The Owls Head Transportation Museum will host its inaugural First Responders Weekend on June 27-28, 2026, bringing together emergency service organizations, historic apparatus, modern response equipment, educational exhibits, and family activities to celebrate the individuals who help keep Maine communities safe.

Activities will take place throughout the museum grounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., both days, and are included with regular museum admission. Active First Responders and museum members will receive free admission to the event with a valid ID. 

Through a highly competitive, merit-based process, Salt Bay Chamberfest (SBC) has been selected by the National Endowment for the Arts to receive a $45,000 Arts Project grant. The nonprofit chamber music festival, headquartered in Damariscotta, is now in its 32 nd season. According to SBC, in a news release, the funds will go toward the organization’s August 2026 season, helping to support its series of chamber music concerts and free community events held throughout Lincoln, Knox, and Penobscot counties.

SEARSPORT—The tiny town of Searsport has undergone a revival in the last few years with the addition of a new brewery, a grocery store, a mercantile, and Hello Sailor's expanded space for a music hotspot. 

Locals— and those in nearby towns—now have another reason to find a parking spot on Main Street. Scullery Made, a new deli and cocktail bar owned by Mary Kate Labenski, opened on May 14.

ROCKLAND — Rockland voters approved a charter amendment Tuesday, June 9, 2026, giving the city greater flexibility to use previously authorized bond funding to support the development of affordable workforce housing, building on Rockland’s pioneering efforts to address local housing needs. 

"The measure passed by a vote of 1,231 to 720, reaffirming community support for Rockland’s efforts to increase housing opportunities, strengthen the local economy, and expand the city’s tax base," said the City, in a June 11 news release.

A new community-driven pedestrian safety campaign will launch this summer in Portland, Lewiston, and Auburn in response to the growing number of pedestrian fatalities and serious crashes in Maine. Developed in partnership with the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, the initiative uses local voices, experiences, and community input to encourage safer driving behavior and increase awareness of pedestrians in some of Maine’s busiest urban areas. 

Dick Vermeulen will lead a "Walk to the Beehives" on Tuesday, June 16, at 12 p.m., at Merryspring Nature Center.

"We will have two hives populated with new bees by June 16 when we will go out to the apiary and compare the size of the colonies," said Merryspring, in a news release. "One will be a from a package of bees installed May 8 from Spicer’s Bees, and the other will be a nuc purchased from Sparky’s Apiary which will be installed in early June."

Join Georges River Land Trust and the Maine Forest Service for a woodland walk looking for signs of summer and practicing mindfulness on Monday, June 22, from 4:30 - 6 p.m., at the Langlais Art Preserve in Cushing. The former homestead of artist Bernard Langlais, the Langlais Art Preserve is home to several outdoor sculptures and newly constructed woodland trails spanning over 2 miles. 

WASHINTGON — The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released nearly $700 million in grant Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to support law enforcement, according to The U.S. Justice Department, in a June 9 news release.

The released NOFOs include the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) and several other grant programs that:

AUGUSTA — On June 22, the Maine Department of Transportation will be permanently closing the temporary access road from the I-95 southbound on ramp that connects to Whitten Road and access to I-95 southbound from Whitten Road.

Message boards are currently in place at all approaches to the access road to inform drivers of the upcoming closure date.

The contractor on this project is Reed & Reed, and the contract amount is $30 million.

ROCKLAND — The Resolve presented to Rockland Fire and EMS during the June 8, 2026 City Council meeting reads like any official Whereas and Therefore expression of public gratitude. Yet, from within the lines of frank legalese emerges more intense details of the Rockland-associated emergency responders’ experiences while assisting with the May 15, 2026 Robbins Lumber fire and subsequent explosion.

ROCKLAND — “This is an authorization, at least, not yet a commitment,” said Rockland City Councilor Nate Davis.

City Councilors, absent Councilor Penny York, voted 3-1 (Kalloch) in approval to keep an agenda item on the table authorizing a lease agreement for a new police department space at 12 Water Street. The PD has been dealing with ongoing mold and patchwork maintenance on their current condo space at 1 Park Drive. The City recognizes the personnel and budget concerns, however, disagreement continues on where to relocate the station.

THOMASTON — Roberta Carmichael has been selected as the recipient of the Town of Thomaston's 2026 Spirit of America Award in recognition of her outstanding volunteerism, leadership, and dedication to serving others through the Inter-Church Fellowship Food Pantry.

The Spirit of America Award honors individuals whose commitment to community service, generosity, and compassion strengthens the lives of those around them.

PORTLAND — MaineHealth Pharmacy is opening its first retail storefront location on Sunday, June 14, in Portland’s Pine Tree Shopping Center, 1052 Brighton Ave., Suite D.

BELFAST and ROCKPORT — MaineHealth Pen Bay and Waldo Hospitals welcome Alexander P. Cole, MD, to their Urology Belfast and Rockport practices. 

Dr. Cole comes to Pen Bay and Waldo Hospitals after spending more than four years as associate surgeon in the Department of Urology at Mass General Brigham in Boston and as assistant professor of surgery in Urology at Harvard Medical School.

ROCKLAND — Maine Water will have Broadway closed from Park Street to Limerock Street for water main work today, Tuesday, June 9.

"This will take most of the day and possibly more," said the City of Rockland, in an alert.

ROCKLAND — The City of Rockland has been awarded a $74,850 Community Action Grant to support the design of nature-based resilience improvements at Snow Marine Park and the extension of the Harbor Trail to its planned southern terminus. Design work with Sebago Technics is expected to begin this summer.

ORONO — The University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees has elected new leaders. 

Roger Katz, of Brunswick, will serve as chair of the governing board for the state’s largest educational and research enterprise for a one-year term, while Elise Baldacci, of North Yarmouth, will be vice chair.