Portland settles age discrimination lawsuit
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Two former airport maintenance workers who sued the city of Portland, Maine, over alleged age discrimination have reached a settlement agreement.
The Portland Press Herald reports Robert Lang and Stephen Congdon said they were forced out of their jobs at the Portland International Jetport in 2017.
The men filed their complaint in January. In August, a notice of settlement was filed in the federal docket.
The suit alleged a supervisor targeted the two men by giving them different performance tests than the ones given to younger employees. The men also allege they were repeatedly asked about their ages and retirement plans.
At the time of the complaint, Lang was 68 and Congdon was 67.
Both men will receive $37,500. The city also agreed to pay $60,000 in attorney fees.
Mills reveals members of Maine Climate Council
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has unveiled the membership of her Maine Climate Council, which is aimed at recommending strategies for boosting renewable energy and reducing greenhouse emissions.
The 39-person council will meet for the first time next week.
The members include state lawmakers, scientists, municipal officials, energy experts and tribal officials, along with representatives of industry, fishing and environmental groups.
Co-chairs are Hannah Pingree, director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and Maine Environmental Protection Commissioner Jerry Reid.
Pingree said the future of “Maine’s communities, our state’s economy, and the lives and health of our citizens” depends on confronting climate change.
Leaves start to turn in northern Maine as leaf-peeping nears
CARIBOU, Maine (AP) — Summer doesn’t officially end for a few more days, but some leaves are already beginning to turn in far northern Maine.
The Maine Office of Tourism says the far north is showing less than 30 percent color change and less than 10 percent leaf drop, so there’s still a long way to go before fall is in full swing. The office says the north usually reaches peak conditions during the last week of September and the first week of October.
The rest of Maine will likely start seeing color among the leaves in the middle of October. The office says the coastal part of the state usually peaks in mid-to-late October.
The office’s fall foliage report says the leaf-peeping season is set to arrive “right on track” this year.
Frost today, balmy this weekend in northern New England
By The Associated Press
Parts of northern New England have had their first frost of the season.
The National Weather Service said temperatures dipped to freezing in many locations early Thursday.
Meteorologist Derek Schroeter said the first widespread frost of the season hit earlier than usual with Sanford dipping to 29 degrees and Lewiston 31 degrees.
He said that in Maine the median date for the first fall freeze on the southern coast is Oct. 11, and for interior regions it’s Oct. 1.
The cold was short-lived. Officials say the temperature will be climbing toward 80 degrees this weekend in parts of northern New England.
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