Lewiston, Auburn starting to feel sting of government shutdown

LEWISTON — Three weeks into the U.S. government shutdown, city officials say they are largely handling its impact for now, but are concerned over more demands on General Assistance should the shutdown drag on. 

City Administrator Ed Barrett said Monday that the longest government shutdown in history has so far "not had a major effect on the city's operations or finances," but that could change, especially for the General Assistance department. 

Maine's second-largest city has a large number of low-income residents, as well as asylum-seekers who often depend on General Assistance until they are legally allowed to work. 

Many asylum-seekers living in Lewiston have had immigration hearings postponed during the shutdown, and employment authorization cards are not being issued. 

"If the shutdown continues for a long time, the impacts may be magnified as government reimbursements to the city are delayed and greater demands are placed on our General Assistance program, should other federal benefits be delayed," he said Monday.

Barrett's comments came as Gov. Janet Mills' office said the state plans to disburse February food stamp benefits early on Jan. 17 to help mitigate "potentially severe impacts" to the program effecting 180,000 people caused by the government shutdown.

Barrett said that if the shutdown continues past next week, it will likely impact February's funding. At that point, he said, "we anticipate that we may see more requests for General Assistance for food assistance." 

At the same time, Barrett said, many asylum-seekers in Lewiston have had immigration hearings delayed as the Immigration Court in Boston is also closed.

The Boston court is where asylum decisions are made for the New England region. 

"This means that any applicant scheduled for their asylum hearing during the shutdown cannot be processed," Barrett said. "They are, however, still in the legal process of seeking asylum since the shutdown is no fault of their own. As a result, they will remain eligible for assistance." 

Barrett said since employment authorization cards are not being issued, it "may result in additional and longer needs for assistance." 

Lewiston has budgeted $939,055 for General Assistance benefits this year, 70 percent of which is reimbursed by the state. The city's $1.2 million General Assistance budget is 2.7 percent of the municipal budget. 

The prolonged shutdown is also effecting Lewiston in other ways.

Barrett said two projects in the early stages of development are delayed, including a new Portland Pie location at a former Lewiston fire substation at 188 Lincoln St. 

Its owners are planning to redevelop the former fire station into a Portland Pie franchise, but are waiting for approval of historic tax credits issued by the National Park Service, which is closed. 

An environmental review underway for a project at 223 Lisbon St. could also be delayed, Barrett said, because the Department of Housing and Urban Development is on furlough.

Funding for two of the city's largest community development initiatives — the Lewiston-Auburn Lead Program and the Community Development Block Grant — may also feel the pinch. 

"At the moment, we are continuing to receive reimbursements from HUD for both our lead program and CDBG projects, but should the shutdown continue, this may become a problem in the future," Barrett said. 

According to Wendy MacDougall, director of Social Services, the shutdown of the federal Social Security Office is another issue.

"Gaining needed documents for proof of income and requests for burial compensations for families that receive (Social Security) are on hold until the shutdown stops," she said in an email.

In Auburn, City Manager Peter Crichton said Monday that he wasn't immediately aware of city departments or projects that are feeling the impact. 

He said city officials will be "watching HUD funding closely," but added, "at this point in time, I think we're going to be able to work around it." 

Eric Cousens, the deputy director of economic and community development, said, "We are still working on the projects that were in the queue but may need to wait a little longer for (government) reimbursement."

Auburn also has a significant number of residents dependent on General Assistance and Maine's food stamp program. 

[email protected] 

Kara Wilbur stands in front of the former Lewiston Fire Department substation on Lincoln Street in February 2018. She and business partner Paul Peck hope to renovate it for a Portland Pie restaurant but the project is waiting for approval of a historic tax credit. The credits are issued by the National Park Service, which is closed during the prolonged government shutdown. (Sun Journal file photo)

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Red Sox Journal: Eduardo Rodriguez to start Saturday against White Sox

BOSTON — The Red Sox pitching rotation will have a new look this weekend in Chicago.

Eduardo Rodriguez (right ankle sprain) is scheduled to come off the disabled list and start Saturday's game against the White Sox. The left-hander is the first of several reinforcements who are likely to arrive after rosters expand to 40 players on Sept. 1.

Rodriguez made his second rehab start Monday at Double-A Portland, throwing 76 pitches. He has struck out 14, walked four and allowed three hits in two outings with the Sea Dogs and is on track to make his first big league appearance since mid-July.

"He was OK yesterday," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "He only went four [innings]. I watched the game — there were some good at-bats against him, but I think where he's at physically and with the repetitions we're comfortable with him."

Hector Velazquez will shift to the bullpen, and he was available in relief on Tuesday. That gives Boston a second stretched out option along with Drew Pomeranz. Chris Sale (left shoulder inflammation) was scheduled to play catch on flat ground for the second straight day on Tuesday, and he would fill the starting spot currently held by Brian Johnson.

"Like I said before, there's no day that we're shooting for," Cora said. "When he's ready to pitch, he'll pitch. Yesterday was a good start. Today he'll go out again and do it, and we'll see what he's going to do tomorrow."

Cora said he was confident Sale will return at some point in September. Rodriguez had a 19-inning scoreless string at the time of his injury and Sale had allowed just one earned run in seven starts from June 24 to Aug. 12 for a microscopic 0.20 earned-run average over 44 innings.

"Getting Hector back in the bullpen, having Drew in the bullpen — it's going to help us as far as how to manage the game if something happens early in the game," Cora said. "We've been comfortable with that the whole season. We've been short, I think, the last two weeks since Chris went on the DL."

Pedro helping out

Arguably the greatest Red Sox pitcher in at least two generations was on the field early Tuesday afternoon.

Pedro Martinez was an interested observer while Rodriguez threw on flat ground and Nathan Eovaldi tossed his normal side session. Martinez spent time with Eovaldi, discussing the right-hander's shoulder plane, hip rotation and landing point during his delivery. Eovaldi was brilliant in his first two starts with Boston but has allowed 35 hits in 17 innings in his last four starts.

"[Martinez] called me a few days ago and said he noticed something on Nate and he wanted to help out," Cora said. "He did it in spring training with all the guys."

Cora said former teammates David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Tim Wakefield are also among those who have been in regular contact throughout his debut season as manager. Jason Varitek is on the Red Sox staff as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

"They know what's going on and how special this group is," Cora said. "Whatever they can do from afar to help this team out or to show up here and help this team out, it's great."

Vazquez close to returning

Rodriguez threw to Christian Vazquez (fractured right pinkie) on Monday, and the catcher was back behind the plate for Steven Wright (left knee inflammation) at Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday.

Vazquez will serve as the designated hitter for the PawSox on Wednesday, catch again on Thursday and could rejoin Boston this weekend in Chicago. How Vazquez will be used remains to be seen, with Sandy Leon emerging as the favorite receiver for David Price and Rick Porcello, and Blake Swihart solidifying himself as the second option following Vazquez's injury in late July.

"We'll play it day by day, honestly, when he comes back," Cora said. "And I'll sit down with the three of them.

"They understand it's a little bit different than early in the season. Blake is not only swinging the bat well, but he's playing good defense. When the time comes we'll sit down, we'll talk to them and we'll go from there."

— bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25

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Journaling Helped Me Rebuild My Life—Here’s How to Start a Practice That Can Help You

Two years ago, I experienced a life-shaking panic attack on an airplane that forced me to embark on a long journey, both figuratively and literally. I was a wellness influencer who felt like I was living a double life, and it all caught up with me on that trip. While the literal journey forced me to skip my next flight and drive 46 hours home, the more important journey, for me, was the figurative one I've been on since then—one that started from an incredibly broken place of anxiety, stress, and tears.

During and after that episode, I felt vulnerable. My world was shaken. I felt like someone could have put their hand on my head and it would have crumbled to dust. I would carry out the same everyday tasks as I usually did, yet I felt very afraid. I was afraid of being thrown into another panic spiral. I was afraid of how my mind could make me feel.

It took me awhile, but I soon recognized that I was in a place where I had two choices. I could stay where I was, afraid, fragile, and unhappy, or I could find a way to feel whole again.

As I'm sure you can already guess, I decided to put the pieces back together and find a way to work through what I was facing. I had been going to a therapist for years, which has helped me, but I also turned to another method in my moment of need: journaling.

While I had irregularly kept a journal as a teenager, using a journal to help my emotional and mental state was new to me. In fact, it took a few desperate "how can I put myself back together" Google searches to show me that journaling therapy offers plenty of people numerous benefits, like improving clarity, regulating emotions, working through conflicts, and improving your overall quality of life. Notably, studies have consistently shown that journal therapy, also known as expressive writing, may improve aspects of your physical and mental health. (There are, however, possible drawbacks to a regular journaling practice—one study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, for example, found that people who focused on emotions and reliving upsetting events during their journaling sessions, rather than processing the meaning of those events, reported worse outcomes than other groups in the study. So know that if you try journaling and you don't feel like it's he lping you, it's okay to stop. There are plenty of other ways to improve your mental health.)

When I started my journaling practice, I spent a lot of time convincing myself I was okay. My journal acted as a place where I could repeatedly remind myself that I was, in fact, safe, regardless of what my mind was suggesting. My practice naturally evolved over time and turned into a tool where I was better able to dive deeply into what was going on in my mind. Over time, I allowed my journal to be a tool for me to go into the darker parts of my mind.

As time has gone on and I've kept it up, journaling has allowed me to no longer feel afraid to be with myself. I can close my eyes without the fear of the thoughts waiting under the surface.

Whenever I talk about journaling, people ask me how they can incorporate it into their daily lives. While it requires some effort, this is a beautiful practice that doesn't require a lot of work to stick with it. Here are a few methods I've found that have helped me keep a consistent and healthy journaling practice.

Paige Hart1. Make a regular habit out of it.

You can really feel the benefits of journaling when you create a regular habit. My personal practice involves journaling every morning and evening. After getting up, showering, and getting ready for the day (without looking at my phone), I turn to my journal. I find that by starting my day this way, I'm able to go forward from a connected place. I'm able to check in with my values and make decisions that reflect them throughout my day accordingly.

I always end my days with journaling too. It offers up an opportunity to check in and reflect on how I showed up throughout my day. Did I live in the way that I wanted to show up in the world? Did I contribute to the world in the way I wanted to contribute? By journaling each night, I'm able to add a dose of reflection and even gratitude.

Your journaling routine may look different than mine—you may want to journal just a few minutes every morning, or set aside one big journal session every few days, but the point is to make it a regular part of your life. Creating a routine with your journal will set you up for success and will serve as regular checkpoints for you each and every day.

2. Keep your journal close by.

While my regular practice involves journaling day and night, I also turn to my journal throughout the day. For this reason, I find it best to keep it close by. I'll keep mine in the bag I take to work, and while I'm at home, I'll leave it in the room I journal in. I have one separate notebook for journaling and one notebook for work-related things, which allows me to keep all my thoughts in one place, so this makes it easier to look back on my own progression.

I find that by having my journal near me and leaving it in the places I choose to journal in, I'm more likely to stick to my practice.

3. Turn to your journal in moments of need.

While expressing yourself in a journal day and night is wonderful, your journal can be used for so much more. I love being able to reach for my journal in times of need. I recently got in a huge fight over the phone. I was sitting on the couch with my dogs and partner beside me. I threw my phone down and angrily got off the couch. Knowing myself, I knew I needed to let the anger out in another room. Before leaving the family room, I grabbed my journal. I gave myself the time I needed to properly outwardly express my anger, then I dove into my journal. Writing in it allowed me to process the event and see both sides of the disagreement. It also allowed me to calm down.

Journaling is a great resource to help you work through arguments, decisions, creative pursuits, and those times when your motivation is wavering. It can also serve as a tool to track your emotions, menstrual cycle, and any symptoms related to whatever health experiences you may be facing.

The beautiful thing about your journal is that it's always there for you, whenever you need, no matter what you're facing.

4. Make your journal a judgment-free zone.

We experience judgment from our families, coworkers, partners, friends, and even people at the grocery store. It's a lot. Our journals shouldn't be another place where we feel judged.

It's important to allow yourself to journal freely without the fear of judgment. When we censor ourselves, we significantly limit the impact that journaling can have in our lives. It's essential to be honest with ourselves while writing in a journal, and judgment can often get in the way.

Make an effort to reassure yourself that your journal is a judgment-free zone.

So, setting yourself up for success with your journaling is half the battle. However, a successful journaling practice doesn't mean much if you don't exactly know what to journal about.

Here are helpful prompts that can fuel your journaling journey:

1. Check in with yourself and how you're feeling: Our lives are busy. We can easily check in at whatever coffee shop we're at on Facebook, but when was the last time we checked in with ourselves?

Using your journal as a tool for checking in is a beautiful way to connect with yourself each and every day. Use your journal to explore how you feel, how your day was, or what you have been facing.

2. Reflect on what happened during your day: Journaling can help you beautifully reflect on your day. You can write about your actions, your interactions, the way the events in your day unfolded, what you accomplished, how your day felt—whatever it is, journaling can help you close out the hours.

3. Work through something that you're going through: Each one of us has faced experiences that have left an impact on us, good or bad. Journaling can serve as a tool to help you make sense of the experiences you have faced in the past or are currently facing now. Turn to your journal to connect with what's been showing up in your life. Some questions that have helped me work through things:

Is there a fear that's holding me back right now?

Is there an anxiety that keeps on showing up for me?

Is there a part of my body that I tend to fixate on?

Is there a part of my relationship with my partner, friends, or family that needs working on?

While I have turned to my journal for hundreds of experiences, working through my unexpressed emotions has been the biggest way it has helped me. My journal turned into a safe space for me to bring up, express, and process the emotions I spent years shoving back down inside.

4. Write unsent letters to someone in your life: Writing letters without the intention of sending them can be a really therapeutic practice. Imagine writing a letter to someone in your past who's hurt you or even someone actively in your life today. What would you say? Journaling unsent letters can help you find closure with someone without ever having to talk to them.

Sophie Gray is the founder of DiveThru, an introspection app that combines guided breathing and journaling to help you connect on a wide variety of topics. She is also the host of the SophieThinksThoughts podcast and writes at sophiethinksthoughts.com. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health disorder, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness website for valuable resources to find help and support, or call the toll-free helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).

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Blue Devils starting to turn a corner

The Booneville Blue Devils boys basketball team is starting to find its groove.

Booneville has won six of its last seven games, including its biggest win of the season on Saturday night, 66-44 over last week’s No. 2-ranked Baldwyn in the Prentiss County Tournament final.

Baldwyn had one loss entering the game, but Booneville defeated the Bearcats without Cole McGrath, one of the Blue Devils’ top players.

McGrath was injured earlier in the tournament, where Booneville also defeated Jumpertown, 73-51, and Wheeler, 68-61.

He will be back from injury in the coming weeks.

“The kids came out with the intensity and focus that we haven’t seen in a long time,” Booneville coach Michael Smith said. “It feels like it’s been years since we played that well on defense. I hope we are turning the corner and starting to gel as a team.”

After the three wins in the tournament, Booneville is sitting with a 11-7 overall record and a 1-0 record in Division 1-3A. The 11-7 record can be deceiving, as Booneville has played arguably the toughest schedule in the area.

Smith’s team has losses to No. 2 Ripley, No. 6 Okolona, No. 8 Saltillo, and No. 10 Nettleton, but also has a win over No. 7 Tupelo and a win over Tishomingo County, which has a 14-5 record.

“I think losing all those games earlier in the year humbled us and brought us together as a team,” Smith said. “Those losses helped us realize what we were at the time and showed us how much better we had to get. I think the last few weeks we are starting to get everybody on the same page and figuring out what we can do.”

Coming out of the tournament, Smith is hoping his Booneville squad can learn and mature from the environment that it played in all weekend and can turn that into more wins, especially in division play.

This week, Booneville will host both non-division Walnut and division foe Mantachie before traveling to Ackerman for a matchup with No. 1 Starkville in the Mid-Mississippi Classic at Choctaw County High School.

“This was probably the first time all year where you have a playoff level intensity,” Smith said. “This county tournament is hard to win. We won the state tournament three times and we’ve struggled to win the Prentiss County Tournament.”

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After sluggish start, Junior Jays use offensive spark to down Knights

Despite a double-overtime win taking precedence on Friday, No. 2 Creighton Prep paid close attention to how close Lincoln Southeast played No. 4 Lincoln East on the same night and made sure it wouldn’t be that close on Saturday in Lincoln.

Everything seemed to be working for the Juniors Jays (12-1) against the Knights (4-9), who could do little to slow down the high-powered Prep offense. Four players finished in double figures for the Junior Jays in a 74-60 road win at Prasch Gymnasium.

“We’ve watched (Southeast) many times, and they beat Bellevue West, which is our only loss, and they played East very tough last night, so I told our kids that we need to be ready,” Creighton Prep coach Josh Luedtke said. “We knew that we couldn’t come in here and just expect to win, so I thought our guys did a really nice job of rebounding after last night.”

Following a sluggish start, the Junior Jays started to put things together midway through the first quarter. CJ Wolfe sparked a late Prep run with nine points as the Jays closed the quarter on a 16-3 run that created a deficit the Knights couldn’t climb out of throughout the contest.

NU recruit Akol Arop scored 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter as Prep built a 42-25 by halftime.

Ajantae Hogan was the spark for the Knights against Prep, and while it might not have been enough to cut into the lead, he still finished with a game-high 23 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. He was the only Knight to finish in double figures.

Prep’s Spencer Schomers led his team with 17 points behind strong outside shooting, while Wolfe had 16 points and Robert Peters added 14 in the win.

“Tonight was good because we had four players finish in double digits, and usually we stand around and watch Akol (Arop) and Thomas (Faber) play,” Luedtke added. “We want four or five guys in double figures because that way we’re tough to guard. It was good to see the productivity and confidence from our guys tonight.”

The loss made it six straight for the Knights, but four of those losses came against ranked opponents and they’ve shown progress since passing the mid-point of the season. Games at Omaha Bryan and Lincoln Northeast next week will provide Southeast a chance to right the ship before the home stretch of the season.

Prep will put its ranking to the test next week with games against Omaha Westside, Millard North and Omaha Central.

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Will Senate Republicans Start Breaking From Trump?

For a reminder of how tricky the political calculus will be for swing-state Senate Republicans up for reelection in 2020, take a look at former Sen. Dean Heller's conundrum last year. Heller, facing political headwinds in a state Hillary Clinton carried in 2016, initially tried to keep his distance from President Trump. He opposed early attempts to repeal President Obama's health care law, drawing the wrath of a president who demands unceasing loyalty.

Under political pressure from his base, Heller flipped on health care—ultimately voting for legislation that would have rolled back major parts of Obamacare. The vote dogged him throughout the general election, serving as the Democrats' leading line of attack against him. The criticism did not faze Heller: After his fateful vote, he became a reliable ally of the president and Trump returned the favor by campaigning alongside him.

The result of that loyalty? Heller lost badly against now-Sen. Jacky Rosen, tallying just 45 percent of the vote. It's a lesson that for targeted Republicans in 2020, there's no easy way to navigate life with Trump. Stick with him, and you're saddled with defending a president who is anathema to independents. But keep some distance, and risk alienating the base Republican votes that are critical to winning an election.

It's a lesson that the newest crop of senators up for reelection are internalizing. In 2020, five Republican senators will likely face tough competition: Arizona's Martha McSally, Colorado's Cory Gardner, Iowa's Joni Ernst, Maine's Susan Collins, and North Carolina's Thom Tillis. A sixth, Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, also faces the possibility of a challenging reelection. These are the senators who have the most to lose from the protracted government shutdown and will be under the most political pressure to break from the president.

Two of them—Gardner and Collins—have already defected and called for Trump to reopen the government without his border-wall funding. Both senators represent states that Clinton won in 2016, and where the president is most unpopular.

The senators representing battleground states that Trump won have been more circumspect. Ernst declared that not all parts of the border needed a physical barrier, a notable break from the president's posture, but she's blamed Senate Democrats instead of Trump for the standoff.

McSally, who was appointed to her seat after losing an election last year, drew ample criticism for tying herself so closely to Trump in her failed campaign. McSally hasn't developed a more independent streak as senator, backing Trump's tactics—even while sponsoring legislation that would pay border-security agents during the shutdown.

Then there are the biggest Trump loyalists of the bunch: Tillis told HuffPost he's deferring to the president on legislative strategy while holding out hope that a bipartisan agreement can be reached. Perdue is one of the president's stalwart supporters, and he has championed the president's approach to the shutdown fight.

The sizable number of Republican senators with political incentive to break from the president is what makes 2019 different from the first two years of Trump's presidency. With only one swing-state Republican on a ballot in 2018, there were more anti-Trump senators who broke with him out of principle (Jeff Flake and Bob Corker) than those who might have done so for political reasons (Heller, initially). And with Republicans fully in power, it was self-defeating for Republicans to scuttle the president's largely conservative agenda out of spite.

Now Democrats control the House, ending any real possibility of consequential legislation passing through Congress. Future control of the Senate will be determined by whether these battleground-state Republicans end up surviving past Trump's reelection campaign. If Trump were more popular and not facing the possibility of a seismic scandal, both sides would be in alignment. But with the Senate being the GOP's best, last line of defense, there may be a point where the most vulnerable Republicans end up declaring some independence from an embattled White House.

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Airline talks further delay council approval for KCI project start date

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Ongoing negotiations between airlines on how to pay for part of the $1.6 billion single-terminal modernization project at Kansas City International Airport continue to delay the project's start date. ...

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