COVID-19 vaccines for kids / Rural Maine stereotypes / DHHS leak

Today is Tuesday. Temperatures will be in the high 50s to low 60s from north to south, with scattered showers in the north and partly sunny skies in the south. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Another 214 coronavirus cases were reported across the state on Monday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. No new deaths were reported, leaving the statewide death toll at 795. Check out our COVID-19 Tracker for more information.

A proposal from a group of Maine Republicans to ban mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for five years is up for consideration by a legislative committee this week. The lawmakers, led by Rep. Tracy Quint on Hodgdon, have based their proposal in part on the theory that coronavirus vaccines cause reproductive harm.

Janet Mills says Maine providers can now administer Pfizer vaccine to children as young as 12

In this March 12, 2020, file photo, Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks at a news conference at the State House in Augusta. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / AP

That comes immediately on the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to authorize the vaccine for use for 12- to 15-year-olds. The race to vaccinate them will begin as soon a federal advisory commission releases guidelines as early as Wednesday.

Aroostook Valley Country Club still closed to Americans under Canadian pandemic restrictions

The clubhouse at Aroostook Valley Country Club is shown in 2018. The golf course remains closed to American players because of Canadian policies enacted to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Courtesy of Kevin Sjoberg

The main entrance, parking lot and pro shop are on the U.S. side of the border, while the course and clubhouse are in Canada.

New book about Washington County challenges notion that rural life is filled with quiet desperation

Gigi Georges has written a book, “Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America,” profiling five students at Narraguagus High School. Credit: Courtesy of HarperCollins

The prevailing narrative about rural America is that it’s a place of quiet desperation. But Gigi Georges thinks that narrative isn’t particularly fair.

Maine renters facing 2-month backlog in rental assistance requests

In this Oct. 20, 2020, file photo, a man walks in front of a For Rent sign in a window of a residential property in San Francisco. Credit: Jeff Chiu / AP

The latest wave of the emergency rental assistance has come with some snags.

Maine native arrested for entering Capitol illegally during Jan. 6 siege

A photo posted to the Facebook page of Minot, Maine native Glen Mitchell “Mitch” Simon, 30, shows him at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. He has been charged in federal court with knowingly entering a restricted building and with violent entry and disorderly conduct in the Capitol. Credit: Courtesy of FBI

Glen Mitchell “Mitch” Simon, 30, of Jefferson, Georgia, is charged with knowingly entering a restricted building and with violent entry and disorderly conduct in the Capitol two weeks before the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

GOP lawmaker disciplined after taking anti-vaccine activist to Janet Mills’ office suite

Rep. Shelley Rudnicki, R-Fairfield, is pictured on May 6, 2019. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

Rep. Shelley Rudnicki, R-Fairfield, was disciplined by legislative leaders after bringing Naomi Wolf and an affiliated cameraperson into the State House on April 28 while the Legislature was in session. They later approached Gov. Janet Mills’ office suite and were told to leave by Jeremy Kennedy, the governor’s chief of staff.