Maine Guard pay dispute / Transforming Bridgton / $850 relief checks

Today is Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the mid-60s to low 70s from north to south, with rain throughout the state. See what weather is in store for the rest of the day here. Here’s the latest on gas prices in Maine. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

The latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Eighteen more Mainers have died and another 557 COVID-19 cases reported across the state, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That brings the statewide death toll to 2,400. Check our COVID-19 tracker for more information.

The protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Novavax, is being considered by the Food and Drug Administration, and may be an option for those who do not feel comfortable using the mRNA-based vaccines produced by Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson.

You can now check when you’ll get your $850 Maine relief payment

More than 850,000 Mainers are eligible to receive the relief checks, with most payments set to go out by the end of July.

Maine Guard members returned from overseas this winter. Now the military says they owe $91K.

The military says it failed to stop paying members of a Brewer-based Maine Guard unit at their higher deployment rate once they returned home.

Developer aims to transform a western Maine town where he was raised

Justin McIver wants to show that you can make it in Bridgton.

Tell us how Maine’s cooling real estate market is changing your plans

We would like to know how new real estate market conditions are changing your plans to buy or sell a home.

An eclectic menu of homemade eats will debut at this new Bangor-area food truck

Carl Birmingham and Brittany Levasseur do everything themselves, from baking the bread to smoking the food.

Head north if you want to avoid deer ticks

Since the first deer tick was found here in 1996 on a red squirrel, they have spread to all of Maine’s 16 counties.

How to find out if you’re drawn in the 2022 Maine moose lottery

The only way to get the lottery information immediately will be to attend the announcement in person or to get intel from someone there.

New online resource aims to protect Casco Bay’s vulnerable seashore

It assists with fostering more nuanced understandings of Casco Bay’s complex, interwoven intertidal and near-shore ecosystem.

Group building mountain bike trails in Moosehead region gets $10,000 from Piscataquis County

Mountain biking could be a major attraction in the Moosehead Lake region, along with the proposed ski resort redevelopment in Big Moose Township.

2 former winners teeing off together at annual Downeast Metro tournament this weekend

The 36-hole tournament is held at the Bangor Muni as well as the Kebo Valley Club in Bar Harbor.

In other Maine news …

Man is missing after walking away from Dorothea Dix

Bangor-area public pools will cut hours and capacity if they can’t hire more lifeguards

Managing growth and keeping taxes low are priorities for 2 Hermon council candidates

Student allegedly threatened to bring a knife to Searsport middle school to hurt people

Maine university system faculty say relations with trustees have been deteriorating for years

2 seriously injured after Naples’ restaurant roof collapses

1 dead in Buxton crash involving school bus and motorcycle

Fairfield man found dead in Kennebec River

Maine police department rebuilds after chief was left alone on the beat

Lawsuit claiming discrimination against former female prison guard settled for nearly $400K

Lewiston woman charged after her toddler overdosed on heroin or fentanyl

Maine and NH beach conference returns after 3-year hiatus

Portland property owners will see 4.8 percent tax hike under new budget

Vendor aims to get Maine software upgrade across finish line