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The Maine Millennial: America’s new F-word is more offensive than the original

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The Maine Millennial: America’s new F-word is more offensive than the original


When I was growing up, I was really interested in World War II and specifically the Holocaust (I know, I know, I was a weird kid). I read a lot of survival narratives. Some Jewish and other targeted people escaped Nazi territory altogether, some survived the camps, some were successfully hidden for the duration of the war.

But one thing most of the narratives and experiences had in common was that at some point, the Jewish person or family tried to leave their country, but they couldn’t get papers. Papers always came up — sometimes exit visas, sometimes entry visas, sometimes passports. But always, the German (or, often, occupied) government denied them travel papers.

Years later, my sister came along and read my Holocaust books as well. She went a step further and decided she wanted to dedicate her life to stopping genocide and human rights abuses, and she is currently attending Leiden University in the Netherlands for a master’s degree in war and peace studies. She’s graduating in May, and our whole family is supposed to go see her (and, in my case, go overseas for the first time!).

But. We don’t know if the government will issue my wife a passport. You see, almost all her legal documents have her proper name and gender marker, but her expired passport from high school doesn’t. And a few weeks ago, the president instructed the State Department to stop changing gender markers on passports.

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So, we have no idea what will happen if we apply for our passports. Either a renewal will be rejected outright, or it will process in a way that does not match all her other documents. We don’t even know if we should apply for passports — you have to give your documents to the government. What if they don’t give them back?

It brought me back to Germany in 1938. But we’re in America, in 2025. And we don’t know if the government is going to prevent us from leaving the country. Not because we’re criminals or international spies or something, but because of matters of identity.

I don’t care if you think I’m silly and hysterical comparing these things. I was blessed with a good education, including in history. Plus, I have autism, which in addition to the ability to eat the same thing 87 days in a row without complaint also comes with enhanced pattern recognition.

I don’t like what I’m seeing. I don’t like the conclusions I’m drawing. It feels like the Democratic Party has thrown my community under the bus and the Republicans are driving the bus. We’re in the middle of a constitutional crisis right now. Most people haven’t noticed because the television isn’t framing it that way, and also because it’s kind of boring and involves words so long that you fall asleep halfway through them, words like “impoundment” and “appropriation.”

Congress has the power of the purse in our government. I double-checked the pocket Constitution I keep in my purse. (It’s a different type of purse power.) By unilaterally shutting down chunks of the government that Congress voted on approving funds for, the president is violating both the Constitution and the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

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And so many so-called constitutional conservatives who are always thumping on about the Constitution and federalism and checks and balances of power are rolling over like my dog asking for a belly rub, abandoning all their previously held beliefs just because they like the man violating them. Pathetic.

In my time here at the Press Herald, I’ve occasionally pushed the boundaries of words you can and cannot print in the state’s paper of record. I’ve gotten away with “hell” and “rat’s ass” (in the context of not giving one). But I’ve been extremely sparing with F-words. There’s definitely one that I’m not allowed to say at all, and another that I suspect in the future I might not be allowed to say either.

But there’s only one word for a government that scapegoats its problems on a minority of citizens, that concentrates power in the executive offices, specifically the head of the state, while ignoring the elected representatives of the people. That F-word is fascist.



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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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