Maine
The Trump administration’s intensifying feud with Maine arrives in court
A month into Donald Trump’s second term, the president hosted a White House event for the National Governors Association, which quite didn’t go as planned. The Republican picked a fight with Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, over transgender student athletes, apparently hoping to bully her into submission.
It didn’t work. “See you in court,” the governor told him.
The prediction is now coming to fruition. The Associated Press reported:
The Trump administration on Wednesday sued Maine for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex. … The political overtones of the moment were clear, with Attorney General Pam Bondi — and several athletes who joined her on stage at the Justice Department — citing the matter as a priority for Trump.
At a press conference, Bondi said, in reference to the president, “This has been a huge issue for him.” That’s not generally the kind of argument Americans hear from an attorney general justifying a Justice Department case against a state, but here we are.
This is not, however, the only case of interest: Bondi’s Title IX case dovetails with a separate case, brought by Maine, which recently sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over funds it froze as a result of the underlying dispute. Late last week, U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock Jr., a George W. Bush appointee, granted the state’s request for a temporary restraining order and ordered the Cabinet agency to release the funding.
The same day, Trump’s Department of Education, which still exists in a lesser form, said that it was moving forward with plans to cut off all federal funding for Maine’s public schools because of the state’s policy on trans student athletes.
Alas, for the Republican president and his team, this is not the only evidence of the apparent feud. Earlier this month, for example, the public learned that Leland Dudek, the Trump-appointed acting head of the Social Security Administration, ordered the termination of some federal contracts with Maine because the governor bothered the president. (The move was later reversed.)
In case that weren’t quite enough, after Trump clashed with Mills, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also sent a letter to Maine cancelling funding for Maine Sea Grant.
Time will tell whether the courts put a stop to all of this, or whether the governor is forced to back down. Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Maine
How a data center derailed $240,000 for affordable housing in Wiscasset
Maine
Mother’s Day brings boom in flower sales across Maine
It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day without a stop at the florist.
According to Fox Business, about 154 million flowers are sold during the week of Mother’s Day. So it’s safe to say it was a busy day for stores like Estabrook’s Maine Garden Center and Nursery.
Plenty of families stopped by to pick out flowers on Sunday, looking to choose the perfect bouquet for their moms.
“I think Mother’s Day is tradition, you know, and so it’s great to see families here. We have a lot of new families that have come today for the first time with their young children and their mother. Watching the young kids and seeing how excited they are—their eyes light up at all the beautiful flowers,” Tom Estabrook, president of Estabrook’s, said.
Estabrook says Mother’s Day tends to be a great kickoff to the spring season.
Maine
Maine Black Bears Swept By UMass Lowell In A Tight 5-4 Finish
The Maine Baseball Team was swept by UMass Lowell in the weekend series, losing on Sunday 5-4.
UMaine scored 3 runs in the 5th inning and 1 in the 6th inning to lead 4-1, but the Riverhawks scored 2 runs in the 7th and then pushed across the tying and winning runs in the 9th inning for the win.
Thomas Stabley started for Maine and went 6.1 innings on the mound. He allowed 5 hits and 3 runs, striking out and walking 1. Owen Wheeler pitched 1.2 hitless innings striking out 2. Sebastian Holt pitched the 9th and took the loss, allowing 2 hits and 2 runs, the big hit a 2-run homer to Nicholas Solozano, his 2nd of the day.
Hunter St. Denis homered for Maine, a solo shot, his 9th of the season, in the 6th inning.
Albert De La Rosa was 2-4. JuJu Stevens , Shane Andrus, Quinn Murphy and Chris Bear each singled.
UMass Lowell is 19-27 while Maine is now 17-30.
The Black Bears will host Merrimack on Tuesday, May 12th in a non-conference game at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 92.9 The Ticket with the pregame starting at 1:30 p.m. Maine then closes out the regular season at home with a 3-game America East conference matchup with Albany Thursday- Saturday.
Check out photos from the game
Maine-UMass Lowell Baseball May 10
The Maine Black Bears hosted the UMass Lowell Riverhawks on Sunday, May 10th
Gallery Credit: Chris Popper
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