Today is Thursday. Temperatures will be in the high 40s to the high 50s from north to south with partly sunny skies throughout the state and a chance for scattered showers in the north. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
Vice President Mike Pence listens as Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during the vice presidential debate Wednesday at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Credit: Justin Sullivan / AP
In normal times, vice presidential debates don’t matter much. But in an election year as wild as 2020, everything is magnified. Here are key early takeaways from the only vice presidential debate ahead of the Nov. 3 Election Day.
In this Aug. 24, 2020, file photo, the University of Maine black bear outside of Memorial Gym is decorated in a blue mask. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN
The University of Maine System said Wednesday it will receive $240 million from the state’s largest philanthropy, the largest investment ever made in a public educational institution in New England.
The $240 million gift is also the largest one out of $500 million in gifts the Harold Alfond Foundation pledged on Tuesday to a variety of higher education and research institutions around the state as part of a long-term initiative to create future jobs and improve Maine people’s skills.
PLUS: The Harold Alfond Foundation is providing the University of Maine athletic department with an unprecedented gift of $90 million. It will be the largest single gift to athletics at a public university in New England and among the largest gifts ever, nationwide.
Penobscot Theatre Company Managing Director Jen Shepard (left) and Artistic Director Bari Newport sit in the lobby on Oct. 7. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN
Look at the website for Bangor’s Penobscot Theatre Co., and it shows that the company is busier than it’s ever been, with three productions in October alone, and a whopping 13 productions planned through April 2021 — far more than the six mainstage shows it would normally have produced.
“I could just see everyone’s spirits withering, faced with this giant obstacle, and the fact that no one would be able to create anything for a long, long time,” said Bari Newport, the company’s artistic director. “We just had to say, ‘Nope, that’s not gonna happen.’”
Sen. Susan Collins arrives at Global Secure Shipping in Old Town for a tour of the facility on Oct. 7. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN Credit: Natalie Williams | BDN
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said she was optimistic about the possibility of a pre-election stimulus deal after she talked with lawmakers of both parties on Wednesday as President Donald Trump seemingly reversed his position a day after ending talks.
Leaders of the campaign to legalize marijuana in Portland celebrate their victory Nov. 5, 2013. From left are David Boyer, David Marshall and Tom MacMillan. Troy R. Bennett | BDN
Maine has been at the forefront of both the prohibition and legalization of marijuana from the 19th through the 21st century. It was one of the first states to outlaw recreational sales and possession more than 100 years ago. But it was also a leader in decriminalizing pot in the 1970s.
Now, Maine is about to become the 11th state with fully realized retail sales of cannabis.
In this Sept. 26, 2019, file photo, Maine Senate Minority Leader Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, listens to proceedings at the State House in Augusta. Credit: Troy R. Bennett | BDN
Republicans have seemed to gain little traction even as Mills unilaterally steers the state through the coronavirus pandemic after the Legislature adjourned in March.
Dr. Mark Publicker, an addiction specialist at the Mercy Recovery Center in Westbrook, talks about how not all patients respond to Suboxone treatment in this 2015 file photo. Credit: Troy R. Bennett | BDN
When The New York Times, the Washington Post and news agencies across Maine have needed to understand the opioid epidemic and the policies emerging in response to it, they have often turned to a specialist in addiction medicine working in Portland, Dr. Mark Publicker.
