Good morning. Temperatures will be in the high 50s to low 60s, with periods of rain possible throughout the state.
Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
She pleaded guilty to assault to get out of jail faster, even though she didn’t do it
–When defendants like Marion Anderson are unable to bail out of jail during the pretrial stage, their detention can influence the path of their case as it moves through the courts. More often, being held in jail before a conviction results in less favorable outcomes for defendants than if they were fighting the case while living at home.
That’s because being in jail is psychologically taxing and creates tactical disadvantages for defendants, applying pressure on them to quicken the pretrial experience by pleading guilty and limiting their ability to play a role in their defense. Being incarcerated, experts said, means defendants have a harder time reaching their attorneys, are cut off from the support of their family, can’t continue working to support their defense and can’t take steps to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the court, which could potentially lessen their sentence.
Dogs are still just property, court rules
–The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday declined to give shared custody of a dog named Honey to an unmarried couple that split up. Under Maine law, animals are considered to be property. A judge may order married couples to share custody of companion animals as part of a property settlement, but not unmarried couples who are breaking up.
These Maine towns were offered a free elementary school. Only catch: It’s filled with mold.
–After Stockton Springs Elementary School closed for good in June 2017, the pre-kindergarten pupils who were the last to use it packed their bookbags and left its classrooms and hallways behind. But as it turned out, it wasn’t completely empty. Mold lived there, blooming undisturbed for more than a year on carpets, furniture, doors, bookshelves and more. In April, Regional School Unit 20 school board directors voted to offer up the mold-ridden school to Searsport and Stockton Springs for free — and now they have to decide whether they want to accept.
Maine’s latest attempt to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives squeaked through an initial House vote
–The House on Tuesday voted 72-68 in favor of a bill from Rep. Patty Hymanson, D-York. It is the seventh legislative effort since 1992 to allow the law that supporters call “death with dignity.” Social conservatives have led the charge against the proposal, which would follow similar laws in eight states and Washington, D.C. The measure now moves to the Senate and faces future votes in each chamber. Gov. Janet Mills has yet to take a public stance on the bill.
Do this: Watch these 2 lynx have a showdown on a Maine road
–Daniel Wadleigh has hunted and fished in the Maine woods almost since he learned how to walk, but he was still stunned by what he saw Friday night — and luckily he captured it on video.
In other news…
Maine
Gov. Mills signs paid leave bill into law
Mills, lawmakers and gun rights group roll out an alternative to ‘red flag’ bill
As the summer season starts, what’s something you wish tourists knew?
Bangor
Bangor’s Waterfront Concerts venue to get actual bathrooms this year
Bangor man serving time for murder dies in prison
Glenburn ditches local ambulance service over alleged breach of contract
Business
Jordan’s Furniture to open first Maine location, complete with entertainment attraction
State approves 22-turbine wind project for Hancock County
A summer from hell is coming to US airports
Opinion
New law a good start for referendum reform
Facebook’s failed response to the doctored Nancy Pelosi video
Billboards are the wrong place to fight over abortion
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