Erica Nitschke

1 week ago | pressherald.com | Erica Nitschke

Jordon Hudson, girlfriend of former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, announced she will compete for the title of Miss Maine USA. Hudson, a 24-year-old entrepreneur from Hancock, announced Wednesday on Instagram that she will compete in the pageant as a representative of her hometown. She was the first runner up in the 2024 pageant. Hudson has been dating Belichick, now the head football coach at the University of North Carolina, for more than two years.

2 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Erica Nitschke

MADISON — By the end of 2024, finances at TimberHP were in distress. Millions over budget from initial construction, the wood fiber insulation manufacturer that revitalized Madison’s former paper mill had raised only about half of the $60 million in equity it was seeking in 2023 and 2024 to complete its facility and launch its third product, the company wrote in court filings. The company currently produces TimberBatt and TimberFill, two wood fiber insulation products.

2 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Erica Nitschke

GARDINER — On rainy days, the internet connection in Patricia Hart’s downtown consulting office often stopped working. Buffering, freezing, the lot. The connection sometimes didn’t even work if it was humid outside, even though Hart’s office is smack in the middle of one of central Maine’s densest service centers. Hart has owned a consulting firm in downtown Gardiner since 1998 and has been mayor since 2019.

2 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Erica Nitschke

LISBON — When Little Ridge Farm started supplying local schools with fresh vegetables, owner Keena Tracy thought it was the beginning of a good thing for both her business and the schools themselves. The Lisbon Falls farm, which already supplied some food to schools in Lewiston, Falmouth and Georgetown, was able to build a strong relationship during the pandemic with Lisbon schools through the federal Local Foods for Schools program, which provides funding to districts to buy local produce.

2 weeks ago | pressherald.com | Erica Nitschke

A pair of Catholic church cemeteries in South Portland and Yarmouth could be the first in Maine to produce solar energy for faith-based organizations, several years after other churches discussed the idea, only to abandon it as unworkable. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has signed lease option agreements with New Leaf Energy Inc.