Free Republic

PORTLAND, Maine — In November, Portland residents are being asked to approve sweeping changes to the city’s charter including controversial items that would result in a strengthened mayor, a financially independent school board and a citizen-led police oversight board. But, amid the ongoing fury, one charter change question among the eight-question list has been largely overshadowed. It would make Portland the only municipality that officially recognizes in its charter that it sits on unceded land, stolen from Indigenous peoples by European colonizers. The question, which would alter the governing document’s preamble, was written by charter commissioner Pat Washburn. It reads,...

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine's Passamaquoddy Indians have approved building a liquefied natural gas terminal on their oceanfront reservation to help meet the region's energy needs. The 192-132 vote on Wednesday sets up fast-paced negotiations with Quoddy Bay LLC, an energy development partnership in Tulsa, Okla., to build a terminal on a 42-acre site on Passamaquoddy Bay. Quoddy Bay spokesman Jim Mitchell said a definitive agreement with tribal leadership will be ironed out within weeks. The Passamaquoddy support comes in stark contrast to opposition raised by other communities, including Harpswell, where a proposal was voted down, and Fall River, Mass.,...