Latest news with #Mainer
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
With Market Basket CEO's ouster, could a boycott shape up in Maine?
Jun. 5—As Market Basket's longtime CEO faces suspension over disputes with the company's board, some customers and employees are watching for a possible repeat of the stoppages, boycotts and threats of price increases that brought the company to its knees a decade ago. But it's not clear that such a clash could materialize in Maine this time around. Arthur T. Demoulas was suspended with pay late last month for allegedly attempting to wield unilateral power in choosing his children as his successors and possibly coordinating a work stoppage among employees, the Boston Globe reported. His son and daughter, and a handful of allies on the board, were also suspended. If that feels familiar, it is. Sort of. The board — then led by Demoulas' cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas — fired the chief executive in the summer of 2014. But employees and shoppers rallied around the boss, whom they saw as a champion of low prices and fair working conditions, leaving shelves and checkout lines empty for more than a month. Bolstered by public support, Demoulas was reinstated as CEO weeks after his initial termination. The previous blowup came less than one year after Market Basket opened its first Maine location in Biddeford. The store saw about a 90% drop in business during the strikes, as workers and managers encouraged their new customers to shop elsewhere, even as management threatened to replace those who refused to return to work. But about a dozen staffers at the Biddeford and Westbrook stores said on Tuesday that they had not spoken about the turmoil at the top with their co-workers. And while some expressed support for Demoulas and recalled his previous termination, others said they had not heard about his more recent suspension before being asked about it by a reporter. Most customers said they were similarly unaware of the leadership drama or were unsure what to make of it. A FROM-AWAY FIGHT When she moved to Maine in 2020, Chris Fontein swore allegiance to Hannaford, her new local grocery chain, and left the Market Basket drama behind. "I love Market Basket, but we're Mainers now," she said, loading a cart's worth of groceries into her car at the Biddeford location. She noted that Hannaford, based in Scarborough, serves customers throughout the state and participates in Maine's bottle redemption program. Fontein, who lived in Massachusetts at the time, avoided shopping at Market Basket "when there was the battle going on," but she argued that Mainers have bigger, more direct issues to focus on than a corporate power struggle two states away. "Of all the battles you can pick, this is not one of them," Fontein said. A few parking spots away, Maine native Mark Lindquist said he had not heard about the latest clash, though recalled the walkouts a decade ago. The 66-year-old lives in Sullivan, near Bar Harbor, but he occasionally loads up on Market Basket groceries when visiting southern Maine. Lindquist said the grocer's low prices attract him, as they do many Mainers, but he was not sure the company had developed deep enough roots to inspire the kind of loyalty shoppers demonstrated a decade ago in Massachusetts. "I think that if they opened one or two more stores in the state of Maine, they would take the lion's share of the retail business," he said. "But they just don't have enough outlets." Market Basket currently operates three stores in Maine, with other locations in Westbrook and Topsham, and plans to open a fourth at Scarborough Downs. The company did not return phone calls or written requests for an interview submitted through email and its online contact form. NEW CIRCUMSTANCES Beyond the grocer's from-away status in Maine, a repeat of 2014 is unlikely for several reasons, said Grant Welker, a reporter at the Boston Business Journal and author of "We Are Market Basket: The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved a Beloved Business." A decade ago, with Arthur T. squaring off against his cousin Arthur S., the sides were clearly drawn, Welker said. But the latest clash lacks a clear foil for Arthur T. Demoulas, he said. "That boogeyman, if that's the right way to put it, is not there in that same way," he said. "The other thing is that the economy is shakier. So if you're an employee, and you're walking off the job, maybe you're not so sure now that you're going to get another job as you would have back in 2014." The latest clash, which hinges on the board's claims that Demoulas had failed to coordinate with the other leaders, has also yet to include any clear threats of raising prices that could rouse customers, Welker said. Plus, inflation and overall price hikes may leave shoppers less willing to skip out on deals "out of principle," he said. "They may decide that they literally can't afford to take that stance," Welker said. Westbrook resident Rose Dang was on the fence about whether Mainers would feel compelled to boycott if tensions reached such a point. Dang, 33, said the grocer offers lower prices and seems to carry a more diverse selection than some competitors, which customers like herself appreciate. But she was not sure whether people would be moved to defend the current business model or simply accept changes as unavoidable. "If prices have to go up, they go up," she said outside the Westbrook location. "I mean, they've already started (to rise)." David Sullivan, who grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts and moved to Maine about 25 years ago, said his neighbors in Falmouth quickly took to Market Basket when it opened at Rock Row in 2020. "Market Basket became sort of a very quick fan favorite here," Sullivan said. "In terms of loyalty in the same way, I don't know." Copy the Story Link
Spectator
4 days ago
- General
- Spectator
A searching question: Heartwood, by Amity Gaige, reviewed
The Appalachian Trail is America's secular version of the Camino de Santiago but more than twice as long. In Amity Gaige's Heartwood, Valerie Gillis is a 42-year-old nurse and experienced trail-walker who nonetheless vanishes one day in the northern stretch, in Maine, the wildest of the New England states. Heading the search for her is Beverly Miller, a senior game warden, who stands out among her colleagues because she is 6ft, female and not a native Mainer. As the days go by, and despite the impressive number of volunteers looking for Gillis, the chances of finding her alive diminish. Miller, a veteran of similar searches, has to continue to motivate her teams, even as her own appraisal of the situation grows gloomy. Miles to the south of the search, Lena Kucharski is a 76-year-old resident of a retirement community in Connecticut. A keen birdwatcher, she keeps her distance from her fellows, using her confinement in a wheelchair to dodge the unwanted attentions of a male suitor. She spends much of her day online, exchanging information and foraging reports with a young male naturalist who happens to have an intimate knowledge of the woods in the area where Gillis was last spotted. When this online friend starts spouting conspiracy theories about a Department of Defense training facility bordering the woods, Lena suppresses her initial scepticism and pursues a link to the missing woman that proves instrumental to the book's resolution. The three female narrators are each deftly drawn and the mechanics of the search operations are particularly absorbing. The sheer number of volunteers helping is extraordinary – but, as Miller remarks: 'Like the Amish raise their barns, Mainers search for each other in the woods.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Susan Collins has reached a pinnacle of authority. How will she use it?
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) arrives for a Republican luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on February 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by) Editor's Note: This story is the first of a series about U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' role during the second Trump presidency. After a campaign promise to bring in outsized federal dollars for Maine, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins won reelection during Trump's first term, overcoming a record amount of spending against her and defying public polls. At the start of the president's second term, Collins rose to the helm of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the first time a Mainer has chaired one of the upper chamber's most powerful committees in 92 years. However, Maine's longest-serving member of Congress has reached this pinnacle of authority as President Donald Trump is attempting to flip the system on its head. His administration, by Collins' own admission, has unjustly rescinded congressionally appropriated funds, at times singling out Maine in what are widely considered retaliatory actions over the state's defiance of his executive order rolling back transgender rights. During Trump's second term so far, Collins has bucked the executive periodically, particularly with attempts to reign in tariffs by reasserting congressional control and voting against a budget framework passed by the Senate in April because of possible cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health program for low-income people and some people with disabilities. Though, in the budget currently being considered, she is supportive of adding work requirements to limit Medicaid eligibility. Some of her constituents want to see more public pushback. 'I focus on results, not rhetoric,' Collins said in an interview. 'My goal is not to get on Fox News and MSNBC and rant and rave.' Outlining her strategy for Maine Morning Star, Collins said she's had success restoring some funding largely due to conversations outside of public view, relying on her long-developed relationships. 'It is far more effective for me to, for example, restore the funding that the administration wants to cut for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program, LIHEAP, which is so important to the state of Maine, than it is to go make a fiery speech to anywhere that doesn't result in any change,' Collins said. But some constituents argue a piecemeal approach to restoring funds will ultimately be ineffective as overall democratic checks and balances are tested. During Trump's first few weeks back in office, Collins said she hoped the courts would side with Congress if the president's attempts to control spending were litigated. Now, with numerous cases in the courts, Collins said, 'some of the actions taken by the administration have and will be overturned in court, and others Congress will overturn through the appropriations process.' She added, 'When I disagree with the actions of the administration, I have not hesitated to intervene.' Collins said she consulted with the Trump administration in order to restore the U.S. Department of Agriculture grants to the University of Maine, renegotiate the Maine Sea Grant, secure an exception to the hiring freeze at Acadia National Park and reverse the cancellation of a decades-old program that allows parents to register their newborns for a Social Security number while at hospitals — though Collins' spokesperson told Maine Morning Star that Social Security Administration Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek told the senator it was an error but reporting later revealed that he deliberately sought to punish Maine after Gov. Janet Mills' heated exchange with Trump over the state's transgender protections. But some Maine voters argue Collins should be using her seniority — as the seventh most senior member of the Senate and the most senior Republican woman — for more than piecemeal fixes. Falmouth resident Anne Scheer — who carried a sign during a Tax Day protest in Augusta that read 'Where's Susan?' — said she wants the senator to rally her caucus to stand up for democracy, adding that she doesn't think that has to be an anti-Trump message. 'She needs to talk with her fellow Republicans and say, 'This is enough,'' Scheer said. Her vote is the mechanism of government but she has a platform that she could be speaking from. – Biddeford resident Anthony Burgess Cape Elizabeth resident Jerry Kaufman, an independent who protested against Collins in Biddeford in April, said he'd vote for Collins if she could convince her colleagues to confront the president to say 'stop the foolishness.' 'Show some leadership and bring some people along with you,' Kaufman said. At that same protest, Biddeford resident Anthony Burgess, a registered Democrat who voted for Collins once in 2014, criticized her statements of concern and disappointment about some of the Trump administration's actions as lacking conviction. He said independent U.S. Sen. Angus King's attendance at the 'Hands Off' rally in Portland in April demonstrated for him a refusal to cow to Trump. 'Her vote is the mechanism of government but she has a platform that she could be speaking from,' Burgess said. When asked what her response is to those who say she should be doing more to ensure the separation of powers remains, Collins pointed to her questioning officials in subcommittee hearings. One main purpose of subcommittees is to hold hearings on spending proposals during which members can directly question agency heads. Collins has questioned several, including U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the proposed elimination of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. 'We're actually holding these subcommittee hearings at a breakneck pace to evaluate spending requests and reductions, as well as to assess compliance with congressional intent and enacted laws,' Collins said. However, Collins said the public does not see what she feels is her most efficient tactic. 'My goal is to get things fixed and to get problems solved, and I do that through the federal hearings where I'm laying the foundation for restoration of the cuts in biomedical research, which is an extraordinarily high priority for me,' Collins said, as an example. 'But also I do it privately by calling up Cabinet members.' Collins said she is so far largely approaching her qualms with the administration through these one-on-one conversations. This tactic has burned her at times in the past, notably when Collins voted for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after she said he gave her private assurances he wasn't a threat to Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion ruling that he later voted to overturn. More recently, ahead of the deadline to avoid a government shutdown, Collins said she started texting with Trump's billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency. That outreach does not appear to have gone as planned, at least for the immediate outcome. While Collins initially said she was 'absolutely' opposed to a full-year stop gap approach, she told Politico that Republican leaders instructed her to start writing a plan for that approach anyway. The version that passed, drafted by House GOP leadership, was ultimately pushed through with limited input from spending leaders of either chamber. But in other cases, she's touted success that she's had with these conversations that happen behind closed doors, such as with the restoration of the USDA funding and renegotiation of the Maine Sea Grant. 'Because I have these relationships with the president's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and with Cabinet members, I have been able to restore funding that was in jeopardy,' Collins said. Mark Brewer, chair of the political science department at the University of Maine, sees this as a strength unique to Collins. 'Given that she's the only Republican member of the current Maine delegation and she's the only person with a committee chair, I think she's better positioned to have those communications than any of the other members,' Brewer said. But while Collins sees these behind-the-scenes negotiations as the most effective way to restore funding that, as she puts it, has been arbitrarily and unfairly cut from Maine, when it comes to attempts to gut entire programs, 'that's going to take legislation,' she said. The sprawling budget bill is the main vehicle where such attempts are currently being made. Cokie Giles, a registered nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, protested with National Nurses United outside Collins' office in Portland in March to demand the senator oppose the possible cuts to Medicaid in the budget. While Collins often talks about her ability to work across the aisle, Giles said, 'Well, work on your own side, and don't let these cuts go through.' After Collins, citing concerns about possible Medicaid cuts, was one of two Senate Republicans to vote against the budget framework that the chamber passed in early April, Giles told Maine Morning Star she was pleased but not confident the senator's opposition would remain as budget debates continues, nor that her vote would make a difference in the end. Late last month, the U.S. House narrowly approved the massive tax and spending plan. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Republican lawmakers are expected to rewrite much of it, now taking into consideration the more detailed budget plan Trump released on Friday. The bill will then have to head back to the House for final approval, with a goal to get it to the president's desk by the Fourth of July. As passed by the House, the 1,116-page package combines 11 bills. Among its many components, the current plan would overhaul Medicaid, reducing the program by $625 billion over 10 years under the latest estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. Collins did not provide specific red lines that would lead her to not support the budget package, but she described Medicaid as critically important for Maine's health care system and a vital resource for many seniors, low-income families, disabled patients and those who cannot work. She told Maine Morning Star she 'cannot support proposals that would create more duress for our hospitals and providers that are already teetering on the edge of insolvency.' However, Collins is supportive of placing further limits on program eligibility, specifically 'work requirements for able-bodied men and women who are capable of working and do not have obligations that preclude them from participating in the workforce,' she said. As passed by the House, people who are between the ages of 19 and 65 would be required to work, participate in community service, or attend an educational program at least 80 hours a month to be eligible. The language has numerous exceptions, including for pregnant people, parents of dependent children and people who have complex medical conditions, among others. Under these requirements, 34,000 Mainers would be expected to lose their Medicaid coverage, reducing federal funding by $215 million, according to the progressive Maine Center for Economic Policy. Maine Gov. Janet Mills warned in a radio address on Friday about these cuts, as well as others that would limit access to the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces. 'If you receive health care through MaineCare or which is the Affordable Care Act, I encourage you to contact Members of Congress to share what that coverage means to you,' Mills said. 'They need to hear your story.' Some shared their stories at a protest against Collins organized by the Maine Democratic Party in Bangor on Saturday, which drew almost 200 attendees who demanded the senator block the health care and other program cuts in the budget. 'In 2020, [Collins] told us that her seniority would protect us, that chairing Appropriations would give her the power to defend Maine's interests,' said Shawn Yardley. 'Her party now controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, but the cuts and the cruelty keep coming.' While Collins emphasized some possible future impacts on MaineCare at the federal level, she said, 'the state has not been perfect on this issue.' The senator called out the Maine Legislature for being unable to reach a compromise on its state budget. 'The state is holding up more than $100 million in emergency supplemental funding that would draw down nearly $400 million federal funds,' Collins said. Maine Senate Republicans held out their support for the supplemental budget plan, and later the two-year budget, because they'd wanted it to include structural reform to Medicaid — notably the work requirements Collins is supportive of adding on the federal level. Last month, the Maine House failed to secure enough support to get the now already allocated Medicaid funding out sooner. Some Republicans, though not ultimately enough for passage, supported that effort, arguing the state needs to pay its bills owed to providers, but others called it a blank check they wouldn't sign. With Maine hospitals already struggling to keep services available, state groups are calling on Collins in particular to reject federal health care cuts, as well as cuts to childcare and food assistance in a digital ad campaign launched this week by Family Values @ Work Action, a national network of state and local coalitions aimed at promoting family-friendly workplace policies. 'This package takes food and medicine from the mouths of Maine families to fund tax cuts for the wealthy,' Destie Hohman Sprague, executive director of the Maine Women's Lobby, said in a statement on Monday. Among many other components, the federal budget bill proposes cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, through expanded work requirements and shifting some program costs to state governments. Maine would also lose federal matching funds as a penalty for providing coverage to some immigrant populations. The budget plan would also raise the debt limit by $4 trillion. 'We have an enormous deficit and debt,' Collins said, 'and we do need to evaluate programs.' As the Senate negotiates what to keep and do away with in the 'big, beautiful bill' that represents the heart of Trump's domestic agenda, how Maine's senior senator chooses to use her influence, whether in public or not, will be put to the test. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Boston Globe
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Hannah Orenstein wanted to write a love letter to her lake house
Other aspects of the novel required research, she adds — to accurately portray one of the book's central characters, a sommelier, Orenstein took a class and sat for a certification from WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust). Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up At the book's heart is the relationship between two half-sisters who have never met until their shared father's death calls them both to the lake house: Lucy, a native Mainer, is seeking refuge after the end of her marriage, while Vivian, a New Yorker, has driven up to prepare the house for a quick sale. What unfolds is a story of conflict but also growth, and the shy appearance of hope. 'Vivian and Lucy sort of represent the two different sides of me,' says Orenstein. 'When I'm in New York, I am out every night. I'm at fun restaurants. I love to get dressed up. When I'm in Maine, I am barefoot. I don't wear makeup for months on end. It's just a much slower pace of life.' Advertisement The author adds that she hopes readers will be able to experience something like the peace she feels at the lake. 'I really wanted this to be escapist. I wanted people to feel like they were on vacation at the lake,' she says.'But also I think there's a lot in the book about forgiveness and how you can work through complicated relationships. No family is perfect. Lots of families are messy, and I hope this [book] can maybe help some readers process their own complicated feelings about their families.' Hannah Orenstein will read at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at And now for a few recommendations…. In ' ' Advertisement Alison Bechdel's new graphic novel, ' Kate Tuttle edits the Globe's Books section. Kate Tuttle, a freelance writer and critic, can be reached at
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine Voter ID proposal runs into strong opposition at public hearing
May 2—Lawmakers heard hours of testimony Friday from opponents of several proposals to require photo identification prior to voting in Maine, including a citizen initiative that would also place new restrictions on absentee voting. Most of the testimony focused on the citizen initiative led by Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, that is likely headed to a statewide referendum in November. It calls for sweeping electoral reforms including a voter ID requirement, restrictions on absentee voting, a limit on the number of ballot drop boxes and other requirements that election officials said would be difficult and expensive to implement. Opponents argued that Maine's elections are already secure and that the new requirements would only make it more difficult for some people to vote, including elderly residents, people with disabilities, people without reliable transportation, busy parents and shift-workers. Those who spoke in favor, mostly the Republican sponsors of the bills, argued they were common sense reforms to increase confidence in elections. Libby downplayed the overwhelming opposition to the new voting requirements from individuals and groups, such as the AARP, Maine Town and City Clerks Association, Maine State Nurses Association, Maine Education Association and the Maine Women's Lobby. "This isn't the public hearing that matters," Libby said. "We have already held our hearing and over 171,000 Maine people testified at that public hearing. That's how many Mainer's signed the petition that brought this legislation before the committee. They're signatures are their testimony." But others dismissed that claim, accusing signature gatherers of not explaining the sweeping changes to absentee voting also included in bill. Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, who chairs the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, repeatedly pressed Alex Titcomb, who along with the Libby is leading the Voter ID for ME campaign, about whether organizers were deliberately trying to conceal other proposed changes to election laws in the 12-page bill by focusing attention on the more popular voter ID mandate to gain signatures and support. Titcomb said the proposal was available to anyone who wanted to read it. "We weren't hiding it," Titcomb said. "(The proposal's) a publicly available document." The Voter ID for ME campaign has been fueled by a $500,000 donation from a national group, the Republican State Leadership Committee. Because the campaign gathered enough signatures, lawmakers must either enact the referendum, LD 1149, or send it to the voters in November. And with Republicans in the minority in the Legislature, a referendum is all but assured. Beth Allen, of Mainers for Modern Elections, a coalition of local groups fighting to preserve and expand voting rights, urged the committee to send the referendum to voters, calling it an "attack on our secure elections. "(LD) 1149 is a poorly-written, catch-everything bill that would dismantle trusted and secured systems that Maine citizens have long depended on to securely and conveniently to cast their ballots," Allen said. "Maine voters should be given the opportunity to reject this out-of-state, cookie-cutter policy." The proposal would require a photo ID at the polls or when a voter returns an absentee ballot, though it includes a religious exemption for those who object to being photographed. Acceptable IDs would include state driver's license or ID cards, a military ID, passport or a concealed weapons permit. It would not include student IDs. The proposal would also end the current practice of allowing absentee ballots to be requested by phone and by immediate family members and would end a program that allows seniors and people with disabilities to receive absentee ballots for every election without making a special request each time. Additionally, the bill would prohibit municipalities such as Portland and Orono from having more than one drop box to collect absentee ballots. And it would require municipalities to have "a bipartisan team of election officials" to collect those ballots, rather than assigning the task to municipal clerks. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows opposed the changes, saying Maine regularly ranks among the highest for voter turnout and for election security. Bellows said some provisions appear to have been imported from other states and do not apply to Maine, including references to towns with multiple clerk's offices and descriptions of ballots with certain tags, which Maine doesn't have and cannot process using its existing tabulators. "It is important that the Legislators and the voters understand the comprehensive nature of the initiative that's before you," Bellows said. Two Republican lawmakers — Rep. Reagan Paul of Winterport and Sen. Jeff Timberlake or Turner — also presented more narrow standalone bills that would require photo ID at the polls. But Bellows advised lawmakers that either of those bills, LD 397 and LD 38, would be considered a competing proposal to the citizen referendum and would also have to be placed on a statewide ballot, if enacted by the Legislature. Timberlake said people already need a photo ID for various activities and transactions, whether it's driving, banking or purchasing alcohol or tobacco. But opponents noted that those activities are privileges, not fundamental constitutional rights. Ceridwen Cherry said her group, VoteRiders, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that helps people get identification documents, conducted a survey in 2023 and found that one in 10 eligible voters did not have a current photo ID and 12% of the nonexpired IDs were not up-to-date with names or home addresses. "These statistics make clear that a photo ID law in Maine would disenfranchise large numbers of eligible voters," she said. All of the voter ID proposals would require the secretary of state's office to offer free photo IDs to anyone who doesn't have one. But critics questioned whether seniors, people with disabilities or lower income people who lack adequate transportation, especially in rural areas, would be able to travel to a location to have their photo taken for the IDs. Alex Wu, a senior at Scarborough High School, said it was "baffling" that proponents would think that people who are housebound and unable to get to the polls would be able to travel somewhere to get their free ID. "It just doesn't make sense," Wu said. The committee did not take action on the bill following the tw0-and-a-half hour hearing. Copy the Story Link
