Good morning, Portland.

The Maine Sunday Telegram and Portland Press Herald won top awards at the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s fall conference in Sturbridge on Friday.

Education reporters Riley Board and Emily Duggan earned honors for their standout local coverage.

Mobility Danes of New England is hosting its second-annual Barktoberfest today at Spacious Skies Walnut Grove Campground in Alfred from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event features a dog costume parade, raffles, and a food truck to raise funds and attract volunteers.

The Press Herald Toy Fund begins its 77th holiday season by opening applications for families needing holiday presents.

Volunteers in South Portland pack gifts while group applications close (Nov. 1) and individual applications close Dec. 1.

Four Maine-based food products won Golden Fork Awards on Thursday at Portland’s Holiday Inn by the Bay during the biennial Maine Food Producer Showcase.

Winners were honored for standout cheese, molasses, seafood and rum, and the event linked local producers with industry partners (University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center).

Members of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum honored Maine patriots on Thursday by placing a commemorative marker on Richard Hunnewell Jr.'s gravestone at Western Cemetery in Portland (he took part in the Boston Tea Party as a teenager).

A report from the Maine Office of New Americans says foreign-born workers generated $2.25 billion in income while supporting nearly 74,000 jobs from 2020 to 2024; modeling warns tighter enforcement may remove 840 to 7,050 workers + cost up to $3.3 billion in annual output statewide.

A Maine CDC report shows that long-term benzene levels in parts of South Portland have been double state guidelines due to emissions from petroleum tank terminals.

The Maine DEP study from 2019 to 2025 will be discussed at a Portland City Council meeting on Oct. 27.

Falmouth residents are opposing CMP’s planned transmission line upgrade that would require tree removal and could lower property values, and they are pushing local officials for clearer answers as the Public Utilities Commission reviews the project until Oct.

23.

Maine will soon get about $38M in federal heating assistance funds for low-income households & applications for HEAP are now open to help offset rising winter heating costs as oil prices near record highs.

Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston asked the National Labor Relations Board to review its decision to allow a nurses union election after it raised concerns about voting freedom.

Union officials say they are fighting to reinstate 20 nurses fired before the vote — they claim the dismissals were retaliatory.

All 150 Franklin Towers households have been moved to new housing as renovations begin on the 1960s subsidized building in Portland (hazardous materials were found) and may take several months.

The Housing Authority said residents will continue to receive assistance and moving costs will be covered until they can return.

Town officials celebrated a groundbreaking for 18 one-bedroom affordable units behind Town Hall on Cleaves Street in Yarmouth as construction began this week & MaineHousing subsidized most of the $6.3 million project, with enclosure expected by January and apartment applications opening in 2027.

Residents and business owners in downtown Portland praised the removal of scaffolding from the historic Trelawney Building (655 Congress St.) after a three-year repair project following crumbling masonry in 2023; legal action between the city and the building's owner followed the work.

Friday night high school football games kicked off at 6 p.m. in Portland and nearby towns, with live updates showing penalties, long drives + touchdowns from teams like Noble and Fryeburg.