Maine
Top Democrat says Maine lawmaker ‘wrong’ to post about convicted police killer
Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau said a Democratic member’s social media post about a woman who was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper was “wrong” but that he will not remove her from a committee after police groups asked him to do so.
In a since-deleted Facebook post made in February in honor of Black History Month, Rep. Nina Milliken, D-Blue Hill, summarized the case of Assata Shakur and how the member of the Black Liberation Army and Black Panther Party was convicted of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973 during a shootout on the state’s turnpike.
Shakur, also known as Joanne Chesimard, was found guilty of murder and given a life sentence before she escaped from a New Jersey prison in 1979. The FBI made her the first woman on its “Most Wanted Terrorists List” and believes she has remained in Cuba after fleeing and receiving asylum there. She has been defended and celebrated over the years as a civil rights activist.
Milliken wrote in her post that there was “lots to unpack with this situation” but that the state has “enormous resources” to come after those who “present a challenge to systems of oppression.” Milliken also quoted Shakur as saying they “convicted a woman with her hands up” and ended her post with a “fun fact” on how Shakur is the late rapper Tupac Shakur’s godmother.
The Maine Fraternal Order of Police and Maine State Trooper’s Association responded by asking Fecteau, the Democratic House speaker from Biddeford, to remove Milliken from her spot on the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
“Rep. Milliken’s defense and support of this cop killer goes well beyond any reasonable bounds of decency and logic,” said the letter signed by Maine FOP leader Mike Edes to Fecteau and House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor. Edes also wrote Milliken “has violated that trust and forfeited any credibility she might have had on the committee.”
Fecteau spoke with Milliken about how her post was “wrong” and “callous” and then told the FOP that Milliken had deleted it, Fecteau spokesperson Victoria Foley said Tuesday. Fecteau also “reiterated he holds everybody to a very high standard” and felt the situation did not need additional action after Milliken removed the post, Foley said.
Edes, the state FOP’s executive director, told a reporter via email Tuesday he appreciated how Fecteau was “honest” and “frank” in his response and that the speaker “has a long history of supporting Maine’s police officers.” But Edes said the law enforcement groups still want Milliken to step down from the criminal justice committee.
“Her blatant bias towards the police makes her basically ineffective in helping improve and increase public safety for Maine’s citizens and does nothing but [put] Maine’s police on the defensive,” Edes said.
Milliken did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. She is serving her second term and represents the Hancock County towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville, Castine, Sedgwick, Surry and Trenton.
Maine
Immigrant rights coalition reports uptick in ICE detentions across Maine
The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition says over the past two weeks its immigrant defense hotline has seen an uptick in reported ICE detentions.
They say this corresponds with a national shift in ICE activity, including bids for local businesses to cooperate with ICE.
In Maine, the arrests follow a broader trend of targeting Black and brown immigrants, including people navigating immigration proceedings.
The coalition, which represents more than 100 organizations, says it’s ready to protect civil and human rights and is urging immigrants to prepare themselves and their families.
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They suggest having the defense hotline ready in case you witness ICE activity, making sure you have important personal documents in case of detention, and reviewing rights around judicial warrants in private spaces, like your home or workplace.
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.
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