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QUOTE OF THE DAY
— Giovanna Guidoboni, interim vice president for research and dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, on the K-12 learning opportunities that UMaine’s new Green Engineering and Materials Facility will offer.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Wave of high-profile murder trials are expected in Penobscot County next year. After nearly three years without one, four murder trials are scheduled for the county in 2026.
Maine set a new record for reports of tick-borne diseases in 2025. Known cases of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis all exceeded report numbers from 2024, which broke records from the year before.
Here’s how many houses sold in every Maine county this year. Maine’s real estate market sees increased home sales in 2025, with Cumberland, York and Penobscot counties leading the way.
It was a difficult year for Washington County. Things won’t let up in 2026. Washington County officials grapple with financial crisis and debt, as they seek solutions and reforms to address years of poor bookkeeping.
The delivery of Maine Maritime Academy’s new training ship has been delayed by months. During shipyard trials, the vessel had issues with its propulsion shaft and stern tube bearing. It’s now expected to arrive in February.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Maine joins lawsuit challenging Trump administration’s move to ban youth gender-affirming care
- Maine expands PFAS products ban in 2026
- Here are the changes coming to UMaine’s campus next year
- 1-year-old child found dead in Milford
- Corinth man charged with murdering his mother
- 17-year-old girl killed, boy injured in Aroostook County snowmobile crash
- 2025 was a year of change for Bucksport
- Composer and his wife dead in Maine murder-suicide
- How a small Belfast workshop got giant bobbleheads into the big leagues
- No injuries in Brunswick Christmas Day fire
- New law will allow for the sale for little-known part of Baxter State Park
- Rockland considers allowing a boost in cruise ship visits
- 2 dogs die in Pittsfield fire
- Firefighters knock down three-alarm blaze in Portland’s Old Port
- Remembering some of the Maine sports legends who died in 2025
- Maine Mariners’ games postponed as minor league hockey players strike
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“As Mainers prepare for a new year, it is fitting to remember messages that appeal to the country’s better nature.”
Editorial: 10 inspirational quotes from Joshua Chamberlain for a new year
LIFE IN MAINE
Why this angler avoids ice fishing for brook trout. “I know it will raise some hackles when I say any brook trout is too special to haul through the ice,” Outdoors contributor Al Raychard writes.
Where to find Maine ice thickness reports this winter. The Lake Stewards of Maine maintain an ice-in and ice-out map that tracks when lakes freeze over and thaw, based on volunteer observations.
2026 birding resolutions: Bird naked or use every tool. “It wasn’t that long ago that the only identification tools available to budding birders were binoculars and a guidebook.”
