Le Journal

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday to halt changes to a program that keeps more than a thousand Mainers in permanent housing, although the federal agency had already rescinded its plan. A coalition of states, including Maine, challenged the federal agency’s changes to the Continuums of Care program, which supports about 1,800 residents here with housing assistance. Last week, shortly before a court hearing on the policy change, HUD rescinded its application that would have effectively cut off funding for hundreds of vouchers used to house vulnerable Mainers. The restrictions would have allowed no more than 30% of funding for statewide Continuums of Care to be used for permanent supportive housing. U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy on Friday directed HUD to process applications under the terms that existed prior to its program changes, according to the Maine attorney general’s office. “With the court ordering the federal government to simply follow the law and release critical housing program grant funds as Congress directed, stability and the rule of law are being advanced over the chaos and ideological whims of this administration,” Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a statement. BDN writer Annie Rupertus contributed reporting.

More than 66,000 households across Maine were without power Friday evening, as strong winds and heavy rain swept through the state. The storm has inflicted the most damage along the coast and some inland areas, including Penobscot County. The National Weather Service issued a storm warning for Maine’s entire coast and a high wind warning from Cumberland County’s coast to Washington County and the Bangor area. In Penobscot County, 13,000 households were without power around 5 p.m. Friday, totally more than 15% of all Versant Power and Central Maine Power Company customers in the county. Nearly a third of customers in Sagadahoc County were without power Friday evening, while more than 10% of households in Knox, Lincoln and Washington counties had lost power. Winds were expected to reach maximum speeds of 55 to 60 mph in Greater Bangor, Ellsworth and Mount Desert Island and up to 50 to 55 mph from Machias to Eastport, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou. The weather service warned that standing water and slush will freeze as temperatures drop overnight.