Child exploitation sting / Expanded gun background checks / Belfast theater upgrades

Janet Mills supports limited background check expansion after Lewiston shooting

The biggest of the gun-related changes that Gov. Janet Mills floated in her State of the State address Tuesday was one mandating background checks for all advertised gun sales.

PLUS: In a written portion of her address released earlier in the day, the governor called for setting aside $100 million and urged fiscal caution.

Maine’s high court decides foreclosure case with years of borrower protections at stake

The ruling, which drew interest from national groups representing banks and consumers, went against 25 years of precedent in Maine.

Maine State Police defends response to activist’s child exploitation sting

Alex Rosen and his group Predator Poachers claim the police declined to accept evidence of an attempt to sexually exploit a 13-year-old.

Traveling art exhibit at UMaine shares personal stories about abortion

The university welcomed the exhibit as a “launchpad for dialogue on a complex topic that intersects with faith for many people.”

The Paul Bunyan Open once drew snowmobilers from all over the world to Bangor

The weekend-long snowmobile race once drew more than 18,000 people to Bangor’s Bass Park.

Children’s museum could move into former Presque Isle restaurant

A newly formed nonprofit sees Bangor’s Discovery Museum as a model for a revenue-generating local attraction.

112-year-old Belfast theater gets needed safety upgrades

The Colonial Theatre was inspected before reopening, but those inspectors didn’t catch issues later spotted by the state fire marshal’s office.

Portland restaurant workers strut their musical stuff on their ‘weekend’

At the quarterly showcase, the people who make Portland’s famous food and drink scene hum show what else they’re very good at doing.

UMaine women’s basketball coach Amy Vachon gets 4-year contract extension

Her teams have won four America East regular season titles and back-to-back tournament crowns in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

I explored new-to-me trails in a favorite hiking area

“After years of exploring them, I thought I knew all the trails and summits in the Camden Hills,” BDN Outdoors contributor Ron Chase writes.

In other Maine news …

Maine’s congressional delegation again calls for crackdown on illegal marijuana operations

Maine elver fishery avoids drastic quota cut

Former Miller Drug owner recovering after being struck by car

Sheriff’s deputy injured when tractor-trailer crashes on I-395

Sheriff’s deputy injured after crash and shooting in downtown Fryeburg

Budget airline will offer nonstop flights from Portland to Raleigh-Durham

Driver backs stolen truck into Maine State Police cruiser during erratic chase

No more Maine Class D cheerleading competition for lack of teams