(WMTW) – Maine American Idol contestant Julia Gagnon is now in the top seven on on the show after Monday night’s episode.

During the show, fans voted for the top six performers, and then the judges saved one more singer. Julia was the first person announced as being safe.

After advancing, Julia wrote on Facebook “No words. None. To be in americas vote… it’s beyond my wildest dreams, I owe every vote a hug and a kiss, I truly appreciate all of yall, Maine in particular… let’s do this I’m so proud to be repping you, I have a new wind to keep making you proud. Go blow up @americanidol with pine trees and a share of our New England kindness and of course pride!!! Thank yall”

Monday was the Judges’ Song Contest as the judges each picked a song to be performed. Julia wowed the judges with her rendition of the classic “Over the Rainbow.” Judge Luke Bryan, who chose the song for Julia, said after her performance there is no song too big for her.

As the competition moves forward, there are three ways to vote for Julia during the episodes. You can text 4 to 21523, go to Americanidol.com/vote or vote on the American Idol app. You can vote up to 10 times on each platform for a total of 30 votes for Julia.

Maine has rallied to support Julia. A watch party in South Berwick Sunday night was filled with dozens of supporters who came to cheer Julia on as she advanced to the top eight, including one of her former schoolteachers.

”In fifth grade, Julia was kind of quiet,” Shannon Gallagher, Julia’s former teacher, said. “She was an amazing writer. She was very kind, and she was a student who challenged me in all the best ways.”

From family members to people who are just fans of Julia, the crowd at the party erupted when it was announced that she would be moving on to the next round of competition.

“We grew up together,” said Chase Gagnon, Julia’s cousin. “It was always great, and we always knew she could sing, so it’s great to see her kind of soar out here on American Idol.”

Julia will now compete for a spot in the top five Sunday night.

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Maine’s economy is now one of the strongest in New England. Billions of federal dollars for both state and local governments, business and industry and citizens through direct payments made during and after the pandemic have been invested in Maine. A widely predicted recession has been avoided and economists declare that the U.S. economy is the envy of the world.

The state budget has been showing consistent surpluses as strong tax receipts are used to build the Maine Rainy Day Fund and shore up consistently underfunded child and elder care services. A healthy Maine economy has contributed to some of the lowest unemployment rates ever recorded for the state. Maine will see further benefits from long overdue investments in infrastructure, clean energy and the critical preparations for the impacts of climate change. In no small measure, these funds are an integral part of the current administration’s strategy to stimulate economic recovery and growth in the post pandemic period.

Maine will receive more than $2 billion for infrastructure improvement projects under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Funds are going to state, regional and local governments for road and bridge repair; upgrades to our ports and airports; school and public bus replacements with new electric vehicles (EV); and the installation of EV charging stations across the state. Already underway or in the pipeline are projects in northern Maine, U.S Route 1 road improvement ($27.7 million); Kittery for Tidal Wetland Planning and improvement ($519,900); Winthrop Public Schools, Clean School Bus Program ($1.6 million); and Auburn, improvements to Route 202 ($2 million).

Following the BIL enactment, Maine’s job market was bolstered by the addition of 9,500 jobs between December 2022 and December 2023. Nearly 1,500 jobs were added by the construction industry and specialty trade contractors, many of which offer high wages. Many more infrastructure projects are waiting for the spring and summer season before commencing with the work. The lack of available contractors and a tight labor market throughout Maine however will contribute to project delays and work interruptions.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a hallmark achievement, making visible, long-term investments in America and Maine. These investments are desperately needed after years of political inaction and physical deterioration of the Nation’s critical infrastructure. After repeated failures by previous presidential administrations and Congresses, the current administration has successfully brought together a politically divided Congress to pass a law that will have long term impacts and benefits for the nation.

The Biden administration put forth additional legislative proposals to curb inflation and restore America’s competitiveness. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will reduce the federal budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices and invest in domestic energy production including clean energy. Significant reductions of inflation measures have already occurred. To strengthen domestic production and supply chains, the Biden administration introduced the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act enacted in 2022 authorizing $280 billion-plus to restore American manufacturing of semiconductors and invests $174 billion in public sector research in science and technology. In combination, these pieces of legislation are designed to restore America’s strength and leadership in key areas of science and technology.

A recent study by the Political Economy Research Institute (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) estimates that the combined investments of the Biden Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act will support nearly 3 million jobs per year and 19 million jobs over their lifetime, impacting every U.S. state, including much-neglected rural America. Researchers have also concluded that a significant share of the jobs created by these investments will be available to those without a college degree. The median hourly wages of direct jobs created by BIL, Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS combined is $26.20 — exceeding the average hourly wage of $23.20 for the total U.S. workforce.

The combined impact of these investments will generate continued economic growth and benefits for Maine citizens. These benefits will spread across Maine, reaching many rural regions that have been left behind. These federal funds have enabled us to sidestep an impending recession, continue our progress towards a green energy future and prepare us to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

But most importantly, these investments will help secure a better future for generations yet to come. Roads and bridges will be safer, school budgets will be enriched, school buses will be safer, childcare and elder care will receive additional support, and Maine citizens will have the opportunity to choose jobs that will give them and their families the opportunity to live the life they deserve.

When the Congress and the administration work together to invest in our people and the nation’s future, we are all better off.

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A school of baitfish swims off the coast of Biddeford in  2018. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press, file

Last year was the fifth hottest year on record in the Gulf of Maine, continuing a trend that makes it one of the fastest-warming bodies of ocean on Earth, according to the latest annual report from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Late winter and spring 2023 saw record-setting sea surface temperatures about five degrees above the climatological average. The second half of the year was relatively cool, thanks partly to the mixing effect of a passing storm, and much closer to long-term normals.

The outcome was an average temperature of 52.6 degrees, or 1.9 degrees above the long-term norm, a result that the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, or GMRI, found consistent with the long-term trend of warming conditions driven primarily by anthropogenic climate change.

According to GMRI’s warming report, eight of the last 10 years have been among the Gulf’s top 10 warmest.

“The complete picture of conditions for the Gulf of Maine reveal a region experiencing profound changes,” the report concluded. “Since 2010, the Gulf of Maine has experienced a disproportionate number of anomalously hot sea surface temperatures and prolonged marine heat wave events.”

Here are some other key ocean warming takeaways for the Gulf of Maine in 2023:

• February, March and April set records for the highest monthly average temperature.

• Record daily highs were reported in over half of 2023’s first quarter, including 25 days in February.

• Despite 2023’s hot spring, summer is still warming fastest overall – four times the global average.

• The longest of three marine heat waves lasted 113 days, from January through May.

The 36,000 sprawling square miles of the Gulf of Maine that stretch northeast from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia are warming by a little under 1 degree every decade, according to GMRI. That’s three times the rate of the global ocean, which is warming by about a third of a degree per decade.

The Gulf of Maine is a huge draw for Maine’s $9.1 billion tourist industry and home to a bevy of beloved wildlife, including rare whales and seabirds like the Atlantic puffin, iconic fish stocks like cod and haddock, and the $1.5 billion U.S. lobster industry – all of which are impacted by warming waters.

To see how the gulf’s year compares, 2023 was the hottest year on record for the gulf’s larger North Atlantic home, according to the GMRI report. Average North Atlantic ocean temperatures were 1.5°F above normal, the report said, and set record daily highs on 304 out of 365 days.

The Gulf of Maine is most influenced by the Labrador Current, which brings colder water from the north. The oscillating Gulf Stream is warming faster than the global oceans and is shifting closer to shore, with its warm-water breakaways increasing Gulf of Maine temperatures for months at a time.

The balance between Maine’s two dominant ocean currents is shifting, according to GMRI. The Arctic-infused Labrador Current isn’t as cold as it used to be and the Gulf Stream is warmer and wider than ever, a shift that is contributing to the region’s long-term ocean warming trends.

Even small changes in temperature can have a significant impact on some marine wildlife, including cold-water species like herring, which is in decline, and warm-water species like squid and butterfish, which are both increasing. It’s not just fish, either – puffins are changing what they feed to their chicks.

But it’s not all bad news. In a recently completed 10-year study of Casco Bay, GMRI noted a spike in the population of warm-water species, like blue crab, able to survive the increasingly mild winters to spawn in the spring and develop into a burgeoning fishery.

A report by the institute found 2023 consistent with the long-term warming trend driven primarily by human-caused climate change, although the authors noted individual years could be influenced by large-scale patterns of natural variability, especially on a regional level.

The state’s climate action plan, Maine Won’t Wait, has a whole section dedicated to the study of how a warming, rising Gulf of Maine is impacting the state’s coastal and marine resources and communities, ranging from the fishing industry to residential flood insurance.

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