Working Waterfront Funding: Rockport locked in the last $2M needed to fully fund its East Side Working Waterfront Resilience Project, bringing the total to $4M to better protect the harbor against storm impacts. Historic Discovery: Wells town staff found a handwritten Declaration of Independence copy recorded in the Wells Town Record Book in July 1776—part of the instructions to preserve the document as a “perpetual Memorial.” Cybersecurity in Town Hall: Lincoln Town Office shut down after a cyberattack encrypted parts of its network, affecting the main file server and infrastructure; officials are restoring systems from backups while investigating scope and origin. AI + Security Procurement: A GovForward panel warned Maine CISO Charles Rote and others that governments may soon have no “AI off switch” in vendor cloud services, raising new governance and cyber risk questions. PFAS Sludge Scrutiny: Northeast regulators and Maine-linked reporting highlight the EPA’s decision to scrap a PFAS risk assessment of treated sludge, with critics questioning how public input was weighed. Water Stress in New England: Drought conditions are depleting wells and raising wildfire risk, with researchers urging more proactive groundwater planning across the region. UMaine Ocean AI: UMaine researchers won NSF support to build AI tools to identify what “marine snow” particles contain, aiming to speed up classification from underwater imagery. Private Wells for Arsenic: Maine coverage flags low testing rates for arsenic in private wells and the gap between program goals and how many homes get help testing and treating. Health Costs (ACA): Maine ACA premiums are rising again, with analysis warning compounding increases and coverage losses could make 2027 even worse. Maine STEM Grant: Maine School of Science and Mathematics received a $100K Ford Foundation grant that requires local matching, with plans to expand statewide STEM support. Intergenerational Program: Penquis’ Foster Grandparent Program is seeking volunteers and donations to pair older adults with children needing extra support in schools and childcare settings. Court Records Go Online: Hancock and Washington county court records are now accessible via an online portal as Maine continues digitizing dockets, targeting full online access by February 2027.