Good morning. Temperatures will be in the high 50s and mid-60s from north to south with scattered rain throughout the state.
Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
A church near downtown Bangor is shutting its doors after more than 160 years
–Grace United Methodist Church has been operating at a deficit and depleted its endowment funds to stay open. At the same time, the church’s congregation is aging and numbers between eight and 15 on a typical Sunday. The church runs a food pantry and thrift store, which the congregation hopes other churches or organizations will continue to run.
A Maine humane society is going to great lengths to find homes for hard-to-adopt pets
–With its new No Paw Left Behind initiative, Midcoast Humane is marketing older animals or those with special needs in an effort to match them with humans that will appreciate them. “Sometimes visitors just can’t picture these guys in their homes because when they see them behind the kennels, the stress of living in the shelter causes them to look like crazy, unruly creatures, so people pass them by,” Dr. Mandie Wehr, director of shelter operations, said.
Duck nests in ‘fowl’ ground on Brewer’s waterlogged baseball field
–It’s no secret that this spring has been a bit soggy in these parts. If you’re looking for more proof, just ask David Utterback, athletic administrator for the Brewer School Department.
His baseball facility, Heddericg Field, is too wet to play on. And a local duck has decided the new wetland is the perfect spot to lay a few eggs and hunker down until they hatch.
2 men accused of killing dog plead not guilty, will be tried separately
–Two men accused of killing another man’s dog each pleaded not guilty Monday to five charges stemming from the incident last summer
Justin Chipman, 23, of Steuben and Nathan Burke, 38, of Hancock each requested non-jury bench trials, at least in part due to intense publicity about the suspicious death of the dog, who disappeared while his owner was out of town and whose body was found on a Winter Harbor beach a few days later by the wife of the district attorney.
Blue Hill and Ellsworth prove hot spots for bear damage this spring
–The first sign was the suet holders, set out to feed woodpeckers, that had been pulled from the trees. Then the bird feeders got crushed. From these clues, Eric and Lorna MacLaughlin deduced that they had some new visitors to their backyard in Ellsworth.
In other news…
Maine
How you can enjoy early season trolling for salmon
90-year-old dies after Pittsfield crash
Award is offered — and rescinded — for ‘American Pie’ singer
Bangor
Lil Wayne and Blink-182 to stop in Bangor on their newly announced summer tour
Old Town’s first-ever fire truck will return to a building that looks like its 1917 home
Bangor area athletes garner Southern Conference accolades
Business
Century-old Route 1 market with scenic MDI views to reopen for first time since 2013
Mercy Hospital gets approval for $75 million campus consolidation
Massachusetts could send fewer lobsters to Maine if these new rules are approved
Politics
Janet Mills still hasn’t paid the full tab for her inaugural celebrations
Democrats set contempt vote for William Barr after DOJ declines to share unredacted Mueller report
Claiming two years of his presidency were ‘stolen,’ Trump suggests he’s owed overtime
Opinion
A $2 trillion infrastructure head fake?
I had to quit my job to care for my wife. Paid leave could have kept me working.
Abortion access shouldn’t be restricted by income
Sports
Orono track and field star writes her own ticket to University of Alabama
Rask comes up big as Bruins advance to conference final
Husson softball team draws MIT in NCAA Division III tournament opener
Your Morning Update is published every weekday. To receive this in your inbox weekday mornings, or to check out our range of free newsletters, click here.
To subscribe to the Bangor Daily News, click here.