Today is Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the low single digits to high teens from north to south, with mostly sunny skies across the state. Here’s what we’re talking about in Maine today.
The latest on the coronavirus in Maine
Sixteen Mainers have died and another 1,576 coronavirus cases were reported since Saturday, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Check out our tracker for more information.
More than half of the people incarcerated at the Knox County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week. As of Tuesday afternoon, 25 of the approximately 40 inmates at the jail have tested positive for the virus, along with nine staff members, according to Knox County Sheriff Tim Carroll.
Maine’s testing backlog shows risks of federal reliance on case counts as a metric
Health officials have increasingly pointed to alternative metrics to account for the virus’ effects as the contagious omicron variant drives up infections.
Mainers are getting diagnosed with COVID while hospitalized for other reasons
Public health specialists have said that knowing the number of so-called incidental hospitalizations is crucial to understanding the gravity of the ongoing virus surge.
To buy this Down East island, you have to survive a night there
The price tag for the home and island is $339,000, just a little higher than the median sales price for a single-family home in Maine. That makes it one of the less expensive offshore islands in the state with a cottage included.
Police shooting panel says cops need a plan for responding to mental health crises
Maine has had the highest rate of fatal police shootings in New England since 2015, with many of them happening in more remote places.
Aroostook County’s superior snowmobile trails led a Pennsylvania couple to move there
The Grubers are part of an influx of people who bought property and moved into Aroostook County during the pandemic.
Patten’s new taproom is the only craft brewery within nearly 100 miles
Joel and Jona Fitzpatrick last week opened their years-in-the-making brewery and tap room, Katahdin Brew Works, in the Penobscot County town of Patten.
Maine music mogul in the making hopes to rise above his traumatic beginnings
Gino Brown, 24, is an up-and-coming artist and producer with hopes of making his name, and a living, in the music business. He sees it as his way out of a family cycle of drugs, violence and poverty.
Janet Mills will give her 1st in-person State of the State address since 2020
Gov. Janet Mills is expected to outline her plans for a supplemental budget to make use of a projected $800 million revenue surplus.
2 UMaine women’s ice hockey players are going to the Olympics
Amalie Andersen will have the distinction of playing on the first team from Denmark to ever qualify for the Winter Olympics, while Rahel Enzler will play for Switzerland.
Preparing a cow to be milked for the 1st time requires unique training methods
Anything a homesteader can do to minimize that stress during the transition from heifer to cow can help prevent injuries for the animal and human. It also greatly improves the comfort of the cow as she is being milked.
In other Maine news …
Driver hits tow truck, runs over spike mats and heads wrong way down I-95 in Bangor
Residents return to Milbridge nursing home damaged in storm
Former sailor admits to sexually assaulting 12-year-old at Kittery naval base in 2009
Police find a van with dog inside in Bangor after man allegedly steals it
Costco could be building its 1st store in Maine
Angus King urges Medicare to cover at-home COVID-19 tests
Penobscot Nation raises concerns about ‘forever chemicals’ in Old Town landfill runoff
Unemployment in Maine falls to lowest mark since pandemic began
Investigations open into Oxford Hills superintendent accused of assaulting student
Top player’s return helps struggling UMaine men’s basketball team win pivotal game