Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in the 80s throughout the state, with partly sunny skies and isolated thunderstorms. Here's what we're talking about in Maine today.

A Maine island is being billed as a private pandemic playground for the wealthy elite

• A private island in Casco Bay once used as a federal quarantine facility during the last pandemic 100 years ago is now being marketed as a virus-free safe zone for wealthy tourists from New York and Washington, D.C., where they can do most anything — as long as it’s legal.

• The state has already boosted its testing considerably by partnering with IDEXX Laboratories to triple the number of tests it can run each week. But another planned expansion of testing has yet to materialize, and many Maine people have been growing frustrated that tests still aren’t readily available for themselves or visitors from other states who need a negative result to avoid a legally required two-week quarantine.

• PLUS: Some 57 percent of more than 250 University of Maine professors who responded to a late June survey said they felt uncomfortable with teaching in classrooms this fall as the coronavirus pandemic continues and as new cases surge nationally.

• Spending from outside groups has picked up ahead of the Republican primary in Maine’s 2nd District on Tuesday. In a twist, it has been mostly targeted at bolstering or attacking the former state senator, who was in last place in the first independent poll of the three-candidate race released earlier this week.

An Orono restaurant and brewery pivots to a new socially distanced, outdoor reality

• Though the owners of Orono Brewing Co. had planned to expand their outdoor patio long before the pandemic struck, the need to do it became even more important as it became clear outdoor dining would be the safer option to reduce spread of the virus.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture would have to act on aid that President Donald Trump said should go to the besieged lobster industry under language inserted in a spending bill by Rep. Chellie Pingree. The federal government has been mostly quiet about the aid since the president issued a memo last month.

• As pandemic restrictions ease, Maine music makers face the same dilemma: To play or not to play. Some are pouncing on the limited paying opportunities at pubs and other venues. Others are wary of the pandemic and its possibly fatal consequences.

The ghost of Hollis Grindle’s togue is still inspiring

• Hollis Grindle caught his behemoth 31-pound, 8-ounce togue back in 1958, and it held off all challengers for until July 2 of this year, when Erik Poland had a couple hours to kill and decided a bit of trolling and a swim sounded like a good idea. And Poland’s record-setting 39.2 pound togue has changed everything.

• Ken Ralph said a call must be made within the next two weeks to ensure that student-athletes on the football team can begin preseason practice to prepare for the season. Despite preparations and contingency plans, COVID-19 protocols and health concerns mean having fall sports is going to be a tricky proposition.

• PLUS: For the last three weeks, director of sports performance Jon Lynch has been putting Black Bear players through their paces on Mahaney Diamond in Orono. The aim is to make sure UMaine athletes are better prepared for the fall season while testing COVID-19 protocols.

In other Maine news...

• Body found on Robbinston beach is Canadian missing since July 3

• Jay mill to lay off 59 workers after explosion

• Maine is looking for creative ways to stick with its 207 area code