WHEREAS, child abuse and neglect is a serious problem affecting every segment of our community, and finding solutions requires input and action from everyone; and

WHEREAS, child abuse can have long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects that have lasting consequences for victims; and

WHEREAS, prevention is possible, and with strong policies and investments, families and children can thrive, fostering prevention, stability and long-term well-being; and

WHEREAS, native plants are indigenous species that have evolved alongside native wildlife and occur naturally in a particular geographic region, ecosystem, and habitat; and

WHEREAS, native plants are essential for healthy, diverse, and sustainable ecosystems and are critical for cleaning air, filtering water, and stabilizing soils; and

WHEREAS, damage to underground facilities, such as pipes, mains, cables or conduits, can result in dangerous or costly leaks, fires, explosions and injuries, environmental mishaps, and the disruption of vital utility services, even though this damage and its consequences are often preventable; and

WHEREAS, all individuals, entities, corporations, and government bodies planning to dig, blast, or demolish need to first determine the location of underground utilities; and

WHEREAS, William King was born on February 9, 1768, in Scarborough, Massachusetts; and

WHEREAS, the fourth of six children, King lacked a formal education but acquired a great interest in many subjects, including history, politics, geography, and medical science; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

You know, the Blaine House grounds have long been home to a big maple tree in the front yard. And for many years, Maine governors have tapped that tree every spring for sap to be boiled into delicious maple syrup. This year, I carried on that tradition to honor the people who run the nearly two million taps and who produce more than 575,000 gallons of maple syrup in our state every year.

Those hard working folks have made Maine the fourth largest producer of maple syrup in the country. Producing and selling maple syrup generates more than $56 million in economic activity, and it provides more than 800 full-time and part-time jobs every year across the state. Well, if you've ever been to a sap house, you know how hard and fast those people have to work.

One of my favorite Maine traditions is the annual Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, which honors these folks and the maple syrup products they produce. During the 43rd Annual Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, which will be this year on March 21 and 22, sugar shacks across the state will open their doors for boiling demonstrations, and sugar woods tours, and live music, horse-drawn hay rides, pancake breakfasts, maple doughnuts, maple ice cream, maple salsa, maple whoopie pies, and plenty of maple products to sample and share. Bring your appetite!

You might also share your own maple syrup recipes with your local sugar shack, and it could be published in the Maine Maple Producers Association's cookbook. Whether you prefer dark and rich, or pale gold, or other delicious flavors, there's a maple syrup for everyone's taste.

I hope you'll join me in visiting one of our extraordinary sugar houses during Maine Maple Sunday weekend, the 21st and 22nd of March. A full list of participating sugar houses can be found online at MaineMapleProducers.com. That's MaineMapleProducers.com.

And when you go to the grocery store, be sure to ask for Maine-produced maple syrup. Since 2015, maple syrup has been Maine's official State Sweetener.

Whether you use your own Maine maple syrup on pancakes, or waffles, or carrots, or Brussels sprouts, [in] barbecue sauce, or on traditional maple snow candy, Maine maple syrup always makes life a little bit sweeter.

I look forward to seeing you at a sugar house this Maine Maple Sunday.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

You know, construction workers have always been in high demand, and we need them now more than ever before. We need construction workers in order to build housing, apartments, and homes -- the things that workers, families and older adults are searching for all the time across Maine.

We need skilled workers to fix our roads and bridges, to improve our infrastructure, and to build out high speed internet, and make our transportation network safe.

We need to expand the construction workforce, and this means recruiting and training more women. Women are underrepresented in this critical industry.

Nationwide, women make up only 11 percent of the construction industry. In Maine, that statistic is a little better, but not by much, where women make up only 15 percent of the construction industry.

I know a little something about being the only woman in the room, as the first woman District Attorney in New England, the first woman Attorney General of Maine, and now the first woman Governor. I didn't run for office to be the first woman in any of those positions, however, I ran because I believed I was the most qualified person for the job. There are qualified women across Maine who belong in fields dominated by men, and I want to knock down the barriers that are keeping them from pursuing good-paying jobs. So, two years ago, I signed an Executive Order to create pathways for more women to join the construction workforce. And this year, I'm proud to have declared March 1-7, 2026 as "Women in Construction Week" in order to reflect on how far we've come.

Since I signed that Executive Order for Women in Construction, my administration has worked with employers, unions, and training partners to get more than 300 women jobs in the trades, and to get more than 400 women into job training programs. These people are earning CDL licenses and other credentials to run heavy equipment and machinery, the things they need to succeed in the evolving construction industry in Maine.

Other women are following in their footsteps. In 2025, more than 300 people participated in pre-apprenticeships, and another 3,800 people took part in our apprenticeship programs, earning money and getting job experience at the same time. Well, more than 1,000 of those people were women.

Maine needs to fix our roads and bridges, to build more homes, to expand high speed internet, and to improve our transportation network. We cannot afford to leave any talented workers on the sidelines. Women are a crucial part of Maine's workforce, and they should be welcomed and embraced in every sector of our economy, including those traditionally dominated by men, including the construction industry and the trades.

So to women across Maine who are interested in a good paying job in the trades, I say: there are opportunities waiting for you.

To celebrate Women in Construction Week, the Maine Department of Labor has created a new Women in Trades page on its website to share the inspiring stories of women in Maine's construction industry, highlighting training opportunities with industry, union, and education partners, promoting networking with women led organizations, and offering resources to employers, and to connect people with job opportunities near them. You can learn more at apprenticeship.maine.gov/women-in-trades.

To businesses in the construction industry across Maine who are looking to hire: there are women waiting to fill the good-paying jobs you offer. Women in Construction Week is the perfect time to recruit those talented individuals to support your businesses.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

Well, I'm pleased to report that Maine is seeing progress in our fight against the deadly opioid epidemic. Last year, fatal overdoses were down by 20 percent statewide. That's the third year in a row that overdose deaths have dropped by double digits here in Maine. It's good news, but we know that every single overdose is a tragic and preventable loss of a valued life, and we cannot become complacent.

For the last seven years, my administration has acted responsibly to stop deadly drugs from reaching Maine in the first place, and to prevent addiction, and to treat people who are addicted to drugs, and set people on a lifelong path to recovery. Above all else, we're simply working to save lives.

We're supporting law enforcement like the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, as it interdicts illicit drugs. Last year, the MDEA seized more than 24 pounds of fentanyl, which is a leading cause of fatal overdoses.

We're providing health insurance coverage through MaineCare expansion to nearly 230,000 Maine people, with more than 69,000 individuals in that group receiving treatment for addiction since 2019.

We've distributed nearly 800,000 doses of the life-saving overdose reversal medication naloxone, and that medication has been used to reverse more than 12,000 overdoses that otherwise clearly would have been fatal.

We've established the OPTIONS program to create partnerships with behavioral health liaisons, recovery coaches, and first responders in communities across the state. These folks work together to turn lives around and get individuals into treatment after an overdose.

We increased the number of residential treatment beds, and we invested heavily in proven community recovery programs. We designated 86 businesses as recovery friendly workplaces -- businesses that employ nearly 25,000 people.

And we expanded our Good Samaritan Law to encourage people to call for life-saving help if someone is experiencing an overdose.

Look, saving a life is the highest priority. I want to do everything we can to keep people from starting down the road of addiction in the first place, but fundamentally, what we need is leadership. Leadership in every community across the state. Leadership on the part of every young person who is offered a drug to get high, a drug they're led to believe will make them popular or more accepted. The leadership and the character to say, "I'm better than that, and my life is more valuable than that." And leadership from all of us to tell that person that they are loved and valued, and that their lives are indeed far better than that.

That's how we build a better future, with strong communities and communication, and a state with endless opportunity.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, on July 26, 1819, the citizens of Maine voted decisively in support of Maine separating from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and becoming an independent state; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress received Maine’s petition for statehood and voted affirmatively to accept Maine as the 23rd State of the United States; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Secretary of State James Monroe notified Maine that it would formally and legally be an independent state beginning on March 15, 1820; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine has long been a haven for writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, poets, dancers, folk artists, culinary artists, and creative thinkers of all kinds; and

WHEREAS, Maine enjoys a worldwide reputation for the quality, quantity, and variety of its cultural community; and

WHEREAS, Maine features a broad and significant array of historic and architecturally significant structures; and

WHEREAS, on March 17th, during the annual celebration of the Feast of Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, Irish-Americans join with men, women and children of all other ethnic origins who, for one day, become Irish and celebrate Saint Patrick and the love of Ireland; and

WHEREAS, millions of Irish people emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s to escape brutal poverty and starvation due to the Irish potato famine, and most of those people came to America to start new lives and to embrace and contribute to a new land; and