Good morning. Temperatures will be in the 30s and sunny throughout the state.
Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
‘Soupman’ returns to Bangor, where his son died of an overdose
–On Wednesday, Peter Kelleher returned to Bangor to make something of the grief he’s felt since his son died. Kelleher, a Millinocket native who now lives in Massachusetts, drove around downtown Bangor in a red school bus, donating backpacks filled with toiletries to the poor and homeless.
How to grow a marijuana business when regulations are up in the air
–Patricia Rosi, who heads Wellness Connection, the state’s largest medical marijuana growing and dispensary company, continues to reshape her business with an eye toward the untapped recreational-use market. She just needs state lawmakers and regulators to figure out how to implement legalization, which Maine voters passed in 2016.
This is what Sumner Memorial High School in Hancock County looks like now
—And here’s what it could look like. Regional School Unit 24 plans to replace the existing school with a new building for students in grades 6-12 pans out. Middle-school students would shift from the district’s four K-8 schools to the combined middle and high school building. The current high school building, built in the 1950s, would be torn down.
There’s been a change in who will determine state environmental permits for a proposed salmon farm in Belfast
–The Maine Board of Environmental Protection, made up of citizens, has assumed oversight of the project’s permitting. Nordic Aquafarms, which wants to build the farm, asked for the switch, which is likely to eliminate a step in any potential appeals process.
19 years ago, these four were basketball teammates. Now, they’re all coaching teams in the tourney
–There were some passionate basketball players on the 1999-2000 Shead High School boys basketball team. Nearly 20 years later, four men who played together continue to share their love for the game and their own camaraderie as the head coaches of competing varsity squads heading into the 2019 tournament season.
5 rural Maine hospitals have qualified for federal help so they can run sustainably
–The five hospitals include one that recently filed for bankruptcy and others that have cut services and lost money in recent years. Rural health experts affiliated with Texas A&M University will provide technical assistance on site and remotely to help the hospitals identify their unique challenges, their local health care needs and ways to operate sustainably.
Watch this: Maine sets the world record for the most people calling a moose at the same time
–Last June, when thousands of people flocked to the Skowhegan Fairgrounds for the Maine Moose Festival, many took part in an offbeat attempt to set a world record. Yesterday, Guinness World Records confirmed that 1,054 people grunted, wailed and channeled their inner moose. You can watch the video of it happening here.
In other news…
Maine
Coyote and bald eagle battle for supremacy on frozen Maine lake
Snow canceled classes, but these Maine students still had to do schoolwork
Second man this month dies after going into burning house for dog
Bangor
Bangor Savings set to open waterfront office building and parking garage
Bangor smoking lounge owner gets 20 months in prison for illegal pot sales
Bangor Historical Society names new director
Business
Major trucking company with Maine depot files for bankruptcy
Tweaks to lucrative East Coast scallop fishery up for debate
The Jackson Laboratory’s biggest challenge has nothing to do with mice or research
Politics
Maine Legislature considers banning vaping on school grounds
Susan Collins and Angus King split on Trump’s nominee for attorney general
Trump expected to sign border deal to avert shutdown
Opinion
On Valentine’s Day, celebrate love
Mills budget is a reckless orgy of spending
Mills following through on health care promises, to the benefit of Maine people
Sports
The latest schedule and scores from the Maine high school basketball tournament
2019 Maine high school basketball tournament brackets
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