Today is Monday. Temperatures will be in the mid-30s to mid-40s from north to south, with cloudy skies across the state and a chance for snow in the north and rain in the south. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine
Four more Mainers have died as 333 new coronavirus cases were reported on Sunday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The death toll stands at 323. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.
An outbreak of COVID-19 at a Bangor rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility is being investigated by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Saturday, Eastside Center for Health and Rehabilitation was reporting that 23 residents and 13 staff members have tested positive for the virus.
A Bangor toilet paper factory opened as the pandemic began. It’s had a ‘banner’ year since.
Tissue Plus was just ramping up its production of toilet paper, napkins and other paper products in March when the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country, and demand for toilet paper skyrocketed overnight.
See Maine through the lens of these aspiring young journalists
As educators scrambled to adapt their curriculums to remote learning for the school year, one Maine learning program set a standard for how to write and think about art in the pandemic era — through the eyes of kids.
The pandemic upended Mainers’ lives. So they headed to the great outdoors.
Throughout Maine and beyond, countless people turned to the outdoors for exercise and entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic. With large social gatherings forbidden, theaters closed and festivals canceled, people were left with more time for outdoor pursuits. And many tried activities that were entirely new to them such as hiking, mountain biking and kayaking.
It may be legal, but high prices and inconvenience may drive black-market marijuana for years
High prices and a lack of supply are driving many Maine cannabis consumers back to the streets, where weed remains much cheaper and plentiful. The state stands to lose millions in cannabis revenue in the coming years before the recreational supply here catches up with demand and retail prices finally begin to drop for consumers.
Mainer shows the internet that hikers come in all shapes and sizes
Paige Emerson thought she needed to be in better shape before pursuing the activity. Now she knows that’s not true.
Maine to end hazard pay for state workers as federal funds expire
The situation escalates tension between Maine’s largest state employees’ union and the state. The $2.2 trillion relief bill Congress passed in March that Maine used to provide a range of hazard pay to some of its employees expires on Dec. 30. The state committed $157 million of that funding to state personnel costs, a category that includes hazard pay.
BDN photographers highlight their favorite photos of 2020
Bangor Daily News photographers Linda Coan O’Kresik, Troy R. Bennett, Natalie Williams and Aislinn Sarnacki share the backstories of some of their favorite shots and why they like them.
In other Maine news …
Madawaska man dies after being struck by car
2-mile stretch of Route 1A in Hampden reopens after being closed since April
Ellsworth negotiating with police chief to become permanent city manager
Maine Medical Center worker had anaphylactic reaction to COVID-19 vaccine