Good morning from Augusta. Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s your soundtrack. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I haven’t hugged my son in a year. And it’s been incredibly boring. It’s like ‘Groundhog Day.’ You get up every day, and it’s the same thing. You can’t go anywhere. You can’t do anything. But I stayed healthy, because I stayed home,” said Lynne Whyte, 72, of Blue Hill, who received her second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor this week. “So this is a huge relief. This is freedom.” What we’re watching today The stage is set for another debate over tribal gaming after the Wabanaki people gained a historic victory last session. Opposition to allowing the tribes in Maine to operate their own gambling businesses beyond a limited number of weekend games has been long-standing in the state, mostly from its two casinos and state lawmakers who argue the efforts should go to the voters in a referendum. We can expect similar arguments when a bill that would amend state law to allow three tribes to offer gaming under a 1988 federal law goes before lawmakers today at 10 a.m. in the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs committee. But unlike last year — when lawmakers on the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee considered and approved a similar bill that began as part of an omnibus package on tribal sovereignty — this measure will be considered alone, one of the first contentious bills on sovereignty we can expect this year. It is just one issue on tribal issues that have been brought forward this year. The Legislature’s lone tribal representative, Rep. Rena Newell of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Pleasant Point, who can vote in committees but not in the House, has submitted several bills that would boost tribal representation on state governing boards for higher education, fishing and wildlife and marine resources — areas that have caused friction between the state and tribes before. Those measures have so far received positive testimony in committee. The four federally recognized tribes in Maine also secured a win last week when a bill proposing state recognition for the Kineo Band of Maliseets died on the House floor after the Judiciary Committee voted it down in a near-unanimous vote. Those victories show the tribes still have strong support in that committee, but that will be tested when the bigger fight over sovereignty comes up again. The Maine politics top 3 — “Longer hours and drive-thru clinics key to Maine’s plan to vaccinate all adults,” Caitlin Andrews, Bangor Daily News: “That effort could require anything from state support for additional staffing or finding new spaces for current providers as well as tapping others, including family doctors who have not been involved in the rollout to date and independent pharmacies that have worked largely in long-term care settings, for an expanded role in the process.” After a long wait, Maine will begin vaccinating prisoners next week. The announcement came tucked into a press release about another possible outbreak in a correctional facility, this time at the Maine State Prison in Warren, where seven inmates and one staffer have tested positive for the virus. It is the state’s largest prison. State health officials expressed concern as hospitalizations have ticked up and the virus appears to be spreading in Maine’s least populous county. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has logged 76 cases in Piscataquis County since March 1, accounting for a fifth of the county’s total infections since the start of the pandemic. Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said the agency has not identified any outbreaks, suggesting the virus is spreading via community transmission. — “British diplomat looks to advance offshore wind collaboration on virtual Maine visit,” Lori Valigra, BDN: “Offshore wind is a key part of the Democratic governor’s plan revealed last November to create the nation’s first floating offshore wind research farm between 20 and 40 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine. [Gov. Janet] Mills’ plan met resistance from the fisheries industry. In response, she proposed a 10-year moratorium on new offshore wind projects in state-managed waters.” — “Woman attacked in Portland because she is Asian, police say,” The Associated Press: “The attacker told the victim to ‘go back to where she came from’ before he kicked her driver side mirror, which he broke, police said. The woman’s children were in the vehicle. Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said the attack ‘cuts directly against everything we stand for in the city of Portland.’ He said the department is investigating the incident as a hate crime and will work with the office of the Maine attorney general.” Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jessica Piper and Caitlin Andrews. If you’re reading this on the BDN’s website or were forwarded it, you can sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning by emailing [email protected]. 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