Deteriorating Old Town bridge / MDI’s short-term rentals / Route 1 icon’s closure

Today is Monday. Temperatures will be in the mid-60s to low 80s from north to south, with a chance for rain and scattered thunderstorms throughout the state. See what weather is in store for the rest of the day here, and where to find cooling centers across the state here. Here are the latest on gas prices in Maine. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

The latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Seven more Mainers have died and another 446 COVID-19 cases were reported across the state, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That brings the statewide death toll to 2,493 as of Saturday. Check out our tracker for more information.

Even the most COVID-cautious Maine parents start to relax as 1st day of school approaches

One Maine parent said she wasn’t anxious about the fall and now wants her kids to have a “relatively normal school year.”

An Old Town bridge’s new weight limit means a longer trip for much of Maine’s lumber

The new weight limit keeps loaded logging trucks from using the span for easy access from the Stud Mill Road to Interstate 95.

Bar Harbor’s crackdown pushed short-term rentals into nearby towns without regulations

The explosion of short-term rentals is likely to create battles over the soul of a tourist destination already grappling with a housing crisis.

Maine junk shop sells to marijuana store in sign of a changing Route 1

Ed’s Stuff’s closure follows that of another Route 1 icon, Big Al’s in Wiscasset.

Judge approves sale of shuttered Hampden trash plant

The buyers plan to start agreements to restart the facility after the sale is finalized, which is expected some time next week.

You’re more likely to be killed by lightning than attacked by a shark

There’s a variety of things that are much more likely to kill you than a shark, especially in Maine waters, experts say.

Maine’s 1st monkeypox vaccines are a relief and reminder for LGBTQ men

A recent vaccination clinic in Ogunquit offered a limited number of monkeypox vaccines to those most at risk for the virus.

Feds want money raised for Maine man charged in Jan. 6 riots to fund legal defense, not truck payments

A motion filed on Thursday asks a judge to order that Kyle Fitzsimons use more than half the money to pay for the court-appointed attorney.

Presque Isle library turns historic home into a writers’ haven

Located beside the library, the 1890-built house has been made into a space where writers and artists immerse themselves in their crafts.

Maine’s 1st funeral home museum opens in Aroostook

The Rest In Peace Museum, which showcases the history of funeral homes and the techniques they use, officially opened on Thursday.

After a disastrous season, the UMaine men’s hockey team is getting in shape

A team’s conditioning “is not a variable a high-level Division I program should have to worry about,” UMaine head coach Ben Barr said.

This pest is killing Maine gardeners’ cucumbers by pooping on them

Maine gardeners who are seeing their cucumbers, melons or gourds wilt this summer may have the striped cucumber beetle to blame.

In other Maine news …

Mexico man accused of killing his stepson

New York man to plead guilty to manslaughter in slaying at Bangor drug house

Mother and 2-year-old daughter in critical condition after head-on crash in Standish

Motorcyclist dies in Canaan crash

Victim in deadly Scarborough motorcycle crash identified

1 man found dead after Washington County house fire

Geese near hospital in Portland euthanized following complaints

Midcoast high school damaged after fan sparks fire

Tick-borne disease infections surge again in Maine

Here are the 2022 Beach to Beacon 10K final results