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Well, that was gross.

After a brutal start to the summer left us staggering in search of air conditioning or maybe a nice lake, we're recovering this weekend with normal-ish late June weather. I hope anyway. Who knows? It's Maine.

It's worth reflecting on the week: excessive heat warnings were issued across the state. The city of Caribou hit 103 degrees on the heat index; hotter than Miami. As you'll see down in the links, the New England power grid issued a “Power Caution” alert when the air conditioners kicked in.

In his new story on proposed water ordinance changes in the town of Denmark, Emmett Gartner points out that back in 2020, the Maine Climate Council predicted that intensified weather events would increasingly affect our state. More rain, but more droughts. Higher housing insurance premiums. (See the links!)

More heat. More humidity. More gross.

But first we'll get to enjoy some normal-ish late June weather. In the foothills of western Maine, that can be pretty great.

Denmark considers tightening regulations on water extraction despite Poland Spring opposition

After years of work, the town of Denmark is proposing major ordinance changes that would curtail large-scale water extraction in the town and would require more careful monitoring of water sources.

The changes acknowledge the influence of climate change on drought and groundwater reserves as a reason for protecting local water through regulation. 

In the past few years, most efforts to limit commercial water extraction in the state — an industry largely occupied by the bottled water behemoth Poland Spring — have failed. Denmark officials will present the changes at a town forum on June 26.

Read this story by Emmett Gartner of The Maine Monitor.

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

Climate change is being blamed for a 19 percent jump in this year's average home insurance premiums, second only to Louisiana's increase | Portland Press Herald

Voters in the town of Phillips approved a $1.4 million budget and created a committee to apply for a federal grant to build a fire station at this year's annual town meeting | Sun Journal

Franklin County commissioners rejected two bids, each in excess of $1 million, to replace a bridge in Salem, opting instead for a second round of bids | Sun Journal

The town of Andover is debating whether it should have a town manager, as well as whether it should move its annual town meeting to March | Rumford Falls Times

Maine will receive $272 million in federal money to expand high-internet access across the state | WGME

Rep. Jared Golden has sent a letter demanding an update from the U.S. Postal Service regarding the multiyear closure of the West Paris post office | Advertiser Democrat

The New England power grid operator issued a warning at the beginning of this week's heat wave, declaring a “Power Caution” Wednesday afternoon | Portland Press Herald

A federal investigation found a pattern of violence and unsafe practices at residential treatment facilities in Arkansas and Florida that currently house Maine children with severe behavioral and mental health needs | Bangor Daily News

Fewer babies are being born with substance exposure, per hospital data | Portland Press Herald

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of an 86-year-old Augusta resident and U.S. Marine Corps vet whose body went unclaimed after he died last month | Kennebec Journal

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.