Good morning. Temperatures will be in the mid 60s throughout the state.
Here’s what’s happening in Maine today.
A section of Maine’s coast hit hard by the opioid crisis wants its own drug court
–For a region hit hard by the opioid epidemic, a drug court could be another tool that could help address addiction, according to Jon Liberman, who is the district attorney for Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties.
It would join six other drug courts in Maine. Funding will likely have to win approval from the next Legislature.
Nonviolent drug offenders may apply for admission to drug courts in these counties after pleading guilty to charges. Once accepted into the drug court, the participants are overseen by a team that includes representatives from probation services as well as people with mental health and substance use treatment backgrounds.
Volunteers give Maine landowners a hand and clear trash from the woods
–On Sunday, the Maine Warden Service and the Maine Forest Service combined forces to stage the fifth annual Landowner Appreciation Cleanup Day. Over the previous four cleanups, about 1 million pounds of trash left in the woods has been removed by volunteers from a variety of civic and outdoor organizations.
Many landowners have closed access to their land because of the trash left behind. In a state where 94 percent of the land is privately held, littering could be costly to those who depend upon the kindness of landowners in order to hunt, fish or hike.
“Statewide, there has been decades of abuse toward landowners that have actually, in some cases, still been providing access to their land for recreational purposes.”
Are human remains still buried beneath this little Bangor park?
–Pedestrians and drivers likely pass the intersection of West Broadway and Buck Street on Bangor’s West Side with nary a thought given to the little grassy area situated at that corner.
That area — technically a city park, nestled right in the middle of a residential neighborhood and managed by Bangor Parks & Recreation — was once home to one of Bangor’s first cemeteries. Hence the park’s rather blunt name: Old Cemetery Lot Park.
The park was originally the site of the first Catholic cemetery in Bangor, established in 1836, in the midst of the wave of Irish immigration the city welcomed during the era.
Maine’s hot, dry summer keeping Lyme bearing ticks at bay
–In Maine, there had been a steady annual growth of Lyme cases, including a jump of 23 percent to more than 1,850 last year. But the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Lyme cases for May, June and July were below long-term averages.
The arachnids have more difficulty surviving in hot and dry weather, said Charles Lubelczyk, a field biologist with the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Scarborough. Maine has had a steamy summer, with Portland experiencing the hottest August on record, and rainfall has been less than normal in many places. It’s also possible that the drought at the end of last summer killed a lot of ticks that should have appeared this spring.
‘No road map’: Maine family copes with rare diagnosis
–On a warm summer day three years ago, Andrea Dole gave birth at home to her first child, James, with the support of her partner, Patrick Dole, and under the care of two midwives and a doula.
“We got to have a beautiful home birth,” Andrea Dole said. “It was really sweet. He got to be on my chest for that first hour, and he just looked at us with his beautiful, sparkly eyes.”
The midwives noticed something the new parents didn’t, though: Baby James’ head was very small, indicating something was wrong. James was born with microcephaly, a rare neurological condition, in which a person’s brain doesn’t develop completely in the womb.
The memory of that first, peaceful hour at home with their baby helped sustain Andrea and Patrick Dole through the hard days ahead.
In other news…
Maine
Drugs stolen from Augusta Walgreens, police say
Brunswick man charged with attempted murder of sheriff’s deputy to stand trial
Kittery police: Man on mushrooms killed his cat
Bangor
Here are the candidates for Bangor’s November races
You might have to pay for parking at some Cross Insurance Center events
54-year-old Mainer’s mixed martial arts journey comes to an end
Business
BDN Business Banter: A stormy week in weather, trade and entertainment
Former BDN reporter A.J. Higgins retires from Maine Public Radio
State to hold hearings on scallop fishery rules
Politics
Governor says he’ll keep blocking payments to AG office
Facebook group ‘celebrating’ Maine is conduit for progressive PAC’s political ads
Teen with asthma worried about Kavanaugh and the environment
Opinion
LePage’s obstruction continues as thousands of Mainers await access to health insurance
If he’s confirmed for the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh will put polluters’ interests first
McCain fought Trump, but president’s base remains unmoved
Sports
Bangor football team shuts out Windham to snap 18-game losing streak
UMaine football team overcomes 21-point deficit to stun Western Kentucky
Brady, Gronk propel Patriots past Texans in opener
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