Bangor, Maine News Update: June 20, 2018

Bangor Police removed suspected explosives from a residence in the Holiday Mobile Home Park last night. A portion of Essex Street was shut down and some neighboring homes evacuated while the explosives team cleared the house. So far, no arrests have been made.

A Searsport man is facing charges after a slow speed chase in Brewer, with police following his tractor. Brewer Police say Todd Hill was originally pulled over for knocking over construction cones while driving his tractor on North Main Street, but during the stop, Hill hopped in the cab of his tractor and took off, before finally stopping again in Eddington. He’s charged with driving to endanger and failing to stop for a police officer.

Emera Maine has been approved for a rate increase, but it’s not what they were hoping for. The Maine Public Utilities Commission reduced their request for a 12 percent boost in the distribution portion of customers’ bills to a five-point-three-four increase, instead, which will raise nearly four-and-a-half million dollars for the utility.

The ranked choice voting process hit a snag yesterday, when badly scanned ballot sheets forced officials to verify results with many communities. The announcement of winners in the Democrat’s gubernatorial race and a bid for the House could be announced today once the data is fed into the ranked choice computer.

On June 30^th, Franklin Street Extension in Ellsworth will be closed to traffic and turned into a street festival  for the Taste of Ellsworth event. Local restaurants and breweries will provide the refreshments and there will be live bands to provide the entertainment. Find more information on the Heart of Ellsworth website.