The Maine Minute
Everything You Need to Know TodayJune 29 2012
Rodeo Cowboys Ride into Hebron
Rodeo cowboys have been riding into Hebron for Harold Brooks' first-ever Redneck Rodeo this weekend.
Brooks is holding the Redneck Rodeo in the same gravel pit that was the venue for the Redneck Olympics last August — an event that provoked the U.S. Olympic Commission, which told Brooks to change the name in the future or face a lawsuit.
Brooks told the Bangor Daily News that the Redneck Rodeo is selling more tickets than he did before the Redneck Olympics. The rodeo is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the largest and oldest rodeo-sanctioning body.
Brooks expects six to ten bareback riders and eight to ten bull riders.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Fri, 06/29/2012 - 8:36am.
June 28 2012
The Puffin Show
Two high-definition cameras are streaming live video of Atlantic puffins waddling and bringing fish to their babies on remote Seal Island.
Anyone with an internet connection can watch the action from the Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, thanks to the joint project of the National Audubon Society and explore.org teamed up to stream video from the Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge to anyone with an Internet connection. About 20 miles offshore, Seal Island has the largest puffin colony in the U.S.
One camera is trained on Puffin Loafing Ledge. The other is in a burrow, where an adult can be seen with a fluffy black baby. Occasionally, another adult brings a beak-full of fish for the youngster to eat.
Portland Press HeraldPosted at Thu, 06/28/2012 - 3:58pm.
June 26 2012
Air Force One Lands in Bangor
Air Force One, the official plane of the President of the United States, landed in Bangor for the night after dropping the president off in New Hampshire. Once President Obama is finished making appearances in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the plane will pick him up and return to Washington.
Bangor International Airport has an 11,44 foot runway capable of handling any aircraft, including space shuttles, making it a popular stop for military planes as well as diverted international flights.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Tue, 06/26/2012 - 11:42am.
June 22 2012
Celtics Take Greater Control of Red Claws
Danny Ainge, the Boston Celtics Basketball Operations President, announced that his team will begin a hybrid partnership with the Developmental League team, the Maine Red Claws. The Celtics were one of three teams with the ability to send and call up players that could use more development, but under this new partnership they take control of all on-court related decisions, making the relationship more similar to that of the Red Sox and Sea Dogs.
Ainge cited the incredible fan enthusiasm in Portland telling NESN "As much as how much sense it makes for us for on the basketball side, another exciting thing is the fans and the environment here," Ainge said. "I go to a lot of D-League games around the country over the last decade and there's no better place to watch a D-League game than in Maine that I've seen yet. "I think that atmosphere creates a better opportunity for development when you have real fans cheering, capacity crowds, I think that enhances the development among players."
NESNPosted at Fri, 06/22/2012 - 7:32am.
June 14 2012
King Seeks to Discourage Super-PACs
Former governor and current independent candidate for senate Angus King announced he would discourage spending by Super-PACs and other outside groups in the upcoming election if his opponents agree to do the same. King says the wave of anonymous campaign expenditures entering politics as a result of the controversial Citizens United case distorts the campaign process.
The other candidates have not committed, and King would not say for sure he will follow through, should his opponents not agree. Republican nominee and current Maine Secretary of State Charles Summers said his concern is focused on the economy right now while Democrat Cynthia Dill agreed it's an important issue but felt King's proposal lacked any details or substance.
Read more at the Bangor Daily News.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Thu, 06/14/2012 - 3:29pm.
June 12 2012
L.L.Bean Getting Closer to $1 Million
At the beginning of the year L.L.Bean announced an ambitious project known as the "Million Moment Mission" designed to increase outdoor recreation among families and get children to become more familiar with their park system. The company seeks to collect one million photos, stories, and ideas of outdoor experiences from people across America. For every moment given, up to one million, L.L.Bean will donate one dollar to the National Park Foundation's "America's Best Idea" program.
Yesterday, L.L.Bean announced reaching a milestone of collecting 350,000 moments. The announcement came in conjunction with a visit by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar who was there for a discussion on the President's America's Great Outdoors Initiative taking place at the Discovery Park in Freeport.
Business WirePosted at Tue, 06/12/2012 - 8:10am.
June 11 2012
Great Works Dam Removal Begins
The Great Works Dam between Old Town and Bradley is being removed as part of a thirteen year construction project aimed to open up nearly 1,000 miles of habitat to eleven species of fish on the Penobscot River. The rationale is that granting access to these forms of wildlife for the first time in two hundred years will open the river to outdoor recreational opportunities, economic growth, more jobs, and energy production. U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar said $2.5 million of federal funds will go to the project, with an additional one million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is being called the largest river restoration project in the eastern United States.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Mon, 06/11/2012 - 2:33pm.
June 8 2012
Portland Sculpture is 'Yarn-bombed'
Under cover of darkness, some stealth knitters adorned a Portland art installation in a colorful knit ensemble Thursday night. Today passersby admired the knitted and crocheted swatches draping "Michael," a large metal sculpture at One City Center.
The act may be a prelude to Saturday's International Yarn Bombing Day, which encourages knitters from around the world to attempt a yarn bomb on the same night.
Last year, a group of "guerrilla knitters" left their mark in Freeport, where they decked out fences, lamp posts, trees, tabletops, and handrails with colorful knitted designs and crocheted critters.
Portland Press HeraldPosted at Fri, 06/08/2012 - 3:04pm.
June 7 2012
Manure Power
An Exeter dairy farm is using a new system that converts cow manure and food waste into heat and electricity.
Stonyvale Farm in Exeter, which has about 1,000 cows, is unveiling the anaerobic digestion system Thursday, according to the Associated Press. Stonyvale is selling the electricity to the region's power grid, and it has formed a new company, called Exeter Agri-Energy, to run the operation.
WCSH-6 News
Posted at Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:38am.
Lineup for KahBang Festival Revealed
KahBang, a two-day music, film, and arts festival being held on the Bangor Waterfront on August 10 and 11, revealed its lineup of nationally known headliners and local Maine acts. Rapper Wale, electronic musician Bassnectar, and alternative rockers the Deftones will be the main attractions at the festival. The festival, now in its fourth year, will also feature several local Maine musicians such as Milkman's Union, Spose, the Mallet Brothers Band, and more. Last year KahBang brought around 8,000 people to Bangor for its weekend of music, art, and film.
Bangor Daily NewsPosted at Thu, 06/07/2012 - 10:15am.
