Friday, Aug. 16, 2024

Quote of the Day

“It slams the door on all the good and the potential good that the University of Maine Hutchinson Center has done.”

— Mike Hurley, former Belfast mayor and city councilor and member of the Committee for the Future of the Hutchinson Center, reacting to the University of Maine System offering to sell the facility to a church.

Today’s Top Maine Stories

Bangor is trying a different approach to helping people without homes. Jena Jones’ new role as homelessness response manager involves connecting people with services and looking for larger trends that might show which interventions are more effective.

The Gothic revival home of a general who transformed Rockland is for sale. Standout features of the 2,700-square-foot home include a large period barn, floor to ceiling windows in the front parlors and its location.

A group that had plans for a shuttered UMaine branch in Belfast is unhappy that the university system has chosen to sell it to a church. The UMaine System confirmed late Wednesday that Calvary Chapel Belfast was selected as the buyer.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited the Maine site that could become Frances Perkins monument. As FDR’s labor secretary, Perkins championed banning child labor and creating Social Security, a minimum wage and the 40-hour workweek.

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat representing Maine’s 2nd District, said he would not endorse a presidential candidate. Golden delivered the news Thursday after facing repeated questions on whether he would support his party’s likely nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Maine in Pictures

More News from Around the State

• Who was Frances Perkins, whose Maine homestead may become a national monument?

• Court says ACLU can name state in Maine indigent defense lawsuit

• Bangor’s new downtown smoothie shop will open Friday

• Regulators will have another 30 days to decide if public benefits from Old Town landfill expansion

• US and Canada celebrate new Madawaska border crossing

• Loring leaders kick off fundraising campaign for deteriorating arch hangar

• Audits find Ellsworth made accounting mistakes in recent years

• Deer Isle school administrators resign 2 weeks before classes start

• Outspoken conservative resigns from Maine school board

• 71-year-old hiker rescued after collapsing on Maine mountain

• Portland officials approve combined child care and affordable housing project

• Union accuses Cumberland County Jail of unfair labor practices

• Coaches poll says Cooper Flagg will be best college player this season

Things to do this Weekend

The third edition of the popular Bangor Waterfront Night Market takes place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, with hundreds of vendors, food trucks and entertainers set up along Bangor’s Waterfront Park. It’s a great family event, as is the return of “Jurassic Quest” — an immersive live experience featuring life-size dinosaur models — set for multiple shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Cross Insurance Center.

Other live entertainment options in eastern Maine include rockers Whiskey Myers and Blackberry Smoke at the Maine Savings Amphitheater and improv troupe The Focus Group at the Bangor Arts Exchange, both on Friday night. There’s also the annual Paranormal Fair at Fort Knox State Historic Site in Prospect from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and Friday through Sunday, the annual Belfast Harbor Fest showcases boats, music, food and more on the Belfast waterfront.

From the Opinion Pages

Life in Maine

As hunters prepare to take to the woods this fall, those who were awarded an antlerless deer permit should have good luck this year. The herd is healthy, and many areas in Maine still have room for healthy population growth.

There’s a strange phenomenon that’s been seen in Maine blueberry fields. Unusual colors are popping up in this year’s crops, but the berries are perfectly safe to eat.

Shorebirds aren’t any easier to identify than sparrows. But Bangor Daily News birding expert Bob Duchesne has three tips to get you started.

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