A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
— Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway, discussing the high number of intimidation calls his officers responded to in 2024, a number that was based on “flawed” reporting criteria.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Bangor to change how it’s reporting crime, citing the city’s “flawed” data. Weeks after a statewide report showed that Bangor had the highest crime rate in the state, police will change how they report some crimes.
Dog poop and roommate disputes: These are the cases driving up Bangor’s crime rate. Police reported around 700 intimidation cases in 2024, helping drive up the city’s crime rate even as the statewide rate fell.
Maine Democrats are skeptical about Gov. Janet Mills’ idea for $300 relief checks. “I don’t think the Legislature should ever be in a position where we’re seen as buying votes, giving out checks in an election year,” Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, said.
The big property tax ideas coming from Maine’s candidates for governor. Many of their plans echo the economic populism that has swept the country since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Thousands of Maine housing units are at risk of becoming unaffordable. More than 7,600 apartments in Maine are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Section 515 Program, but they’re at risk as mortgages mature and owners sell.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Maine AG breaks with Democrats to call ranked-choice voting expansion unconstitutional
- Mills blasts Trump’s fraud inquiry to federal MaineCare requests
- Judges reject Trump administration’s call to recuse themselves from Maine trans athlete lawsuit
- Maine’s lobster catch dropped for the 4th straight year
- $4.6 million awarded for wetland restoration around the Maine
- Hampden school district given deadline to spend $2M of surplus
- Bangor OB-GYN to close for lack of physicians
- Coast Guard to break ice on Penobscot, Kennebec rivers
- Fugitive wanted on drug and gun charges arrested in Dixmont
- Aroostook developer turns an old school into a 4-season retreat
- Coastal Maine boatyard gets $1.5M to expand further into new technology
- Searsport voters approve mobile home rent stabilization measure
- Belfast-area school board to vote Monday on closing Swanville school
- Man accused of fatally shooting Maine lawyer and philanthropist found fit to stand trial
- Maine woman suffers life-threatening burns in a flash fire
- Here are the Miss and Mr. Maine Basketball winners
- From super-sub to Miss Maine Basketball, her career has come full circle
- After dreaming about it for years, Nolan Ames is Mr. Maine Basketball
- York wins first Class B hockey title in 15 years
- Black Bears fall to last-place Vermont, retain fifth seed in Hockey East
- University of Maine basketball team ends season with loss to NJIT
- Watch: This Celtics legend says Cooper Flagg reminds him of Larry Bird
- Cooper Flagg has ‘dream come true’ playing in Boston
- Maine fans take over the TD Garden for Cooper Flagg’s New England return
- Watch Cooper Flagg describe the ‘incredible’ energy at his Boston homecoming
- ‘He had this game circled’: How Cooper Flagg got healthy in time to play the Celtics
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“President Trump’s lack of patience and the illusions about the effect of removing the Iranian supreme leader stand out as the principal explanation for the decision to go to war now.”
Opinion: The path to America’s war with Iran is full of impatience, incoherence and hubris
LIFE IN MAINE
This bird ID mistake happens all the time. “This is a perfect example of what makes bird identification look harder than it really is,” Outdoors contributor Bob Duchesne
We drove onto the ice. Seconds later, the truck sank. “I have one cardinal rule about spring ice. I don’t trust anyone’s word when it comes to how safe it is,” Outdoors contributor Al Raychard writes.
Wild animals you’re likely to see in Acadia National Park. Here are some Outdoors contributor Aislinn Sarnacki’s most memorable encounters.
