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Rooks: National Popular Vote Compact a highlight of disjointed Maine legislative session

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Rooks: National Popular Vote Compact a highlight of disjointed Maine legislative session


When the Legislature left town last week, it did so among confusion and a bevy of bills not acted on.

The sun was up by Thursday’s 5:30 a.m. adjournment. Legislators were exhausted and many were unhappy about the way the end-of-session crunch was handled.

This outcome may have been inevitable when a late budget amendment filed by House Appropriations Chair Melanie Sachs (D-Freeport) blew up a contentious but relatively quiet struggle over election year spending.

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The now-notorious amendment took back half of the highway funding garnished from the General Fund and reduced a pension exemption for state workers. It roused immediate concern from Gov. Janet Mills, who also vowed to veto a storm relief package if it contained $100 million in additional spending.

In the end, lawmakers got some of what they wanted. The storm relief, some $50 million, was amended to add $10 million for small business.

And lawmakers quietly rejected a $108 million savings account proposed by Mills and instead allocated it to additional spending. The “savings” made little sense since Mills had also proposed withdrawing the storm relief money from the existing “rainy day” fund.

Because the budget debate extended through the final day, only a handful of enacted bills “on the table” at Appropriations were funded, leaving more than 100 to die.

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One pleasant surprise: a real bond package for the first time since 2019. It’s a mini-package of $65 million, with $30 million for trails, $25 million for research and development, and $10 million for community historic preservation.

The relevant bills were proposed by current and former Appropriations members, who have the perseverance to overcome long odds. The preservation bond is a tribute to retiring Rep. Sawin Millett, now 86, whose legislative service began in 1967.

Traditionally, Maine governors propose robust biennial bond packages, but Mills has not. Her predecessor, Paul LePage, blocked any bond he could, sometimes extra-legally, so one must go back to Gov. John Baldacci (2003-11) to find significant investments subject to voter approval.

A similar package today would have a current value of $400-$500 million. We could use one since even property-wealthy communities like Scarborough and Cumberland are turning down locally funded school bonds. School construction was once a shared responsibility between local districts and the state, but no more.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the lack of a vote on a “red flag” law that could have prevented the Lewiston massacre last Oct. 25, when 18 Mainers were senselessly murdered and another 13 maimed.

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Police and Army officers are still feuding over who should have triggered the substitute “yellow flag” law offered by Mills in 2019. If, under “red flag,” family members could have petitioned a judge the shootings might not have happened.

Still, lawmakers enacted meaningful gun safety laws, including a 72-hour waiting period that could prevent many suicides. Mills was still considering those bills as of this writing.

Another notable bill moved Maine toward a public defender system for indigent criminal defendants after smaller steps were taken previously.

The Portland Sea Dogs should be able to stay put after the House reversed its opposition to the inevitable tax break all professional sports stadiums seem to demand.

The House also switched its stance so a sand dune created by human intervention won’t block construction of a wind turbine port on Sears Island – a project still facing many obstacles before construction can begin.

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A typical “short session” – four months rather than six – rarely produces any signature changes in state law.

Even columnists have their favorites, though.

One measure I’ve long advocated, as readers may have noticed, is the National Popular Vote Compact that became law on the seventh try.

First introduced by former House Speaker John Martin in 2007 – joined by two other speakers, Libby Mitchell and Hannah Pingree – it passed by a one-vote margin in the House.

It will have no effect on the 2024 presidential election, since Michigan is the only other state still seriously considering it. If Michigan adds 15 electoral votes to Maine’s four, plus 10 provided by Minnesota last year, there will be 224 of the 270 needed to effectively choose a president by popular vote.

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If that day comes, it will mark a sea change. No more swing states deciding elections; each vote will count exactly the same.

Perhaps after more than two centuries of allowing states to substitute for the voters, Americans could actually elect their president directly. Now that would be revolutionary.   

Douglas Rooks has been a Maine editor, columnist and reporter since 1984. He is the author of four books, most recently a biography of U.S. Chief Justice Melville Fuller, and welcomes comment at drooks@tds.net



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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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