Only in Maine

At least we don't feel like "current cellphone customers" when it comes to vaccination giveaways!!
[HEADING=2]A vaccinated Mainer could win close to $1 million in new sweepstakes campaign[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/06/16/maine-reports-51-new-cases-of-covid-19-5-additional-deaths/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/16/maine-reports-51-new-cases-of-covid-19-5-additional-deaths/')

By Rachel OhmJune 16, 2021

One lucky Maine resident who has been vaccinated against COVID-19 could win close to $1 million in a new sweepstakes campaign the state announced Wednesday as an incentive to encourage more people to get their shots against COVID-19.

The “Don’t Miss Your Shot: Vacationland Sweepstakes” will reward one vaccinated winner with $1 for every person vaccinated in the state by July 4. If the drawing were held today the prize would be $876,655.

“Maine is a national leader in COVID-19 vaccination thanks to the more than 876,000 people who have already rolled up their sleeves,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement. “Our goal with the Don’t Miss Your Shot: Vacationland Sweepstakes is to encourage even more people to get the vaccine and declare their independence from COVID-19 as we approach the Fourth of July.”

The announcement comes as states around the country have been offering all kinds of incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated as demand has waned. California announced Monday it would be offering six “dream vacations” including hotels, entertainment and food for vaccinated residents over 18, while Massachusetts is offering five $1 million prizes for vaccinated adults and five college scholarships for residents 12 to 17 years old.

Entries are being accepted online at [www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines]('http://www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines') or by calling the Community Vaccination Line at 888-445-4111. The governor will announce the winner and the prize amount on the afternoon of July 4.

At least we don't feel like "current cellphone customers" when it comes to vaccination giveaways!!
[HEADING=2]A vaccinated Mainer could win close to $1 million in new sweepstakes campaign[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/06/16/maine-reports-51-new-cases-of-covid-19-5-additional-deaths/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/16/maine-reports-51-new-cases-of-covid-19-5-additional-deaths/')

By Rachel OhmJune 16, 2021

One lucky Maine resident who has been vaccinated against COVID-19 could win close to $1 million in a new sweepstakes campaign the state announced Wednesday as an incentive to encourage more people to get their shots against COVID-19.

The “Don’t Miss Your Shot: Vacationland Sweepstakes” will reward one vaccinated winner with $1 for every person vaccinated in the state by July 4. If the drawing were held today the prize would be $876,655.

“Maine is a national leader in COVID-19 vaccination thanks to the more than 876,000 people who have already rolled up their sleeves,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement. “Our goal with the Don’t Miss Your Shot: Vacationland Sweepstakes is to encourage even more people to get the vaccine and declare their independence from COVID-19 as we approach the Fourth of July.”

The announcement comes as states around the country have been offering all kinds of incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated as demand has waned. California announced Monday it would be offering six “dream vacations” including hotels, entertainment and food for vaccinated residents over 18, while Massachusetts is offering five $1 million prizes for vaccinated adults and five college scholarships for residents 12 to 17 years old.

Entries are being accepted online at [www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines]('http://www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines') or by calling the Community Vaccination Line at 888-445-4111. The governor will announce the winner and the prize amount on the afternoon of July 4.

And everyone is signing up, hell I did!!

[HEADING=2]More than 100,000 sign up for shot at nearly $1 million on first day of vaccine sweepstakes[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/06/17/maine-reports-34-new-cases-of-covid-19-1-additional-death/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/17/maine-reports-34-new-cases-of-covid-19-1-additional-death/')

By Joe LawlorJune 17, 2021

More than 100,000 people have signed up for Maine’s vaccination sweepstakes, 24 hours after Gov. Janet Mills announced the lottery-style prize in an attempt to boost vaccination rates in Maine. Depending on how many people get vaccinated, the prize could approach $1 million.

As of Thursday afternoon, 102,427 people had signed up for a chance to win the prize, dubbed “Don’t Miss Your Shot: Vaccinationland Sweepstakes.”

An "Only In Maine" commercial...

[MEDIA=facebook]489340609009266[/MEDIA]

I'll be heading to Lovell,Maine in about two weeks... First time going up there.

Ever potentially have your life saved by a tourist trap??? I have. I was all set to be a docent at the Maine Maritime Museum working on the Mary E, BUT I realized the 50 min drive would end up being one of 1.5 hours because of the traffic in Wiscasset caused by all the touristas going to "Reds Eats", Maine's biggest Lobstah Roll tourist trap. It got written up once in the NY Times and since then it's been a MUST GO spot for visitors, but you'll never see any folks who liver here on the hours long line in front of the place...

[HEADING=2]Historic schooner capsizes on Kennebec River with 18 on board[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/07/30/historic-schooner-capsizes-in-kennebec-river-with-18-on-board/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/07/30/historic-schooner-capsizes-in-kennebec-river-with-18-on-board/')

By Kathleen O'Brien July 31, 2021
[]('')
The newly renovated schooner Mary E sails the Kennebec River in 2019, slightly downriver from where she was launched in 1906. Contributed photo via Maine Maritime Museum

The Mary E, a historic schooner owned by the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, capsized on the Kennebec River Friday evening with 15 passengers and three crew members on board.

All passengers and crew were rescued and two people were taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Coast Guard Lt. James McDonough said. He didn’t know if the two people were admitted or what their condition was Friday night.

The 73-foot vessel capsized around 5:30 p.m. Friday near Doubling Point Lighthouse in Arrowsic, Bath Chief of Police Andrew Booth said.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident because as a passenger-carrying vessel it’s inspected by the Coast Guard annually, McDonough said.

He said it’s too early in the investigation to say if weather was a factor. Winds in the area were 10 to 15 knots, but there were some higher gusts.

Everyone on board was rescued by Bath fire and police officers, Bath Iron Works security boats and “a few” nearby vessels, though Booth didn’t know how many.

McDonough said the Mary E. tipped on its side and began to sink, but rescue crews were able to stabilize it. It has been towed to shallow water and likely will be pulled out of the river Saturday, he said.

“At this time we are working to determine what factors may have contributed; we will provide more information as it becomes available,” Maine Maritime Museum spokesperson Katie Spiridakis said. “We are grateful for the rapid response of the crew and the multiple agencies that assisted in quickly bringing those aboard to shore.”

On Friday, the schooner, advertised as “the only Kennebec-built schooner still afloat,” was scheduled for a river cruise from 4-6:30 p.m. that would take passengers past BIW, Doubling Point Lighthouse and the Kennebec Range Lights, according to the museum’s website.

The Mary E. had sailed past BIW on its way upriver when it capsized, McDonough said. It was still within sight of the shipyard when it capsized, he said, and a BIW vessel was the first to reach the site to start rescuing people.

“We commend our partners in the Bath community for their prompt and effective response which saved the lives of 18 people,” Capt. Amy E. Florentine, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England commander, said in an email Friday night. “We will ensure a full and thorough investigation is conducted in order to determine what caused the incident.”

Sea Tow towed the partially submerged vessel to shallow water near the Maine Maritime Museum and it no longer represents a hazard to navigation in the area, Florentine said.

The two-masted schooner was built by Thomas Hagan in 1906 in a Houghton shipyard, where Bath Iron Works now stands. For 38 years the vessel was operated as a fishing and trade vessel out of Rhode Island. The ship was sold in 1944 to become a dragger until it was abandoned in 1960 and sank in Lynn Harbor, Massachusetts, after a hurricane on Thanksgiving 1963.

William Donnell of Bath – whose great-grandfather was a shipbuilder associated with Hagan – bought the vessel in 1965 for $200 and brought it back home for restoration. Following that two-year endeavor, the Mary E became a passenger vessel in the Maine Windjammer Fleet.

Maine Maritime Museum purchased the Mary E in early 2017 for $140,000 and uses it for cruises on the Kennebec River.

Looks like Mud & I live in Honkyville...

[HEADING=2]Maine becomes more diverse, but it’s still whitest state in the nation[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/08/12/maine-becomes-more-diverse-but-its-still-whitest-state-in-the-nation/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/08/12/maine-becomes-more-diverse-but-its-still-whitest-state-in-the-nation/')

By MICHAEL CASEY August 12, 2021

The 2020 census shows that Maine remains the whitest state in the nation but is becoming more diverse.
Census data released Thursday showed that the state’s population of 1,362,359 remains overwhelmingly white. But the numbers decreased slightly from 95.2 percent of the population to 90.8 percent over the past decade. Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire represent three of the four whitest states in the latest data.

The state’s Hispanic population grew slightly from 1.3 percent to 2 percent of the population. The Black population increased from 1.2 percent to 1.9 percent, a 64 percent jump that was only behind North Dakota and South Dakota in terms of percentage increases.

The uptick in nonwhite populations mirrors a nationwide trend showing the country as a whole becoming more diverse.

The release of the redistricting data culled from the 2020 census is coming more than four months later than expected due to delays caused by the pandemic.

The redistricting numbers states use for redrawing congressional and legislative districts show where white, Asian, Black and Hispanic communities grew over the past decade. They also show which areas have gotten older or younger and the number of people living in dorms, prisons and nursing homes. The data covers geographies as small as neighborhoods and as large as states. An earlier set of data released in April provided state population counts and showed the U.S. had 331 million residents last year, a 7.4 percent increase from 2010.

Overall, Maine’s population grew more slowly over the past decade, increasing about 2.6 percent, or 33,998 people, from 2010. That wasn’t enough to warrant a change to the state’s congressional makeup, and Maine will continue sending two U.S. representatives to Congress.

The latest data shows population trends similar to the 2010 census, with cities in the southern part of the state gaining residents. Rural regions in the eastern and northern parts of the state saw declines.

Cumberland County, the state’s largest, saw a population increase of 7.6 percent followed closely by its southern neighbors of York and Androscoggin, which saw increases of 7.5 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. In contrast, Aroostook County, which borders Canada, saw its population decline by 6.6 percent. The neighboring county of Washington County fell 5.4 percent while Piscataquis County saw a decline of 4.2 percent.

The state’s population, long among the oldest in the country, also continued that trend. It has the third-highest percentage of adults over 18, behind the District of Columbia and Vermont. Maine’s population 18 and over increased 5.3 percent over the past decade while those under 18 fell by 8.1 percent.

elsewhere in other related developments..............

*The white population, meanwhile, is shrinking and aging: The "white alone" population shrunk by 8.6 percent, while the proportion of whites in combination with some other race grew by 316 percent. The under-18 population is increasingly diverse, too.

**One exception? The share of the white population is growing in coastal communities in the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as in parts of Georgia and Alabama.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/census-shows-u-s-diversifying-white-population-shrinking-n1276677[/URL]***

elsewhere in other related developments..............

*The white population, meanwhile, is shrinking and aging: The "white alone" population shrunk by 8.6 percent, while the proportion of whites in combination with some other race grew by 316 percent. The under-18 population is increasingly diverse, too.

**One exception? The share of the white population is growing in coastal communities in the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as in parts of Georgia and Alabama.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/census-shows-u-s-diversifying-white-population-shrinking-n1276677[/URL]***

I'm not sure about the rest but keep all the crazys that come up here to go boating away !!:)

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-giant-rubber-duck-maine-belfast-harbor-20210818-l6lgwceitbdx3fo65iggrohdwm-story.html[/URL]

Coming soon to a lake/pond near you, thanks to Maine, unbelievable...

[HEADING=2]Winthrop man’s motorized floating picnic tables ready for launch[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/09/06/winthrop-mans-motorized-floating-picnic-tables-ready-for-launch/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/09/06/winthrop-mans-motorized-floating-picnic-tables-ready-for-launch/')

By Jessica Lowell September 6, 2021

WINTHROP — The first time Laura Huddy saw Lon Cameron’s floating motorized picnic tables, she knew it would be perfect for her family.

“It’s such a blast,” Huddy said. “We just love it so much.”

Right now, Huddy is part of a fairly small group who own the innovative floating craft on lakes and ponds, but a year from now, that number could grow as Cameron takes his business, Maine Float LLC, and starts to scale it up.

“I’ve grown up visiting lakes and ponds, and I’ve always loved being on the water,” Cameron, 39, said. “I’ve never been the sailor, my wife is the sailor.”

The seeds of the idea for floating picnic tables spouted several years ago when Cameron and Tyler Kidder, who are married, were taking apart an old floating dock on their property in the southwest corner of Winthrop. While the dock itself was in bad shape, the float boxes were in good condition.

When he looked to see what people were doing with float boxes on Pinterest, an online image sharing platform, he saw photos of picnic tables on blue food-grade barrels that people had built that were equipped with outboard motors.

“I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a cool idea, but I want to take it a step further,'” he said.

Using the float boxes as a platform, he built a picnic table to fit using 8-foot lengths of cedar on a pressure treated lumber frame and added a trolling motor his father-in-law gave him to pull the craft through the water.

The maiden voyage was not a success.

“We were spinning and going sideways,” he said. “We had no control over the steering on it. It was really difficult to steer, especially if the wind was up at all.”

Kidder suggested adding a center board, and they used the center board from the dingy that Kidder had built with her uncle, and that made the craft easier to handle.

Cameron and Kidder lived with that table — complete with an umbrella, cup holders and a swim ladder — for two years, while friends and family encouraged him to build and sell more of them.

When they listed it for sale on Facebook Marketplace at the start of Memorial Day weekend, Cameron had already been thinking about how the craft could be improved and was ready to work on version 2.0. He had estimated he could have four done by the start of summer.

The ad caught the attention of WJBQ and WCSH, which aired pieces on Cameron and his creation within days of one another in June, which in turn caught the attention of people across Maine.
“I just got bombarded,” he said.

He called a brief halt to advertising while he prepared a patent application and set up his LLC. He submitted his application last week, a week after the U.S. Coast Guard sent out someone to do an inspection of the craft.

Now he has his own manufacturer’s identification number, so he can create his own unique hull numbers and issue them with each craft. With these numbers buyers can register their floating picnic tables with their towns as they would any other water craft.

In the next month, he’ll launch his website, mainefloat.com, but his email, [[email protected]]('https://www.pressherald.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection') is expected to go live before that.

“I don’t do any advertising; they advertise themselves,” he said. “It’s not something I readily saw happening.”

But that’s how it has worked out. One camp owner on Pickerel Pond in Limington bought one. The pond is too small for the really big motor boats, and they wanted something quiet. That prompted a second camp owner to buy one. Now a third camp owner has pre-ordered one for the spring.

Huddy was one of the people to contact him as soon as she saw the piece on TV and reached out on Facebook. As relatively new camp owners, Huddy said her family doesn’t have a boat, but they wanted something they could handle easily.

“I was thinking the chances of me getting this are pretty low, because it’s probably popular,” she said. “And I got one.”

Huddy said Cameron offered to have her family come out and try it out, but she took a leap of faith and committed to buy one, after messaging with Cameron, asking him a lot of questions and watching a video.

The table was delivered just before mid-July to the Huddy camp in Poland, where it was christened Big Walter. They take it out for a spin when they are at camp, or just use it as an extension of their dock where they can spend time on the water and play games.

“I can’t tell you how many people have stopped us on the lake,” she said. “I’ve seen a ton of boats come up to it when it’s docked and take pictures.”

To date, one table is in New York, one is in Massachusetts and the rest are in Maine.
Developing the table has fed Cameron’s creative drive.

Cameron earned a degree in anthropology originally, and spent some time working for the state of Maine until he was ready to try something different.

“I felt like I was at a dead end in terms of income and flexibility to pursue other creative stuff,” he said. “I really love design and dabbling with things.”

He went back to school at the University of New England and is now a physician assistant at MaineGeneral’s Express Care clinic in Winthrop.

Even as he was pursuing that, he had another business, Portland Pallet Works. He built fixtures for businesses and restaurants in the Old Port from reclaimed materials. He’s also built tiny houses, including Two Cedar Tiny House, which he operates in Winthrop as an AirBnB with its own waterfront access.

Even as he’s building version 2.0, he’s thinking about version 3.0 and what modifications that might come with, including extending the length from 8 feet to 12 feet. The tables, which currently cost $2,800, come with an electric motor that can be charged either via a solar panel or an electric outlet, as well as oars. If he adds a hibachi (a Japanese heating device), it will come with a fire extinguisher.

“So far, it’s really brought a lot of smiles to people. People love this, people who don’t want a boat and don’t know how to use a motorboat,” he said. “It’s very user-friendly.”

While he’s able to build the vehicles at his home with the help of another builder, he may move the operation to a warehouse space if demand dictates, and he’s already had some offers from people who have space to lease. That, as well as the cost of materials, will drive the price of the watercraft.

“I think there’s definitely a market for this,” he said. “I don’t know how many; I don’t know where it’s going, but I’m gonna put it out there in the world and just see what happens.”

Thats pretty cool

Dang, there goes a great piece of License Plate viewing around here, but they did add the option of a Lighthouse Plate with the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. Sadly it only allows 6 characters and my NACLHOH plate won't fit, and any vanity plate cannot be transferred. Tie those facts to an additional yearly fee besides the vanity fee, I won't be availing myself to it...

And, no disrespect intended, but with an extremely non-diverse population, WTH is "Juneteenth" being designated as a state holiday???

[HEADING=2]Vulgar license plates are out as hundreds of new laws take effect in Maine[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/10/17/vulgar-license-plates-are-out-as-hundreds-of-new-laws-take-effect-in-maine/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/10/17/vulgar-license-plates-are-out-as-hundreds-of-new-laws-take-effect-in-maine/')

By Scott Thistle October 17, 2021

If you want to say something nasty, hateful or violent on your license plates, you’ll have to do it in another state.

More than 500 new laws or law changes approved by the Legislature earlier this year will take effect Monday, from the creation of a new state holiday for Juneteenth to tougher penalties for domestic violence crimes involving children.

One of the new laws allows Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to reject vanity license plates for a variety of reasons, including hate speech, violence, obscenity and those that are sexually explicit.

It also sets in place a process for Bellows to recall previously issued plates based on complaints, if they cross the line. Those complaints will be reviewed by a special panel, which will also hear appeals if a motorist wants to dispute the state’s decisions about what is or isn’t allowed.

Bellows said the state isn’t going to sift through the existing plates to find offensive tags and immediately confiscate them.

“We are not going to start yanking the plates on Monday,” Bellows said. “But people who review the law and realize their plates fall outside of the law may want to voluntarily exchange their vanity plate for another plate of their choice. No one will be grandfathered.”

[]('')
A new state law allows the Maine secretary of state to reject vanity license plates for a variety of reasons, including hate speech, violence, obscenity and those that are sexually explicit. Michele McDonald/Staff Photographer, file

Bellows, a former executive director of the ACLU of Maine, supported the law change earlier this year in a break from her predecessor, Matthew Dunlap, who told legislators in the past that limiting such plates could be considered a violation of a driver’s constitutionally protected free speech and might not be defensible in court.

Dunlap was in office when the Legislature relaxed the standards in 2015, effectively allowing obscenities but barring messages that might incite violence – what he referred to as “fighting words.” That change opened the door to a wide variety of vulgar and offensive messages, according to those supporting tighter rules.

But the new law, based on a bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, is tightly crafted to address potential legal challenges such as one used to win a lawsuit in New Hampshire over the rejected vanity plate “COPSLIE.”

Diamond said the law is written to hold up against any legal challenges based on free speech.
“I would actually welcome a legal challenge,” Diamond said.

Vanity plate regulation varies from state to state, and legal challenges are not uncommon. Courts have struck down provisions they have deemed too vague and therefore open to arbitrary interpretation.

A federal judge issued a preliminary ruling last fall striking down Rhode Island’s law permitting administrators to make judgments based on what they deemed to be offensive to good taste or decency. Nearly identical language also was struck down by a federal judge in California late last year.

A court in New Hampshire struck down similar limits in 2014, but that state now uses a standard with more specific limits like in the new Maine law.

It’s unclear how many plates may be subject to recall or review, but in her testimony to the Legislature, Bellows said a cursory search of BMV records of the more than 119,000 vanity plates on the road she found at least 119 that included the most common “four-letter” words.

A Facebook entertainment page, dubbed the Vanity of Maine, features photos of Maine vanity plates snapped by contributors to the page including many that could be subject to the new law. The page has 15, 343 followers and features images of license plates from the obscene and hateful to social commentary, such as “OK KAREN” and “(expletive) 2020.”

The page’s creator, Morgan Alexander, 31, of Bar Harbor, said he started posting license plate photos on Instagram in 2016, and there are more than 18,000 images of plates now.

A hotel manager, Alexander said he, too, has a plate featuring a vague sexual reference that he suspects could make it subject to a recall.

“I’m OK with it,” Alexander said of the new law. Plates with expletives “have gotten way out of hand,” he said. “At first it was funny and now it’s just way out of control. … People have kids who can read and for me the plates with the f-word on them can go bye-bye.”

Diamond, who also is a former secretary of state and oversaw the agency that issues license plates, said many people don’t realize they don’t own their vanity plates the way they own bumper stickers. The fee paid to the state for the plate is for the privilege of having a custom plate message, but is not a purchase of the plate, he said.

“The plate is public property, like a public building,” Diamond said. “Individuals have a right to free speech, but they don’t have the right to deface government property in exercising that right.”
The ban on vulgar and hateful language isn’t the only new law regarding license plates. One places a moratorium on specialty plates.

Maine has more than 25 different license plate styles with several specialty plates that serve as fundraisers for nonprofit causes. Specialty plates highlight a range of causes and raise money for everything from the University of Maine System to farming and lobstering to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. Motorists pay an extra $20 fee for a specialty plate and a $25 fee for a vanity plate.

The standard-issue license plate for Maine features the iconic official state bird, the chickadee. Bellows said town clerks who issue plates locally have said that because not all the plates are popular and most Maine motorists are happy to have the chickadee plate, they run into issues with finding space to store the large selection of plates Maine offers.

[]('')

Yet another new law, however, adds one more specialty plate to the mix: the Maine lighthouse plate.
The plate, which depicts a lighthouse that looks like Portland Head Light, will be added to the mix this year, with the fees from the plate going to the Maine Lighthouse Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and restoration of lighthouses on the Maine coast.

Phone rang last night from a "Ronald Sobel" with a 516 area code. Wouldn't have even picked it up, but since we have some friends in Nassau county I did. When I answered a recording started playing, "This is Amazon Customer Service. We have identified a suspected fraudulent order of $1015 on your Amazon Account. Please dial "1" to immediately speak with a customer service representative."

CLICK - since that smelt really fishy. First checked Amazon Account and there were no unusual orders there, then Googled that type of scam and found out has been going on for a few years. As expected if you do "dial 1", the person you talk to wants to get the CC number of your credit call attached to your Amazon account...

Of course we're backward up here and the scams take a few years to get up migrate "Downeast", LOL...

Phone rang last night from a "Ronald Sobel" with a 516 area code. Wouldn't have even picked it up, but since we have some friends in Nassau county I did. When I answered a recording started playing, "This is Amazon Customer Service. We have identified a suspected fraudulent order of $1015 on your Amazon Account. Please dial "1" to immediately speak with a customer service representative."

CLICK - since that smelt really fishy. First checked Amazon Account and there were no unusual orders there, then Googled that type of scam and found out has been going on for a few years. As expected if you do "dial 1", the person you talk to wants to get the CC number of your credit call attached to your Amazon account...

Of course we're backward up here and the scams take a few years to get up migrate "Downeast", LOL...

Be a skeptic, question everything. That’s my mantra.

Be a skeptic, question everything. That’s my mantra.

can't tell you how many times "Apple" called me to confirm the new iPhone 13 I ordered. press 1 if you did not order an pPhone 13....

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/news/invasive-crabs-wreaking-havoc-maines-113100795.html[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/news/invasive-crabs-wreaking-havoc-maines-113100795.html[/URL]

Green Crab invasion very old news. I've been known to fill up coolers off my dock in 1 hr to send to LI with folks driving back there for delivery to friends looking for bait. It's a favorite "event" when the Granddaughters visit. I slap a hunk of pogy on their Disney Princess Rods, they drop it too the bottom and slowly bring it up to net the crabs latched on. After we get around 20-30, which only takes 30 mins or so, they get on the dock ramp and I dump the crabs on the dock. They just laugh with delight watching the crabs scurry back into the water...

Although I've found them in striper and cod bellies, I've yet to have success with catching anything on them. Granted, I've never brought them out cod fishing because diamond jigging is so much easier and very effective, but on multiple occasions, I've stuck small, striped-sized ones on Circle Hooks and dropped them off the dock with no luck. Just hope that togs migrate up here as I have an unlimited and abundant bait supply...

Green Crab invasion very old news. I've been known to fill up coolers off my dock in 1 hr to send to LI with folks driving back there for delivery to friends looking for bait. It's a favorite "event" when the Granddaughters visit. I slap a hunk of pogy on their Disney Princess Rods, they drop it too the bottom and slowly bring it up to net the crabs latched on. After we get around 20-30, which only takes 30 mins or so, they get on the dock ramp and I dump the crabs on the dock. They just laugh with delight watching the crabs scurry back into the water...

Although I've found them in striper and cod bellies, I've yet to have success with catching anything on them. Granted, I've never brought them out cod fishing because diamond

Ranked Choice Voting, it's a real treat. I may tune in for the "Rock, Paper, Scissors" shoot out later, LOL...

Glad that this cluster occurred in Portland, the center of the "Ranked Choice Voting" movement...

[HEADING=2]Rare ranked-choice tie means Portland will decide at-large council race by drawing lots[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/11/03/tied-instant-runoff-for-portland-council-seat-will-be-decided-by-drawing-lots/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/11/03/tied-instant-runoff-for-portland-council-seat-will-be-decided-by-drawing-lots/')

By Randy Billings November 3, 2021

In what is believed to be a first in an American ranked-choice election, the race for an at-large seat on the Portland City Council ended in a tie and will be decided by drawing lots, city officials said.

School board member Roberto Rodriguez and planning board chairman Brandon Mazer, two of the four candidates for the seat, each received 8,529 votes as a result of the runoff by Election Systems & Software, the city said. Rodriguez had finished first after the initial tally of votes Tuesday, 273 votes ahead of Mazer in a citywide race in which more than 19,000 ballots were cast.

The city said in a news release Wednesday that the winner of the race would be determined Thursday morning through a public process established under city rules. The process states that a tie is decided “by lot,” which the city said is “a method of making a decision or selection by choosing something, often slips of paper, at random.” The candidate selected by lot will be the winner. And the drawing will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday in front of City Hall, the city said.

A hand recount could still be requested, but only after a winner has been named, the city said.

The city charter does not directly address ties in a ranked-choice election, but does allow the city clerk to “adopt additional regulations consistent with this subsection to implement these provisions.” The city’s rules were adopted in 2011 in conjunction with the charter amendments implementing ranked-choice voting.

State law governing statewide ranked-choice elections also calls for ties between last-place candidates to be “decided by lot” – only unlike the city’s rules, the candidate selected by lot loses.

The count was conducted using ranked-choice voting and went to an instant runoff because none of the candidates surpassed the 50 percent threshold needed to win.

COMMON WAY TO DECIDE TIES
Chris Hughes, policy director at the Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center, said Wednesday that over 400 ranked-choice elections have been held in the United States and this is the first one he’s aware of that ended in a tie. That being said, it’s common for election ties to be decided by drawing lots, whether it’s a coin toss, drawing straws or some other sort of random drawing, he said.

Hughes pointed to a 2017 election in Virginia as an example. In that race, Republican David Yancey was chosen as the winner after his name [was drawn]('https://twitter.com/MalloryNoePayne/status/948949908555550720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E948949908555550720%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2018%2F01%2F04%2F573504079%2Fvirginia-republican-david-yancey-wins-tie-breaking-drawing') out of an artisanal bowl. His win allowed his party to retain control over the House of Delegates, according to [National Public Radio]('https://www.npr.org/2018/01/04/573504079/virginia-republican-david-yancey-wins-tie-breaking-drawing').

“Ties in any kind of election are super rare,” Hughes said. “From everything I have seen, ties tend to happen in smaller elections. They don’t tend to happen when there’s like 15,000 votes cast. And every election law I have seen decides ties by lot.”

Mazer said in a statement Wednesday that he’s looking forward to following “the procedures that govern our elections.”

“I deeply appreciate all of the work that everyone has put into helping on this campaign. It’s clear that our campaign’s focus on affordable housing, property taxes, and education resonated with Portland voters,” Mazer said. “While we wait for more information – to everyone that knocked on doors, made phone calls, ranked me on their ballot, or simply said hello during the campaign – thank you so much.”

Rodriguez did not respond Wednesday to a voicemail and text message seeking comment.

The race was so close late Tuesday night that city officials delayed the instant runoff until Wednesday.
Prior to the instant runoff, Rodriguez led the at-large contest with 5,553 votes or just over 29 percent. Mazer had 5,280 votes or nearly 28 percent. Travis Curran had 4,776 votes or 25 percent. And Stuart Tisdale had 3,480 votes or 16.6 percent. About 8 percent of Portland ballots did not choose any candidates in the at-large race.

The four at-large candidates were seeking to fill outgoing Councilor Nicholas Mavodones’ seat on the council. Curran, 35, is a server and retail manager at Maine Craft Distilling who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019. Mazer, 35, is an attorney and chairman of the planning board. Rodriguez, 42, owns an urban farming business and is serving his second term on the school board. Tisdale, 68, is an attorney and retired history and government teacher at Cheverus High School.

Tuesday’s election comes at a pivotal stage for Maine’s largest city. None of the three incumbent councilors sought re-election, leaving a third of the council up for grabs.

CITY AT PIVOTAL STAGE
Meanwhile, a charter commission could recommend sweeping changes to city government, including shifting more power to the elected mayor and either demoting or eliminating the city manager position. But those recommendations will not be made until next summer at the earliest and would need voter approval to take effect.

The incoming council will be charged with searching for a new city manager, [a job Jon Jennings left Monday]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/11/01/jennings-era-comes-to-an-end-in-portland/') after six years to become the next city manger of Clearwater, Florida. Corporation Counsel Danielle West was sworn in as the interim city manager on Tuesday and Associate Corporation Counsel Jennifer Thompson was sworn in as interim corporation counsel.

Even with the at-large race undecided, Tuesday’s results continued a streak of wins for Portland progressives, who passed four citizen referendums last fall that ushered in rent control, a higher minimum wage and a Green New Deal for Portland and strengthened a ban on facial recognition software. Progressives also captured a majority of seats on the charter commission.

In District 2, Victoria Pelletier, a 33-year-old special projects coordinator at the Greater Portland Council of Governments whose focus is on racial equity and economic development, cruised to a decisive win over Jon Hinck, a 67-year-old attorney and former at-large city councilor and state representative. Pelletier, a political newcomer, earned nearly 59 percent of the votes to represent the West End and Parkside.

In District 1, Anna Trevorrow, a 39-year-old medical malpractice paralegal at Norman, Hanson & DeTroy serving her third term on the school board, bested political newcomer Sarah Michniewicz, a self-employed seamstress who has led the Bayside Neighborhood Association for four years. Trevorrow earned 55 percent of the votes to represent the East End, Bayside, the Old Port and islands.