Cross-border relationships / Long-lost guitar / Dangerous intersection

Today is Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the high 20s to mid-30s from north to south, with sunny skies throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Another 10 Mainers have died as 461 new coronavirus cases have been reported across the state, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There are now at least 8,556 active confirmed and “probable” cases in the state, and the death toll stands at 303. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.

Gov. Janet Mills has extended a state of civil emergency for the 10th time since the coronavirus pandemic started, her office announced on Tuesday. The extension will last through Jan. 20, 2021.

It took this Canadian woman 3 flights to see her fiance who lives an hour away in Maine

Sarah Brewer, a resident of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and her fiance, Alex Ashmore, a resident of Machias. The couple has only managed to meet twice since the start of the pandemic, with Brewer having to take a complex series of flights to reunite. Credit: Courtesy of Sarah Brewer

The U.S.-Canada border shutdown abruptly ended a long practice of openness and freedom of movement between the two countries, splitting up families, friends and people in cross-border relationships.

Pop-punk rocker looking for long-lost guitar he sold at Portland Denny’s for cigarettes

Toby McAllister, who grew up in Maine, performs with the pop punk band Sparks the Rescue on the Warped Tour in 2010. McAllister is trying to find a guitar he sold to a fan in a Portland restaurant parking lot in 2013. Credit: Courtesy of Toby McAllister

If you own a Gibson Les Paul Jr. electric guitar, take a look at the serial number. It might be the one he’s searching for.

Bangor intersection has the most crashes in Penobscot County

Bangor-area transportation officials are considering improvements that would lessen the number of crashes at the intersection of Odlin Road and Interstate 395 in Bangor, which had the most crashes of any intersection in Penobscot County from 2017-19. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Penobscot County’s most crash-prone intersection in recent years has been the busy confluence of I-395, Odlin Road and outer Hammond Street in Bangor. As a result, the city has started looking at how to make the interchange safer.

Almost as many Maine university students finished their courses this semester as in 2019

In this Nov. 20, 2020, file photo, Cooper Bennett, a senior at the University of Maine, raises his hand to ask a question during an on-campus hybrid class. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Nearly as many students at Maine’s public universities stuck with their courses throughout the semester this past fall compared with a year ago, even as the COVID-19 pandemic shook up life and learning on campus.

Virus relief offers good news for struggling Maine performance venues

Josh Gass, managing director of Lauchpad (center), Meg Shorette (left), executive director of Launchpad, and Brian Hinrichs, executive director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, at the Bangor Arts Exchange. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

$15 billion included in a federal relief bill could prop up independent performance venues hard hit by the pandemic.

Fanny Wadling returns to UMaine basketball line-up after last season’s absence

Fanny Wadling (51) of the University of Maine goes up for shot during a 2019 game at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Credit: Courtesy of Peter Buehner

When University of Maine fifth-year senior forward Fanny Wadling took the court in Sunday’s 63-62 win over Northeastern University, it was her first appearance in a regular season game since March 23, 2019.