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Today is Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the low 70s with rain and high winds throughout the state. Here's what we're talking about in Maine today.
Maine’s 1st openly trans person elected to office wants to keep Passamaquoddy culture 'front and center'

  • Geo Neptune was surprised to learn that they had become the first openly transgender person elected to office in Maine. Though they can now add the title of elected official to their resume, Neptune’s life story includes many other identifiers: basketmaker, activist, drag queen, model, educator, storyteller, tattoo artist, homesteader.
  • A 60-year-old who was brought into custody at the Cumberland County Jail on Tuesday afternoon tested positive for COVID-19, according to the jail.
  • A student at Coastal Kids Preschool in Damariscotta has tested positive for COVID-19, but the school remains open and does not have an outbreak, according to school and state officials.
Under pressure for plastic use, Poland Spring to work with UMaine on sustainable packaging

  • Water bottler Poland Spring said Tuesday that it is collaborating with the University of Maine to develop bio-based alternative packaging. The move comes as Poland Spring’s parent, the Swiss conglomerate Nestle, looks to sell the Maine company partly because of rising consumer resistance to its plastic bottles.

Key witness in Down East murder trial shares eyewitness account of shooting death
  • Quaneysha Greeley, 22, of Lewiston was the state’s key witness in the murder trial of Carine Reeves, 40. Reeves has been accused of shooting Sally Shaw, 55, to death in Cherryfield in July 2017. Her body was found by a passing motorist on Route 193, according to court documents. Greeley is also charged with murder in the case.
Bangor could soon ban discrimination based on gender identity

  • There is another hurdle lingering — two land-use lawsuits that are still pending in Waldo County Superior and U.S. District courts. Those cases are important: A judge’s ruling could force Nordic to find another path to the bay, thereby slowing or potentially stopping the project.
State approves half-mile discharge pipes into bay for proposed Jonesport fish farm
  • The permit from the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands is a sign of progress for one of three large, land-based aquaculture operations planned for development on the Maine coast. Kingfish Maine, a division of a Dutch firm, is looking to construct a yellowtail farm on a shorefront property in Jonesport.
Top legislative Democrats hit Maine university system for retiree health care switch

  • Top Democrats in the Maine Legislature asked the state university system this week to halt impending changes to retiree health care benefits, saying the changes were “callous” and made in bad faith during the coronavirus pandemic.  Retirees and union officials slammed the University of Maine System for making the changes without bargaining or public discussion.
With opioid deaths on rise, Bangor looks to connect people with support after they overdose
  • If the initiative is approved, the city’s public health office would hire a coordinator to bring together a small team of people that would work to identify people who have recently been treated for a drug overdose. That team would then reach out to those people within 72 hours of the overdose to offer whatever support they need, according to Bangor Public Health Director Patty Hamilton.
Head north if you want to find grouse this Maine hunting season
  • On Monday, I drove north to Ashland to interview a few successful moose hunters on the first day of moose season. And every time I sidled over to another group of moose hunters, I kept hearing the same semi-whispered reports. "Man, it was hot out there," someone would say. "But boy, are we seeing a lot of birds."

In other Maine news...

CLASSIFIEDS

QUALITY, BUILDABLE LAND EDDINGTON
Chemo Pond 3 Rd., Lot 28, 7.4 acres; buildable land mins. to Bgr/Ells; snowmbl/atv trails; nearby water; $59,000; Kelley & Wally Fenlason, 207-949-7376. Realty of Maine.
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EAST MACHIAS MLS#1282261
Covenants protect investment. Rd front, rights to common lot. Near Gardner Lake. Great opp. Survey says 8.97ac. lot. $26,500 Sunrise Realty, Anita Johnson,
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HAMPDEN MLS#1413707
4 BR/2 BA 1918 farmhouse on 1.2 acs. Spacious fam. rm., huge backyard, 2-car att. gar. & front porch. $169,000 Jean Jenkins, Vacationland Realty, VacationlandRealtyMaine.com
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DEDHAM
Lot # 1 Hillside Dr. Conv. loc. minutes from 1A. Subdivision lot., Elec. at St., septic test avail. Walking trails abound & Lucerne Beach Club nearby. $25,000
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COUNTRY LIVING IN MILO RANCH
3 BR/1.5 BA W/2-car attach gar Deck & nice yard. Big basement. 1-car detach gar & shed w/gen. Near Schoodic & Ebeemee Lakes & KI. Trails nearby. Anne Bailey, DeWitt-Jones Realty, 207-943-3163
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