QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Depending on your lot in the city, you can build a 3,000-square-foot mansion, but you can’t build, in the same structure, five 600-square-foot apartments. That offends my basic sense of fairness.”

— Rockland City Councilor Nate Davis speaking at a meeting during which the council voted to remove per-unit minimum lot sizes in two residential zones of the city.

TODAY’S TOP MAINE STORIES

Here’s a voting guide for today’s congressional and legislative primaries. Voters will choose party candidates for three federal races and the Maine Legislature, plus school budgets and various local questions. The highest-profile race is in the 2nd Congressional District, where state Reps. Austin Theriault and Mike Soboleski are dueling for the right to take on U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. Follow the election results here after polls close across the state at 8 p.m.

Bangor High achieved its highest graduation rate ever. The dramatic improvement is proof the department’s recent focus on improving overall student well-being is working.

Math and reading scores have worsened among Maine students, according to a new report. In 2022, only 24 percent of Maine eighth-graders were proficient in math and just 29 percent of fourth-graders were proficient in reading. 

A Northport home with an exclusive crescent beach and island views is on the market for $3 million. “On a beautiful summer day, you’ll probably see somebody out there,” listing agent Brian Wickenden said. “But there’s plenty of space to share.”

MAINE IN PICTURES

Angela Okafor and Victor Iwegbulam, organizers of the new Bangor Area African Festival, are pictured on June 6. The event, a celebration of African culture scheduled for Aug. 16-18, has origins in a group formed in mid-2020 for people from Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria and other African countries who have settled in Maine to connect during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

FROM THE OPINION PAGES 

“This year, Maine began semi-open primaries. That means unenrolled voters can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary. There are also more than a dozen legislative primaries this year.”

Editorial: There are many reasons to cast a ballot on Tuesday

LIFE IN MAINE

There are thousands of species of beetles in Maine, but just a few of them could cause big problems in your garden this year.

A three-day festival of African culture is coming to Bangor this summer. The Bangor Area African Festival will showcase fare from African countries, African-owned businesses, talent, fashion and more.

Compared with other states, Maine’s outdoor leaders were slow to warm up to crossbows, V. Paul Reynolds writes.