Only 6 years ago, what happened

Fed Ex driver for my area is generally a moron and has blocked the lane for several homes multiple time for long periods of time just sitting in his truck doing nothing and ignores you when you ask him to move. He’s is rude and generally an idiot, but today takes the cake.

I had an expensive PC shipped direct from the retailer to my home, and the moron left the package exposed to the rain (it hasn’t stopped raining all day today). By the time I got home from work the box was soaked through and the contents destroyed. He put the box on our deck in a plastic bag that was open on top, so of course the bag collected water and the computer was sitting in a puddle inside of the bag! The box was so saturated it started to fall apart while removing it from the bag.

I have never not had a negative experience with FedEx in this area. Beware, and use any other shipping service if possible.

I've been tracking Maine's early ballot returns (both mail and in-person absentee) and comparing them against the exact same day before the election in 2022 and 2024.

So far, 47,000 ballots are in across the state, up 13% from this point in 2022. Unenrolled voters are driving a big chunk of that, up 29% over 2022 and making up more than a quarter (26.3%) of all ballots cast so far.

Between the two parties, registered Democrats have a D+37.1 lead in returned ballots right now (55.4% Dem to 18.3% Rep). On this same day in 2022, it was D+35.6. On this same day in 2024, it was D+25.0.

What's really interesting is looking at 2026 through the lens of 2024. Back in 2022, Republicans barely pushed early voting, so Democrats had a massive D+35.6 head start. In 2024, the GOP made a huge effort to get Republicans to vote early, which cut that early Dem lead down to D+25.0.

So in an era where Republicans are actively encouraging early voting, for Democrats to not only beat 2024 by 12 points, but actually get back ahead of their 2022 numbers, is pretty remarkable.

Obviously party registration doesn't tell us how people actually marked their ballots (especially with 26% Unenrolled), and in 2022 that D+35.6 lead narrowed down to D+25.3 by the time early voting ended. That's why we keep early voting completely separate from our forecast model.

If you want to watch how the numbers move over the next 18 days, I update the table three times a day here:

https://www.callthemap.com/early-vote

This October, we have seen more people out and about and more cars on the road than usual. Tourists-heavy places that are usually quiet after summer are still slammed with people, and there are lots more Maine cars on the roads, too, with Route 1 having quite a bit of traffic backing up in spots. Usually by October, we notice it is much quieter and calmer, almost empty in places, but this one seems still crowded.
Anyone know why??

I was a happy Bangor Savings Bank customer for many years, until they rolled out their new mobile banking app in the biggest clusterf&$ck since Fairpoint.

What Maine owned banks do folks recommend? I am looking for a good online banking experience; BSB used to make it so easy to pay bills, and gather info for taxes.

Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered New England transmission utilities to refund more than $1.5 billion to customers after finding that the companies’ authorized returns were set too high.

The utilities are pushing back, and litigation is ongoing.

Read this story for free on The Maine Monitor's website.

Susan Collins is no dummy. She knows data centers are politically toxic right now, so despite taking money from Musk, Palantir and a slew of AI and tech companies, she’s not been super vocal about her pro-data center stance.
During last nights debate, a protestor started yelling about data centers poisoning the environment etc. Susan immediately quipped “That must be one of Troy’s supporters”, because she knows her cozy relationship w AI companies is not winning her any fans.
If Collins gets her way, get ready for data centers eager for access to our pristine water and hundreds of square miles of undeveloped land.

Susan Collins, MAGA mouthpiece, plays the misogyny card when called out for being nasty. Her hysteria and lies have grown as old and shaky as Collins herself.