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RFK Jr. visits Freeport to talk with supporters about farming and food

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RFK Jr. visits Freeport to talk with supporters about farming and food


FREEPORT — Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a campaign stop in Maine Tuesday to talk to volunteers and supporters about food, farming and issues facing the food system in Maine and around the nation.

Kennedy is running as an independent in a race expected to feature a rematch of incumbent Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump as the front-runners.

Kennedy’s visit to the Old Town Meeting Place at the Hilton Garden Inn included a discussion with several Maine farmers who talked about some of their challenges, including contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, on farms.

Ron and Andrea Wappler, owners of Birch Star Farm in Pownal, speak with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before a crowd of supporters gathered Tuesday at the Old Town Meeting Place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport. Rachel Ohm/Staff Writer

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The space, which has a capacity of around 150, was packed.

ADDRESSING MAINE PROBLEMS

Katia and Brendan Holmes, who run Misty Brook Farm in Albion, were among the farmers who met with Kennedy and spoke to the crowd.

They spoke of their own experience having nearly lost their farm after having unknowingly given PFAS-contaminated feed to their dairy cows. They hope that more small farms like theirs can be seen as sustainable ways to feed America.

“What we saw during COVID was that very quickly the supermarket shelves were empty,” Brendan Holmes said. “Since we are not part of that industrial food chain it didn’t really affect us. We can basically process all our own food and deliver it.”

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Andrea and Ron Wappler, owners of Birch Star Farm in Pownal, also had time on stage with Kennedy. Andrea Wappler said she is a big supporter of Kennedy’s policy to create “healing farms” around the country to treat addiction and depression.

Kennedy supporter Michele Rollins of Yarmouth poses for a photo with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after Kennedy made a campaign stop in Freeport Tuesday. Rachel Ohm/Staff Writer

An independent voter, she said after the event that she “100%” plans to vote for Kennedy although she voted for Biden in the last election. “I don’t think he has the mental capability to handle the position,” Wappler said of President Biden, adding that she also disagrees with some of his foreign policy positions, such as the response to the war in Ukraine.

The audience also had a chance to ask Kennedy questions Tuesday. One woman asked what can be done to lower the cost of healthy food, to which Kennedy said his priority instead would be on ensuring that farmers are well-paid and that their farms are sustainable. Too often cheap food means that people are paying for it with negative health impacts, which is expensive in a different way, he said.

“My job would not be to make food cheaper,” Kennedy said. “My job would be to pay farmers to stay in business.”

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SIGNATURES GATHERED 

Tuesday was Kennedy’s second visit to Maine in recent months; he also appeared at the Ocean Gateway in Portland for a campaign rally in November.

He hasn’t yet qualified for the ballot in Maine, but is on the ballot in 26 other states so far.

Laura Morris, volunteer state lead for the campaign, said the campaign has gathered a little under 7,000 signatures so far in Maine, which exceeds the 4,000 to 5,000 needed to qualify for the ballot. Morris said the campaign is in the process of turning the signatures in to municipalities, which must be done by July 25.

The Maine Department of the Secretary of State must then receive the signatures by Aug. 1 in order for unenrolled candidates like Kennedy to qualify for the presidential ballot.

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Kennedy has been polling around 9% in recent national polls. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump has averaged 42% support in recent polls, compared to 40% for Biden and 9.5% for Kennedy.

An Emerson College poll released Tuesday showed Trump leading Biden 44% to 40% with Kennedy receiving 6% of the vote and 1% supporting both Cornel West and Jill Stein.

The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy has drawn criticism in the past for promoting various conspiracy theories on topics including vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to volunteers and supporters at the Old Town Meeting Place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport Tuesday. Rachel Ohm/Staff Writer

He also made headlines last week for saying “it’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and isn’t” when it comes to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He vowed to “open the files and usher in a new era of transparency” if elected president.

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VOTERS SEE AN ALTERNATIVE

Jeff Morris, who is an elector for Kennedy, said family members who are involved in the campaign got him interested, too. A former Democrat who is now independent, he said he’s been disenchanted with politics the last several years and has felt his vote didn’t really make a difference.

“Both sides have been so divisive and nasty to each other that I didn’t want anything to do with it,” said Morris, 61. A math professor who lives in Lewiston, he said a lot of friends tell him Kennedy is “that crazy guy.”

“He’ll at least get in front of the camera and answer the question,” Morris said. “You can choose not to believe him. You can choose not to vote for him. But he’ll at least answer your question.”

Jennifer and Chris Harris, who traveled about an hour from South Paris to see Kennedy, said they were excited to come.

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“He’s inspiring,” said Jennifer Harris, 52. “He’s actually talking about real issues we’re dealing with as Americans. He wants to help the economy. He wants to help stop pharmaceutical companies from running the world. I feel like he listens and hears us.”

An independent, Harris also interested in food security and in keeping local food and farming in Maine. “We’re really excited to see him,” Harris said. “For the first time ever in my life, I care about politics.”

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage


A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million. 

Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic. 

It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty

“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”

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MORE: Laid-Back Costa Rica Is Getting a $7 Million Mega-Penthouse

The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors. 

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The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch. 

The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”

MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test

There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow. 

Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said. 



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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion


Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.

In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.

As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.

The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.

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Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.

Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”

After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.

Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.

In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.

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First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.

Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.

Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.

Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.

If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition


For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.

That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.

So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.

It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.

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But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.

Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine

Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.

Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.

Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.

There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.

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Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter

While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.

Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.

All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.

TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine

Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.

This list was updated in March of 2026

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Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine

Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!

Gallery Credit: Getty Images





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