QUOTE OF THE DAY
— Molly Feeney, executive director of Homeworthy, a midcoast group that serves people who are homeless, on efforts to turn motels into low-income housing.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
A string of midcoast motels turned into “last resort” housing has a pattern of code violations, according to a Belfast enforcement officer. Along the midcoast, companies have been buying up motels along the Route 1 corridor with the goal of refurbishing them and converting them into extended-stay establishments.
A newly planted Christmas tree farm with room for development is for sale near Bangor. In addition to 24,000 spruce, balsam, fir, blue spruce and Korean Christmas trees are some “legacy trees” that date back to New Hampshire in the 1940s.
A Bangor health official fears that the number of HIV cases in Penobscot County will continue to rise. Penobscot County has seen 21 cases of HIV reported since October 2023.
Hermon’s new superintendent aspires to transparency at the embattled school department. Barbara Sargent faces the task of uniting a split community during a tumultuous period for the school district that has included several lawsuits and attempted book bans.
Several landmark Maine buildings might be sold by the Trump administration. A large federal building in Augusta and the U.S. Custom House in Portland appear on a list of “functionally obsolete” buildings published by the federal government Tuesday.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Angus King and Susan Collins break on bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports
- Inside the closed-door negotiations aimed at salvaging Maine’s stalled budget
- Janet Mills announces pick to lead Maine economic development department
- Maine Trust for Local News to layoff 49 employees and reduce print publications
- Lane closure planned for I-95 south in Bangor Wednesday
- Canadian claims his 11th Can-Am 250 crown
- Rural Mainers lose internet for weeks as companies fight over billing
- Bucksport takes step to attract biofuel plant to region
- Maine railroad crossing could be named after civil rights leader who died there
- Church makes court arguments for blocking UMaine’s sale of Belfast center
- Study finds more than 100 great white sharks have recently visited Maine
- Duke fans ask Cooper Flagg for ‘one more year’ in final home game of the season
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“Americans, and especially Republicans, must convey to the president their preference for a genuine ‘peace through strength,’ with the vigorous deterrents that implies, over a concessions-only settlement that leaves Ukraine perilously exposed.”
Opinion: There is still hope for an agreement that protects Ukraine
LIFE IN MAINE
A Maine eighth-grader was voted Sports Illustrated’s high school boys athlete of the week. Quinn Pelletier shares the recognition with girls winner Maddy Shirley, a junior basketball player at Evansville Central in Indiana.
A life-changing back injury didn’t keep contributor Ryan Brod from the outdoors. “Year after year I asked of my body, and it responded. Until it didn’t,” he writes.
A costumed bear on Route 1 might be the midcoast’s quirkiest landmark. Unlikely to make the Instagram feeds of seasonal visitors, the person-sized bear is beloved by a few and wears an 8XL.
