“We need to get some clarity. We need to get some resolution. There’s a lot of students that are scared.”

— University of Maine at Augusta graduate student Heidi Toner on a homeless encampment near the school’s Bangor campus and a recent shooting in a school parking lot

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

A Hermon solar company that is already the subject of two lawsuits and complaints to authorities has now run afoul of the state’s tax department.

Four Orono residents are suing the town and Bangor Natural Gas over plans for a new gas regulating station near their home.

About 200 people in the Penobscot County town of Plymouth have been advised to use only bottled or filtered water after officials found high levels of PFAS in their drinking water.

Fort Kent businesses and community members are reeling after the cancellation of the Can-Am sled dog race.

Houlton’s Church of the Good Shepherd anticipates putting 400 pounds of Maine lobster meat into lobster rolls for about 1,600 people congregating in town for the April total solar eclipse.

MAINE IN PICTURES

Removing the Mayo Mill Dam is an "emotional decision" would represent a major change for Dover-Foxcroft, supporters acknowledge.
The Mayo Mill Dam in Dover-Foxcroft has numerous structural deficiencies and has long been out of compliance with federal regulations, which means the town must decide whether to remove it or repair it. Credit: Garrick Hoffman / The Maine Monitor

The Mayo Mill Dam in Dover-Foxcroft, pictured above, has numerous structural deficiencies and has long been out of compliance with federal regulations, which means the town must decide whether to remove or repair it. Read the story, courtesy of The Maine Monitor. Photo by Garrick Hoffman.

MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

WE RECOMMEND…

If you’re looking for a way to reduce the amount of waste you produce while also getting something in return, try 1 Earth Composting, a curbside composting service that launched last year in Bangor, Brewer and Hampden. You put your food scraps and compostable materials in your provided 5-gallon bucket, set it out on the curb for a Tuesday morning pickup, and receive a clean bucket swapped out for the next week. The service is $25 per month, and users get a 5-gallon bucket of rich, fertile soil in the spring for their gardens, and a discount on further soil purchases. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 24 percent of all municipal refuse is food waste, and with recycling at a virtual standstill in the Bangor area, this is one way to make an actual impact.

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Kody Macaulay holds a sign Saturday during a candlelight service for Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died one day after a fight in a high school bathroom, at Point A Gallery in Oklahoma City. Credit: Nate Billings / The Oklahoman via AP

“Officials can try to shroud their bullying in a cloak of religion and political ideology, but it is still bullying. Those referred to as ‘filth’ are human beings. Attacking and demonizing them does not seem very moral to us.”

Editorial: Stop bullying LGBTQ+ youth with laws and policies that exclude them

LIFE IN MAINE

Mainers aren’t known for high fashion, but the state has produced items that stylish folks from all over the world will recognize.

With spring temperatures this week, you might not want to wait to get your ice shack off the lake.

BDN Outdoors contributor Ron Chase takes us on a snowshoe trip on the Maine Huts and Trails network.