Sterling Pelsue, of Vergennes, Vt., casts for striped bass in hip-deep water at dawn near the Pier, Friday, Aug. 31, 2018, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Pelsue got an early start to the Labor Day weekend, taking advantage of the return of pleasant weather following several days of hot and humid conditions. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty | AP

Good morning. Temperatures will be in the mid 80s throughout the state.

Here’s what’s happening in Maine today.

Mainers marvel over sightings of big, odd-looking ‘alien’ fish off coast


–Some people have reported them as sharks, and some even have thought they were severed whale heads, but most everyone that has seen one agrees on one thing: there’s a bizarre-looking fish showing up in heavy numbers along the Maine coast this summer.

Also known as ocean sunfish, mola are the largest bony fish in the world, often growing to more than 2,000 pounds and sometimes topping 5,000 pounds. Social media has been relatively inundated with reports of people seeing mola offshore.

“Whatever it was, it was crazy,” one fisherman recently posted in a thread on Facebook about sunfish sightings. “Kept trying to ram the boat, at one point I thought it was gonna jump in the boat. Made JAWS look like a love story.”

Six Greater Bangor pro tips only locals know about

–You always hear about “things the locals know” in guidebooks and on travel websites. But are they really the sorts of gems only a resident would know about?

In Bangor, it’s no big secret where Stephen King’s house is or that downtown Bangor is a really fun place to be. There are other things, however, that are much more of a local secret. At the risk of blowing our cover and inviting a bunch of “people from away” into our little hidden gems, here are six things in Greater Bangor that are definitely known only by the locals.

This train engine replica could be someone’s next tiny house

Think of it as the tiny house that could.

A Fort Kent woman is selling a replica of a Canadian National train engine that has been transformed into roughly 250 square feet of living space.

The narrow space has built-in shelves for everything from books to a DVD player, and hooks are in place for the hammocks to be strung from wall to wall for snoozing. It’s completely wired with electrical hookups and fully insulated with a small electric heater, a tiny refrigerator, fluorescent lights and a microwave.

And it’s only $3,000.

State lacks records on how many people with autism, intellectual disabilities have stayed in ERs

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has no public records detailing how many adults with intellectual disabilities and autism have spent time in hospital emergency rooms.

Such emergency room stays have become more common as the number of state crisis beds available to adults receiving state-funded services has dropped by more than two thirds in recent years, and as those who have been able to use those beds have generally stayed in them for extended periods due to a reduced number of available group home placements.

Do this: Check these items off your summer bucket list before it’s too late


We hate to say it, but summer is slowly coming to a close. But it’s not over yet. Put these adventures on your list this weekend to take in that last bit of Maine sunshine. And hurry, because today could be the last day to do some of these things until 2019.

In other news…

Maine

Protesters face off over assault-style rifles outside Kittery Trading Post

Arrest warrants issued in break-in that led to dog’s alleged killing

Embattled Swanville veteran resigns from another leadership role

Bangor

Bangor moves to dismiss lawsuit claiming cops harassed man who drowned

UMaine English professor placed on paid leave for second time this year

Bangor students return to schools with beefed-up security

Business

A tiny restaurant in Maine asked for reservations by notecard — and got 20,000 of them

Maine largely escapes China tariff brunt, but US ports fear effects on ship traffic and jobs

Husband and wife launch chocolate business on Monhegan Island

Politics

Maine native who consulted in Washington pleads guilty to violating lobbyist disclosure law

Trump says he can leave Canada behind on trade, threatens to end NAFTA if Congress attempts to ‘interfere’

Trump to withhold 100,000 pages of Kavanaugh’s White House records

Opinion

Labor Day: Stagnant wages and hot dogs on the menu

Unions face growing challenges on Labor Day

Workers’ labor is indispensable to our nation’s advancement

Sports

Three former Black Bears earn NFL roster spots

UMaine’s ‘Black Hole’ defense swallows up UNH in season-opening upset

Husson football program hopes to make most of final season in ECFC

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Lindsay Putnam

Lindsay Putnam is a senior editor for sports and features at the Bangor Daily News. Lindsay previously worked as an editor and reporter at the New York Post. She's a York Beach native and Colby College...