Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) suspended Community Home Health Care, Maine’s largest home health care biller, from MaineCare in late June, months after The Maine Wire visited their office and their owner, Noora Abd, promised reporters that they were legitimate.

[RELATED: President of Five-Star Homecare Ordered to Repay Nearly $400K Worked at Three Other Home Healthcare Providers Before Moving to Turkmenistan…]

The DHHS issued its suspension notice on June 30, informing Abd that her lucrative business, which drew in a staggering $47,986,855 in taxpayer funding from 2019-2025, would no longer be receiving MaineCare funds.

The Office of MaineCare Services’ Program Integrity unit reviewed allegations that Community Home Health was billing for services that it never provided.

Investigators found the fraud allegations credible enough to warrant suspending their ability to bill MaineCare until such time as investigators or legal proceedings find

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) suspended MaineCare payments to the allegedly fraudulent Maine Connect Care just days after The Maine Wire published an article detailing its ties to a money transfer station and other allegedly fraudulent home health care billers.

[RELATED: Portland Office Becomes a Hub for Medicaid "Home Health" and Somali Money Transfers…]

A Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) request last week revealed that the DHHS suspended payments to Maine Connect Care on January 30, shortly after The Maine Wire visited its office at 203 Anderson Street in Portland, and just eight days after the publication of an article highlighting its ties to a money transfer station.

The notice of suspension accuses Maine Connect Care of billing for services not rendered, billing for services while unlicensed, and billing for services provided by an individual excluded from the MaineCare program.

The notice required

The Maine Wire’s Joe Sokol: Christian Journalist Exposing Darkness

Maine Wire journalist Joe Sokol sits down in the Pastor’s Office to talk faith, cameras, and the fight for the soul of Bangor. Known across Maine as the reporter people “love or hate,” Joe explains why a Bible-believing, Jesus-loving journalist walks straight toward the drug crisis, homelessness, and open-air needle markets that the mainstream media won’t touch — and why he believes shining light on darkness is worth being called every name in the book.

In this episode, Joe and Pastor Travis go from the streets of Bangor to the deepest questions of faith. Joe turns the tables and puts Pastor Travis on the spot with unscripted, no-holds-barred questions on abortion, capital punishment, pornography in the church, marijuana, Israel, and more. It’s part testimony, part street report, part theology — completely unfiltered.

From Florida addiction and the penal system to a camera and a calling in central Maine, this is Joe Sokol’s story

Twelve maternity units have closed since 2015. As Hannah Pingree calls for a moratorium, her six years inside the Mills administration — along with Maine’s spending on reproductive health and its troubled child-welfare record — are coming under new scrutiny.

For generations of families in Lincoln County, having a baby could begin and end close to home.

That is about to change.

On Thursday, MaineHealth’s Board of Trustees voted to close the labor and delivery unit at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta, ending months of uncertainty, community opposition and pleas to preserve one of the increasingly scarce places in rural Maine where women can deliver their babies.

The unit is scheduled to close Dec. 18.

After that, expectant mothers who once counted on their community hospital will have to look elsewhere, with deliveries expected to shift primarily to MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick.

Lincoln isn’t an isolated case.

Its closure will mark

The top editor of Maine’s largest paper Sunday blasted "fake news," as she launched a fund drive to help her "figure things out."

In a Maine Sunday Telegram column, Carolyn Fox complained that "bad actors seem to be popping up every week, many stealing our photos and reporting as their own."

Stealing her photos?

Where did that come from?

Desperation, that’s where.

Fox has seen the Facebook numbers and here is what they show:

Maine Wire followers: 214,000

Portland Press Herald followers: 94,000

The Press Herald has been stuck at 94,000 for months, while The Maine Wire has been growing by the day.

It’s no wonder Fox – naming no names – is attacking "fake news" and "AI" for running roughshod over her failing newspaper.

Fox calls her vengeful money grab the "inaugural summer donation campaign."

She said the paper's staffers – who far outnumber her nemesis – "take punches they don't deserve" and "carry on, not for the pay or the perks, but because they believe what they do matters."

"People used to prioritize paying for newspapers," Fox writes. "Trusted news sources have gone away. Many people have turned to social media, or their favorite podcaster, to tell them what's going on in the world, often stumbling upon misinformation.

"Fake news sites powered by AI and funded by bad actors seem to be popping up every week, many stealing our photos and reporting as their own."

Who is she accusing of stealing her content?

And notice her accusation refers to photos, not stories.

There’s a reason for that – the Portland Press Herald has no stories worth stealing.

√ Maine Wire: 214,000

√ Portland Press Herald: 94,000

"Our newsroom has big plans for the fall, and the more support we get, the bigger and more accessible we can make our work for all Mainers." – Carolyn Fox

The big plans include a "free" voter guide and covering elections, in that order.

Honest.

But heck, don’t take it from us since we’re apparently "fake news."

You can read the insanity by clicking Carolyn here.

The website Thrillist.com clearly has a sense of self, judging by its latest culture survey of U.S. towns with the greatest hippie attributes.

The Maine town meeting the definition is a place in coastal Waldo County called Unity, according to the widely followed media and entertainment website.

"With a name like Unity, you've set the hippie bar pretty high," Thrillist's Matt Meltzer says. "But this town lives up to it…"

Unity earns its hippie reputation thanks in part to the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association and the popular Common Ground Country Fair.

It’s also home to Unity Environmental University – the first in the U.S. to base its entire curriculum on sustainability that "naturally attracts a student body that tends to be a little more hippie," says Jordan Verge of i95rocks.com.

Meltzer calls Unity Environmental University "the most liberal of liberal arts schools."

Lorri Nandrea’s writings for Communist Party USA include pieces on Marxist theory, "green socialism" and class consciousness; Jackson is now challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a pivotal U.S. Senate race

Months before Troy Jackson became the Democratic nominee seeking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine activist with a documented history of writing for Communist Party USA was among the hosts of a campaign event organized to support Jackson’s political ambitions.

Lorri Nandrea of Canton was listed as one of four hosts of a June 5 campaign brunch for Jackson at the Local 14 Solidarity Center in Jay, according to an event invitation reviewed by The Maine Wire.

At the time, Jackson was campaigning for governor under the slogan "From the Woods to the Blaine House."

Today, the political stakes are considerably higher.

Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and fifth-generation logger from Allagash, was selected by Maine Democrats on July

The Navy has given a ceremonial send-off to the USS San Juan, decommissioning the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine that spent three years in Maine.

The sub, put in retirement at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington after four decades of service, was first docked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for an overhaul 15 years ago.

The Kittery, Maine, shipyard hosted the San Juan for a major engineering overhaul from 2010 to 2012, as seen in a 2011 Navy

"Jesus Is King" was rejected while "Allah Is King" and even "Satan Is King" were reportedly allowed to advance through Coca-Cola's personalization system, according to a viral video that has ignited accusations of anti-Christian bias against the beverage giant.

Is Coca-Cola anti-Jesus?

It is a provocative question, but one the beverage giant is now being forced to confront after its personalized "Share a Coke" program became the center of a growing controversy over what customers can — and cannot — put on a Coke can.

A video reviewed by The Maine Wire appears to demonstrate dramatically different results depending on which religious phrase a customer enters into Coca-Cola's online customization system.

In the demonstration, "Jesus Is King" is rejected by the system.

But "Allah Is King" is reportedly permitted to advance to the company's review process.

So is "Satan Is King."

The system reportedly also rejected other explicitly Christian references, including "Holy Trinity," "Virgin

By Jon Fetherston

For years, Maine taxpayers were told everything was under control.

This week, Washington made it clear it wasn’t.

Christmas came early this week.

It began with a phone call Monday morning.

“Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, wants to meet with you in Portland. He wants to discuss fraud in Maine’s home health care and autism billing system.”

That meeting confirmed what The Maine Wire has been reporting for months.

The federal government believes Maine has a serious problem.

Dr. Oz made it clear that CMS intends to aggressively pursue healthcare fraud. Based on my conversations with him, I believe the era of looking the other way is ending.

For the first time in years, it appears someone with real authority is asking the questions Augusta never wanted to answer.

The Failure of Government

The response from Governor Janet Mills was predictable.

Almost overnight, her administration wanted Mainers to believe it had already been cracking down on fraud. Suddenly, officials pointed to a handful of June announcements as proof they had been ahead of the problem all along.

Really?

If those actions represented meaningful reform, why didn’t the governor hold a major press conference in June?

Why weren’t Maine families told then that significant reforms had been implemented?

Why did those announcements suddenly become so important only after Dr. Oz came to Maine and federal investigators publicly focused on this state?

The answer seems obvious.

Governor Mills didn’t suddenly discover fraud.

The federal government did.

The fraud didn’t begin when Dr. Oz arrived.

It existed while the Mills administration was responsible for overseeing the system.

The real question isn’t whether Governor Mills made a few administrative changes.

The real question is this:

Where was the urgency before Washington showed up?

For years, Governor Mills and the Democratic-controlled Legislature presided over unprecedented growth in MaineCare spending while oversight failed to keep pace. During that time, federal investigators identified approximately $46 million in unsupported MaineCare claims involving children’s autism services. Multiple providers have had MaineCare payments suspended amid fraud investigations. CMS has now publicly identified Maine as an area requiring heightened scrutiny.

Those aren’t Republican talking points.

They’re federal findings.

Instead of getting ahead of the problem, the Mills administration appears to have been reacting to it.

That’s not leadership.

That’s crisis management.

And Maine taxpayers are left paying the bill.

Every fraudulent dollar allegedly stolen from MaineCare is a dollar unavailable for a child with autism waiting for services.

It’s a dollar unavailable for a senior trying to remain safely in their home.

It’s another dollar taken from hardworking Mainers already struggling to make ends meet.

That’s why this matters.

Not because Republicans say it does.

Not because Democrats deny it.

Because real people are paying the price.

The Failure of the Press

Then there’s Maine’s legacy media.

Journalism has one job: hold those in power accountable.

Too often, Maine’s legacy media has chosen something else.

Instead of pressing Governor Mills on why meaningful reforms weren’t pursued years ago, too many reporters simply repeated the administration’s narrative.

No outlet disappointed me more than the Bangor Daily News.

The paper stated: A two-and-a-half-minute video filmed outside of the Paradise Residential Services building in Portland, shows Maine Wire reporter Jon Featherston [sic] speculating to Oz about what went wrong at the facility.

Weak. I was not "speculating." I was recapping months of on the ground reporting that the Maine Wire has done.

Facts.

What’s especially noteworthy is that Bangor Publishing Company, the parent company of the Bangor Daily News and Pulse Marketing, has received more than $2.4 million in state marketing and public affairs contracts from the Mills administration. The company has consistently maintained those contracts were for marketing services and did not influence newsroom coverage.

Readers can decide for themselves whether that financial relationship inspires confidence in the paper’s independence.

I know where I stand.

If my reporting is wrong, prove it.

If it’s right, report it.

But don’t pretend I'm not correct because the facts are inconvenient.

That’s not fearless journalism.

That’s institutional insecurity.

Another Christmas Present

Then came another remarkable development.

Former White House COVID adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci was voted in contempt by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after repeatedly invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during congressional testimony. He invoked that constitutional protection 111 times.

Regardless of political affiliation, Americans deserve answers about one of the most consequential events in modern history.

They deserve transparency about the origins of COVID-19.

They deserve transparency about taxpayer-funded research.

They deserve transparency about the decisions that shut down schools, businesses, churches, and much of everyday life.

The truth shouldn’t depend on which party holds power.

Accountability Matters

Everything that happened this week points to one larger truth.

Accountability is not optional.

It is the foundation of public trust.

Without accountability, government becomes arrogant.

Without accountability, taxpayers become little more than an endless source of revenue.

Without accountability, the vulnerable are exploited while politicians congratulate themselves for doing too little, too late.

For too long, Maine’s political establishment assumed no one was paying attention.

They assumed taxpayers would keep writing the checks.

They assumed the media would keep asking soft questions.

They assumed Washington would never notice.

This week, they discovered otherwise.

Accountability isn’t arriving because Augusta demanded it.

It’s arriving because Washington finally did.

And that’s why Christmas came early this week.

If the conversations I’ve had over the past several days are any indication, the biggest presents are still waiting under the tree.

The MaineHealth Board of Trustees voted Thursday to approve what is being referred to as a regional model for women’s health care, a change that involves the closure of the existing labor and delivery unit at the Lincoln Hospital.

As part of this decision, however, MaineHealth has committed to not shuttering any more of its labor and delivery units over the next two years.

After December 18, 2026, inpatient labor and delivery services at Lincoln will be fully transitioned to MaineHealth’s Mid Coast Hospital.

According to a press release shared by MaineHealth, the new model “preserves comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care in Damariscotta” and “expands local gynecologic services.”

“Under the new regional model,” the organization explained, “MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital and MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital will operate as one coordinated regional OB/GYN and certified nurse midwife team, giving patients access to a broader clinical team while allowing them to receive all care other than

Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain is calling on a regional land-use board to determine if it mistakenly granted University of New England a building permit.

Specifically, LaFountain has asked the Saco River Corridor Commission why it overruled a predecessor panel's ruling limiting construction near the river.

The commission two years ago gave the university permission to build a road to its planned pier despite a panel decision 25:years ago seemingly forbidding incursion into a 250-foot shoreline "buffer zone."

LaFountain wants the commission to explain how the building permit complies with the original development prohibition and whether the panel intended to grant an exception.

The city and the school are embroiled in a legal battle over the university’s claims that its research-pier plans are being unnecessarily delayed by opponents’ legal tactics.

A group comprised as Mooring Owners is adamant its members will not move their anchored boat hooks to accommodate the planned pier.

The mooring group contends the pier could easily be built in a different part of the river without obstructing their use of the waterway.

LaFountain is pinning his hopes on the commission ironing out a resolution avoiding further court proceedings.

"The city has already sought judicial review," he said in a statement. "However, we would much rather see this question resolved by this commission as the governmental body closest to the Saco River and most deeply invested in protecting public health, safety, and quality of life through responsible stewardship of its land and water."

"This statement is measured and right on the money," the mooring group said Thursday of LaFountain's approach.

The commission is set to hold a public hearing on the controversial pier project at 7:00 p.m. August 12 in the Saco Community Center.