Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in the high teens to low 20s from north to south, with cloudy skies throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
Gov. Janet Mills will end a 9 p.m. curfew in place since November for certain businesses effective Monday, she announced Thursday.
Maine legislative leaders tightened mask requirements in the State House and other official spaces on Thursday after a brief controversy that began after a small group of Republicans filmed themselves meeting maskless.
Peaks Islander Donovan Black, 35, stands near the ferry terminal on Thursday Jan. 28, 2021. Black, a landscaper, recently made $14,000 investing in Game Stop stocks. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
Like a lot of behavior that originated on the internet, buying GameStop stock started as a joke…kinda. But those Wall Street bets have paid off and then some. Donovan Black of Peaks Island made a handsome sum from his investments over the last year. But the short-term financial gains aren’t as fun as watching day traders and Wall Street institutions sort through the wreckage.
A Community Connector bus drives past an apartment house on Ohio Street in Bangor in this June 4, 2020 photo. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN
A new federal rent relief program could provide a significant boon to both struggling Maine renters and landlords, but stricter requirements could slow the distribution of $200 million to those in need as the coronavirus pandemic remains far from over.
Nursing student Kristen Vellieux receives the COVID-19 vaccine from fellow student Ning Lou. Credit: Courtesy of University of Maine
Maine’s public universities will encourage students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as vaccines start to become more widely available. But they won’t make it a requirement.
Tamika Adjemian, owner of the Unity Kitchen in downtown Unity, checks out customer Lyn Grotke last week. When the pandemic hit, the small eatery, like so many businesses in Maine, suddenly was looking at a financial cliff. Adjemian hoped to get one of the Maine Economic Recovery grants but she was turned down. “We’re slipping through the cracks,” Adjemian said. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN
Even though Tamika Adjemian, who opened Unity Kitchen on Dec. 13, 2019, never doubted her ability to make good food or create a welcoming space, she doesn’t know if she can withstand the financial hardships that have come with the past 11 months of the pandemic. Right now, things are so dire that she can’t even afford to buy more takeout boxes. “We’re slipping through the cracks,” she said.
In this March 19, 2020, file photo, a man walks by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Water Street in Augusta. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has linked 23 COVID-19 cases to an outbreak at Crossroads to Calvary Apostolic Church in Morrill. Those who have attended services at the church since Jan. 10 should be tested, church officials recommended.
The Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth, Maine, on Jan. 14, 2020. Credit: Bill Trotter / BDN
Despite having had “a series of talks” with county officials, Groups Recover Together has decided it can’t move forward with reviving the jail’s recovery coaching program, said Cooper Zelnick, the company’s chief strategy officer.
Maine is one of only a few states where law enforcement discipline records are public. But that doesn’t always result in transparency. Credit: Illustration by Natalie Williams / BDN
The Bangor Daily News filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the Maine State Police to force it to unredact discipline records detailing the misconduct of its officers. The BDN is asserting that the redactions defy Maine’s public disclosure law. The records offer one of the few windows into police misbehavior and accountability, and they have been key to recent BDN investigations into police oversight.
A cow moose and a calf browse as they walk through the woods. Credit: Courtesy of John Purcell
The small town of Prospect, which sits on the Penobscot River not far from Winterport and Orland, is not among the places you’d expect to see a single moose, let alone three.
Derek Runnells and his dog, Juno, walk along the Ocean Path on Jan. 26, in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. Credit: Aislinn Sarnacki / BDN
“Tracing the scenic, rocky coast of Mount Desert Island, the Ocean Path is a popular easy hiking trail in Acadia National Park that spans from the famous Sand Beach to Otter Point,” writes BDN Act Out Editor Aislinn Sarnacki. “Along the way are several short side trails to viewpoints where you can sit on pink granite bedrock to picnic or simply enjoy the ocean views.”
