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~Letter to the Buzz~ June 11, 2026 By Mike Burman, Saco Resident and Former City Councilor Ward 4 I’ve been following the TA-Saco situation carefully, including the meeting on Wednesday June 10th. To be honest, I found the whole thing embarrassing. For context, I have served two terms as City Councilor for Ward 4, served on the Saco School District strategic planning committee, served as founding member of the Saco Education Foundation (originally Saco STEAM), am a Profess

June 10, 2026, According to preliminary results reported by City of Saco officials, the school budget put before Saco voters on yesterday's ballot, passed by a wide margin with a tally of 3700 votes – 1046 votes. The full list of preliminary results from city officials from yesterday's election can be viewed here: https://www.sacomaine.org/departments/city_clerk/election_results.php ---Biddeford's trusted news source; SHORT ● SIMPLE ● TO THE POINT 🗣 Local news For YOU, By YO

By Danica Lamontagne, City of Biddeford Communications, Contributing Writer June 3, 2026, Mayor Liam LaFountain today announced his nomination of Cornell Knight to serve as Interim City Manager for the City of Biddeford. The nomination will be presented to the Biddeford City Council for consideration at its meeting on Tuesday, June 16th. If confirmed, Knight would begin serving as Interim City Manager on June 17th. Knight brings more than four decades of Maine municipal manag

May 29, 2026, Today, exactly two months from the day he hosted a townhall event at the JR Martin Community Center in Biddeford, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nirav Shah, released his list of executive orders that if elected, he "will sign on day one as governor". Some readers may recall a similar piece we published back on February 20, 2026 sharing Shah's plan to "Safeguard Maine From Trump". When announcing the list of orders Shah stated, "Mainers are looking for le

~Featured Monthly Column~ By Senator Henry Ingwersen, District 32 May 28, 2026, Now that the Legislature has adjourned for the year, I am taking some time to think about our work to lower everyday costs for Maine families and support our state’s hardest workers. Several bills that I sponsored were signed into law, tackling issues ranging from rising childcare and food costs to the health of Maine workers. One of my top priorities was helping families access quality, affordabl

May 27, 2026, Earlier today, At-large City Councilor Marc Lessard officially submitted his paperwork to the Maine Secretary of State's office to be on the ballot for the upcoming election(s) to represent District 133. We first reported on Lessard’s interest in running for this seat back on February 13, 2026. Currently district 133 is represented by Democrat Marc Malon of Biddeford Maine. Malon has held this position for two consecutive terms and is currently seeking a 3rd ter

WILL YOU BE VOTING FOR HANNAH PINGREE? "We have to work together, even with folks that don't agree with us". - Hannah Pingree May 20, 2026, Earlier today, Hannah Pingree for Governor held a public town hall event at The Gutter in Downtown Biddeford (129 Main Street). The event had roughly 55+ individuals in attendance and began at approximately 5:30PM and ran for roughly 2 hours. "I've spent my whole career standing up on tough issues, and I know it's a really important time

By Danica Lamontagne, City of Biddeford Communications, Contributing Writer May 20, 2026, At the June 9, 2026 Election, voters who are registered to the Democratic Party or Republican Party will participate in their party's Primary Election for U.S. Senator, Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator, State Representative, County Treasurer, Register of Deeds, Sheriff, District Attorney, and County Commissioner. If you are a registered voter but are unenrolled, you ca

By: Jason Litalien, Contributing Writer, Independent Candidate Maine Senate 32 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a program from the State that allows us to retain additional tax money received from that district without having to share it with the County or the State. When structured properly, TIFs can be a great tool for redevelopment. Unfortunately, that is where part of the problem begins. Another part of the problem is the Credit Enhancement Agreement, which is a public su

“I want to take a moment to thank Truc for her service to the city over these last nine months…. Looking ahead, the city will be engaging an interim city manager and a process from outside the organization... I know, this process will raise a lot of questions, and I want you to know that the council and I are committed and focused on serving the residents of Biddeford and keeping all of you involved. ” - Mayor Liam LaFountain, Biddeford April 28, 2026, This evening, Mayor LaF

April 27, 2026, the following letter was sent this evening to Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain from University of New England President Dr. James Herbert. In the letter, Dr. Herbert writes to the Mayor to discuss "current inability of the City leadership and the University to work together constructively." Later in the letter, Herbert reminds LaFountain, "As you know, you are in receipt of correspondence from UNE on April 15 requesting that you agree to an independent mediator

"Stepping away is a matter of professional integrity and self-respect... It is difficult for me to acknowledge, but I will be candid and say that had the full extent of these conditions---and the limitations imposed on this role-been apparent when I applied, I would not have pursued the position." April 27, 2026, Earlier today we shared the news that recently hired Biddeford City Manager Truc Dever has submitted her resignation to Mayor LaFountain and City Councilors effectiv

By Danica Lamontagne, Contributing Writer April 27, 2026, Truc Dever, hired last summer to replace former city manager Jim Bennett, submitted her letter of resignation to the Biddeford City Council and Mayor Liam LaFountain Sunday evening. During her time in Biddeford, Dever led the City through a difficult and demanding FY27 budget season and supported ongoing municipal operations. In her letter of resignation, the outgoing city manager acknowledged "the scope and complexity

April 15, 2026, As budget discussions continue in the City of Biddeford, residents continue to voice their concerns to city leaders both in-person and by email. With that being said, former Biddeford City Councilor Bobby Mills asked us to share a letter that he sent to the City Council pertaining to the "social service budget" and funding essential services. Mills letter reads: "Let’s talk about the social service budget. I am not discounting any organization or member at all

April 8, 2026, Earlier today we shared comments made by Ward 7 Councilor Brad Cote pertaining to rising taxes and resident's participating in city council meetings. Brad Cote Since sharing Councilor Cote's earlier comments, he has publicly issued the following apology: "I would like to apologize for my earlier comment regarding getting people to attend meetings and get involved. I was frustrated that I spend a bunch of time working on different City issues and what I read onl

Contributed Story, Kenneth Blow Campaign April 7, 2026, Kenneth Blow, a 63-year-old Independent and longtime Old Orchard Beach town councilor, has announced his candidacy for State Representative in District 131. Running as an unenrolled candidate, Blow plans to fund a traditional campaign without accepting outside donations. Kenneth Blow “I don’t believe we need to be taking sides and pointing fingers at each other,” Blow said. “That’s what’s happening now in Augusta, and it

"An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protections by Prohibiting Liens on Principal Residences and Wage Garnishments for Medical Debt, was sponsored by Sen. Donna Bailey of Saco, a cancer survivor who has championed Legislative efforts to safeguard Maine people from harmful impacts of medical debt." April 6, 2026, According to a press release sent directly to the Biddeford Buzz earlier today, Governor Janet Mills announced the signing of "LD 2129, legislation to protect Maine people

By Brian Lee, Contributed Story April 3, 2026, Today, Gov. Janet Mills signed into law a measure sponsored by Rep. Marc Malon, D-Biddeford, that will help safeguard Mainers from gambling addiction by prohibiting the use of credit cards in online wagers. As amended, LD 2080 will prevent gambling operators or management services with licenses in the state from accepting credit cards to fund both sports wagering and Internet gaming (iGaming). The latter has been operational in

“If approved, residents would still have to purchase the orange overflow bags, would be limited to placing only 2 bags per weekly trash pick-up, and would need to balance their overflow trash bags on top of their green trash containers.” March 20, 2026, Residents may soon experience a big change in how weekly trash pick-up occurs. At this week's city council meeting, Public Works Director Jeff Demers addressed city councilors requesting clarification regarding a current city

BIDDEFORD | Somebody Messed Up | 60k and a Story with Two Titles TITLE 1: CITY MESSES UP BIG TITLE 2: ICE ARENA MESSES UP BIG March 18, 2026, Bare with us… we feel the easiest way to accurately paint this picture, is to present it in 4 short, but pointed “parts”. Let’s begin. Part 1: The Whistleblower During this past Tuesday’s Finance Committee Meeting, Biddeford’s Finance Director Gerry Matherne, informed committee members that the City has not received payments from the Bi