Good morning. Temperatures will be in the low 30s in the south and single digits in the north with sunny skies throughout the state.
Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
They found something new to fight about in Belfast
–A developer with plans for a major downtown development and city officials engaged in a testy argument over waterfront access. City officials are insisting on a permanent easement for the Harbor Walk, but developer Paul Naron has other ideas.
Given the choice, more school districts are dumping ‘proficiency-based’ diplomas
–A small minority of school districts in Maine expect to keep proficiency-based diplomas in place now that the diplomas that emphasize students’ mastery of the state’s academic expectations are no longer required.
See if kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles at your school
–Vaccination rates against measles are worryingly low at about half of Maine schools with kindergarten classrooms.
The first recorded Native American songs were captured in Calais in 1890
–In 1980, Passamaquoddy tribal historic preservation officer Donald Soctomah heard some very old audio recordings of Passamaquoddy songs and stories for the first time.
The recordings, made in Calais in 1890, are the oldest known recordings of any Native American words or music and the first-ever anthropological field recordings.
Love is in the air around Valentine’s Day
–That applies to the Kennebec Valley Humane Society, too, where shelter staff last week married Jack and Diane, two older pups who are inseparable and need to be adopted as a pair. Shelter staff joke that the mixed breeds act as an “old married couple,” so they threw them a wedding.
Blustery conditions greet extreme sledders at Maine’s annual toboggan championships
–With a wind advisory in place and mirror slick ice, the U.S. National Toboggan Championships in Camden was no place for the faint of heart on Saturday.
But 425 teams toughed it out to race down the 440-foot-long chute on traditional wooden toboggans for the 29th year of the Camden Snow Bowl’s signature event.
In other news …
Maine
Pregnant woman killed in Maine snowmobile crash
Lewiston police officer found dead in his home
Maine church members elect openly gay Episcopal bishop
Bangor
Northern Light EMMC again restricting visitors with flu-like symptoms
Country star Luke Bryan will play in Bangor for the fourth time this summer
Biddeford slips past Bangor, Lewiston for state cheering title
Business
Company behind proposed Belfast salmon farm planning a 2nd facility in California
CMP told 62,000 customers they were getting refunds. That was a mistake.
Student loan debt in Maine has almost doubled in past 10 years
Politics
Mills avoids tax hikes, boosts school aid in $8 billion spending plan hit from left and right
Susan Collins: Brett Kavanaugh’s attackers ‘haven’t even read’ dissent
How Maine’s members of Congress voted last week
Opinion
The Maine newspaper editor who led a racist attack on US soldiers
Focus on effective treatment is right course for Maine in opioid crisis
Clean election funding didn’t work in Maine. It shouldn’t be used nationally.
Sports
Bangor High girl breaks 32-year-old indoor track record
UMaine men’s hockey team beats Providence for 1st time in 7 seasons
Windham man shares fond memories of late Hall of Famer Frank Robinson
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