approve the deal, hostages need to be released, and humanitarian aid needs to pour into Gaza. I remain cautiously optimistic, but this is a promising step forward.”

This story will be updated.

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