Scarborough
Hannaford, the locally based grocery chain, established early-morning shopping times exclusively for customers over age 60 or otherwise at high risk from COVID-19. Shaw’s locations and other grocers have made similar accommodations.
South Portland
To help tenants make ends meet amid the economic disruption caused by the pandemic, Nathan Nichols, who rents out a two-unit building, posted on Facebook that he would not collect April rent. His post went viral — and prompted other landlords to suspend rent too.
Camden
Children’s-book author and illustrator Chris Van Dusen — whose If I Built a Car won an E.B. White Read-Aloud Award — started hosting daily read-alouds of his stories on Facebook Live. Librarians around the state have been doing online readings too.
Yarmouth & Bath
The Chocolate Church Arts Center, in Bath, and 317 Main Community Music Center, in Yarmouth, arranged for musicians to pick up their instruments in their living rooms and deliver streaming concerts.
Augusta
Governor Janet Mills directed the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to suspend its fishing license requirement through April 30. “The great outdoors is still open,” the governor said. “Please enjoy it safely.”
Today I directed Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to open all inland waters for fishing immediately through April 30 and to waive the requirement that anglers need a recreational fishing license to fish the inland waters of Maine. 1/
— Governor Janet Mills (@GovJanetMills) March 20, 2020
Portland
Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine has launched a series of “At Home Together” online streaming sessions, with instruction for in-home projects and outdoor exploration that keep kids busy and learning.
Statewide
To help aid offsite learning following school closures, internet providers, including Comcast, Spectrum, and LCI, started offering one to two months of free upgraded Internet service for residents with school-age kids.
Portland
Woodford Food & Beverage and Luke’s Lobster counted among local restaurants delivering food to local assisted-living and hospital staff through an initiative called Feeding the Frontline, which originated in Boston.
Waldoboro
Cheesemaker Allison Lakin compiled a list of where consumers can pick up farm products from farmers without violating social-distancing guidelines, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension turned her list into a searchable database.
South Portland
Residents of the Highland Meadows neighborhood hid stuffed bears in their windows so that kids could go on a bear-finding scavenger hunt — and they plastered the neighborhood with “happy birthday” signs for a local seven-year-old who couldn’t have a birthday party with friends.
One South Portland neighborhood organized a “bear hunt” and gave a little girl a happy birthday all to alleviate the loneliness and boredom of social distancing.https://t.co/KbaksZ8OE5 pic.twitter.com/aKFOpLWNRf
— NEWS CENTER Maine (@newscentermaine) March 24, 2020