Bangor's condemned homes / Penobscot County hospital crunch / 'Squirrelzilla'

Today is Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the mid-teens to low 30s from north to south, with cloudy skies across the state and a chance for snow to the south. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.

The latest on the coronavirus in Maine

Twelve more Mainers have died and another 980 coronavirus cases were reported across the state since Saturday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The statewide death toll now stands at 1,348. Check out our tracker for more information.

The community of Blue Hill has become the latest to use American Rescue Plan funding to recognize its frontline workers, and on Monday night, voters approved more than $16,000 in extra compensation for its fire department and town hall staff.

The number of Mainers hospitalized with COVID-19 continued to climb on Tuesday, when 367 Mainers afflicted with the coronavirus were hospitalized, 110 were in critical care and 59 were on ventilators.

Penobscot County’s hospital space crunch among the worst in the US

Patients filled nearly nine out of 10 inpatient beds in Penobscot County as of Friday.

COVID-19 cases among kids drove Maine’s huge November infection spike

Among children younger than 5, who remain ineligible for any COVID-19 vaccines, about 1 out of every 71 tested positive in November alone.

Maine’s overlooked counties urged to think big after hitting the stimulus jackpot

Flush with $260 million over two years, Maine’s counties must choose whether to spend it on traditional services or expand on their limited civic roles.

Work-from-home transition didn’t wean most Maine businesses from office space

The pandemic highlighted the importance of face-to-face collaboration in an office, but it will take time for the market to play out as businesses hone their at-work strategies.

Bangor slashed its list of condemned homes before fatal fire

Bangor has removed 43 buildings from its list of condemned properties since March 2020

New England could see rolling power outages for the 1st time this winter

The region is in a more precarious state entering this winter because of heating oil and liquefied natural gas shortages.

ALSO: With natural gas supplies disrupted, Mainers may need to reduce energy use this winter

A Maine case on religious school funding goes before the US Supreme Court today

Oral arguments begin at 10 a.m., and the public can listen to a feed on the U.S. Supreme Court’s website.

Clark Griswold would be proud of this Aroostook family’s holiday lights display

The massive display features 20,000 traditional holiday and 4,500 LED lights programmed into a computer.

Former Mt. Blue standout Jordan Stevens returning to UMaine as its new football coach

Jordan Stevens, who has been the co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Yale University, will replace Nick Charlton, the team announced on Tuesday.

ALSO: His parents needed a loan to get him to UMaine. He’s now the head football coach.

Old Town swears in new councilors after an election with no one on the ballot

Old Town swore in two new councilors and promoted the City Council’s vice president to president on Monday, marking the end of an unusual election cycle for the city.

Portland school board may leave one-third of seats unfilled until June

The council must call a special election to be held no sooner than 127 days after the seats were vacated, and it could fall on the next regular election in June 2022.