Good morning. Temperatures will be in the high 80s with afternoon thunderstorms throughout the state.
Here’s what’s happening in Maine today.
Stormy Daniels, hailed as ‘hero,’ cashes in on Trump scandal in Portland
–Stormy Daniels, who has said she had a one-night sexual encounter with President Donald Trump, came to Maine Wednesday for a two-night strip show tour stop.
Some who turned out did so to support Trump’s controversial adversary. Others said they cared less about the politics, but congratulated Daniels on cashing in on the scandal with apparently lucrative shows like the ones at Portland’s PT Showclub, where patrons paid $20 for admission and another $20 to meet her afterward.
The only ones on hand who weren’t impressed seemed to be the venue’s regular performers.
Suspect in Bar Harbor murder pleads not guilty
–The man accused of murdering a 19-year-old Bar Harbor woman earlier this summer pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday. It was his first court appearance after being indicted by a grand jury.
Jalique Keene, 21, of Bar Harbor, will likely face trial in May if he does not make a plea deal, according to statements by court officials during his appearance at Hancock County Unified Criminal Court.
Keene is accused of sexually assaulting and killing Mikaela Conley of Bar Harbor at an elementary school playground early June 1.
Acadia climber hit by rock might lose her leg, husband says
–Surgeons were working Wednesday to repair the shattered left leg of a professional adventure sportswoman hit by a falling rock in Acadia National Park.
Serenity Coyne, 53, of Boston was undergoing her second operation at Eastern Maine Medical Center of Bangor since the Labor Day mishap on Dorr Mountain Ladder Trail. She was descending the trial when the rock, estimated to weigh about 500 pounds, smashed her leg, according to her husband, Michael Coyne.
Since 1995, the couple has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the Bolivian Andes, the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and Mount Gros Morne of Newfoundland to raise money for various causes for their charity, Expedition Outreach, Michael Coyne said.
Maine ranks highest in New England for food insecurity
–Every day more people go hungry in Maine than in any other New England state.
In fact, 16 percent of the state’s population is food insecure, including one out of every five children, according to data released in September 2017 by The United States Department of Agriculture.
It doesn’t have to — nor should it — be this way, according to Kristen Miale, president of The Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, the state’s largest hunger relief organization. A talk next week in Camden will focus on solutions for this big problem.
Men accused in dog killing claim it ‘ran off’ during joyride
–A judge on Wednesday set bail for two men at $1,000 each for a set of alleged crimes that include killing a Winter Harbor man’s dog.
One of the two men, however, will continue to be held without bail because of a prior terrorizing conviction. Justin Chipman, 22, had been released after serving part of his sentence on that prior conviction, but the release was revoked because of the new allegations.
Chipman, of Winter Harbor, and Nathan Burke, 35, of Hancock, are accused of breaking into the home of Phil Torrey, kidnapping his dog Franky and then killing him the night of Aug. 24, when Torrey and his girlfriend had traveled out of state to attend a concert.
Camden wants to flush out some dirty little secrets
–For the past three years, the Camden Wastewater Department has been conducting sewer-line inspections in basements to locate illegal hookups to the town’s sewer lines.
But about 200 property owners have not responded to inspection request letters, according to wastewater department superintendent David Bolstridge, meaning town officials must decide when and how to impose a $100 per day fine for the violation.
During a major rainstorm, these illegal hookups will pump storm water into the wastewater lines, which can overpower wastewater pumps in the system causing the mixture of raw sewage and stormwater to overflow into the harbor. Bolstridge said this happens about once or twice a year.
Do this: See ‘The Graduate’ at the Bangor Opera House
–The beginning of every new season at the Penobscot Theatre Company is always a fresh start — new shows, new actors, new characters, new stories to tell. For the 2018-2019 season, which kicks off this weekend with an adaptation of the iconic 1960s film “The Graduate,” it’s a fresh start not just for the company, but also for its new executive director, John Hedges, who began his position in May, replacing outgoing executive director Mary Budd.
Hedges’ nearly 40-year career in theater has taken him all over the country, onstage and behind the scenes. “What’s most exciting to me, coming here, is the opportunity to cement the theater’s role as an integral part of the community, as much as the grocery store or a school,” Hedges said.
–“The Graduate” opens Saturday, Sept. 8, and runs Wednesdays through Sundays through Sept. 23 at the Bangor Opera House. Two preview performances are set for Sept. 6 and 7. For more information, visit penobscottheatre.org.
In other news…
Maine
Why Maine roadways are littered with squirrel carcasses this year
Families of children hurt in Maine day care crash seeking medical damages
At hearing, Collins And King ask how Twitter and Facebook plan to combat misinformation
Bangor
UMaine theater professor placed on leave for second time this year
Early morning fire burns Hermon family’s home
Bees, bears, buckwheat: A beekeeper’s busy summer
Business
In Maine, as in the rest of the country, apple shakeup reflects changing consumer tastes
This former mill town could become Maine’s seafood processing hotspot
People are destroying Nike gear to protest Colin Kaepernick campaign
Politics
Advocates have next move in legal chess match with LePage over Medicaid expansion
Maine asks for another extension on federal ID requirements
Lawmakers reject former LePage aide for turnpike board position
Opinion
Justice should never be about winning elections
It’s past time for Maine to protect its residents from gun violence
Attack ads just a preview of nastiness to come
Sports
Anxious for bigger challenges, MMA fighter Ryan Sanders stays busy in Bangor
Former quarterback flourishes in second season as UMaine H-back
Phillips blasts 2-out, 2-run, game-winning HR in 9th in Red Sox debut
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