{"id":1740,"date":"2026-07-17T05:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T09:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/?p=1740"},"modified":"2026-07-16T16:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:51:00","slug":"07-17-26-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/07-17-26-news\/","title":{"rendered":"07-17-26 News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Ellsworth recall effort lacks signatures based upon initial review<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Thursday, signatures were to be submitted to the city of Ellsworth from a recall effort on five members of the city council after allegations claim they failed to maintain fiscal responsibility and violated city law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, upon initial review there may not be enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Ellsworth American reports despite the extension, petitioners have not submitted enough signatures to meet the 1,279 threshold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The publication reports the city clerk still needs to complete the verification process where the final findings and numbers will be reported.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That deadline is July 21.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ellsworthamerican.com\/news\/recall-petition-signatures-appear-insufficient-on-initial-review\/article_40d7a1fa-5a05-49d7-9e38-6df02a090610.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.ellsworthamerican.com\/news\/recall-petition-signatures-appear-insufficient-on-initial-review\/article_40d7a1fa-5a05-49d7-9e38-6df02a090610.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Update to Ellsworth propane explosion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A man has died as a result of a fire that happened on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fire marshal\u2019s office says 59-year-old Bruce Spencer of Ellsworth died from his injuries after a propane explosion occurred on North Street.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bus was converted into a recreational vehicle and investigators believe the ignition source likely was an electric compressor motor of a nearby refrigerator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>DHS reveals more details into Biddeford shooting<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Department of Homeland Security released more information about the man killed Monday in a shooting involving ICE.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They say 25-year-old Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a Colombian national, had illegally entered the U.S. in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">DHS agents say surveillance from an address close to where the shooting happened in Biddeford shows when ICE tried to stop the car, the car attempted to flee the scene, fearing for public safety and an officer discharged his weapon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meanwhile, protests across the state continue calling for a full investigation and a halt to ICE working in Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wabi.tv\/2026\/07\/15\/dhs-releases-new-details-regarding-deadly-biddeford-shooting\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.wabi.tv\/2026\/07\/15\/dhs-releases-new-details-regarding-deadly-biddeford-shooting\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Widespread outages due to severe storms<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Thursday over six thousand Versant power customers in Hancock County lost power.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This after severe thunderstorms moved through the area in northern and Downeast Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If for some reason you are still without power, the Maine Emergency Management Agency encourages you to call 211 to find a local facility to get water, air conditioning or to figure out when power will be back in your region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Blue Hill high school set to build new entrance<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite making major staff cuts in the last year, one Blue Hill high school plans to remodel it\u2019s main entrance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">George Stevens Academy will move forward with the update costing a little over two million dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bangor Daily news reports demolition of a part of its gymnasium and the new entrance is being paid for through a separate funding source and the school led a campaign for the entrance project.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The project already broke ground and is expected to continue throughout the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bangordailynews.com\/2026\/07\/15\/hancock\/hancock-education\/george-stevens-academy-new-entrance-despite-staff-cuts-joam40zk0w\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.bangordailynews.com\/2026\/07\/15\/hancock\/hancock-education\/george-stevens-academy-new-entrance-despite-staff-cuts-joam40zk0w\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>COA coffee and conversation on July 21 focuses on importance of seafood<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The College of the Atlantic hosts their \u2018coffee and conversations\u2019 forum for community members and experts to come together and discuss important topics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On July 21, Barton Seaver will come and discuss the meaning of his new book called \u2018The Blue Food Cookbook.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The book focuses on coastal communities, strengthening public health and the importance of caring for our oceans that sustain us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The event is free at the Thomas S. Gates Jr. Community Center at 9:30 so to get your spot because registration is required follow the link below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/coa.swoogo.com\/coffeeandconvo\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/coa.swoogo.com\/coffeeandconvo<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Support The Grand for their Christmas in July event<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 3rd annual Christmas in July at The Grand is officially underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Happening through July 19, the annual fundraiser not only brings the community together but it brings a grand time for participants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From noon to 8 p.m. Friday you can walk through the magical forest of trees, take your chance on winning a tree with lovely gifts donated by local businesses and more!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For more information on the lineup of events, follow the link.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/events\/1735584837421622\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/facebook.com\/events\/1735584837421622<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Milbridge Theatre Summer Concerts<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Starting Friday, the Milbridge Theatre invites the community to kick off their Summer concerts!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Down at the Milbridge Town Landing starting at 6:30 p.m. locals can bring their family, friends and lawn chairs to the waterfront for community, great music and summer vibes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Admission to the concerts are free and come hungry as they\u2019ll have local food trucks lined up waiting for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you want to learn more about the concert series or would like to support efforts like this just follow the link below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.milbridgetheatre.org\/events\/43098-summer-concert-series-the-whiskey-bent-band\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.milbridgetheatre.org\/events\/43098-summer-concert-series-the-whiskey-bent-band\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ellsworth recall effort lacks signatures based upon initial review On Thursday, signatures were to be submitted to the city of Ellsworth from a recall effort on five members of the city council after allegations claim they failed to maintain fiscal responsibility and violated city law. However, upon initial review there may not be enough. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/star977fm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}