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QUOTE OF THE DAY
— Lisa Ladd, director of Buck Memorial Library in Bucksport. Under Ladd’s leadership, the library has expanded to meet demand for a wide range of services, but without more funding from the three towns it serves, it may have to cut back or dip into its endowment.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
A downtown Bangor restaurant operated unlicensed and uninspected before closing. The revelation comes shortly after the former owner sued for $54,000 he alleges he was never paid for the business.
A shuttered trash plant in Orrington won’t reopen for more than a year. The plant, which caught fire last fall, closed in 2023 after longtime owner Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. was foreclosed on.
Northern Light Health lost $156 million in 2024. The system is also carrying nearly $617 million in debt at the end of 2024, compared with $445 million at the end of 2023.
Bucksport’s public library is at a financial tipping point. Without more municipal help, the library will have to dip into its endowment and jeopardize its future, director Lisa Ladd said.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Maine House endorses marriage ban for children
- He served under George W. Bush. Now he’s running for Maine governor.
- Penobscot Valley Country Club sold to owners of Lucerne Golf Club
- Maine school board adopts Trump language recognizing only 2 sexes
- Dover-Foxcroft takes next step in deciding fate of ailing dam
- Homeless man charged with setting fire to tent in Ellsworth
- A big upgrade is almost done for one of Maine’s last swing bridges
- Maine man allegedly strangled woman so bad she passed out when she didn’t get him a Valentine’s Day gift
- This Maine town has a choice: Accept a gift of land or hand it over to the Hells Angels
- Maine woman accused of stabbing son to death claims competence despite psychologist’s doubts
- Police investigate woman’s death in Hartland
- Analysis: UMaine has earned its status as the top university for hockey goalies
MAINE IN PICTURES

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“There are holes where connection used to be, and that is convenient for those who are trying to destroy our will. The more isolated we are, the easier we are to divide.”
LIFE IN MAINE
The days of “Canadian cash at par” are likely over for good. Back in the day, so many Canadian tourists came through Maine that, for local businesses, it made sense to accept the country’s currency at face value.
The 58th annual Kenduskeag Canoe Race is this Saturday. Are you ready? Based on the forecast, the warming tent could be the most popular place as paddlers come into the finish line.
This Down East cobblestone beach offers solitary conversation. “There is an almost perfect concave-cupped cove in Machiasport that will listen to your thoughts,” contributor RJ Heller writes.







