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

In the aftermath of the Lewiston tragedy, Attorney General Frey and I established an independent commission and entrusted its seven members with a solemn duty to use their extensive legal, investigative, and mental health experience and expertise, their impartiality and integrity, and their unflagging determination to establish, to the greatest extent possible, the unvarnished facts of what happened on October 25th last year and the circumstances that led to and following that tragic night.

Well, that independent commission, after spending hundreds of hours of their time without compensation, listening to testimony, reviewing thousands of documents and meticulously uncovering and assembling the facts of this tragedy, they have fulfilled the duty we entrusted to them.

In reading the commission's final report, I brought to bear my own nearly 50 years of experience as a private attorney, as former attorney general, as former district attorney for three counties, including the City of Lewiston, as the Attorney General for the State of Maine, and now as Governor. I have full faith and confidence in the facts as determined by the commission, and I agree with the observations that the commission has reached.

In the months preceding the shooting, the family of the perpetrator repeatedly raised concerns about his declining mental health to many authorities. Despite those warnings, those authorities, chiefly members of the Sagadahoc Sheriff's Office and of the U.S. Army Reserve, missed many opportunities to intervene, reduce the risks the perpetrator posed, and very possibly to have changed the course of events. I do not say this lightly.

I know that every day in communities across Maine, dedicated law enforcement officers patrol our roads, and safeguard our cities and towns, and our natural resources, always ready for that one urgent call to protect the life and security of our citizens and uphold the law. And on behalf of all Maine people, I want to thank our state police officers, local officers and all first responders who came out that night for answering the call of duty. While we all wish that the perpetrator had been located sooner, the commission is correct to recognize that the collective work of law enforcement clearly prevented further loss of life, both among police personnel and among the general public.

After the Lewiston tragedy, I introduced and the legislature approved, several measures that enhance public safety and that strengthen Maine's mental health system. This week, we took another step by announcing that the Maine State Police will sit down with my budget people and determine what financial resources are needed to implement their primary recommendations for improvements to our response to public emergencies. Following those conversations, I plan to ask the Legislature, as part of my biennial budget in January, to approve funding that will allow the Maine State Police to fully implement these recommendations.

A cornerstone of our ability to heal as a people and as a state is knowing the truth about what happened on October 25th and the circumstances surrounding that tragic day. The Independent Commission has now delivered those facts, and with this report, we take another step on that long road to healing.

Look, we've lost 18 people. Family, friends, loved ones, many more who were injured, both physically and emotionally. In a small, close knit community like Lewiston, and in a small, close knit state like Maine, most everybody knew someone who was directly impacted by this tragedy. But what is special about Maine, what I've always loved about our state is that in the darkest of times, in the depths of our most difficult challenges, we are there for one another.

So let us all do our part to protect each other, to listen when someone asks for help, and to speak up when something doesn't feel right, and to offer our grace to those who are still grieving, and our love to the people of Lewiston. We will always remember and pay tribute to the victims, the survivors and their loved ones. And we will always remember how we came together as one people and as one state to support one another.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, up to 35 percent of all food produced in Maine is thrown away rather than eaten; and

WHEREAS, about 361,000 tons of food is wasted annually in Maine, much of which is safe and nutritious food that could instead help feed the 1 in 5 Maine children and 1 in 8 Maine adults who go hungry; and

WHEREAS, Maine can help our farmers and build our food system by recycling inedible food waste and returning the nutrients and energy to the soil as compost instead of trash; and

WHEREAS, first responders include firefighters, police officers, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical services personnel, 911 dispatchers, search and rescue teams, and members of other organizations in the public safety sector; and

WHEREAS, in the State of Maine, many children reside in formal and informal kinship care; and

WHEREAS, approximately 6,100 grandparents in Maine are currently standing in as parents; and

WHEREAS, every child in the State of Maine deserves the opportunity to grow and flourish in a supportive, nurturing, and safe home environment while retaining their sense of belonging to family, culture, and community; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting our state; and

WHEREAS, a sufficient blood supply is a public health issue both locally and nationally, and our hospitals and medical centers need a readily available supply for our residents and visitors; and

WHEREAS, one blood donation can help save more than one life, and although most of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, only about 3 percent actually do; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations, the World Federation of the Deaf, the National Association of the Deaf and 129 National Associations of the Deaf throughout the world simultaneously participate in the Deaf World Week Celebration; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine and its citizens observe the last full week of September as Deaf Culture Week in accordance with Sec. 1.1 MRSA §132; and

WHEREAS, the 130th Maine Legislature unanimously passed L.D. 1861, An Act to Establish the Safe Homes Program, and as Governor, I signed the bill into law on April 7, 2022; and

WHEREAS, this bipartisan law promotes responsible gun ownership and educates Maine people about gun safety while ensuring that gun owners are not prevented from taking steps to safely secure their firearms because of an issue of affordability or lack of knowledge and information about safe storage options; and

WHEREAS, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the primary providers of community-based long-term support services for thousands of individuals with disabilities in Maine; and

WHEREAS, DSPs are valued for their work in building respectful and trusted relationships with individuals to assist them with their most intimate needs; and

WHEREAS, Maine has a rich and storied tradition of hunting and angling that dates back further than the state itself and carries forward to this day; and

WHEREAS, hunting and angling continue to be an integral component of the cultural fabric of communities throughout the state, and over recent years have offered a growing number of participants an opportunity to connect with nature on a personal level while simultaneously providing food security, a sense of self-sufficiency, and both mental and physical health benefits; and