Today is Thursday. Temperatures will be in the high 20s to low 40s from north to south, with partly sunny skies to the south and increasing clouds in the north. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
University of Maine at Machias will be the host of a swab and send test clinic, where anyone can get tested for free. A doctor’s order or evidence of symptoms are not necessary to be tested. It’s the second testing site in Washington County.
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 change could result in fewer reports of probable cases, but it doesn’t mean there’s a lower risk from the virus.
In this Sept. 2, 2020, file photo, shoppers pass by a former Clark’s shoe store that is now one of several vacant retail spaces among the outlet shops in Freeport. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / AP
The Maine Department of Labor struggled this year as unemployment skyrocketed. Many Mainers experienced long wait times, delayed claims and fraud that kept them from getting benefits.
In this Aug. 28, 2018 photo, Bangor Christian Schools sophomore Olivia Carson, 15, of Glenburn was dropped off on the first day of school by her mother, Amy Carson in Bangor. The Carsons are one of three Maine families that are challenging the prohibition on using public money to pay tuition at religious schools after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Credit: Gabor Degre / BDN
A lawyer for three Maine families challenging the state’s ban on public funding for religious schools sees the addition of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court as a reason for optimism after judges in two lower courts ruled against his clients.
In this Oct. 28, 2020, file photo, Gov. Janet Mills attends a political rally in Bangor. Credit: Eesha Pendharkar / BDN
The Democratic governor said a lack of more federal stimulus and a scheduled phase-out of unemployment benefits for roughly 35,000 Mainers by year’s end factored into her decision to not curtail business and personal activities the way she did in the spring.
Eben Nieuwkerk sends a barrel full of fish up and out of the hold on his gillnet fishing boat Shannon Kristine at the Portland Fish Exchange on Monday. Nieuwkerk credits the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Assocation’s recent buying program with stabilizing fish prices. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
Fish prices have bottomed out, forcing some boats to stay docked. At the same time, droves of newly hungry Mainers are facing coronavirus-induced economic hardships and asking their local food pantries for help. With uncaught fish at sea and famished people on land, the situation is a mismatched, ironic tragedy.
With the recent death of Southwest Harbor Police Chief Alan Brown, town officials have renewed their interest in exploring a possible chief-sharing agreement with the neighboring towns of Mount Desert and Bar Harbor, which have shared a police chief since 2013. Credit: Bill Trotter / BDN
The idea of formally sharing some law enforcement resources with its neighboring towns has been kicking around since before Southwest Harbor hired Alan Brown as its police chief in 2015.
