Good morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday week last week! The snow sure made everything magical. We have a lot of events coming up next month, rest up and get ready!
Following this newsletter is Emanuel’s Daily Action Email from Augusta; the daily action along with a link to his great list of important actions and information. Today’s action (12/29) is asking us to contact our House Representatives to have them demand the release of ALL the Epstein Files.
Also, an action from Hancock County Democrats: Action 188–Stop the dog waggin! (12/19), that discusses President Trump starting a war with Venezuela to distract from his disastrous administrative blunders, revenge efforts, failing health, and downright grift. More HCD actions here.
Also, check out the latest from the Bold Coast Civic Alliance (12/22) with information about supporting the right of troops to disobey orderand other important topics, including Maine-specific issues. More BCCA actions here.
A lot of research goes into these additional actions, so be sure to read them!
And THANK YOU to supporters who have been donating to our ActBlue fund! Planning events and maintaining the website and email list take money, so these donations are appreciated!
Current News:
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Weekly vigils are happening here in the Bangor area!
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Tomorrow
Tuesdays
Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor – 11:00 am
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Wednesday
Weekly Orono Vigil in the town center,
noon to 1:00 pm.
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Fridays
Bangor Visibility Brigade
The week finishes with two highway overpass actions! There is the Visibility Brigade on the Essex Street I-95 overpass at the new time of 3:00 p.m. Learn more here. Tell them you read about it here!
Please note, there will be no Visibility Brigade this Friday, 1/2.
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Upcoming Events:
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Get Graham on the Ballot in Bangor Week of Action
Thursday 1/1/26-
Sunday 1/4/26
Join the campaign in collecting signatures to get Graham on the ballot!
Once signed up, our team will reach out and invite you to your closest canvassing team where you’ll be trained and given materials to take action.
Thursday, January 1, 2026 – Sunday, January 4, 2026
Multiple times available!
Click here for more information and registration!
Help get Matt Dunlap on the ballot!
Help the campaign get Matt Dunlap on the ballot! Sign up to volunteer to collect petition signatures for our run for Congress. We’ll provide all the materials and guidance you need — just bring your energy and commitment to helping working families.
Join a Community Conversation with Maine Legislators
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Join Eastern Area Agency on Aging for Supporting Older Mainers: A Legislative Conversation, an engaging and interactive event designed for agency participants, older adults, caregivers, volunteers, staff, and local legislators. This community-centered conversation provides legislators an opportunity to hear directly from those with lived experience and from the staff and volunteers who support them, and to learn more about the needs of older Mainers and caregivers in our region. Legislators will share their priorities and connect one-on-one with constituents in a respectful, focused setting centered on aging-related issues.
The event will feature informal networking, guided tours of the Durgin Center, interactive program demonstrations, remarks from legislators and AARP Maine, and time to enjoy a complimentary lunch together while continuing the conversation.
Event Details
📅 Saturday, January 17
⏰ 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
📍 EAAA’s Durgin Center, 274 State Street, Brewer
Registration is required (Registration Closes on Jan. 9)
Please reserve your spot by visiting: EAAA.org/legislativeconversation
Faith Linking in Action’s
2026 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Faith Linking in Action will host a Martin Luther King Day gathering featuring singer/educator Reggie Harris and artist Bob Shetterly on Sunday afternoon, January 18.
Join them at the First United Methodist Church in Bangor at 3:00 p.m. Contact Faith Linking in Action for more information!
2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast
Monday, January 19, 2026
The Greater Bangor Area Branch NAACP is hosting our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at a new location, Jeff’s Catering & Event Center in Brewer, ME on 01/19/2026.
This year’s keynote speaker is Darmita Wilson, Northern Light Health Vice President of Medical Education and Research.
Join us for good food and inspiring speeches. Individual, business, and organizational sponsorships gratefully accepted!
Please visit https://www.bangornaacp.org/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-breakfast for more information and tickets! Thank you!
Jordan Wood in Orono! Town Hall at the Orono Public Library!
Thursday, January 29, 2026
About this event
Orono! Democratic House Candidate Jordan Wood is coming to meet you. We’ll be at the Orono Public Library. Come out to meet Jordan, learn why he’s the strongest candidate to defeat Paul LePage, and hear about what his plans as your next Congressman: sweeping campaign finance reform, passing the Ultra-Millionaire Wealth Tax, enacting universal childcare and addressing the affordability crisis head on.
Bring your friends and family!
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026
Event begins: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm;
Doors Open: 5:15 pm
Location: Orono Public Library
39 Pine St Orono, ME 04473
Here We Go Map
Other News:
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Plug-In Solar Bill Hearing Set for January 6, 2026
A message from the The Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network (MUUSAN):
A plug-in solar bill has been accepted for a hearing this session. That’s the good news. The not so good news is that the hearing is set for January 6th! And the bill hasn’t actually been written yet, so we’ll go with the information we have to write and submit testimonies. They are looking for written testimonies only. As always, if one of your legislators is on the EUT Committee, please write to them as well.
LD 1730 An Act to Make Small, Portable, Plug-in Solar Generation Devices
Accessible for All Maine Residents to Address the Energy Affordability Crisis
Summary: This bill creates a new category for small plug-in solar generation devices less than or equal to 1,200 watts, eliminates interconnection requirements for these devices, and establishes basic safety requirements. This measure will help bring renewable energy accessibility and affordability to Mainers.
Sponsors: Senator Nicole Grohoski
Committee: Energy, Utilities & Technology
Public Hearing: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 1:00pm, Cross Building Rm. 212
Call to Action: Written testimony is for January 6th hearing
UU Connection:
Justice, Equity, Interdependence (web of life)
This reform makes clean energy ownership accessible to renters, low income households, and families whose homes aren’t suitable for traditional solar, helping them lower electricity bills at a time of steep utility price increases. By enacting LD 1730, Maine has a chance to lead in energy equity and resilience without subsidies, without fiscal impact, and with enormous public benefit. Increased use of solar power reduces the destruction of the web of life by human overuse of fossil fuels.
Here is a list of talking points and more info.
Thanks for taking a minute out of this busy season to support this bill.
Happy Holidays,
The Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policies and Academic Freedom
Fellow IB member and member of the American Association of University Professors, Elliot Benjamin, is forming a network with like-minded individuals at other US colleges and universities to organize and gather support for maintaining this kind of academic freedom.
Please read his latest blog post, “Join Me in Supporting DEI Policies and Academic Freedom” in the Academe magazine blog for more information. Thank you!
Cancel Spotify Until They Stop Collaborating with ICE
From Indivisible Project:
Today, social media feeds are full of people sharing their Spotify Wrapped results, while Spotify is full of … ICE recruitment ads.
Here are a few things you can do right now:
- If you’re still paying for Spotify premium, cancel your subscription. We’ve got instructions (and some suggestions on alternatives) here.
- (I have found a fun streaming site alternative, Soma.FM, based in San Francisco. They are listener supported and feature an eclectic selection of channels, including holiday, soul, and groovy pop! And another fun and quirky alternative, also based in California, is Luxuriamusic.com. Any other suggestions, just let me know! -George).
- Don’t use Spotify’s free version either. You don’t need to delete your account. Just close out your apps and don’t open them again until Spotify stops forcing ICE ads into people’s feeds.
- Instead of sharing your Spotify Wrapped this year, share our Wrapped-themed posts calling on others to cancel Spotify. As long as Spotify is willing to take money from ICE, they don’t need (and don’t deserve) free advertising on our social feeds. And there’s no reason you can’t post your own list of top songs/artists on social — maybe alongside a message about why you chose not to stream them on Spotify.
- Use this social media moment to have GENTLE, NON-SHAMING conversations with friends about the Spotify boycott. Seriously, no one is going to respond well to judgy DMs when they’re just trying to post something fun about the music they like. So approach with kindness, maybe compliment their music tastes, and then talk about why you’ve decided to stream from other platforms for the time being (one point you can make: Those platforms probably treat their favorite artists much, much better than Spotify does).
- Help us track the growth of this economic campaign by taking our one-question survey.
Join Indivisible Bangor!
Do you want to become more involved? Would you like to help with the website and communications? How about helping to organize events, such as rallies and visibilty actions or be a peacekeeper? Or do you just want to keep up with what we’re doing? Sign up to volunteer with Indivisible Bangor! Your level of involvement is up to you!
Weekly member meetings are on Zoom with in-person meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. Please click the link below to sign up and we’ll help you with the process of becoming a member of Indivisible Bangor!
New members, and current members, too, are invited to join one of our monthly Zoom informational meetings, which will resume after the holidays!
Donate to a Food Bank or Pantry
The shutdown is over, but the need is not. There are still cuts to programs that help people with food and other needs.
Please DONATE to a local food pantry- food, personal items, and even cash. Faith Linking in Action maintains a database of all food pantries and free meals– organized by both location and day of the week– in the Bangor area. Check it out here.
Also, ActivateMaine has created a site, SNAP Into Action: “a statewide effort to help those who are affected by the freezing of benefits due to the Government shut down.” If you know of any food drives that are happening, please visit this site to add it to the database!
The Maine ICE Watch Hotline
The purpose of the hotline is to protect immigrant families by providing accurate, real-time information about ICE and Border Patrol activity and connect Maine families to resources and support services during a time of heightened enforcement and targeting of immigrants and refugees.
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition ICE Watch Resource Hub.
Read more about it here in this Newscenter Maine article.
| Other Ways to Take Action (Courtesy of Indivisible Cumberland County: Maine’s ICE Watch Hotline Training: Get trained to field, verify, and document potential community ICE sightings and provide trusted, reliable information on ICE activity to immigrant communities. Action Alert on LD 1917: Contact Governor Mills and tell her to sign into law this bill to protect Maine’s immigrant communities, workforce, public safety, and future! Donate to the Maine Solidarity Fund: Fund pools resources from across communities into a shared fund we can draw from immediately when urgent needs arise. NO I.C.E. for Maine: Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. |
Make Some Calls!
It’s mentioned a few times in these newsletters about calling your representatives in Washington, D.C. It’s one of the most important things we can do and it’s so easy!
Write Some Emails!
If you are more comfortable with sending emails to our Maine congressional delegation in Washington, click the links/buttons. This is a good option if you have lengthy comments or questions.
We are on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Facebook!
Follow us! Invite your friends! Comment! You’ll be glad you did!
We have an easy way to donate to Indivisible Bangor. Drop off your returnable bottles and cans to Ohio Street Redemption in Bangor and tell them to put it on the account of Indivisible Bangor. They’ll add the money to our kitty, mail out a regular check, and the money goes to our bank account to help with our expenses! You can find them here!
****Be sure the attendant writes down “Indivisible Bangor” because several donations have not been credited. Thank you!****
And you can donate here, too! Donations help pay for supplies, website, outreach, and to fund the many upcoming actions in Maine.
Thank you for all you do! – George and Indivisible Bangor
Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action:
Action Monday December 29th: Call Pingree or Golden to Demand the Release of All the Epstein Files
Good Morning Folks, we are headed towards New Years. The US House goes into session Tuesday, January 6th, and the Senate Monday January 5th. To keep up with their calendars go here for links to both houses. The Maine State Legislature begins action next week. Go here for a day by day rundown of committee meetings etc. You can bookmark these links in your browser to make it easy to refer to them, and I will include them as well below in the contact section of this email. Let’s end 2025 with action, and set the stage for a resistance-full, amazingly successful 2026!
Top Action to Take Today:
So many items to choose from. Probably the most damaging issue for this Presidency is forcing the release of the Epstein Files. Despite the fact that the House and the Senate passed legislation requiring the release of ALL the Epstein Files by January 19th, the Department of Justice has not done so, releasing only some of the files many of which have been heavily redacted. Call or email Pingree or Golden and ask them to support the inherent contempt charges against Attorney General Pam Bondi which House Members Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) are threatening to draft. If passed, inherent contempt charges would allow the House to bypass the courts and force Bondi to either release the files or face personal consequences such as imprisonment. (Go to 5calls.org for more on this action)
For “More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth” from Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action (12/22), click here.
With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!
As always, throw a little sand in their gears!
~~Emanuel
It’s a piece of cake to email or call with these links!
The names of our senators and representatives listed below are links that go right to their official congressional contact form pages. The telephone numbers are links that should open your phone app to call that number. It’s that easy!
Senator Angus King
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292
Senator Susan Collins
DC: (202) 224-2523
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019
Waterville: (207) 873-5713
Congressman Jared Golden
DC: (202) 225-6306
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767
Find your State Representative:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Find your State Senator:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Our government in Augusta:
Governor Janet Mills
Email Governor Mills
Call (207) 287-3531
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows
Contact Secretary Bellows
Call (207)626-8400
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey
Contact Mr. Frey
Call (207) 626-8800
Questions or comments? Contact George!
