Morning Update: What you need to know in Maine today

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Penobscot County’s HIV cluster is still active year after the first diagnosis. Thirteen people have tested positive for HIV since Oct. 1, 2023, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Complaints to the Maine Attorney General about a contractor arrested for undone and shoddy work go back more than a year. Former clients of Jake Brown said the office contacted them after the BDN published a story on allegations against the Palermo contractor.

Republicans are vastly outspending Democrats in these key Maine elections. Other factors are conspiring against Democrats this year, including eight House members facing term limits to just four Republicans.

These devices are hazardous waste, but there’s nowhere to safely throw them out in Maine. They can explode when heated or crushed, but neither of Maine’s hazardous waste facilities accept them.

A fire at the Eagle Point Energy Center, which broke out on the evening of Oct. 1, was finally doused on Friday. At least 1,600 pounds of trash was removed from the Orrington plant. 

Residents are suing over plans to make badly needed repairs at a Boothbay school. Voters approved a bond for the renovations, but a group that thinks the work can be done for one-third the cost has intervened.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• 2 people running for open seat on Hermon School Committee
• Aroostook volunteers are preserving 153-year-old Swedish Colony-era log house
• Haunted hikes in Maine for spooky fun this Halloween
• High school senior among 3 candidates for Bangor School Committee
• Bangor School Department highlights success of in-school health clinics
• State police seek help to locate Maine couple, 2-month-old infant
• Man in ‘critical condition’ after Maine stabbing
• 84-year-old Maine man dies in Gray rollover crash
• Conservation group offers to buy Kennebec River dams, Maine lawmaker says
• Giant pumpkin breaks Maine record
• 7 football players suspended from Lisbon High football team over hazing allegations
• Brunswick airport authority director is stepping down
• Maine recalls more cannabis products for failing bacteria, yeast and mold tests
• Mainers band together to buy their mobile home park
• 2nd man pleads guilty to ‘horrific’ abuse at Hampden care home
• New York man indicted for boating crash in Stonington
• Bucksport dog shelter owner indicted on animal cruelty charges
• Lawmakers confirm new Maine DHHS commissioner and fire marshal
• Mainers share photos of spectacular celestial show from aurora borealis
• Portland wants to reduce carbon emissions from cruise ships
• A man is missing in Bangor
• Maine House candidate claims government controls weather

MAINE IN PICTURES

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“State and tribal leaders must continue to pursue changes, both symbolic and systemic, that can deepen dialogue and further rebalance the critical relationship between Maine and the Wabanaki Nations.”

Editorial: Indigenous Peoples’ Day provides ‘a reason to be joyful and proud’

LIFE IN MAINE

If you had a garden this summer, you should be making a to-do list to put your garden to rest for the year. These simple tasks will ensure your garden is ready for you come springtime. 

Is Maine’s Wadsworth-Longfellow House haunted? The floors creak, the lighting is dim. The beds where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s parents breathed their last breath are on view.

Browntail moth numbers are down in Maine. The invasive insects that, as caterpillars, have tiny rash-causing hairs have had a more “sporadic population” across the state this year.

The 2nd week of bull moose hunting starts today. So far, 72 percent of bull permits issued by the state have been filled, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Have you ever had a conversation with a crow? Juliette Allen of Athens caught her experience in a video.