Good broadband means good health for older Mainers

MAINE, USA — As the bitter cold heads our way for the weekend, so is some money to help people keep warm. Governor Janet Mills said the first round of the $450 one-time heating assistance checks are now in the mail and should arrive later this week. An estimated...

PORTLAND, Maine — Many people across the state have been expressing frustration about the lack of mail they report receiving from U.S. Postal Service. Some Maine residents have said this issue has been going on for six months to a year now, with no sign of it getting any better after the winter holiday season.

MAINE, USA — On Tuesday, colleges all across the state were enticed with broccoli-inspired menus. The University of Maine system, along with Thomas College, Southern Maine Community College, Maine Maritime Academy, and the Maine College of Art & Design are collaborating with Sodexo, a global food services company, to create special lunch menus centered around broccoli.

WESTBROOK, Maine — Sometimes, a single person like a coach or a mentor can change our lives in ways we might never have imagined. Now, you could have an opportunity to be that figure for somebody else. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine is a mentorship program that...

AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican lawmakers said it's time to beef up security in Maine schools, either with armed security officers or by allowing teachers to be armed. A bill sponsored by Rep. Steven Foster, R-Dexter, would allow a school employee who completes a certification to have a gun on school property. Saying “the time has come,” Foster said he began thinking about arming school staff after a school shooting in Florida in which 17 people were killed in 2018. Last year, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Texas.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Martin Ali has lived at Redbank Village apartments for the last year and a half. He remembers the spotlight his complex was in vividly. "Since we came here, we started looking for a new place," Ali said. He added that his rent hikes weren't as severe as others had it.

PORTLAND, Maine — People from across the country will be heading to Camden this weekend for the annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl. The races, which were originally slated for Saturday, were moved to Sunday because of extreme cold. There will be plenty of teams...

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills announced Monday that the first round of $450 winter energy relief payments have been mailed to eligible Maine taxpayers. In a release, the governor said Maine Revenue Services, a division of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), would mail the first 5,000 relief checks Monday via the U.S. Postal Service.

MAINE, USA — Extreme and bitter cold is about to hit Maine in the coming days as an arctic front makes its way to the Northeast. The Bangor Fire Department expects the majority of calls it receives in the coming days to deal with issues involving extra heating devices or frozen pipes. Bangor Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Emery is urging people to keep any extra heaters three feet away from any other objects. Also, if you have a frozen pipe, don't try to thaw it using a torch or open flame.

MAINE, USA — Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced Tuesday that $500,000 in federal funds will go toward improving high-speed internet access for members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point. The funding is part of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP), according...

ELLSWORTH, Maine — How are parents supposed to work and make a living if they can't find reliable child care?. That's a question working parents across the country and in Maine are asking as day cares and other child care services have few, if any, openings and long wait lists, while some are struggling just to keep their doors open.

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — If you grew up in Maine, it's an experience you likely have never had: fleeing your home country to escape violence and landing in a foreign place with a language unfamiliar to you. For thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants, though, that's a reality every...

AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills plans to address a joint session of the Maine Legislature on Valentine's Day. The governor will use the address on the evening of Feb. 14 to highlight her budget proposal and outline actions she is taking to strengthen the economy. “I strongly...

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Republican Party voted to elect former legislator Joel Stetkis, of Cannan, as its new chair following the ousting of longtime GOP Chair Demi Kouzounas on Saturday. During a brief phone conversation with NEWS CENTER Maine on Sunday afternoon, Stetkis confirmed that his new role...

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday her nomination for a Maine court system veteran to serve on the state's supreme court. Mills nominated Superior Court Justice Wayne R. Douglas, 71, to serve as an Associate Justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, a news release from Mills' office said.

ORRINGTON, Maine — Despite Wednesday's below-freezing temperatures, 78-year-old Larry Merrill hit the water with his kayak to continue his decades-long streak. At least once a month for the last 30 years, Merrill has taken his kayak out on the water in Maine with his handmade paddles. Merrill's passion for...

MAINE, USA — The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning all social security recipients about scammers using the historic cost-of-living increase to steal your personal information. Due to inflation, the Social Security Administration (SSA) approved the highest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for recipients of Social Security benefits and Supplementary Security...

MAINE, USA — A firefighters union in Maine is joining a nationwide movement to get PFAS chemicals out of the protective clothing they wear to fight fires, also known as "turnout gear." The International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents tens of thousands of firefighters and paramedics, including first...

MAINE, USA — Health leaders are urging caution ahead of this weekend's anticipated frigid temperatures. Maine Medical Center Chief of Emergency Medicine Dr. Michael Baumann said with temperatures expected to reach well below zero, combined with high winds, it can create treacherous conditions outdoors. "Any part that's exposed is...

NEWS CENTER Maine meteorologist Keith Carson talks about how heat pumps work and what happens when temperatures drop.