Maine

Report: Barney Frank, liberal icon and former lawmaker, enters hospice in Maine

Published

1 month ago

April 29, 2026

Report: Barney Frank, liberal icon and former lawmaker, enters hospice in Maine

In this June 29, 2014, file photo, former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, right, waves while riding with his husband James Ready, left, during the 44th annual San Francisco Gay Pride parade in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg/Associated Press)

Barney Frank, a champion of liberal causes who spent more than 30 years representing Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives, has entered hospice care at his home in Ogunquit as he deals with congestive heart failure, according to Politico.

Frank, 86, represented Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District from 1981 to 2013, and was the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay, in 1987.

An advocate for civil rights and affordable housing, Frank is also known for sponsoring sweeping financial regulation reforms in the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.

He moved to Ogunquit with his husband, Jim Ready, after retiring from Congress.

According to Politico, Frank is supporting Gov. Janet Mills over political newcomer Graham Platner in Maine’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

“I worry a little bit about the tendency on the Democratic side to fall for the flavor of the month,” he told the outlet. “There is this flirtation or this attraction of people who are new and who are very good at articulating a response to the anger, but without talking about what you do about it.”

Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in…
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Maine

Car catches fire on Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk

Published

6 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Car catches fire on Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk

KENNEBUNK, Maine (WGME) — A car caught on fire on the Maine turnpike Saturday.

It happened in Kennebunk in the southbound lanes of the turnpike.

A car caught on fire on the Maine turnpike Saturday. (Courtesy of Kennebunk Fire Rescue)

You can see a large cloud of black smoke coming from the scene.

Nobody was hurt.

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Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames.

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Maine

In Maine governor’s race, connection is preferable to cronyism | Letter

Published

16 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

In Maine governor’s race, connection is preferable to cronyism | Letter

After Maine’s first Democratic gubernatorial debate, I commented that the candidates seemed to be vying with each other to be agreeable. Would it last? Back then, I thought I’d be happy with any of them as Maine’s next governor.

Not so now, as I observe the cronyism of Shenna Bellows, Troy Jackson and Hannah Pingree, whose plan to rank each other when they vote provides a blueprint for gaming the ranked-choice voting system in the primary. The political insiders are forming an alliance against the outsiders, Nirav Shah and Angus King III.

Shah’s campaign responded that it would stay focused on winning voters’ support, a more principled approach, in my estimation.

I prefer a governor who listens and learns from his constituents over one experienced at alliances and deal-making. I want integrity and leadership, not manipulation and exclusion.

I no longer believe that Bellows, Jackson or Pingree would make a good governor.

Moriah Freeman
Brunswick

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Maine

WSJ: Maine Senate candidate’s wife says she found explicit texts on his phone

Published

1 day ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

WSJ: Maine Senate candidate’s wife says she found explicit texts on his phone

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – A Wall Street Journal article reports that Amy Gertner, the wife of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, told campaign aides she found sexually explicit text messages on Platner’s phone after he launched his bid for office last year.

According to the report, Gertner disclosed the messages while aides were conducting opposition research, and she asked a campaign aide to review what Platner had sent—reportedly to several women—to determine whether it could become a liability for his campaign.

The Wall Street Journal reports Gertner believed she was confiding in someone she considered a friend.

The article also states the couple discussed the messages in marriage counseling.

In a statement from Gertner provided by the Platner campaign, she wrote that they have gone through counseling and that their marriage today “is stronger than ever before.”

Amy Gertner provided a statement through the Platner campaign.

“I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call. I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives – the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind – and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy.

“It is no secret that Graham and I have struggled on our fertility journey. We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren’t easy. And we came through it, not in spite of how much we’ve been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we’ve built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before.

“I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t.” – Amy Gertner

Platner and Gertner married in 2024, according to the report.

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