Houlton airport funding / 'Red-flag laws' / COVID-19 vaccines

Today is Monday. Temperatures will be in the low 20s to the low 30s from north to south, with sunny skies throughout much of the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Another 189 coronavirus cases were reported across the state on Sunday and no new deaths, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the lowest daily increase in new cases Maine has seen in two months. The death toll now stands at 544. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.

George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill is switching to remote learning for two weeks after an outbreak of the coronavirus there and as 35 students and teachers are quarantining because of potential exposure.

Federal government threatens to pull Houlton airport funding over unauthorized lease

Houlton International Airport, where a dispute over the use of a building might cause future federal aid to be cut, is seen Thursday.

The FAA warned Houlton in December it could face penalties because it allowed a building owned by a local businessman to be leased for non-aviation use.

Maine passed a law to prevent mass shootings. Police have used it 13 times.

Law enforcement officers and prosecutors have used Maine’s so-called red-flag law at least a dozen times to confiscate dangerous weapons from individuals found to be a danger to themselves and/or others since it went into effect about six months ago.

The law allows authorities, with a judge’s permission, to confiscate weapons from people who pose a danger to themselves and others.

Older Mainers are ready for the isolation to end. But the wait for COVID-19 vaccine is ‘nerve-wracking.’

Steven Whitney of Little Deer Isle poses outside the Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital after getting his first coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.

The end of isolation is in sight for Steven Whitney, 73, who became one of the first older Mainers to get a first COVID-19 vaccine dose.

This Mainer went from a train robber to mummified corpse at a carnival sideshow

Elmer McCurdy’s grave at Summit Hill Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

The story of Elmer McCurdy is one of the most bizarre footnotes in 20th century history.

Developer says Moosehead Lake will have ski resort ‘for the next generation’

Young skiers ride the chairlift on a sunny, winter day at a ski resort overlooking Moosehead Lake in February 2019. A developer plans to invest $75 million into revitalizing the ski resort, making it a four-season destination.

Even though Maine already has a number of ski resorts, ski industry experts said there’s likely room for another in the state.

Feds make it easier for physicians to prescribe opioid addiction meds

Health care officials in Maine say it is too early to tell how a decision by federal regulators to remove a training requirement for physicians to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid addiction might affect opioid dependency treatment in Maine.

That comes as opioid deaths are on track to increase during the pandemic.

What Joe Biden’s inauguration was like for 2 Maine Guard troops who protected it

Soldiers with the Maine Army National Guard, stand guard in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19.

“I am grateful there was such a smooth transition of power and I’m grateful for the unit I was able to go with and how efficient the mission went,” said 1st Lt. Ellen Morrison, who serves in the 251st Engineer Company.