Le Journal

Réunis lundi 19 janvier sous la présidence conjointe des ministres en charge de la Transition écologique et des Sports, les membres du Comité stratégique de la « Feuille de route environnement » pour les Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques d’hiver 2030 ont approuvé l’ossature d’un plan destiné à encadrer les enjeux environnementaux de l’organisation de l’événement dans les […]

Donald Trump menace d’imposer une taxe de 200 % sur les vins français. En cause : le refus d’Emmanuel Macron de rejoindre son projet de « Conseil de paix ».

The University of Maine will receive $45 million in congressionally directed spending for a health and life sciences complex to be built on the Orono campus, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Tuesday. This is the largest federal award for a single project in Maine’s history and will better position UMaine to build a public medical school in the future, the release, shared exclusively with the Bangor Daily News, said. “The new health and life sciences complex will expand educational opportunities, research capacity, and workforce training while better positioning the University on a path toward one day establishing the first public medical school in Maine,” Collins said. This funding comes two weeks after the University of Maine System released a study that said building a public medical school in Penobscot County is not financially feasible because it would cost at least $210.5 million. The study recommended actions UMaine could take to prepare for a medical school and close the physician gap Maine is facing, which included constructing a health and science complex in Orono. The health and life science complex was something UMaine President and Vice Chancellor Joan Ferrini-Mundy said the university was looking into following the study’s release. It’s not immediately clear when the complex will be constructed or what programs it will house. The complex will be important to health care across the state, not just in Orono, and will prepare students for the “evolving world of modern life science, health care and innovation,” Ferrini-Mundy said. “[Collins’] support for the planned UMaine Health and Life Science Complex will lead to transformation for our flagship university and the health and well-being of the people of Maine and beyond,” Ferrini-Mundy said.

LEWISTON, Maine — A downtown Lewiston shop has closed early every day since the city’s mayor released a statement last week saying he expected heavy immigration enforcement. Sunday was “eerily quiet” in the immigrant-dominated downtown of Maine’s second-largest city, and sales have been down by 30% compared with this time last year, said the business owner, who spoke on the condition that they and their business not be named. It was another sign that the city’s immigrant community, including hundreds of Somalis, was reacting strongly to the plans. The largest immigration enforcement and removal operation in Maine during President Donald Trump’s second term is expected to be centered on Lewiston and Portland, a law enforcement source told the Bangor Daily News last week. Some people have reportedly left the city. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit overseeing Maine placed rush orders for cold weather gear, mirroring similar moves ahead of crackdowns in Minnesota. Maine’s U.S. attorney issued a Monday statement warning against protests that endanger or impede law enforcement. Maine’s Somali community is centered in Lewiston and Portland since the early 2000s and has grown in power in recent years. Most Somalis were born in the U.S. or have become citizens. But President Donald Trump’s administration has launched an investigation into refugee cases in Minnesota that has led to several arrests in the Somali community there. Cars drive through downtown Lewiston, Monday. Credit: Sawyer Loftus / BDN Few people walked downtown on Monday, which was a federal holiday and a day after a snowstorm. There were signs throughout town that warned that ICE is coming and gave a hotline to call to report activity. One sign on an African food market provided tips for what to do if someone worries they are at risk for immigration enforcement. It said to have a plan in case the person is detained, as well as warned people to not apply for immigration status change or a green card renewal. An employee in the store declined to do an interview. There is fear in the community, a Baraka Store employee who identified herself as Alice said. The store, which sells food and clothing, has been quiet. An employee at another store said the streets are quieter than normal, while a third said that he has noticed what seems to be fewer people coming and going from the mosque on Lisbon Street. “Fear is definitely palpable on the street right now and I understand that,” Mayor Carl Sheline said Monday. “What we need to do now is to find ways to support each other, and that work is ongoing and happening in a variety of ways. Lewiston is a community that cares about each other and we will stand strong together.” There were “No ICE for Maine” signs scattered around the city on Monday. Another sign told people to stay non-violent but not to stay silent. The statement from U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson, who was appointed by Trump, looked ahead to protests in the coming days to say assembly is protected but violence or impeding law enforcement is not. Shivam Kumar, a commercial real estate agent based in Lewiston, stands on Lisbon Street for a portrait, Monday. Credit: Sawyer Loftus / BDN Parking spots in downtown have been empty on Lisbon Street in downtown, a very rare sight, said real estate agent Shivam Kumar, who was showing a commercial property near the intersection with Main Street. He said he hopes the community comes together and helps rally behind a downtown that has seen high business turnover. “Lisbon Street’s still here,” the first business owner said. “It’s still open for business.”

La sixième édition du festival étudiant Courts d’écoles se tient jusqu’à ce mardi soir, au Lycée de l’image et du son. À l’organisation : 18 élèves de six écoles d’Angoulême.