r/biddeford

This week, Biddeford Public Market returns on Sunday at Sacred Profane and Monday is the Biddeford-Saco Memorial Day Parade!

Thursday 5/21

• Free Beer Tasting w/ Allagash - Brew England
• Performers Showcase - Flourish
• Trivia - Brickyard Hollow
• Coffee Hour - McArthur Library
• Live Music w/ Tristen & Mike - Mick's Sport Bar
• Stitch Club - Mopsey Shop
• Live Music w/ Bess Jacques - Lincoln Lobby Bar
• Better Biddeford Community Party - The Dunn Bar

Friday 5/22

• Free Beer Tasting w/ The Send - Brew England
• Dance Nite - Flourish
• Knitting Group - McArthur Library
• DJ Filthy Rich - $5 Finns
• Live Music w/ Tickle - Mick's Sport Bar
• Live Music w/ Andi Fawcett - Lincoln Lobby Bar
• Live Music w/ My Life is a Movie Hip Hop Showcase - Rumors
• Cemetery Club - City Theater

Saturday 5/23

• Beach Yoga - Ferry Beach Retreat
• Drum Circle w/ Patsy - Flourish
• Karaoke - Cowbell
• DJ Busch - $5 Finns
• Live Music w/ Shawn DuTremble - Mick's Sport Bar
• Live Music w/ Don Wessels - Lincoln Lobby Bar
• Hearts of Pine Watch Party - Sacred Profane
• Silent Book Club - Elements
• Bike n Brew w/ Allagash - Eastern Trail
• Cemetery Club - City Theater

Sunday 5/24

• Biddeford Public Market & Fundraiser - Sacred Profane
• Crystal Tree Making Workshop - Rainbow Arts Collective at North Dam Mill
• Maker Pop-Up: Ocean & Co. with Palm To Sun Permanent Jewelry - Time & Tide
• Yoga & Brunch - Banded Brewing
• Magic the Gathering - Elements
• Trivia - Champions
• Saco Farmer's Market
• Cemetery Club - City Theater

Monday 5/25

• Biddeford-Saco Memorial Day Parade - Main Street
• Mario Kart Tournament - Rift Arcade
• Cornhole Tournament - Match Point Bar
• Open Mic Night - The Dunn Bar
• Trivia - Banded Brewing
• Piping Plovers Run Club - Eastern Trail Saco

Tuesday 5/26

• Live Music w/ Mormon Mingers, Ziplock, Horrible Earth, Youth in Asia - Rumors
• Bluegrass Jam - Banded Brewing
• Trivia - Cowbell
• Karaoke - Champions
• Trivia - Match Point Bar
• Cornhole League - Mick's Sports Bar

Wednesday 5/27

• Designing for Resilience with Native Plants - McArthur Library
• Live Music w/ Ross Gregor Adam - The Dunn Bar
• Live Music w/ Yawnmower, Milk St, Gunshot Glitter - Rumors
• Bingo - Match Point Bar
• Karaoke - Champions
• Trivia - Mick's Sports Bar
• Studio Expressive Art Nite - Flourish
• Live DJ - Country Music Night - The Velvet Lounge
• SPORTACLE TRIVIA W MIKE 630-830 - Sacred Profane
• Rock Leapers Run Club - Clifford Park

Write Below Anything I Missed

The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters endorses Platner.

Platner: “Power in society comes from two places, organized money or organized people and we all know that the money is organized and it has bought our political system.”

"Graham Platner and Troy Jackson will join U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, at rallies in Portland and Orono over Memorial Day weekend.

The rallies at the University of Maine in Orono on May 24 and Brick South at Thompson’s Point in Portland on May 25 are part of the Vermont senator’s Fighting Oligarchy Tour.

The three progressives formally announced the events on Thursday.

Sanders was early to endorse Platner, an oyster farmer and the presumptive Democratic nominee in Maine’s U.S. Senate race; and Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who is vying for a gubernatorial primary win.

The Vermont independent rallied with the two candidates on Labor Day in Portland. Both Platner, 41, of Sullivan, and Jackson, 57, of Allagash, have carried a message similar to Sanders’ throughout their campaigns, positioning themselves as outsiders taking on the political establishment.

The May 24 rally at UMaine will be held at the Collins Center for the Arts, where doors will open at 4:30 p.m. and the rally is to kick off at 6 p.m. Doors will open at 4 p.m. for the Portland rally, which is set to officially begin at 7 p.m. May 25."

Jonathan Bush physically assaulted his first wife:

"After their older children left for school, Bush assaulted his first wife in a hallway while she held their 1-year-old son in her arms, according to court documents that also say she filed for divorce a few months before the November incident. Bush “screamed” into her face, calling her a “whore” and “disgusting person” while pushing her into a wall and “repeatedly slamming his closed fist into her sternum,” with his hand landing “just inches” from their baby.

In filing an emergency motion to make Bush leave their home, Selden Bush said the conditions in the home had “deteriorated dramatically” between June and November 2005, adding that the health and safety of her and the children were at risk. She also alleged Bush struck her on “numerous occasions” and once gave her a black eye, per court records.

Bush admitted to the November 2005 incident during a deposition the following year. He testified he was “unsure of where his hands had come in contact with” his first wife but said he “intended to touch her.” He also admitted on two other occasions to throwing a “small telephone” and “salt shaker” at her, putting holes in the wall."

COURT DOCUMENTED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ABUSER AND FAILED HEALTH COMPANY CEO JONATHAN BUSH WANTS TO PRIVATIZE MAINECARE AND USE AI TO DENY MAINERS MAINECARE

"On Friday, Maine Secretary of State and Democratic candidate for governor Shenna Bellows took aim at health corporation CEO and Republican candidate for governor Jonathan Bush’s support for privatizing Medicaid in Maine.

“Medicaid has made health care accessible for thousands of Mainers. Bush’s plans are a death wish for them and for rural hospitals,” Bellows said. “Jonathan Bush is showing just how out of touch he is and how he and MAGA are always going to put profit over Mainers.”

In a debate last month, Bush declared that he wanted to “get Augusta out of the Medicaid delivery business. prune it back like an invasive species, like the knotweed that it is.”

In a radio appearance on WLOB, he described Medicaid privatization as his top health care priority.

“So first thing we do is cut that back,” Bush said. “Focus the government programs on helping people get back, and then the rest goes to the free market. Then we prune, we go back and we say no more government-run Medicaid.”

Unlike most states, Maine does not contract with a private insurance company to run its Medicaid system, also known as MaineCare. Federal data shows states with privatized systems have average administrative overhead costs of 12.54%, while states with publicly-managed systems have average overhead costs of 4.9%.

In addition to increased costs going to middlemen, insurance companies running state Medicaid systems also have incentives to maximize their own profits by limiting enrollment and denying care, with several studies indicating these practices have led to significantly worse health outcomes for residents of those states.

A recent study published in the journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology found that in the four years following the de-privatization of Medicaid in Connecticut, early-stage cancer diagnoses increased by 4% compared to neighboring New Jersey, which maintained its insurance-company run Medicaid system.

In the same radio appearance, Bush also proposed using AI to deny Medicaid coverage for Mainers.

“You could have an AI agent go through everybody’s circumstances and say, these don’t meet the criteria,” Bush said.

Bush was CEO of private health company Athenahealth until he resigned in 2018 amid domestic violence and sexual harassment allegations. He now serves as CEO of Zushealth, which describes itself as a “next-generation shared health data platform.”

The two largest contributors to the PAC supporting Bush (and attacking Republican front-runner Bobby Charles) are health insurance corporation CEO Todd Park and private equity fund manager Sumir Chadha, who serves on the board of both a health insurance corporation and a "healthcare AI platform."

Bellows also criticized the other candidates in the Republican primary for their silence on the issue, which she framed as tacit agreement with Bush’s statements.

“The fact that every candidate isn’t pushing back is proof that they care more about tax breaks for billionaires than whether Mainers can get the care they need,” Bellows said."

I was in Biddeford Friday and saw an ugly scene. Those two men who stand in front of Wooven with their "86 47" and "F*** Trump" signs were doing their usual routine. A young person went by them on a scooter, and they yelled something at him. It did not appear he incited it, and he was young, 15 years old while they are 60s at least.

He circled back around and they yelled at him some more, then it appeared the tall one man grabbed him and tried to hang onto him. The kid pulled away and the old man fell over. He looked ridiculous and pathetic. Then they both were screaming at the young man.

Another young man was standing by and calmly asking the two old men to stop. He told them they were not making any good point but were only causing more chaos. They screamed at him and were right in his face.

I walked over to tell the other young man to leave, they would not listen to him or be reasonable. Then the shorter one punched his fist about an inch from my face, giving me the finger, and screaming "F*** You!" His face was completely contorted with rage.

They both seemed to be completely out of control. It was sad and gross. They slinked away soon after that, probably concerned about having laid hands on a 15-year-old boy.

If you see these two, please ask them to stop with this antisocial behavior. It makes downtown so much less pleasant, is a real annoyance to local business owners, and intimidates customers of local business.