Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in the low to mid-40s from north to south, with rain likely throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine
Another Mainer has died and 207 new coronavirus cases have been reported across the state, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There are 1,944 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, the highest yet, while the death toll now stands at 159. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.
Record numbers of Mainers continue to receive unemployment benefits as the coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses to close. Now the state’s extended benefits program is set to end soon, while federal emergency unemployment programs are set to end in late December. We want to hear from Mainers who have filed for unemployment this year to tell the stories of those who have been affected by these programs.
Jared Golden won. His DC roommate lost. He says Democrats must show independence.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden said poor messaging and believing in polling that ended up missing the mark hampered Democrats.
Recent Bangor break-ins leave residents unnerved
Kelly DiFrederico, who lives on Silver Road, awoke early Saturday morning to a loud sound somewhere in her house. Upon going downstairs to investigate, she found her purse missing and her back door, which was locked, wide open.
EMMC had operating room fire last month while patient was in surgery
A fire broke out last month in an operating room at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center where a patient was undergoing a neck surgery, according to state fire investigators who visited the Bangor hospital between Oct. 29 and Nov. 3 and have determined the facility failed to follow federal safety rules.
Without guest list, Maine CDC likely undercounted cases linked to Aug. 7 wedding
The 177 cases linked to the wedding reception — which included 27 of the 55 wedding reception guests — are likely an undercount, the Maine CDC staffers wrote in a new scientific article, because state case investigators never received a list of reception guests, and likely missed some who became infected.
Susan Collins says Joe Biden should get intelligence briefings
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Thursday that President-elect Joe Biden should receive intelligence briefings as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to refuse to recognize the Democrat’s victory in last week’s election. Her remarks in Washington followed strong comments from Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, that denying Biden intelligence briefings is “downright dangerous for national security.”
Maine sees nearly 400 daily requests in 1st week of reopened rent relief program
The third and most wide-ranging iteration of a relief program, run by the Maine State Housing Authority, offers up to $1,000 in monthly rental assistance to tenants whose incomes have been reduced by the pandemic.
Acadia to delay parking reservations for Sand Beach and Thunder Hole until 2022
The park is moving ahead with requiring reservations next summer for motorists who want to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain, and is likely to require vehicle reservations for Ocean Drive — a scenic stretch of the Park Loop Road with popular sites such as Sand Beach and Thunder Hole — in 2022.
Long-awaited Maine climate plan leans on existing initiatives, ducks some funding questions
A new Maine climate plan virtually finalized on Thursday leans on existing initiatives and short-term goals while some crafting it called for more specific funding proposals and fought over recommendations for the forest products industry.
In other Maine news …
Janet Mills says store workers shouldn’t have to be ‘COVID cops’
Skowhegan residents told not to drink their tap water
Bangor Savings Bank clears final regulatory hurdle to merge with midcoast bank
Maine lobster industry applauds EU committee’s vote to eliminate tariffs
Biddeford lawmaker selected by Democrats to be Maine’s first openly gay House speaker
Ex-Brewer deputy mayor pays $650 fine for alleging someone hacked his social media accounts