Good morning. The temperatures will be in the mid-40s to the mid-50s from north to south, with partly sunny skies and strong winds throughout the state.
Here’s what we’re talking about today.
She trusted her college to punish her alleged attacker. It didn’t investigate.
–At Thomas College in Waterville, four current female students described experiencing unwanted sexual contact and were surprised when administrators didn’t take initiative to investigate their complaints.
Instead, administrators left it up to the women to decide how to proceed, according to student interviews, emails and a secret recording taken by one woman.
The students came away disenchanted, fearful and depressed after encountering a campus judicial system that they described as a dead end.
The women’s experiences show how a range of sexual misconduct can make victims fear for their safety and interfere with their education.
This is the first story of a 2-part series into the handling of sexual misconduct allegations at The second story will be released at 6 p.m.
25 years after a house was built on it, a Maine island has been given back to the birds
–In 1994, when the then-owner of an island called Jordan’s Delight started building a house on it, officials with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Maine Coast Heritage Trust thought the island would never again be fully wild and that the seabird populations that had nested on its grassy cliffs for millennia might be displaced forever. On Thursday, conservation officials finished fully restoring the small island off the coast of Washington County to its natural state.
Hermon residents are pushing for their town to fund its debt-ridden ambulance service
–The Hermon Volunteer Rescue & First Aid Squad, a nonprofit organization, used to receive regular funding from the town. But that arrangement ended in 2010, and in recent years, the service has been losing money because it can’t cover all its expenses with the revenue it generates from ambulance rides, donations and other services. The organization had $300,000 in debts as of last year. The ambulance service’s woes were a source of confrontation at a Town Council meeting two weeks ago.
Tastes and smells of 33 varieties of tea beckon from new downtown Bangor tea house
–The goal of the co-owners of the new downtown Bangor tea house Tea & Tarts is to offer tea lovers and tea novices alike whatever kind of experience they like, be it a quick cup of English Breakfast and a bagel to kick off the morning, or an afternoon spent slowly sipping on pot after pot of artisan tea and nibbling on tarts and scones.
As part of its deal to build a $1 billion line through western Maine, CMP agreed to upgrade rural broadband. Here’s how it’s supposed to work.
–The utility agreed to invest $15 million to upgrade or add high-speed internet services to communities that abut the proposed 145-mile transmission line and other communities seeking better broadband. A fiber-optic system that will be used for both CMP operations and consumers plays a central role in the plan, which also includes collaboration with the Three Ring Binder program and local officials.
Try this: Bangor’s food truck season kicks off with more diverse offerings than ever
–Food truck season is shifting into gear. The BDN’s Emily Burnham has put together a guide to the nine food trucks that will serve their fare in the Bangor area this spring, summer and fall, whether they’re parked at the Bangor Waterfront or roving around town.
In other news …
Maine
Matthew Lindahl, a Rockland police officer honored for saving lives, dies at 44
Aroostook County town reaches accord that could end island residents’ move to secede
Maine man accused of drunken driving in crash that killed pedestrian
Bangor
6 months old and still unauthorized, ‘Church of Safe Injection’ expands
Fire rips through Bangor building, displacing 4 tenants
Nonprofit that runs Bangor’s only shelter for families is closing
Business
Bucksport, developer team up to build new roads for downtown housing
How Auburn is working to raise its profile in China
LBJ’s daughters christen Navy destroyer bearing his name in Maine
Politics
Mills reverses another signature LePage move by pulling photos from EBT cards
Janet Mills signs bill to officially replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day
Maine among states moving to knock air out of festive balloon launches
Opinion
Science should be heeded: Rockweed is not a plant
Implement automatic voter registration, carefully and cautiously
Spring cold season highlights need for paid sick leave
Sports
UMaine, Albany swap lopsided America East baseball victories
Blue Jackets beat the Bruins in overtime to tie series
Patriots take Jarrett Stidham as possible successor to Tom Brady
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