QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’ve noticed that the people who are being active and trying to initiate change tend to come from outside the political system. Eventually they get involved in that world, but they start as citizens who want to make positive changes in their communities. I think that’s really encouraging. It means anyone can look at something and say ‘They did it. We can do it too.’”

— David Byrne, musician, artist and author, on community projects that do something positive. The former Talking Heads frontman will be in Maine on Saturday to lead a discussion about one such undertaking, the dam removal on the lower Penobscot River.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Rents at two Wiscasset mobile home parks have skyrocketed. Residents point to the out-of-state investment firms that snatched them up during the pandemic.

Bangor officials are uneasy about a needle exchange operating in city parks. Needlepoint Sanctuary is no stranger, but the group was recently certified by the state and has plans.

There’s no body cam footage of Brewer’s police chief fatally shooting a man last week. The absence was confirmed by the Maine attorney general’s office.

A Bangor-area firearms inventor is remembered. Though Richard Dyke has been credited with making the AR-15 into America’s bestselling rifle, it wouldn’t have happened without the ideas of Mack Gwinn Jr.

MAINE IN PICTURES

Sean Doherty of Vermont, who has participated in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Olympic games, fires a shot Friday during the U.S. National Biathlon Championships in Fort Kent. Credit: Christopher Bouchard / St. John Valley Times

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This male downy woodpecker eluded BDN Outdoors contributor Allie Ladd for a while. He kept seeing the holes increasing on the tree and wondered what bird was making them for a couple of weeks before his trail camera caught the culprit.

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, speaks with senior staff, including U.S. Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Tom Sullivan, on Friday before he departs Egypt for Israel, as the push for a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel continues in Cairo, Egypt. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein / Pool Photo via AP

“Palestinian and Jewish civilians alike deserve to be with their loved ones in peace. That must be achieved, not through Israel’s misguided plan for a ground invasion in Rafah, but through a hard-wrought negotiated agreement.”

Editorial: Finish ‘difficult work’ to achieve cease-fire in Gaza, bring Israeli hostages home

LIFE IN MAINE

Planning to watch the eclipse from a snowmobile trail or state park? Because of the time of year, it may not be the best idea.

Maine has the only intact native population of Arctic charr in the lower 48 states. The late Fred Kircheis, known as the “charr man,” kept them in mind, BDN Outdoors contributor V. Paul Reynolds writes.

Gardeners often wind up spending more on gardening supplies than planned. Here are some tips to save money before it’s too late.