QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I have never heard of autism in dogs. How would you assess your dog? I would love to know exactly how you would classify your dog as autistic.”

— Dr. Kate Domenico, president of the Maine Veterinary Medical Association, on a study that found many dog owners believe vaccinating their pets will give them autism.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Bangor might get more snow this spring than all winter. A nor’easter coming this week could dump up to 14 inches.

An abortion-rights amendment fell short in the Maine Senate. Lawmakers also pushed back a referendum on a new state flag to 2026.

A company wants to build a tidal power dam near Cobscook Bay. Others have tried and failed to turn the Down East bay’s mighty tides into electricity.

The last building of a bygone Belfast potato processing business has been torn down. The demolition, two years after a fire that destroyed the Penobscot McCrum plant, reveals a prime piece of downtown real estate.

A new Dover-Foxcroft store offers comic books, crystals and other niche items you might otherwise need to go to Bangor to find.

MAINE IN PICTURES

Sheryl Harper walks through a building on a pier she owns in Southwest Harbor that took significant damage from recent winter storms. Climate change has challenged many who make their livings on the Maine waterfront to balance the urgent need to reopen against the costs of building back to withstand rising seas and intensifying storms. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Even though it may be officially spring in Maine, the stakes are high when it comes to getting a meal after the last nor’easter. And some birds just don’t share well. This week’s video from contributor Allie Ladd of Byron shows the unique relationship between various birds in Maine, including the ever-present rivalry between the bald eagle and pesky corvids, as they vie for a meal. 

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

In this March 13, 2024, file photo, Shawn Laatsch, director of Versant Power Astronomy Center at the University of Maine, discusses the upcoming total solar eclipse while in the planetarium. A total solar eclipse and a map of Maine illustrating the eclipse’s path of totality on April 8, 2024, are displayed. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

“The sun will disappear for a few minutes, but our manners shouldn’t. Respect the communities hosting eclipse events.”

Editorial: Hope for sun, expect fun and plan for safety during eclipse

LIFE IN MAINE

A new novel reimagines the folk hero Paul Bunyan. In “Bunyan and Henry, or, The Beautiful Destiny,” Mark Cecil brings the towering lumberjack down to size and pairs him in adventure with another American legend, steel driver John Henry.

What happens when you accidentally hire an arborist? Bangor Daily News Homestead contributor Jan Begert found out and didn’t regret the mistake.

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands is pausing its plans to build structures within the Allagash Wilderness Waterway after it met with criticism from recreationists and guides.