PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- On Wednesday, southern Maine experienced one of the highest tides of the year, which activists and artists used as a backdrop to kickstart a conversation about rising sea levels.

The group gathered near Cove Street and documented the water rising from storm drains that frequently flood the area during an astronomical high tide.

"Sea level has been rising here in Portland as long as we have had a tide gauge in place," stated Curtis Bohlen, director of the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership.  "The rates are fairly low.  There is evidence that the rates have been increasing."

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Voters in Scarborough overturned an ordinance requiring dogs to be leashed on public property.

2,880 people voted no, to say they were not in favor of the leash ordinance. 1,059 people voted yes.

The year-round ban was enacted shortly after a dog killed a piping plover on Pine Point Beach back in July. The birds are classified as a threatened species, therefore, creating a heated debate between dog owners and environmentalists. Scarborough needed just over 2,300 votes for the referendum to count. The town had an estimated 2,000 votes cast in absantee ballots alone.

The Town Council took the action after the Federal Government fined Scarborough $12,000 for the plover's death.

Katy Foley of Dog Owners of Greater Scarborough says this issue was about more than dogs on the beach.