Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024

Quote of the Day

“Whatever they used was killing bees, and I was finding dead bees on my staircase for multiple days afterward.”

— Mary Wassick of Gorham recalling a 2018 incident when her lawn was sprayed with pesticide without her consent.

Today’s Top Maine Stories

After a Gorham woman came home to find her lawn had been treated with pesticide without her consent in 2018, the state is hoping to crack down on errant spraying. Common pesticides contain intentionally added per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals,” that have been contaminating land and waterways for decades.

Susan Collins said she is “shocked” that Donald Trump would nominate Matt Gaetz for attorney general. In selecting the congressman, the president-elect passed over more established attorneys who had been mentioned as contenders for the job.

This is what last week’s election could mean for Maine’s housing crisis. Lawmakers, developers and advocates gathered Wednesday to consider the new political landscape.

Bangor has housed 12 people from a homeless camp it will soon close. Roughly 70 people recently were living in tents, vehicles and rudimentary shelters behind Hope House Health and Living Center.

A developer scaled back plans for a large nursing home in the midcoast. Despite the state’s aging population, such facilities have continued to close.

A Bar Harbor mansion owner is building a 24-car garage. The 8,000-square-foot garage will take up the entire first floor, aside from a curving stairwell to an apartment on the second floor.

News from Around the State

• Woman brings new harassment allegation against Maine surgeon

• Maine’s 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases violates 2nd Amendment, lawsuit says

• How you said you were feeling after last week’s election

• Shenna Bellows narrates ranked-choice tabulations in livestream

• Democrats pick former Maine House speaker to lead the chamber again

• 11 Maine legislative races headed to recounts, including one tie

• UMaine System reports record-high student retention rates

• Bangor councilors give Cara Pelletier another year as chair

• Hazmat team responded to Hampden mail facility

• Old Town landfill expansion violates environmental justice rule, lawsuit says

• Aroostook family donates winter gear to hurricane-ravaged North Carolina town

• Aroostook County man crashes after allegedly trying to elude police

• Bar Harbor cafe owner submits recount petition for cruise ship vote

• Maine man appeals conviction for killing girlfriend with his car at Acadia

• Prosecutor ‘shocked’ by Thomaston’s decision to rehire EMS chief despite sex abuse plea

• Maine’s housing crisis is affecting domestic abuse survivors

• Maine-based solar power developer lays off 40 workers

• Teen critically injured in Waldo County crash

• Portland woman convicted in $1M investment fraud scheme

• Cooper Flagg scores 26 but Duke loses to Kentucky

Things to do this Weekend

Looking forward to ski season? At the Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor, there’s the Ski Chalet Film Festival all weekend, with ski films shown on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings alongside a raffle for lots of ski-related prizes. On Friday night at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, there’s the return of Nitro Circus, a show featuring top-ranked BMX and skateboard athletes doing gravity-defying stunts. And, on the midcoast, Gardens Aglow at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay opens for its 10th season, running through the end of the year.

Maine in Pictures

Bangor City Clerk Lisa Goodwin swears in councilors Wayne Mallar, Susan Hawes and Michael Beck (left to right). Bangor voters elected Mallar and Beck to the council for the first time and gave Hawes another three-year term on the body in last week's election. Credit: Kathleen O’Brien / BDN

From the Opinion Pages

Life in Maine

There’s plenty of time in the season to try these duck hunting techniques. Dogs, decoys and canoes figure in BDN Outdoors contributor Bill Graves’ suggestions.

Kevin Taft’s hunt didn't go quite how he planned it. His buck season was over an hour into opening day.

Make sure this invasive plant isn’t hiding in your holiday wreaths. Asiatic bittersweet, which is classified as severely invasive in Maine, can spread through holiday decorations.

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