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Survivors of Lewiston mass shooting urge Maine Legislature to fund support center

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Survivors of Lewiston mass shooting urge Maine Legislature to fund support center


Danielle Parent, director of the Maine Resiliency Center, testifies in favor of LD 1425 before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday in Augusta. The MRC has served more than 600 people since opening in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting, but it needs additional funding — which LD 1425 would provide — to continue its work. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — A year and a half after Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, survivors of the tragedy in Lewiston and mental health workers told state lawmakers Wednesday that many people are still in the process of healing and need continued support services.

The Maine Resiliency Center in Lewiston opened in the aftermath of the October 2023 mass shooting and has provided individual and group support and resources for survivors, witnesses, family and friends of victims, and first responders.

The center has served more than 600 people since opening but needs additional funding to continue its work. A bill introduced by Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, would provide $3.4 million over the next two years to continue and expand services at the center.

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“The MRC … fills our systems’ significant gaps, offering support for people who would otherwise fall through the cracks,” Rotundo said during a public hearing Wednesday.

Several people who witnessed the Lewiston shooting or lost loved ones in the tragedy testified in support of the bill during an emotional public hearing before the Health and Human Services Committee. No one testified against the proposal.

At one point, the committee called for a brief recess after hearing the testimony of a woman who wiped away tears as she talked about how she and her children had to run from gunman Robert Card at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley the night of the shooting.

Card killed 18 people and injured 13 others at Just-In-Time and Schemengees Bar & Grille.

Another witness, Danielle Chabot, told the committee how she and her husband were also at the bowling alley that night, and how the center continues to help her recover from the trauma.

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Lewiston mass shooting survivor Danielle Chabot, left, testifies in favor of LD 1425 on Wednesday in Augusta. Chabot, who was in the bowling alley during the 2023 Lewiston mass shooting, said the Maine Resiliency Center in Lewiston has helped her and other survivors of the deadly shooting. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“Some of the survivors are back bowling or playing cornhole,” Chabot said after apologizing to the committee for her shaking voice. “But every single one of us still struggles. … Something triggers us, and we are right back there, reliving every harrowing second of that evening.”

Chabot said the center has made it possible for her to resume normal activities like going to the grocery store or out to a restaurant. “I’ve done therapy on my own regarding this tragedy weekly since two days after the shooting. … But the group meetings for the survivors that were held weekly at the resiliency center have helped me more than I can even tell you,” Chabot said.

Kathleen Walker, who lost her husband, Jason Walker, and his friend Michael Deslauriers, said some people impacted by the tragedy are only now “coming out from the fog of grief and trauma” and need support.

A recent event at the center for first responders drew 200 attendees, Walker said in written testimony filed before Wednesday’s hearing.

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“This is a strong testament that THIS ISN’T OVER,” Walker wrote. “We still need the MRC, they still have a role, they need to continue.”

CONTINUING THE HEALING PROCESS

The center offers a unique model by providing free services and a low barrier to entry, Rotundo said. She said the center “meets people where they are” and doesn’t require a professional diagnosis in order for someone to receive services.

The National Center for PTSD estimates that 28% of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Research also suggests that mass shooting survivors may be at greater risk for mental health difficulties compared with people who experience other types of trauma, such as natural disasters, according to the American Psychological Association.

Long-term outcomes can be improved with community support and access to mental health care, the association has said.

The center was expected to be funded with federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime that would keep it open through January 2026. However, the grant funding is still pending, the center’s director, Danielle Parent, told the committee Wednesday.

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She said the center has been operating using cash advances from the city of Lewiston and the Office of the Maine Attorney General that were expected to be reimbursed with the federal funds, as well as philanthropic funds. And the uncertainty around the federal funding has made the need for state funds more urgent as the center hopes to be able to continue and expand its work, Parent said.

In recent months, she said the center has been approached about providing services for people who were not impacted by the Lewiston shooting but who are facing other traumas from gun violence or the sudden loss of loved ones. She hopes the center will be able to say yes to those requests with state funding to keep it running.

“This bill ensures that healing continues — for those impacted by 10/25 and anyone in Maine who experiences profound trauma,” Parent said.

Health and Human Services Committee co-chair Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot, listens during a hearing Wednesday in Augusta about funding for the Maine Resiliency Center in Lewiston. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office confirmed Wednesday that a grant application has been submitted but said the office has not received word on when the federal funding might become available.

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Rotundo’s bill, LD 1425, has bipartisan support from Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, indicating it may also get broad support when it comes up for votes. But the $3.4 million price tag means it will have to compete with other initiatives for a limited amount of funds at the end of the legislative session.

Rotundo, who also co-chairs the Legislature’s budget committee, said it’s too early to know how much money will be left to divvy up among various bills as lawmakers are still working through the latest budget proposal.

SUPPORT FROM GOV. MILLS

A spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills said that, while it wasn’t in the governor’s proposed budget, she supports the center.

“The governor has admired the important work of the resiliency center since the tragedy in Lewiston in October 2023,” Ben Goodman said in an email. “With Maine facing a tight fiscal environment, additional funding for the resiliency center was not part of the governor’s biennial budget proposal, but the governor looks forward to working with Republican and Democrats in the Legislature on this and other important budgetary matters in the coming weeks.”

Regina Schulman, a counselor and therapist who has been running support groups at the center since January 2024, said in written testimony that when she began her work many of the people participating in the groups were facing debilitating fear, anxiety and survivor’s guilt.

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They experienced triggers when driving past the bowling alley or a Subway restaurant where several of them fled to hide the night of the shooting. Some were not able to wear or throw away clothing they had worn that night. Others were stressed by loud noises.

“After hearing from others with a shared traumatic experience, guests realized they were not alone and not crazy,” Schulman wrote. “They were grateful to know that they were experiencing a normal response to an acute trauma.”

Over the last year and a half, visitors to the center have begun reporting feeling less anxious, though triggers are still surfacing, Schulman wrote.

“It is vitally important for these services to continue, and for the MRC to continue serving even more people impacted by trauma in the future,” she said.



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Program doubles enrollment, expands to more Maine schools

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Program doubles enrollment, expands to more Maine schools


Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.

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A sign for Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of Avangrid

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CMP expands union trade internship program for Maine students

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Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.

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Updated: 11:47 AM EDT Apr 14, 2026

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Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.Now in its second year, the 10-week paid program will double enrollment, expand to additional schools in central and southern Maine, and broaden training to include both line and substation operations. The program will serve 10 students ages 16 and older, selected through a competitive recruitment and interview process in partnership with participating schools.The internship runs from June to August and includes classroom instruction at CMP’s training center in Farmingdale, along with supervised field experience alongside union crews. Students will learn foundational skills such as pole climbing, bucket truck operation, breaker and transformer maintenance, and the safe use of tools and protective equipment. Participants will not work on live electrical wires.The program is aimed at strengthening the workforce pipeline for skilled trades while giving students early exposure to careers in the energy sector and supporting partnerships between CMP and Maine schools.

Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.

Now in its second year, the 10-week paid program will double enrollment, expand to additional schools in central and southern Maine, and broaden training to include both line and substation operations. The program will serve 10 students ages 16 and older, selected through a competitive recruitment and interview process in partnership with participating schools.

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The internship runs from June to August and includes classroom instruction at CMP’s training center in Farmingdale, along with supervised field experience alongside union crews. Students will learn foundational skills such as pole climbing, bucket truck operation, breaker and transformer maintenance, and the safe use of tools and protective equipment. Participants will not work on live electrical wires.

The program is aimed at strengthening the workforce pipeline for skilled trades while giving students early exposure to careers in the energy sector and supporting partnerships between CMP and Maine schools.

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Maine

Carbon removal project supports Maine’s blue economy, broader marine health

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Carbon removal project supports Maine’s blue economy, broader marine health


Oceans absorb roughly 25 to 30 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is released into the atmosphere. When this CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, making the water more acidic and altering its chemistry. Elevated levels of acidity are harmful to marine life like corals, oysters, and certain plankton that rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons.

“As the oceans absorb more CO2, the chemistry shifts — increasing bicarbonate while reducing carbonate ion availability — which means shellfish have less carbonate to form shells,” explains Kripa Varanasi, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “These changes can propagate through marine ecosystems, affecting organism health and, over time, broader food webs.”

Loss of shellfish can lead to water quality decline, coastal erosion, and other ecosystem disruptions, including significant economic consequences for coastal communities. “The U.S. has such an extensive coastline, and shellfish aquaculture is globally valued at roughly $60 billion,” says Varanasi. “With the right innovations, there is a substantial opportunity to expand domestic production.”

“One might think, ‘this [depletion] could happen in 100 years or something,’ but what we’re finding is that they are already affecting hatcheries and coastal systems today,” he adds. “Without intervention, these trends could significantly alter marine ecosystems and the coastal economies that rely on them over time.”

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Varanasi and T. Alan Hatton, the Ralph Landau Professor of Chemical Engineering, Post-Tenure, at MIT, have been collaborating for years to develop methods for removing carbon dioxide from seawater and turn acidic water back to alkaline. In recent years, they’ve partnered with researchers at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center to deploy the method in hatcheries.

“The way we farm oysters, we spawn them in special tanks and rear them through about a two-week larval period … until they’re big enough so that they can be transferred out into the river as the water warms up,” explains Bill Mook, founder of Mook Sea Farm. Around 2009, he noticed problems with production of early-stage larvae. “It was a catastrophe. We lost several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of production,” he says.

Ultimately, the problem was identified as the low pH of the water that was being brought in: The water was too acidic. The farm’s initial strategy, a common practice in oyster farming, was to buffer the water by adding sodium bicarbonate. The new approach avoids the use of chemicals or minerals.

“A lot of researchers are studying direct air capture, but very few are working in the ocean-capture space,” explains Hatton. “Our approach is to use electricity, in an electrochemical manner, rather than add chemicals to manipulate the solution pH.”

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The method uses reactive electrodes to release protons into seawater that is collected and fed into the cells, driving the release of the dissolved carbon dioxide from the water. The cyclic process acidifies the water to convert dissolved inorganic bicarbonates to molecular carbon dioxide, which is collected as a gas under vacuum. The water is then fed to a second set of cells with a reversed voltage to recover the protons and turn the acidic water back to alkaline before releasing it back to the sea.

Maine’s Damariscotta River Estuary, where Mook farms is located, provides about 70 percent of the state’s oyster crop. Damian Brady, a professor of oceanography based at the University of Maine and key collaborator on the project, says the Damariscotta community has “grown into an oyster-producing powerhouse … [that is] not only part of the economy, but part of the culture.” He adds, “there’s actually a huge amount that we could learn if we couple the engineering at MIT with the aquaculture science here at the University of Maine.”

“The scientific underpinning of our hypothesis was that these bivalve shellfish, including oysters, need calcium carbonate in order to form their shells,” says Simon Rufer PhD ’25, a former student in Varanasi’s lab and now CEO and co-founder of CoFlo Medical. “By alkalizing the water, we actually make it easier for the oysters to form and maintain their shells.”

In trials conducted by the team, results first showed that the approach is biocompatible and doesn’t kill the larvae, and later showed that the oysters treated by MIT’s buffer approach did better than mineral or chemical approaches. Importantly, Hatton also notes, the process creates no waste products. Ocean water goes in, CO2 comes out. This captured CO2 can potentially be used for other applications, including to grow algae to be used as food for shellfish.

Varanasi and Hatton first introduced their approach in 2023. Their most recent paper, “Thermodynamics of Electrochemical Marine Inorganic Carbon Removal,” which was published last year in journal Environmental Science & Technology, outlines the overall thermodynamics of the process and presents a design tool to compare different carbon removal processes. The team received a “plus-up award” from ARPA-E to collaborate with University of Maine and further develop and scale the technology for application in aquaculture environments.

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Brady says the project represents another avenue for aquaculture to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. “It pushes a new technology for removing carbon dioxide from ocean environments forward simultaneously,” says Brady. “If they can be coupled, aquaculture and carbon dioxide removal improve each other’s bottom line.”

Through the collaboration, the team is improving the robustness of the cells and learning about their function in real ocean environments. The project aims to scale up the technology, and to have significant impact on climate and the environment, but it includes another big focus.

“It’s also about jobs,” says Varanasi. “It’s about supporting the local economy and coastal communities who rely on aquaculture for their livelihood. We could usher in a whole new resilient blue economy. We think that this is only the beginning. What we have developed can really be scaled.”

Mook says the work is very much an applied science, “[and] because it’s applied science, it means that we benefit hugely from being connected and plugged into academic institutions that are doing research very relevant to our livelihoods. Without science, we don’t have a prayer of continuing this industry.”

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Maine

New York homicide suspect arrested in Maine

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New York  homicide suspect arrested in Maine


WATERVILLE, Maine (WGME) — A 19-year-old wanted for homicide in connection with multiple gang-related shootings in New York has been arrested in Maine.

Police say they searched a home at 439 West River Road in Waterville on Friday around 11 a.m. and found 19-year-old David McCadney of New York.

According to police, McCadney was wanted in New York for second degree homicide in connection with multiple gang-related shootings.

McCadney was arrested and charged with fugitive from justice and is being held without bail at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility.

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McCadney is expected to be extradited back to New York at a later date.



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