Today is Friday. Temperatures will be in the low to high 20s from north to south, with sunny skies throughout the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
Here’s the latest of the coronavirus in Maine
Another 135 more coronavirus cases were reported across the state on Thursday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. No new deaths were reported, so the death toll statewide remains at 705. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.
Androscoggin commissioners have approved COVID-19 safety protocols for county employees weeks after they were proposed and the body became embroiled in a controversy over the state’s mask mandate.
Maine won’t receive new Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses next week
Maine did not expect a full drop-off after it expanded eligibility on Wednesday to teachers, school staff and childcare workers under an order from President Joe Biden, who pledged that the U.S. will have enough doses to vaccinate every adult by May.
PLUS: The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is asking Maine Catholics to choose alternatives to the the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because abortion-derived cell lines were used in its development.
ALSO: Have you tried to get a COVID-19 vaccine after Maine’s expansion? We want to talk.
Bangor-area teachers say their vaccinations are key for more in-person instruction
Four public school teachers and two district leaders said Thursday they were relieved. As new cases decline, they said they’re hearing more from community members that they want schools to be open in person full time. But opening full-time was a risk without offering teachers the chance to be vaccinated, they said.
Residents get help to move out of ‘sketchy’ former Bucksport motel the town might condemn
Six people who lived at a former motel in Bucksport have been moved from the property as the town moves closer to deciding whether to condemn it because of physical conditions that a local town official called “sketchy and dangerous.”
Bangor jail’s COVID-19 outbreak forces local police to drive arrestees to other counties
The outbreak has stretched the staff of corrections officers at the jail, as many have had to stay home from work due to coronavirus exposure. In addition, the jail hasn’t taken in new inmates during the outbreak, forcing local police off their usual beats to drive people they arrest to jails in Ellsworth and Belfast.
Maine lawmakers deadlock on federal aid control, taxes with key budget vote looming
The Legislature’s budget committee agreed on Thursday to fully forgive state taxes on federal loans to small businesses, but the parties remain $32 million apart as Republicans withhold support for a spending plan requiring supermajorities to pass.
Veterans seek help to replace dilapidated VFW post in Belfast
“When the wind blows, you can actually feel the building sway. The building is literally sinking.”
Here’s what you had to say in response to the Sebago Lake fish kill
Some thought that I was a jerk because I called out what I saw as behavior that would make all anglers look bad by association. Others praised the stance I took. And still others wanted to argue about my assertion that many Mainers consider yellow perch “trash fish.”
Bobcat looks for a meal, stops for a trail cam photo
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s fact sheet on the species, bobcats enjoy all kinds of food.
In other Maine news …
Belfast hiker rescued from Precipice was visiting Acadia for the 1st time
Jared Golden wants Biden to review CMP corridor permit
National phone scam impersonating border protection agents targets Madawaskans’ banking information
Maine now has its 1st female Eagle Scout
Federal judge orders Down East pot farm manager back to prison after year of freedom